• Interfacing FD with Mystic

    From Paul Hayton@3:770/100 to All on Sat Sep 23 07:55:35 2017
    Hi all.

    I am trying to connect FD to Mystic as part of an experiment to see if it's it's possible.

    It's been a long time since I used FD and because it's not a Bink style
    system I'm confused about how to get echomail/netmail messages that arrive in to FD (netmail dir right?) sent to Mystic and vise versa. Having what I think is just the one directory in FD holding all echomail/netmail traffic inbound and outbound is proving a challenge for me to figure out how to get Mystic to deal with this.

    Mystic will happily ingest packets and export them for transport and I have options of BinkP (which is clearly not the one) FTP, and a directory transfer .. the latter is the option I hoped would work so I could point Mystic to
    look at an internal directory to send and collect packets to/from
    Frontdoor... but when the FD directory is one in the same for send and
    receive .. specifying the same directory for Mystic to send/receive from
    causes issues as packets sent out and pulled back in again right away :(

    I just not sure how to work a solution. I thought of setting up Fastecho with FD but if Fastecho is configured to run with FD I'm not really sure that's going to help me get packets out of Fastecho and tossed to another node internally.

    Any thoughts appreciated.

    Best, Paul

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A35 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | telnet://agency.bbs.geek.nz (3:770/100)
  • From IB JOE@1:342/200 to Paul Hayton on Fri Sep 22 15:30:45 2017
    from what I can see the answer is no, FD does not work with MysticBBS.

    What is your goal?? Do you need a dialup mailer??

    Mystic handles all your, non-dialup fidonet style mail needs, stans alone.

    Why do you need a dialup mailer??

    IB JOE
    AKA Joe Schweier
    SysOp of Joe's Computer & BBS
    Telnet: joesbbs.com

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A35 (Raspberry Pi/32)
    * Origin: Joe's Computer & BBS -=joesbbs.com=- (1:342/200)
  • From Joaquim Homrighausen@2:20/4609 to Paul Hayton on Sat Sep 23 07:48:10 2017

    I am trying to connect FD to Mystic as part of an experiment to
    see if it's it's possible.

    Of course it's possible ... somehow :)

    1) FD receives files either in NETFILES or SECFILES (based on session security).

    2) FD will send files form *anywhere*, the Static Queue (STQ) and NetMail folder is what tells FD what to send. A NetMail message (.MSG) in the NetMail folder can attach files from any directory, there is no automatic "spool directory". A STQ entry can point to any file, there's no "automatic logic".

    3) IF FD receives *raw* .PKT files into its NETFILES or SECFILES directories during a session, or finds them there upon startup, it will unpack them, unless
    the FDOPT environment variable contains NOUNPACK (can also be specified on the command-line as /NOUNPACK).

    4) FD does not have a directory for "send" (see #2).


    -joho

    ---
    * Origin: reboot.defsol.com (2:20/4609)
  • From Joaquim Homrighausen@2:20/4609 to Paul Hayton on Sat Sep 23 07:57:06 2017

    I am trying to connect FD to Mystic as part of an experiment to
    see if it's it's possible.

    Of course it's possible ... somehow :)

    Now ... enter the STQ in FrontDoor ...

    Grab yourself a copy of XROBOT from www.defsol.com or elsewhere. Make sure it's
    version 4.x (4.10). Install the executable somewhere in your path. There's an OS/2 version as well if you need it.

    From the command-line, type: XRDOS QSPOOLMAKE ?

    This command is used to create a "Spool Entry" in the FrontDoor Static Queue. Once such an entry is created, FD will send anything found in that directory, to its destination.

    You can specify a filemask, including C:\THEPATH\*.*
    The filemask is non-recursive, it will not traverse sub-directories.

    You can specify a recipient for the spool directory.

    You can set the status bits on the spool directory. This can be used to set the
    behavior of FD and the level of emergency of the delivery. I.e. an entry can be
    set as HOLD, which means the remote system must call in for the files to be sent, or the entry can be set to a high priority to make FD deliver asap, etc.

    There are some other options you can use to alter the spool entry too, but these are the basics.

    So anything that gets dropped into the specified directory will be acted upon when FD is started.


    -joho

    ---
    * Origin: reboot.defsol.com (2:20/4609)
  • From Joaquim Homrighausen@2:20/4609 to Paul Hayton on Sat Sep 23 08:08:10 2017

    Grab yourself a copy of XROBOT from www.defsol.com or elsewhere.
    Make sure it's version 4.x (4.10). Install the executable
    somewhere in your path. There's an OS/2 version as well if you
    need it.

    https://defsol.com/ftp/abs/xrbt410.exe

    There's a DOS version, OS/2 version, and (I forgot) Win32 version in the self-extracting archive.



