ARESDA01.CRD:Packet Operator Quick Reference Card for ARES/Data V 0.1 This is a shortened version of the standard ARES/Data documentation. Please read the full documentation for complete information on the overall operation of ARES/Data. Since ARES/Data is a derivative of the FINDER program, some (only some) aspects of the operation are similar to FINDER. Documentation on FINDER is published in the Proceedings of the 6th ARRL Computer Networking Conference, pp. 134-141. 1. TNC Settings for Packet Concentrators. These are ABSOLUTELY essential! Use the commands appropriate for your type of TNC: TAPR WA8DED DWAIT 25 (250 ms) * W 25 (250 ms) MAXFRAME 1 * O 1 FRACK 10 (10 sec) * F 10 (10 sec) RETRY 10 * N 10 AX25L2V2 ON * V 2 RESPTIME 10 (1.0 sec) * @T2 100 TXDELAY 40 (400 ms) * T 40 (400 ms) 2. Summary of database operations: A. Current information input: (commas are REQUIRED separators, imbedded blanks are significant, and means carriage return) field1,field2,field3,field4,message where a. FIELD1 through FIELD4 are 20-character fields b. MESSAGE is any message up to 80 characters Each entry like this creates one record in the database, and the current date and time are added to the record. (To leave a field blank, let the commas run together " ,, ") For example: johnson,joe,shelter1,ok,has 4wd avail To update a record, enter the new information, but use two adjacent commas to save typing information that has not changed. For example: johnson,joe,,ill,ate cafeteria food (Joe Johnson's location is still Shelter1). B. Searches available: /1,value lists all records with "value" for field1 /2,value lists all records with "value" for field2 /3,value lists all records with "value" for field3 /4,value lists all records with "value" for field4 For example: /1,johnson <-- lists all Johnsons or: /3,shelter2 <-- lists everyone at Shelter2 C. Summaries available: $1 For each distinct value for fieldN, state number $2 of records with that value for fieldN, where $3 "N" can be 1, 2, 3, or 4. $4 For example: $3 might print a summary of the number of people checked in at each shelter: SHELTER1 : 30 SHELTER2 : 47 SHELTER3 : 11 ... etc. D. Listing of specific records: l nnnn lists all information for record "nnnn" l all lists ALL information in database. Use with CAUTION--could result in a long printout! E. Deleting specific records: d nnnn deletes record nnnn, only if enabled by sysop 3. CONFERENCE BRIDGE: users and tell commands: users requests list of calls connected to ARES/Data u tell callsign message sends message to callsign (partial calls t callsign message work, such as callsign suffix: "t kl Need operators here" would send the message "Need operators here" to any logged- on station with "KL" as part of their callsign: N6KL, N6KL-2, KL7ABC, etc). tell * message sends QST message to all connected stations tell all message tell sysop message sends message to sysop message UNLIKE FINDER, this is NOT a message to the sysop. It will generate an "Input ignored." error message. Use "t sysop message" to talk to sysop. 5. OTHER COMMANDS: help requests a brief syntax reminder from system h ? tests to see if ARES/Data is running - response is a line feed plus the ">" prompt. b requests logoff from ARES/Data bye end ARESDA01.CRD ARESDA01.REF ARES/Data V. 0.1 Sysop Information and Reference 1. These instructions are aimed at those who will be actually running the ARES/Data program, or for those interested in some of the operational detail. You need not read this file in order to effectively use the program as a Data Concentrator (e.g. packet operator). These instructions are abbreviated, so be sure to read the ARES/Data documentation files first for general background information. You may also want to read about the ancestor of ARES/Data, the FINDER system, in the 6th ARRL Computer Networking Conference Proceedings. 2. You need an IBM PC or compatible to run the program with at least two drives, one of which should be a hard disk or hard card, if possible. ARES/Data has been tested on a PC, XT, AT and a PC Convertible using DOS 3.2. (The program also appears to run fairly well on the PCjr.) In addition, if you want to allow remote packet radio access to the database, you need one serial port. 3. Assuming you want remote access to the database with packet, you also need a TNC with firmware (EPROM) written by Ron Raikes, WA8DED. ARES/Data has been tested on several TNC-1's with WA8DED firmware Version 1.3 modified for 8 simultaneous connects, on several TNC-2's with WA8DED firmware Version 2.0, and on several PK-87's with WA8DED firmware. We noted that the channel polling loop runs about 3 times faster on the TNC-1 than on the TNC-2, with the PK-87 (4.9 MHz clock) somewhere between the two. If your usage is totally non-commercial, you can get the WA8DED public domain firmware yourself from many sources; see your local packet hacker. IF ALL ELSE FAILS, you can get it from us by sending two 27C64 EPROMS (for the TNC-1) or one 27C256 EPROM (for the TNC-2 or PK-87) to Dave Palmer, N6KL, or W. E. Moerner, WN6I. Take a few minutes to learn the "DED" user mode command syntax - it is different from the TAPR syntax, but easy to learn. The WA8DED documentation is included on the distribution diskette. 