A quick update on how things have gone with the "DOS gateway" Linux configuration: The goal is to provide a "gaetway" for DOS users who are finding it hard to get support from ISPs and using newer hardware. This is NOT a distribution. The basic approach should work with any modern Linux distribution, with the implied hardware requirements for your chosen distribution.
I envision two modes of usage: 1. The "one box" solution, where the gateway machine itself will run DOS apps using DOSemu. 2. The "two box" solution, where a physically separate DOS machine (original PC and up) connected to the gateway box by either serial or network runs DOS apps. Serial connections should work with ANY old hardware, not just PCs! The gateway machine will provide Internet connectivity (incl. firewall if desired), and enhanced printing support for the one box solution. Here's what I've done so far: 1. I did a "minimal install" using Mandrake (MDK) 9.2. I selected MDK as a mainstream distribution that anybody who really wants to should be able to get ahold of, and for the good support I've found for it. This comes in at ~230MB. Large for a "minimal" but still reasonable for most PII and up systems (a high-end SurvPC?). I suspect this could be under 100MB using Debian, but would be more work to set up. I only have a 2.2GHz Athlon XP for testing, so this isn't a "Surv-class" PC, but then it's not really meant to be. However, I suspect it would run well on a PIII or even PII. I just can't test to verify that. Since this is meant to be a "gateway" setup to allow the use of older, beloved software, I don't think this is unreasonable. When done, I might even hook up my XT to it all just for demo purposes... AFTER I track down some parts for it. 2. I downloaded a few packages (RPMs) including DOSemu. I'm not sure if it was before or after DOSemu was loaded, but I inadvertently typed "dir" at the MDK bash prompt and it worked. Day, please note: Some of your desired DOS-like functionality seems to be a default! I'll play with this more in upcoming weeks. 3. I downloaded a bunch of programs that Heimo provided links to (Thanks Heimo!) and launched DOSemu. It came right up, using an install of FreeDOS provided in the RPM, using a Linux directory as the C: drive. The basics worked with ZERO additional configuration. I tried several of the programs using the default DOSemu settings (no "direct console" access) as root (yeah, I know. Just testing so far!), and most of the editors seemed to work fine with color using default settings. One (e88 IIRC) does some cursor trickery that did NOT work (no cursor) and one managed to bomb out the DOSemu program with a "protection error" though Linux itself was unaffected. So for MANY programs, it appears that basic screen functionality is OK with defaults. I suspect using the "console" features, I should be able to get others to work. 4. I made the config tweaks (3 entrys) in the dosemu.conf file to enable "packet driver" emulation. With DOSemu running in a separate console, I configured a bridge between eth0 (the physical ethernet interface) and the tap0 interface that DOSemu talks to. Much Linux voodoo here, and having done this before certainly helped. When I'm done, I'll write up some fairly detailed HOWTO instructions for anybody interested, and maybe some simple scripts. I was NOT able to get DOS Lynx working, but I suspect that's because of my unfamiliarity with the program setup (*grr*), BUT I was able to get HTTP-GET to work. So any DOS program that uses packet drivers for 'net access should be OK. This was the only tricky part in the whole network deal. Anything beyond this point is just routing and networking setup under Linux. So... to make this a 'compleat' DOS gateway solution, I envision adding: 1. PPP dialer support. Configure the Linux gateway to dial up an ISP and do any complicated PPP setup (incl. PPoE). Configure dial-on-demand, so it'll bring up the PPP link whenever a DOS program needs it. This is configurable to avoid unwanted connects. Mind you, I haven't done dial-up PPP in a while, so be patient! 2. Configure routing between the PPP and ethernet interfaces. DOS 'machines' (physical or DOSemu) can talk "basic" TCP/IP without knowing or caring how the actual Internet connection is accomplished. That complexity can be handled by the Linux gateway setup. Configure NAT to 'hide' all internal (DOS) systems from the outside behind the PPP-provided address. (Bonus: You get a firewall for your DOS systems if desired.) This also means an XT connected via network to the Linux box can talk via the same setup, whether it's ARCnet, Token Ring or Ethernet. 