    -joho

    ---
    * Origin: reboot.defsol.com (2:20/4609)
  • From Joaquim Homrighausen@2:20/4609 to Paul Hayton on Sat Sep 23 07:48:10 2017

    I am trying to connect FD to Mystic as part of an experiment to
    see if it's it's possible.

    Of course it's possible ... somehow :)

    1) FD receives files either in NETFILES or SECFILES (based on session security).

    2) FD will send files form *anywhere*, the Static Queue (STQ) and NetMail folder is what tells FD what to send. A NetMail message (.MSG) in the NetMail folder can attach files from any directory, there is no automatic "spool directory". A STQ entry can point to any file, there's no "automatic logic".

    3) IF FD receives *raw* .PKT files into its NETFILES or SECFILES directories during a session, or finds them there upon startup, it will unpack them, unless
    the FDOPT environment variable contains NOUNPACK (can also be specified on the command-line as /NOUNPACK).

    4) FD does not have a directory for "send" (see #2).


    -joho

    ---
    * Origin: reboot.defsol.com (2:20/4609)
  • From Joaquim Homrighausen@2:20/4609 to Paul Hayton on Sat Sep 23 07:57:06 2017

    I am trying to connect FD to Mystic as part of an experiment to
    see if it's it's possible.

    Of course it's possible ... somehow :)

    Now ... enter the STQ in FrontDoor ...

    Grab yourself a copy of XROBOT from www.defsol.com or elsewhere. Make sure it's
    version 4.x (4.10). Install the executable somewhere in your path. There's an OS/2 version as well if you need it.

    From the command-line, type: XRDOS QSPOOLMAKE ?

    This command is used to create a "Spool Entry" in the FrontDoor Static Queue. Once such an entry is created, FD will send anything found in that directory, to its destination.

    You can specify a filemask, including C:\THEPATH\*.*
    The filemask is non-recursive, it will not traverse sub-directories.

    You can specify a recipient for the spool directory.

    You can set the status bits on the spool directory. This can be used to set the
    behavior of FD and the level of emergency of the delivery. I.e. an entry can be
    set as HOLD, which means the remote system must call in for the files to be sent, or the entry can be set to a high priority to make FD deliver asap, etc.

    There are some other options you can use to alter the spool entry too, but these are the basics.

    So anything that gets dropped into the specified directory will be acted upon when FD is started.


    -joho

    ---
    * Origin: reboot.defsol.com (2:20/4609)
  • From Joaquim Homrighausen@2:20/4609 to Paul Hayton on Sat Sep 23 08:08:10 2017

    Grab yourself a copy of XROBOT from www.defsol.com or elsewhere.
    Make sure it's version 4.x (4.10). Install the executable
    somewhere in your path. There's an OS/2 version as well if you
    need it.

    https://defsol.com/ftp/abs/xrbt410.exe

    There's a DOS version, OS/2 version, and (I forgot) Win32 version in the self-extracting archive.



    -joho

    ---
    * Origin: reboot.defsol.com (2:20/4609)
  • From Paul Hayton@3:770/100 to IB JOE on Sun Sep 24 14:42:09 2017
    On 09/22/17, IB JOE pondered and said...

    What is your goal?? Do you need a dialup mailer??

    The goal is to offer a Telnet connection that does EMSI/FTS6 and ZedZap.

    Best, Paul

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A35 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | telnet://agency.bbs.geek.nz (3:770/100)
  • From Paul Hayton@3:770/100 to Joaquim Homrighausen on Sun Sep 24 15:14:02 2017
    On 09/23/17, Joaquim Homrighausen pondered and said...


    From the command-line, type: XRDOS QSPOOLMAKE ?

    This command is used to create a "Spool Entry" in the FrontDoor Static Queue. Once such an entry is created, FD will send anything found in
    that directory, to its destination.

    OK thanks for all this info.

    So it sounds like I can place packets for a node in a directory and each time packets are placed there I can call the program above and ask it to be sent
    to that node and (for example) set the status to HOLD.

    Each time I place packets in the directory for that node do I need to call
    the creation of a spool entry? I'd look to automate this with a .bat file.
    Does it matter if I created a new spool entry record each time packets were placed in the directory?

    So in sum it sounds like

    1) pull incoming compressed or raw packets from nodes sending to FD from the files and secfiles directories.

    2) send outbound compressed/raw packets to nodes by placing them a directory
    of my choice and calling from a .bat file the create spool process.

