The Atari Compendium/The Atari Compendium (Toad Computers) (1994).iso/files/umich/network/local/duet.eng

Text File | 1995-03-14 | 15.4 KB | 350 lines

    This text file has been translated to english by someone other
than the author, and as such, may or may not contain errors (I'd like
to think that it is completely correct, but I've never actually
studied german, and have relied on RufTrade (a new and wonderful
shareware german to english translator program (yes, I've sent my
money in!), and my dictionary)).  I have tested the instructions, and
most of the rest (I couldn't make any of the errors occur), and it
seems to be okay, but I make no warranty that the information in this
text file will work, or that it won't do anything nasty.  The author
has absolutely nothing to do with this translation, so he cannot be
held responsible either.  This english text file is not part of the
Duet package, unless the author himself includes it, and if he does,
all the more power to him.  Pay the shareware fee for this if you use
it.  It seems like a wonderful program, and I'm not keen on
programmers for my machine of choice taking off for greener pastures.
This programmer has a very open mind it seems where the shareware fees
come in, so at least send him something!  <stepping off the soap box>

    Anyway, it seems to be more or less right, so I hope it helps you
install this program, and possibly understand it a little better.

Leslie Hartmier (the name is german, the person is not!)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Duet (c) 1994 by Andrew Alich
==============================
(Still a Netz for Ataris)

author
-
Andrew Alich
Rittergasse 4
D-97070 Wⁿrzburg

KontoNr. 5102900, BLZ 790 500 00, StΣdtische savings bank Wⁿrzburg

E-Mail:
Mousenet: Andrew Alich @ Wץ
Internet: [e-mail]

Copyright
-
Copyright (c) 1994 by Andrew Alich. All rights reserved.

    Duet is Shareware, d. h. it may not be copied, used or passed
along for commercial purposes, but may be distributed freely and only
in unchanged form. The free distribution over mail-boxes is allowed
and desired.

    If you use Duet regularly, you are asked to send me the amount of
money that you feel the program is worth.  There is no minimum or
maximum; that is up to you to decide.  If you have no money, perhaps
you could send me a few nice words on a beautiful postcard.

    If enough people use shareware regularly, do not pay for it,
(surprise!) and it becomes apparent that there is no market for
shareware in the Atari world, the platform will die.
It is necessary for everyone to show interest in good shareware
programs by registering.  If you are one of the unpaid shareware
users, keep in mind that if you don't support the platform of
shareware, the platform will dry up and leave you with a severely
crippled system.  It's up to you!

    Shareware offers the opportunity to test a program before you
decide to buy it.  The shareware price pays for the most current
version, which may be the one that is already possessed and/or used.
If you are not content with the currently available version of the
program, it is not a bad idea to make the author aware of errors and
suggestions, and if still interested in the program, wait upon the
answer of the author.  However, even if one is not completely
satisfied with the program, if you use the program regularly, the
shareware fee still applies.
If the program doesn't please you, you don't need to use it.

Responsibility
-

    You use Duet at your own risk.  I undertake no responsibility for
any damage, whether through legitimate or unintentional use of Duet.
Duet works for me with no trouble at all.  If this is valid for any
other computer configuration, I have no idea (having only a limited
computer zoo, I can only test certain configurations).  Anyone who
wants to use Duet should, at least for the time being, read through
the entire text.

Meaning and purpose of Duet
-

    Duet allows the connection of two TOS-based computers (ST/STE/TT/
Falcon etc..) over the MIDI, LAN or serial interfaces, the purpose of
which is to allow each computer to use the other's drives (floppy and
hard disk) and printer.

Running Duet
-

Duet terminates after it installs itself, just like Big Net. It has
internal (copying of the principal function at BIOS-plane) but
nothing more to do with this or other Little Net derivative.

    Duet works at the BIOS level. It is on the one hand dependent on
it, that constant BIOS-calls result (below 'normal' TOS-versions,
that is). On the other hand, the drives of the other computer are
available via the BIOS plane as well.  This offers some advantages,
but also at least one major disadvantage, that those of you might
have guessed - if both machines are writing to the same partition at
the same time, (this is not a problem if both system are left in the
'Read-Only' state) there is a very good possibility that the
partition will have its FAT destroyed, effectively erasing all of the
files!  The 'Read/Write' state should only really be used if there is
absolutely no way that both computers will be accessing the same
partition simulataneously.