4. The ARES/Data program, a relative of the FINDER program, is in the public domain and is available for non-commercial, non-profit use from WN6I or N6KL by sending a blank, formatted 5 1/4" (360 kB) or 3 1/2" (720 kB) floppy with SASE for return to you. The cost to you is the cost of the diskette and return postage. We have included a configuration file facility so that you can tailor many parameters to your system. If you want small changes in the code, we will try to accommodate you. 5. ARES/Data file usage: ARESDATA.DAT the database itself - all records FIELD1.NDX index file for field1 FIELD2.NDX index file for field2 FIELD3.NDX index file for field3 FIELD4.NDX index file for field4 ARESDATA.JRN journal file - a normal ASCII file containing a listing of all valid current information packets. May be edited or printed or used as input to the ARES/Data program to recover a damaged or erased database. ARESDATA.BAK backup of the database FIELD1.BAK index file for field 1 backup FIELD2.BAK index file for field 2 backup FIELD3.BAK index file for field 3 backup FIELD4.BAK index file for field 4 backup 6. Before starting ARES/Data, be sure your hardware is set up correctly. Test the TNC and WA8DED firmware by using your own terminal emulator first. 7. Edit the configuration file ARESDATA.CFG to reflect your system configuration. The configuration file is self-documenting for the most part. Multiple comment lines starting with a semicolon are allowed at the beginning of the file. Thereafter, each line begins in column 1 with the desired value of the parameter. Follow each parameter with at least one space and a semicolon. Comments may follow the semicolon. Here is a description of each parameter: a. Choose prompted or automatic mode. This is described below in number 9. b. Choose TNC support (yes or no). This controls whether remote access via packet is desired. If you choose NO, all parameters relating to the TNC below will be ignored, but must be present in this file. c. Choose whether or not you want to allow remote deleting of database records (yes or no) by connected packet stations. Note this applies only for initial startup. You can always change this setting in real-time from the sysop keyboard, by entering the sysop DELETEON or DELETEOFF commands. d. Maximum number of connections. Specify 8, unless you want to restrict the number of simultaneous connects to a smaller number. The program will determine the maximum number your firmware will support and will adjust accordingly. e. Backup drive and path. This is the drive:path for the automatic backup of the database files. Must end with a "\". f. Journaling drive and path. This is the drive:path for the automatic journaling of valid database transactions. Must end with a "\". g. Backup interval. Number of new entries before the entire database is written to the backup file. 0 means no backup. h. Journaling interval. Number of new entries to the database before the journal file is updated. Max=25. i. TNC serial port. May be 1 (for COM1), 2 (for COM2), or 0 if you are using a non-standard serial port. If you specify 0, ARES/Data will not initialize the serial port and you must have initialized it separately to N, 8, 1, and whatever baud rate you like. j. Serial port address. ARES/Data allows you to use any serial port you like. Specify here the base address of the UART chip. COM1 is usually $3F8 and COM2 is usually $2F8. Interrupts are not used, thus the interrrupt level need not be specified. k. Serial port baud rate. We suggest 4800 or 9600 baud. l. Serial port retry count. Try 10. If you regularly get TNC timeout messages, adjust this value higher. m. Enable/disable interrupts during serial port I/O. We strongly suggest enable, unless your computer has difficulty keeping up with the baud rate. n. Printer number. 1 for lpt1: , etc. Use 1, 2 or 3. o. TNC commands to be issued during startup of ARES/Data. The first line begins with a single slash. Change the callsign to your own. All the other parameters have been determined to be reasonably optimal for efficient ARES/Data database operation. You may include other commands or delete commands from this list if you wish. End the TNC command list with a slash. 8. To start ARES/Data: If you have selected automatic startup, be sure the drives have disks in them. If you have included TNC support, be sure that the TNC is on. Start the execution by typing "ARESDATA". 9. The startup sequence is self-explanatory. If you have selected automatic startup and TNC support, no prompting will be done and after processing the .cfg file and opening the database files, the program will automatically enter host mode and begin polling the available channels for data. If you have selected prompted startup, you will be prompted to put a diskette in the drive you have selected for the backup/journaling function. If previous database files are found, they are opened. If none are found, new database files are created. Note that after each disaster, you should rename the database files to start with a fresh (empty) database. Then you are prompted to turn on the TNC. When TNC-computer synchronization is established, the run-time status screen is displayed and several TNC parameters are set. Don't be alarmed at the messages regarding "TNC Recover" at initial startup time. The program does not know the state of the TNC, and if the TNC does not respond to host mode commands, the program will issue the appropriate "JHOST1" command. (TCP/IP users: If you have the TNC2 WA8DED+KISS Mode Combination EPROM, ARES/Data works fine with that, too. You need not enter the initial "H" command following power up). If you have not selected TNC support, all TNC-related functions are disabled. The sysop console is the only input/output port in the system. 