3. Configure Linux printing. DOSemu can either access hardware directly, or transparently redirect DOS LPT output to a Linux queue. I prefer the latter, since I assume getting "new" printers to talk to old DOS apps is a problem. This will also allow neat tricks like using the Linux printing system to reformat DOS output on the fly for neat tricks like 2-up printing, duplex, USB etc. that might not be supported by the DOS apps natively. (Print to PDF anybody?) 4. Play more with display options. I don't actually USE DOS apps regularly anymore myself, so I don't have a bunch laying around. However, if anybody can provide pointers to some, I'll give 'em a quick test. I'd really like to test any DOS apps that do enhanced display options. 5. Get really perverse, and set up a two machine config using a SERIAL connection between the Linux and DOS machines. Run a PPP daemon (server) on Linux so it will emulate a SIMPLE ISP connection so old dial-only DOS network apps can still work with broadband connections, and complicated ISP setups. (A use for those 8 port serial boards I picked up!) Allow serial terminal connections for shell access for anybody missing the dumb terminal days (ISP connectivity for my old Apple II+ and Mac SE!) 6. Get absolutely silly, and think about things like content transformation to provide stripped out web and email content to DOS systems (maybe a small network?) and gateway mail back-and-forth. I personally think this is counter-productive, but the challenge is half the fun. Your mail app only does basic POP but your ISP requires more? NO PROBLEM. :) Fundamental question: How far to take the DOS thing? Presumably, anybody still sticking with DOS isn't put off by technical challenges. Most seem to boast of it. So how much effort for things like: 1. DOS multitasking software. You can simply run multiple instances of DOSemu using Linux "true" multitasking to run multiple DOS apps concurrently with probably fewer DOS configuration headaches and hardware conflicts. Do we expend effort trying to make difficult users happy, or get real and acknowledge that this solution is pretty slick? 2. DOS internet software. Is it worth fighting with DOS lynx, ftp, telnet etc. when more featureful programs with identical functionality are already provided by the base Linux install, and with nearly identical interfaces? Is it worth fighting with getting a specific program to work just because somebody doesn't like the fact that the equivalent program doesn't work with caps lock on under Linux? I can see a good case for this solution when you've got some DOS apps that work for your everyday needs (i.e. WordPerfect, POS solutions) and don't want to learn or buy new stuff. The gateway approach (one-machine) may even enhance things for printing. It makes SOME sense for a beloved DOS Internet app or two, but (to me at least) less sense as you do more. As a HEAVY DOS techie way back when, I had no aversion to using Unix CLI tools for network access. Admittedly, *nix CLI APPS are weak. DOSemu and Linux provide some wonderful capabilities for moving files back-and-forth with a fair degree of transparency, so "Linux for networking, DOS for apps" seems like a target use. Anyhow, it's time for my DOSemu challenge for all the cantankerous users out there who constantly grumble that Linux can't do <whatever>: What apps are you using that DON'T work under DOSemu? I can test a few. If you provide a bootable diskette image of your preferred configuration, I can try that out as well. If you absolutely, positively have a specific version of DOS that is the one-true DOS that you use, and one application that absolutely, positively must work with exactly ONE configuration, whip up a diskette, make and image and let me try it out! I can provide pointers to the software to create the image if need be. I'd like to try WP5.1, something using elaborate memory management and anything else "challenging". Maybe together we can whip up a quick solution that will let you continue to work your way for a few more years! Once we get the basics working, I'd like to hand off this effort to someone who's a more dedicated DOS user, but still help out with special challenges if I can. - Bob To unsubscribe from SURVPC send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with unsubscribe SURVPC in the body of the message. Also, trim this footer from any quoted replies. More info can be found at; http://www.softcon.com/archives/SURVPC.html