Installation
-

    First, you have to decide what interface you want to make the
connection on.  In the case of a 'normal' ST, MIDI is the fastest
interface (this offers 31250 baud).  If you have a computer with
faster interfaces such as a TT connecting with an ST (its serial
interface in the original state maximum 19200 Baud), you might
consider, with a little work, a faster serial interface could be
installed, and this interface could be used.  To this purpose, I
recommend Harun Scheutzow's RSVE or Stephan Skrodzki's RS_Speed. With
it (and the suitable drivers) you can obtain with an 8 MHz ST with a
TT over the serial interface a (Bit-)transmission speed of 57,600
baud.  If you have two computers with a LAN-interface, you can
alternately use this for the connection.  Unfortunately, the program
for using the Falcon's LAN interface does not function correctly;
without doing tests on a Falcon, it seems unlikely to work.
Harun Scheutzow's ST_ESCC is not, at present, supported, due to the
fact that I do not have information on the heightened abilities of
the 85C230.

    Once you have decided on the interface you'll be using, the
interface must be the same on both computers.  With the MIDI
interface, the MIDI OUT on one computer must be plugged into the MIDI
IN, and the opposite is also necessary to make the network ring.
With a serial connection, in each case TxD must be connected to RxD
of the other computer using a null modem. Handshaking is not
necessary.

    You must use the correct driver for the chosen interface.
With a 'normal' ST one can, admittedly, using corresponding hardware
(see above) reach a transmission speed of 57,600 Baud. However, the
'normal' ST cannot actually receive the characters at that speed,
even if RSVE or RS_Speed can (at maximum capacity the computer would
have to be able to use data at 5,760 bytes per second). A 'normal' ST
can use data at a maximum of about 4000 bytes per second. So, to use
a faster computer with a slower computer at the connection speed of
57,600 baud, the faster computer must insert a break between two
characters. To serve this purpose, the faster computer must use one
of the special drivers, the programs that contain a 'D' (as in
"delay") on the end of the name (e.g. DUET_S2D.PRG). These drivers
activate the normally unused Timer A of the MFP.


Program name | driver for
-+-
DUETLANF.PRG | LAN-interface of the Falcon (*)
DUETLANT.PRG | LAN-interface of the TT/Mega STE
DUETMIDI.PRG | MIDI-interface
DUET_M.PRG   | 'normal' serial interface (MODEM 1 of the TT/Mega STE)
DUET_M2.PRG  | MODEM 2 of the TT/Mega STE
DUET_M2D.PRG | MODEM 2 of the TT/Mega STE with break insertion
DUET_MF.PRG  | serial interface of the Falcon
DUET_MFD.PRG | serial interface of the Falcon with break insertion
DUET_S2.PRG  | SERIAL 2 of the TT/Mega STE
DUET_S2D.PRG | SERIAL 2 of the TT/Mega STE with break insertion

(*) this driver did not function when tested, but may do so in the
future hopefully.

Once you have selected the appropriate driver, you must insert it
into your AUTO folder.  DUETCONF.PRG and DUETCONF.INF must also be
added to the AUTO folder.

DUETCONF.PRG must come after the driver in the AUTO folder, using an
AUTO folder order changer to change the physical sequence if necessary.

Configuration
-

    The configuration for the selected port is set as a result (at
present exclusively) of having DUETCONF.PRG in the AUTO folder.

For it to work, the following lines in DUETCONF.INF must be set.
Blank lines and lines that start with a '#' (without quotation marks)
are ignored.
Lines, that start with the keywords
    -CPS
    -DRIVE
    -NETPRN
    -SPEED
    -STATE
    -TIMEOUT or
    -XSPEED
are read and determine the settings of Duet.

    The value after CPS decides, using the drivers with break
insertion (D on the end of the name) what the maximum character per
second transfer rate is. The value must one-tenth as large as the
baudrate (SPEED) is (the translation of a byte requires ten bits).
With the connection of a normal ST with a TT over the serial interface
at 57600 Baud offers due to the ST a maximum of 4,000 cps (and then,
only if you don't move the mouse!).

    DRIVE can be entered more than once. Each 'DRIVE' line installs a
drive at the existing computer, allowing the other computer to access
that specific drive as its own.  The first character after 'DRIVE'
declares which drive will be accessible.  The second character states
what the drive's assigned letter will be on the other computer.  The
line 'DRIVE N C' mounts drive N, aliasing it as the other computer's
drive C.

    NETPRN, if installed, must be installed on both computers. In the
case that it is installed, printer outputs (outputs to the parallel
interface) will be sent to the other computer.  This will then allow
both computers to share the printer via the parallel interface.

    The value after SPEED decides (except for the driver for the MIDI
interface) baud rate. This must be set on both computers to be the
same baud rate.

