Revision 2.00

(Revised 11-11-94)

Hello! 

These are the Settings I use to run 3 dial-in lines and one local
node under OS/2 Warp 3.0 for Windows. I have posted comments throughout 
this file to help you along the way. Extensive sesting has been done 
with these settings on my system as well as a number of others to ensure 
you get the most performance out of OS/2. Let me know if these settings 
help you! These settings have been proven to work well under OS/2 2.1,
2.11, 2.1 for Windows, 2.11 for Windows, and Warp 3.0 for Windows.

The first thing you will need to get is the current version of SIO,
Ray Gwinn's replacement for OS/2's COM drivers. You will see SIO
referenced throughout this text, and as of now, SIO is a NECESSITY
if you want to run any kind of a BBS under OS/2. The current version
of SIO is SIO135.ZIP. The number of Ray's BBS is 1-703-494-0098.
Credit card registration online is available.

The next thing you will need is for DOS timeslicing. It's a freeware 
program called OSTSR. This small TSR will convert Desqview aware 
programs' PAUSE commands  to OS/2 DOSSLEEP commands. If you currently 
use TAME and OS2SPEED, switch to OSTSR. You'll notice quite a 
performance increase. The current version of OSTSR is OSTSR11.ZIP. 
OSTSR is available for FREQ off of 1:2210/9639 by using the 
filename OSTSR11.ZIP.

Please note that if you choose to use these settings for OS/2, you are 
strongly encouraged to use these settings for ALL of your OS/2 DOS sessions,
both VDM and native. Doing this will assure you are getting the most 
performance possible under OS/2. 

Also note that even though this text file contains items that will likely 
generate a considerable performance boost for your system, I do not 
recommend any settings that would put the stability of OS/2 at risk. I do 
not use any undocumented commands, and none of my modifications pose any 
risk to system stability whatsoever. You can be assured that testing these
settings will pose no threat to OS/2's stability. Extensive testing has been
done to assure stability, no matter what type of DOS-Based BBS software you
run. Also be aware that I do NOT support Mustang software's recommended
OS/2 settings because of the system instability which could result from
using their recommended settings (specifically undocumented CONFIG.SYS
statements).

Well...here they are! Good luck!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOS_AUTOEXEC                C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT 

NOTES: Whatever you use.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOS_BACKGROUND_EXECUTION    ON

NOTES: Necessary for multitasking ANY communications program.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOS_BREAK                   ON

NOTES: Turn on to Allow CTRL-Break in the DOS session.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOS_FCBS                    16
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOS_FCBS_KEEP               8
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOS_FILES                   40
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOS_HIGH                    ON
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOS_LASTDRIVE               Z
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOS_RMSIZE                  640
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOS_SHELL                   C:\OS2\MDOS\COMMAND.COM C:\OS2\MDOS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOS_STARTUP_DRIVE           (Blank)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOS_UMB                     ON

NOTES: This is up to your individual preference. For Sysop's who use
Livecat door monitor program under OS/2 this setting as well as DOS_HIGH
must be turned OFF for that program to work properly.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOS_VERSION                 (Too Numerous To List)

NOTES: This setting is only for programs that require a specific DOS
version. 90% of the time this will never need to be touched.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DPMI_DOS_API                AUTO 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DPMI_MEMORY_LIMIT            4      
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DPMI_NETWORK_BUFF_SIZE       8       
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
EMS_FRAME_LOCATION          AUTO  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
EMS_HIGH_OS_MAP_REGION      32
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
EMS_LOW_OS_MAP_REGION       384
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
EMS_MEMORY_LIMIT            2048 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
HW_NOSOUND                  OFF
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
HW_ROM_TO_RAM               ON
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
HW_TIMER                    OFF

NOTES: Some people were having difficulty getting system sounds to
generate from the PC Speaker when this was turned on. If you are having 
this problem, turn this option OFF. If you are not experiencing this 
problem, you can turn it ON. However, the performance improvement is 
hardly noticeable under most cases. 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
IDLE_SECONDS                60

NOTES: Necessary at 60 for 14.4+ modems. Improves CPS rates dramatically
(as opposed to the default of 0)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
IDLE_SENSITIVITY            75     

NOTES: If using OSTSR - Set to 75, otherwise, set it to 100 (Disable it)
OSTSR needs IDLE_SENSITIVITY enabled for it to work properly.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
INT_DURING_IO               OFF  

NOTES: LEAVE IT OFF! Under NO circumstances should this be turned on unless
it is specifically needed for a particular DOS session. Your CPU will take
a serious performance hit with this turned ON.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
KBD_ALTHOME_BYPASS          OFF