10. The sysop keyboard can enter current information input and search requests like any connected channel, but don't try to type too fast if TNC polling is in progress. If you have problems with this, press F5 temporarily to stop polling so that you can enter your data. Be sure to remember to press F5 to re-start polling or your users will think the database has crashed! See the file ARESDA01.PKO for a summary of the standard packet operator commands. 11. The sysop can also send commands directly to the TNC by typing and the one-letter command as is usual for the WA8DED user-mode firmware. Some commands (such as "d" for disconnect) can reference a specific channel: to set the channel for these commands, first type "sn", where n is the channel number. The currently selected channel is marked with a triangular arrow on the sysop screen. For example, to force a disconnect on channel 3, type "s3 d ". 12. The sysop can send messages to connected channels in several ways: (a) by typing "nmessage" where n is the channel number, or (b) by using the "tell" command described in ARESDA01.PKO. Note that the sysop can send a QST to all connected channels by typing "tell all msg" or "tell * msg", where "msg" is the text to be sent. 13. Special SYSOP-only commands: deleteon enables use of delete command by connected stations deleteoff disables use of delete command by remote stations. Note that delete command is always enabled for the sysop. 14. Special PF keys: F1 Immediate database backup: closes all files, copies current database files to the .BAK versions, and flushes the last few valid current information packets into the .JRN file. Note: if communication is lost on the computer to TNC wire link, a backup is performed automatically, and the program attempts to resynchronize with the TNC. F2 Mode selector for the currently selected channel. Pressing the key cycles through three modes: mode 0 - all packet operator functions enabled; mode 1 - "tell" and "users" only enabled; and mode 2 - chat mode only, which looks like normal terminal operation. The current mode for each channel is indicated on the sysop screen. Mode 0 has no character next to the channel number, mode 1 has a small square, and mode 2 has an "x" next to the channel number. Upon startup, all channels are set to mode 0. Mode 2 is useful to prevent a "jammer" from tampering with the database, or for normal terminal-mode connection to another station or BBS. Mode 1 is useful for a round-table discussion only, without access to the database. F3 Shut down the program gracefully. If the program is subsequently restarted from DOS, it will pick up where it left off. F5 Suspend polling of channels. Use this if you experience missing characters during keyboard input, but be sure to re-start polling! F6 Redraw the sysop screen. F7 Send a full ASCII report of the database to file ARDAtime.RPT on a:. F8 Send a full ascii report of the database to file ARDAtime.RPT on b:. F10 Toggle printer. All lines printed in the main part of the sysop screen will be echoed on the printer. NOTE: this can slow down the polling loop dramatically. If your printer runs out of paper or has an I/O error, the program will retry for about 30 seconds, then give up on the printer. Polling will continue, but no further output will be sent to the printer until you hit F10 again. 15. To terminate execution, use the sequence . may be used to exit only during a tncrecover. At other times, has no effect. is best, because the program then properly closes all files. 16. If you have TNC errors, under certain conditions the program will execute a TNC reset and/or a TNC recovery procedure. When this occurs, the first thing that happens is a backup. The program should recover by itself. Be patient. As a last resort, you can try turning off the TNC and then turn it on again. Note that you will then lose all packets in the receive and transmit queues, however. If you are really paranoid and you are using an IBM PC, you can connect the cassette motor relay to the reset circuit on your TNC. The TNC reset procedure will close the relay if it appears that the TNC fails to respond. We haven't seemed to ever need this feature, though! 17. Remember that ARES/Data is designed to be general and flexible. This means that little error checking is done on input packets. Garbage in, garbage out! 18. Good luck! 19. If good luck is insufficient, or if you have comments or suggestions, please contact either of us at W. E. Moerner, WN6I, 1003 Belder Drive, San Jose, CA 95120 408-997-3195 (WN6I @ NV6Z, MOERNER@IBM.COM (csnet)) Dave Palmer, N6KL, 248 Omira Drive, San Jose CA 95123 408-227-5236 (N6KL @ NV6Z, N6KL@IBM.COM (csnet) or 73357,3157 (Compuserve)) END ARESDA01.REF