    Best, Paul

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A35 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | telnet://agency.bbs.geek.nz (3:770/100)
  • From mark lewis@1:3634/12.73 to Paul Hayton on Sat Sep 23 22:20:50 2017

    On 2017 Sep 24 15:14:02, you wrote to Joaquim Homrighausen:

    From the command-line, type: XRDOS QSPOOLMAKE ?

    This command is used to create a "Spool Entry" in the FrontDoor Static
    Queue. Once such an entry is created, FD will send anything found in
    that directory, to its destination.

    OK thanks for all this info.

    So it sounds like I can place packets for a node in a directory and each time packets are placed there I can call the program above and ask it to
    be
    sent to that node and (for example) set the status to HOLD.

    nononononono! you only have to tell FD about the filebox in the STQ one time...
    once it is entered, it is set... i'm sure there's a way to delete them if needed but i'm not aware of it...

    TBH, i've not yet tried STQ spool directories in my hybrid environment... i didn't have XROBOT and my self written STQ tool didn't have this but it was planned... i've just never gotten back to it and now i see something with garbage STQ entries which i'm loath to chase since it has been so long...

    )\/(ark

    Always Mount a Scratch Monkey
    Do you manage your own servers? If you are not running an IDS/IPS yer doin' it wrong...
    ... Mines are equal opportunity weapons.
    ---
    * Origin: (1:3634/12.73)
  • From Joaquim Homrighausen@2:20/4609 to Paul Hayton on Sun Sep 24 07:09:16 2017

    So it sounds like I can place packets for a node in a directory
    and each time packets are placed there I can call the program
    above and ask it to be sent to that node and (for example) set
    the status to HOLD.

    If you create an STQ spool directory, FD will send whatever matches your specified filemask. But it's FD doing the sending of course. If the destination
    system calls your system, FD will serve those files to the calling system.

    Each time I place packets in the directory for that node do I
    need to call the creation of a spool entry?

    No. A spool entry does what the name implies. Anything that is in there, and matches the filemask you specified when you created the spool entry will be sent. You do not need to re-create the spool entry.

    Does it matter if I created a new spool entry record each time
    packets were placed in the directory?

    Create it manually from the prompt. To see if FD understands it, set the status
    options to IMMEDIATE and/or CRASH and/or DIRECT. Put a file in the spool directory and fire up FD. It should attempt to call the destination system. That verifies that FD sees it.

    Some notes on STQ spool entries:

    - FD will NOT send files with the read-only attribute bit set.

    - If a file cannot be sent, FD will report this in the log (of course), and set
    the file attribute of the failed file to read-only.

    1) pull incoming compressed or raw packets from nodes sending to
    FD from the files and secfiles directories.

    Yes.

    2) send outbound compressed/raw packets to nodes by placing them
    a directory of my choice and calling from a .bat file the create
    spool process.

    Yes. But see above, you only need to create the spool entry once :) You can, however, also use the STQ as a place for "normal" control records, i.e. file attaches, file requests, etc. The STQ in FD can replace the NetMail .MSG folder
    for things like file attachments, and so on.



    -joho

    ---
    * Origin: reboot.defsol.com (2:20/4609)
  • From IB JOE@1:342/200 to Paul Hayton on Sun Sep 24 10:06:23 2017
    On 09/24/17, Paul Hayton said the following...

    On 09/22/17, IB JOE pondered and said...

    What is your goal?? Do you need a dialup mailer??

    The goal is to offer a Telnet connection that does EMSI/FTS6 and ZedZap.

    Mailer connection?? Or User connection??

    As it stands now there is no way, that I know of, to send a user to the BBS
    via DOS version of FD.

    On the mailer side there might be a way. I see JoHo, the author of FD responded back to you... I'd have to go through what he was saying to respond back... it could be done... This is what I do....

    I have 2 fidonet address, Ihave a hub address and a node address. All my
    mail goes to 342/200, my FD/Fashecho/2 OS2 VM, it tosses mail and sends it to my BBS 342/201

    This is the usual way I set up my mail... not at this oint because I am working on setting up MysticBBS.

    The simplest way to do this is use some of the mailers out there that support BSO... FD does not currently do this without some work. If you used the windows version of Binkleyterm it'll work juat fine... With the use of
    sexpots, a program Digital Man wrote, you can have users access the BBS via that dialup line.

    BTW, with JoHo back in the fold there my be a solution inn the works to have
    FD work with MysticBBS.

    Good Luck!!!

    IB JOE
    AKA Joe Schweier
    SysOp of Joe's Computer & BBS
    Telnet: joesbbs.com

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A35 (Raspberry Pi/32)
    * Origin: Joe's Computer & BBS -=joesbbs.com=- (1:342/200)