NOTES: Setting this to ON prevents you from using Alt-Home to toggle 
between DOS full screen and DOS Window.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
KBD_BUFFER_EXTEND           ON
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
KBD_CTRL_BYPASS             NONE
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
KBD_RATE_LOCK               OFF
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MEM_EXCLUDE-REGIONS         (Blank)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MEM_INCLUDE_REGIONS         (Blank)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MOUSE_EXCLUSIVE_ACCESS      OFF
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRINT_SEPERATE_OUTPUT       ON
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRINT_TIMEOUT               15

NOTES: This setting is up to you. It adjusts the amount of time, in 
seconds, that the system waits before forcing a print job to the printer. 
The default of 15 seems to work fine for me.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SESSION_PRIORITY            1

NOTES: This setting is OS/2 3.0 specific. It works best at the default 
of 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SIO_ALLOW_ACCESS_COM1       See Notes   
SIO_ALLOW_ACCESS_COM2       "   "
SIO_ALLOW_ACCESS_COM3       "   "
SIO_ALLOW_ACCESS_COM4       "   " 

NOTES: Only allow access to the one COM port you are using for this 
session.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SIO_IDLE_SENSITIVITY        32
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SIO_MODE_DTR                No Change at Open or Close

NOTES: Some people were reporting drop carriers if this option was set to
"On at open, off at close" using SIO 1.32 with a front-end mailer. Setting 
this to the default cures that problem.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SIO_MODE_FIFO_LOAD_COUNT    16                  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SIO_MODE_IDSR               Ignore DSR during receive          
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SIO_MODE_OCTS               HandShake signal, as in RTS/CTS                  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SIO_MODE_ODSR               Ignore DSR during transmit.          
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SIO_MODE_RTS                HandShake signal, as in RTS/CTS               
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SIO_MODE_XON/XOFF           No XON/XOFF Flow Control by SIO
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SIO_SCREEN_SUNC_KLUDGE      ON

NOTES: Test this on your particualar system. It seems to have different 
results depending on the system. It improves performance for me when it is
ON, however it may not for you. Test and set accordingly.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SIO_SHARE_ACCESS_WITH_OS/2  ON 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SIO_VIRTUALIZE_16550A       ON
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SIO_VIRTUALIZE_COM_PORTS    ON
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
VIDEO_8514A_XGA_IOTRAP      OFF    

NOTES: Some people were having problems when switching from full screen
graphical programs (such as Ripterm) to something else and then back again.
Their video would become corrupted and their screen would go blank. Setting
this to OFF fixes that problem.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
VIDEO_FASTPASTE             OFF    
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
VIDEO_MODE_RESTRICTION      NONE    
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
VIDEO_ONDEMAND_MEMORY       ON       
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
VIDEO_RETRACE_EMULATION     ON      
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
VIDEO_ROM_EMULATION         ON       
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
VIDEO_SWITCH_NOTIFICATION   OFF     
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
VIDEO_WINDOW_REFRESH        1
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
XMS_HANDLES                 32
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
XMS_MEMORY_LIMIT            0   

NOTES: Either use EMS or XMS. (Whatever the particular program that you are
running wants).  Otherwise you are starving OS/2 of the one thing it likes 
most...LOTS of RAM. You're consuming half of your total 8 meg for this 
DOS session alone. 2 meg EMS is PLENTY. That way you get two DOS sessions 
for the price of one.

SUGGESTION: If you run Windows programs under OS/2, allocate XMS memory to
the WIN-OS2 sessions, not EMS. Why? Windows does not use EMS, it only uses
XMS, thus allocating any EMS memory to WIN-OS2 sessions is unnecessary.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
XMS_MINIMUM_HMA            0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
My best suggestion is if you have the means to do so...get yourself some
more RAM.. I have 16 meg on my machine...and it's enough to handle 4 DOS
sessions open at once with 2 meg Allocated to each window. This leaves
8 meg left for OS/2...Memory is more important to OS/2 than processor.
It knows how to multitask, it just needs the memory to do it effectively..
OSTSR is also a good idea...I use OSTSR with a timeslice value of 3.
  
NOTE: If you use OSTSR, you do NOT need Tame or OS2SPEED any more.

Be sure to load wildcat with the /T parameter so it can release
timeslices...(although it seems to do it without the /T <g>)

Hopefully you are using 16550 UART's as well..definitely a MUST with
high speed communications...