Driver    | possible values for SPEED
                             -+-
 DUETLANF | 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200, 125000, 229500
 DUETLANT | 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200, 125000, 229500
 DUET_M   | 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200 (*)
 DUET_M2  | 19200, 38400, 62500, 76800, 125000, 153600
 DUET_M2D | 19200, 38400, 62500, 76800, 125000, 153600
 DUET_MF  | 19200, 38400, 62500, 76800, 125000, 153600
 DUET_MFD | 19200, 38400, 62500, 76800, 125000, 153600
 DUET_S2  | 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200, 125000, 229500
 DUET_S2D | 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200, 125000, 229500

(*) without hardware modification, this interface only supports a
maximum transmission rate of 19,200 baud.  The higher transmission
rates are only possible using the hardware modifications RSVE or
RS_Speed.

    The value after STATE sets the read/write status of the netted
drives.  Possible values are 0 for 'Read-Only' and 1 for 'Read/Write'.
Normally, 'Read-Only' (0) should be chosen.  'Read/Write' allows drive
modification access (saving, erasing, defragmenting, etc.) to the
drives of the other computer. Only one computer should be activated
for r/w if you know exactly what you're doing.  If both computers
simultaneously write to the same partition, this can erase everything
on the partition (through destruction of the FAT)!

    The value following TIMEOUT decides the time in seconds that the
computer will wait before giving an error message, in the case that
the other computer does not answer.

    XSPEED is something for specialists or those for whom SPEED is not
sufficient.  After every driver there are the following two (MFP) or
three (SCC) parameters.  The parameter being:

 MFP: 1.parameter: advantage: 1: 1:4 2: 1:10 3: 1:16 4: 1:50 5: 1:64
6: 1:100 7: 1:200 2. Parameter: Counter

 SCC: 1. parameter: flow phase: 0: RTxC 1: TRxC 2: BRG with RTxC as
source  3: BRG with PCLK as source 2. Parameter: advantage: 0: 1:1
1: 1:16 2: 1:32 3: 1:64 3. Parameter: Counter

Using this program with other computers and other programs
-

    It should be possible for any computer with any TOS version to
access another computer's drives using this program.

    In order to divert printer output to the other computer, however,
will require a minimum of TOS 1.02.  (To be more accurate: the
xcon vectors)

    When attempting to observe the serial interfaces or LAN
interface, the transmission parameters (transmission rate and
protocol) can become disrupted through CPX modules and other programs,
as can the XBIOS.Rsconf() call, in the case that the active TOS version
does not support XBIOS.Bconmap(), which to my knowledge are all TOS
versions up to and including TOS 1.04.  TOS 2.06 and 3.06 do not seem
to cause any problems whatsoever.  On older TOS versions, either be
sure that the MODEM.CPX is not active, or that it is at the same
parameter as Duet has (existing baud rate, 8N1) set the communication
setting to!

    Duet, being a TSR, cannot protect itself from any other programs
that have a direct interface to the existing hardware to access or
change parameters.  If such a program changes a parameter, the
communciation will no longer work, nor will it be able to be
restarted without rebooting the machine(s).

    If one of the drivers that performs break insertions has been
installed, no other computer may use Timer A of the MFP.

Comments/hints -

    If the computer crashes when it is accessing the other computer's
drive, it may be that the maximum sectorsize of the other computer is
larger than the maximum sectorsize of the computer accessing it.  The
solution to this problem is that the hard drive drivers of both
computers must be configured correspondingly (that is, the same or
greater for the crashing computer!)

    Moving the mouse a good deal can interfere with high transmission
rates.  If there is any possibility that this is likely to happen, it
might be a good idea not to move the mouse of the slower computer at
all, or as little as possible.

    Occasionally, the system may appear to freeze due to a lot of
mouse movements.  This then, may cause the other computer to report
that the other computer isn't answering, and will no longer allow the
connection to continue.  Most of the time, though, it will be
possible to remove the 'blockage', and the other computer in the
net will still be able to access the frozen computer's drives via the
file selector.  It is then possible to observe that an access really
happens; since caches are separate directories which are possibly
already buffered!

    Sometimes, due to a GEMDOS not noticing a media change after an
alteration of a drive, the directory does not get updated.  If this
is the case, simply pressing the Esc key should rectify the situation.
Another option is the program DUETCHG.PRG. This forces the operating
system to ignore the rest of the drive's/drives' information, and
removes the media change from the network altogether.

Future -

The future of Duet depends, in large part on your interest and your
reactions.  If I receive no reactions or input, that will show the
lack of interest, and there will be no more work put in to this.

    If you have error messages, comments and/or suggestions, you may
reach me at the above address.  If you do not have an E-mail address,
but want an answer, please include return postage.

End Comments -

At this point I would like to thank Christoph Zwerschke @ KA for his
LED-Panel and the genial Debugging-Byte, who has helped me with this
development very much. Who Christophs VGA-Simulator still as\than
'stiller Genie∞er' uses\ed, am with this asked, (self) too for this
geniale program  at last register to allow.

--
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Moo, eh?
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