Connecting PCBoard to the Internet Written by Jonathan C. Higbee, Clark Development Company, Inc. April 11, 1995 The battle for Internet connectivity solutions has been joined by a long-time player in the BBS market. With Clark Development's release of PCBoard 15.2, long time and new BBS sysops can have a more integrated solution for providing Internet electronic mail and Usenet newsgroup access to their callers. But that's not all. Because PCBoard has built in support for OS/2 ports and packet switched networks it can easily be set up to allow inbound telnet(1) sessions from the Internet. Clark Development does not charge extra for these powerful features. They are included as part of a philosophy that precludes nickel and dimming of sysops. PCBoard's support for Internet mail and Usenet news is provided for in a new built-in UUCP interface. UUCP is a file transfer protocol used in the UNIX and Internet world. BBS sysops have recently started adding UUCP interfaces to their BBSes, but until now a low-cost integrated solution was not available. How hard is it to set PCBoard up to do UUCP? Not hard at all! Inside PCBoard's integrated setup utility, PCBSetup, you enter your Internet address information, which conference number you want as your Internet mail conference, what Usenet conferences you want, etc. However the first step in setting PCBoard up for UUCP is shopping for an Internet provider. There are a wide range of providers out there. Some operations are small, some are large - prices and quality do vary. When shopping for a provider it is important to obtain a list of all charges. Also don't lock yourself in for a full year with the first one that strikes your fancy. Try one out for a month or two and see how they work. You will quickly learn how easy it is to get onto their system, whether their system is fast enough for your needs, and how they treat you after the initial sale. Most providers do an excellent job, but each one's knowledge about how to be a good provider can vary. Monthly fees for UUCP accounts range from $10 to $100 a month, depending on your location, provider, and on the volume of E-mail and Usenet traffic you want. An increasingly popular option with PCBoard sysops is receiving Usenet news from a satellite (such as PageSat(2) or Planet Connect(3)). The satellite option allows you to receive as many newsgroups as you want, and then pay less to a land-line provider (since all you would be transferring to them would be E-mail and Usenet postings). For some, UUCP is not enough. PCBoard can be easily setup for telnet access. There are several ways to allow Internet users to telnet to PCBoard. The easiest and least expensive requires using the increasingly popular and powerful OS/2 operating system. After obtaining OS/2 the only other software you need is SIO by Ray Gwinn of The Software Division(4). SIO does exist as shareware and is available for PCBoard sysops to download from Clark Development's support BBS, Salt Air, at (801)261-1686. Why do you need the popular SIO communications driver for OS/2? Because SIO includes a product called VMODEM (for virtual-modem). VMODEM supports a direct translation of an incoming telnet session to an SIO for OS/2 communications port. Thus after getting a dedicated line, all you need to do to allow incoming telnet sessions to your PCBoard is to: configure the TCP/IP package of OS/2 to what your Internet address setup is; buy or download SIO and install it; and lastly tell PCBoard what SIO communications port it is to monitor. With all that set, when an Internet user telnets to your address, the session is routed to your machine, VMODEM in SIO translates the incoming telnet to an SIO communication port, and PCBoard answer the call. PCBoard does detect when it is being run by OS/2 and gives up times slices appropriately - so it doesn't hog the whole system like some DOS applications do. PCBoard talks directly to the default OS/2 communications driver and SIO. All these features make incoming telnet to PCBoard easy and workable. After OS/2 and SIO the second easiest way to allow incoming telnet sessions to PCBoard is with a terminal server. Those companies and groups which have a dedicated line called a T1 coming to their site usually have a router and terminal server hooked up. Between the terminal server and one or more PCs running PCBoard you connect serial cables with null-modem adapters. In PCBoard's PCBSetup you set the option "running a packet switch network" to "Yes," and that's all you do! Clark Development has been successfully using both OS/2 and terminal server methods to allow inbound telnet access to their support BBS, Salt Air. PCBoard users and other interested parties can telnet to 199.67.41.2 (OS/2 solution) or 199.67.41.252 (terminal server solution). Demonstration software and product information are available on Salt Air for anyone who calls or telnets in. Full access to their system is reserved for customers. Here are diagrams of both terminal server and OS/2 connectivity methods: PCBoard <-> VMODEM(SIO) <-> OS/2 <-> Internet PCBoard <-> Terminal Server <-> Internet There are other ways to connect PCBoard up to the Internet, but they are not as easy as the previously mentioned solutions. One is to use BBSNet by MurkWorks(5). BBSNet comes in OS/2 and DESQview versions. It allows callers to PCBoard to telnet to other Internet sites, and allows outbound FTP, Gopher, and Archie. Providing all this access to BBS callers is not cheap. Not only do you need an adequate dedicated line to an Internet provider, you also need adequate hardware and software. The cost for BBSNet is approximately $300 for a two node version or $800 for ten. PCBoard <---> BBSNet <---> Internet Another connection solution is produced by Key Software(6). They have written doors which allow callers to PCBoard to have full Internet access. A door is just like any other computer program except that it is designed to do input and output through a serial port and not just to the screen. The original PCBoard to Internet door they produced is called KA9Q Door. This door does require the KA9Q NOS (network operating system) - a free-ware amateur radio related product. However Key Software just released their KSP SLIP door which no longer requires the use of KA9Q. Here is a diagram of how both doors are connected to the Internet: PCBoard <---> KA9Q Door <---> Local Area Network connected to the Internet PCBoard <---> KSP SLIP Door <---> Local Area Network connected to the Internet Clark Development is clearly determined to stay on top of the growing BBS market. Their latest release of PCBoard 15.2 exemplifies their dedication to provide low-cost workable solutions for interfacing with exciting entities like the Internet. After a thorough examination I believe PCBoard provides the most "bang for the buck" of any BBS package. (1) Telnet - a command used on the Internet to directly connect one computer to another. (2) PageSat Inc., 992 San Antonio Road, Palo Alto, CA 94303, (415)424-0380, (800)227-6288, Fax (415)424-0405, info@pagesat.net (3) Planet Systems, Inc., 1065 Cosby Highway, Newport, TN 37821, (615)623- 8300, Fax (615)623-8751, info@ns1.planetc.com (4) To order SIO contact: The Software Division, Raymond L. Gwinn, 12469 Cavalier Drive, Woodbridge, VA 22192, (703) 494-0595, p00321@psilink.com (5) MurkWorks, P.O. Box 631, Potsdam, NY 13676, (315)265-4717, bkc@murkworks.com or info@murkworks.com (6) Key Software Products, 440 Ninth Avenue, Menlo Park, CA 94025-1802, (415)364-9847