Now on to that killer of a file they call CONFIG.SYS<G>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
IFS=C:\OS2\HPFS.IFS  /CACHE:2048 /CRECL:16 /AUTOCHECK:CD 

NOTES: This Line is only necessary if you use HPFS drives. If you have 8 
MEG RAM, change the cache parameter to /CACHE:512; 9-15 MEG - /CACHE:1024; 
16+ - /CACHE:2048. CRECL defines the size of the maximum record size that 
will be cached. Valid ranges are 2K to 64K with 4K as the default. I have 
found that 16K works well for me, but you can experiment with that 
if you like. AUTOCHECK is important because if OS/2 crashes, AUTOCHECK 
tells OS/2 which drives to CHKDSK for errors. As you can see I have OS/2 
check my D and E drives if the system crashes. Change this to your drive 
letters so it will work properly. (OS/2 SHOULD have done this for you when 
you installed it. Remember if you do NOT use HPFS drives, REM this line OUT. 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRIORITY_DISK_IO=NO
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
REM PRIORITY=DYNAMIC 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
NOTES: One of the WORST things to do...REM any PRIORITY command OUT. 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
REM TIMESLICE=50  

NOTES: REM this command while you're at it..with this command you are 
telling OS/2 to multitask like Desqview. You don't WANT OS/2 to multitask 
like DV, you want OS/2 to multitask like OS/2...and your crippling that 
ability with that line...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
FILES=40
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
BUFFERS=40

NOTES: OS/2 Warp defaults this to a value of 90. During testing I found
having it set that high seems to decrease performance slightly. I still
recommend a value of 40, not the default of 90.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
IOPL=YES
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISKCACHE=512,LW,AC:C  

NOTES: This statement tells OS/2 how to cache your FAT drives ONLY. HPFS 
drive caching is controlled by the HPFS IFS statement above. 

If you do not use FAT drives, REM the above line out. A DISKCACHE of 512 
is good for systems with 8 meg RAM, for 9-15 MEG, use a DISKCACHE of 1024, 
and 16+ use a DISKCACHE of 2048. The LW command turns on lazy-writes, and 
is recommended. The AC command is the same as the AUTOCHECK command for 
HPFS drives. 

You may notice that while I allocated a 2 MEG cache for HPFS, I only 
allocated 512K for FAT, even though I have 16 MEG of RAM. Remember, if I 
allocated 2 MEG for BOTH FAT and HPFS, there goes 4 MEG of precious RAM
that OS/2 COULD have been using. Since my system is primarily HPFS drives, 
I use the full 2 MEG cache for HPFS, and use 512K for FAT because I
rarely access my FAT drive. Use this same principle based on your situation. 
If you primarily use FAT instead of HPFS, allocate more cache to FAT than 
to HPFS. 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------                          
MAXWAIT=1
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SWAPPATH=C:\OS2\SYSTEM 10248 10248  

NOTES: Increase your SWAP file to 10 MEG (Something like 10248 10248)..
that will definitely give you a slight perf. boost. Heck if it wants
to swap to disk...LET IT!<G>

Remember, In my case, I have 16 MEG of RAM, I usually have 4 DOS sessions
open at once, consuming approx 8 MEG RAM total. I also allocate approx. 
2.5 MEG RAM to disk caching. That leaves 5.5 MEG for OS/2 to use, and some
of that holds TSR's, system DEVICE's, etc., (not a whole lot of RAM left!)
so I give OS/2 a large swap file (10 MEG). And now you can see the reason 
why I do so. It gives OS/2 the breathing room it needs, and improves 
performance noticeably. 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
THREADS=256
FCBS=16,8
DOS=HIGH,UMB
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DEVICE=SIO.SYS   

NOTES: Want to lock the com ports?...to do that..change that line to this:

DEVICE=SIO.SYS (1:38400) (2:28400)  

NOTES: The above line locks COM1 and COM2 at 38.4. Also, any parameters
for SIO MUST be specified on the DEVICE=SIO.SYS line, NOT the VSIO.SYS
line.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DEVICE=VSIO.SYS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SET AUTOSTART=PROGRAMS,TASKLIST,FOLDERS,CONNECTIONS,LAUNCHPAD

NOTES: This SET statement determines what items to start automatically at
bootup. I recommend leaving this alone, unless you would like to disable
the automatic startup of the launchpad. If you would like to disable 
automatic launchpad startup, remove ",LAUNCHPAD" from the above line.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SET RESTARTOBJECTS=NO/STARTUPFOLDERSONLY=YES

