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1994-03-27
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Vfast Technical Reference Manual Page 1
vFAST v1.3
Copyright 1993-94 (c) International TeleCommunications
All Rights Reserved
Introduction
vFAST was designed specifically for v32, v32bis, and vFAST
modems. You should not attempt to use vFAST with a 2400 baud
modem unless your modem is error correcting. The reason, a
single error could produce a resend request for as much as
8192 bytes. It COULD be as little as 256 bytes but the risk
of 8192... well that is up to you.
vFAST needs ONE of the following:
16550 Uart
Intelligent Digiboard (2, 4, 8, or 16 port).
Intelligent Stargate.
Intelligent Arnet.
If you don't have one of the above, well try and see. You
MIGHT be able to keep up but I doubt it.
vFAST is just what the name implies, a vERY FAST protocol,
it'll run circles around Zmodem.
vFAST uses DUAL 16 bit CRC's to protect data. Each SHORT
block of data has a 16 bit CRC and every 8192 bytes has
another 16 bit crc. In short, CRC's inside of CRC's. Just as
effective as one single 32 bit crc but has much less CPU
overhead.
vFAST has RESTART recovery for aborted transfers as well as
SKIP for files you ALREADY have.
One way to BOOST speed and cut down on CPU overhead is to
reduce SCREEN writes to a bare MINIMUM. We'll only show you
enough data on the screen to let you know what is going on.
We'll only update the screen, unless an error occurs, every
8192 bytes.
You can ABORT a transfer by pressing ESC. Again, to keep CPU
overhead low, we only check the keyboard every 8192 bytes
so there may be a short delay between the time you press
ESC and the program acknowledges the ESC.
Once you see the acknowledgment, nothing may appear to happen
for upwards of 10 to 12 seconds. vFAST is attempting to clear
out the RX buffer and phone lines before exiting, to prevent
garbage from spraying all over your screen.
Vfast Technical Reference Manual Page 2
Hardware Requirements
You need a 386, 486, or Pentium processor. vFast will NOT run
on a 8088 or 80286 micro processor.
Command Line Switches
vFAST supports the following command line switches:
-Tx Use Timeslicing when you cannot send or
receive anything. x is the TYPE of time
slicing. Valid TYPES are:
D Desqview
O OS-2
W Windows
If you use OS-2 or Windows Time Slicing, you
must have have DPMI turned on.
-Bxxxxx xxxx is the connect baud rate.
-Pxxx xxxx is the serial port, 1-4 if using the
standard internal driver.
-Lxxxx xxxx is Serial LOCK rate, 9600 - 115200.
-S <Fnames> Start Sending files. Fnames is the names of
the files to send. Each name should be
separated by a single blank space. If Fnames
is prefixed with an AT sign, @, vFAST will
ASSUME Fnames is the name of a SEND control
file.
E.g. -S @C:\TERM\SEND.CTL
SEND.CTL would be a text file listing the
files to send, one per line. Drive, path,
and DOS wildcards supported.
This must be the LAST command line switch used.
-D<TYPE> The TYPE of serial driver to use. Valid <TYPE>
are:
D Digiboard
S Stargate
A Arnet
The default is the internal (Standard DOS type
serial ports) highspeed serial driver.
Vfast Technical Reference Manual Page 3
-N*N If you're running vFAST as a protocol driver
with Osiris XLT, include this switch.
-R Begin Receiving, must be the LAST command line
switch used.
-K Disable Keep Aborted Transfers. The default it
to keep all partial transfers. If you use this
driver as an external protocol driver for a BBS
you'll want to include this on the command
line.
-U<PATH> This tells vFAST to place all files you receive
in THIS directory. This feature is ONLY
available if you register vFAST.
-!<FILENAME> This tells vFAST to pull the callers name from
DOOR.SYS, DOOR1.SYS, DOOR2.SYS, etc. This file
must be in DOOR.SYS format and you must supply
the full drive, path, AND filename.
E.g. -!C:\PCBOARD\DOOR.SYS
NOTE: This feature is only available in
REGISTERED mode.
-W<LOGFILE> This allows you to redirect the log file to any
drive, directory, and file. You must supply the
full drive, path, AND filename.
E.g. -WC:\PCBOARD\JOHN.LOG
NOTE: This feature is only available in
REGISTERED mode.
Command Lines For Sending And Receiving
The minimum command line for RECEIVING a file would be
something like this:
vFAST -B<BaudRate> -L<LockRate> -P<Port Number> -R
How you pass the parameters will vary depending on your
terminal software or bbs software. Check the documentation
that came with your terminal or bbs software for specifics.
Assuming your BBS/Terminal requires batch files and passes
baudrate in %1, port number in %2 then you might use
something like this:
vfast -B%1 -L57600 -P%2 -R
Vfast Technical Reference Manual Page 4
The minimum command line for SENDING a file would be
something like this:
vFAST -B<BaudRate> -L<LockRate> -P<Port Number> -S <Ctl Filename>
Notice, and this is VERY important, the space between -S and
<Ctl Filename>. If you forget to put a space there, nothing
will happen.
How you pass the parameters will vary depending on your
terminal software or bbs software. Check the documentation
that came with your terminal or bbs software for specifics.
Assuming your BBS/Terminal passes baudrate in %1, port number
in %2, and the name of the file in %3, then you might use
something like this:
vfast -B%1 -L57600 -P%2 -S %3
Examples of how to install vfast.exe with Osiris XLT
Example of an Osiris XLT Rcv cmdline:
VFAST -B*B -L*L -N*N -P*P -K -R
Example of an Osiris XLT Send cmdline:
VFAST -B*B -L*L -N*N -P*P -S @*U
Shareware
vFAST is shareware. Meaning you can use it for up to 30 days
without registering it. When you finish your download, or
uploads, the shareware version will pause for 30 seconds.
Registering vFAST removes this delay and enables the -U
switch.
vFAST Order Form
Send $15.00 (US Currency) to:
International TeleCommunications
302 W. Mckinley
Poplar Bluff Mo. 63901-6372
United States Of America
Register To (___________________________________)
A registration key will be placed on our BBS at (314) 686-
0120 for you. The key will be password protected so only YOU
can download it. What Password do you want to use?
Password (________)