NOTES: This is an extremely useful option to place in your CONFIG.SYS to
control which applications are re-started when the system is rebooted. 
By default, OS/2 will load up any applications that were running the last 
time you turned your computer off (or rebooted). This presents a problem
when the reason you had to reboot was because of a program that was not 
working properly, as OS/2 will try to load it again. Placing the above 
line in your CONFIG.SYS forces OS/2 to only start programs that are in
the startup folder on the Desktop. For example, if you had shadow's of
your BBS nodes in the startup folder, and the system rebooted, your BBS
nodes would automatically be restarted for you since they were in the 
startup folder. 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SET PROMPT=$p$g
SET DIRCMD=/o/p

NOTES: Some SET statements, like the ones above, may look out of place in
a CONFIG.SYS file, but they actually are the SET statements that are 
enabled when you load an OS/2 session. These SET statements in the 
CONFIG.SYS do not apply to OS/2 DOS VDM's. You will need to place similar 
statements in your DOS AUTOEXEC.BAT for them to be recognized. Just think
of OS/2's CONFIG.SYS as a MS-DOS CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT combined.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hope these help you as well as others... feel free to log on to my BBS,
and you can see how these settings effect performance! (815-622-9639)
Do a message search...anything...it just humms right along...stable as
anything too... Try saying THAT with Desqview <UGH!><G> 

If you have any other questions, please let me know! I'll help if I can.

If these settings do help you, let me know! Comments are always 
appreciated, positive or negative.

I can be reached at:

FIDO - 1:2210/9639 
InterMailNet 211:211/11350
Internet - sysop@shadow.org
Wildnet - OS/2 conference
FIDOnet - Wildcat Sysops conference or any OS/2 conference.
MSINet - Wildcat Conference
MSI HQ BBS - OS/2 Conference
CompuServe - 73053,732

Good Luck!
Tony Harrison, Sysop
Shadowgate BBS
BBS (815) 622-9639

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revision History
----------------

1.00 - (08-05-94) First release of this text file. 

1.01 - (09-16-94) Changed EMS_HIGH_OS_MAP_REGION from 0 to 32 because of 
       problems some people were reporting when trying to run applications 
       that used EMS. Included more verbose descriptions for CONFIG.SYS
       settings.

1.10   Changed a number of things WRT to high baud rates. Many people
       were complaining of sluggish CPS rates for high speed callers
       (1600 CPS at 28.8! <ACK!>), and this "problem" has been found
       and corrected. CPS rates should improve drastically for those
       who had problems. Specifically, the following has been changed..

       IDLE_SECONDS from 0 to 60
       IDLE_SENSITIVITY from 99 to 75 (default)
       OSTSR from a value of 2 to 3 (3 seemed to be slightly faster)
       SIO_SCREEN_SYNC_KLUDGE from OFF to ON 
       SIO_IDLE_SENSITIVITY from 40 to 32
       SHARE_ACCESS_WITH_OS2 from OFF to ON

1.12   Added some support for OS/2 3.0 Warp. Although I personally have
       only used the Warp beta, I did have the opportunity to use 3.0
       at the IBM unveiling of Warp in Chicago recently. From what I
       saw of the product, the settings in the Warp beta were the same
       as in the finished product. I will provide further support for
       this in the future as soon as I receive the 3.0 release.

       Added many cosmetic enhancements, specifically breaking down
       each DOS and CONFIG.SYS setting and adding more verbose comments.  
       
       HW_TIMER from ON to OFF 
       SIO_MODE_DTR from on at open, off at close to no change at open 
       or close.
       VIDEO_RETRACE_EMULATION from off to on
       VIDEO_8514A_XGA_IOTRAP from ON to OFF

2.00   Added full support for running under OS/2 Warp 3.0 
       
       Changed some of the DOS VDM settings to match up with OS/2 3.0
       
       Added many new CONFIG.SYS statements to take advantage of the
       power and flexibility of OS/2, as well as to clarify some 
       unclear areas of the CONFIG.SYS file. 

       Up until this release, I had aimed this text file toward SysOp's
       who ran a Wildcat BBS under OS/2. It has come to my attention 
       through numerous sources that these settings improve the 
       performance of other DOS Based BBS software platforms as well.
       Because of this, I have written this text file with all DOS-Based
       BBS software users in mind, not just Wildcat! Specifically. I 
       encourage you to distribute this text file to other SysOp's who 
       you feel may benefit from this information! 

       Deleted VDM_PRIORITY
       Added SESSION_PRIORITY
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
