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From: pim@cti-software.nl (Pim Zandbergen)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.xenix
Subject: Re: dial and bidirectional _direct_ uucp lines
Message-ID: <1328@ctisbv.cti-software.nl>
Date: 8 Aug 89 17:39:41 GMT
References: <2121@csuna.csun.edu> <3960@looking.on.ca>
Organization: CTI Software BV, The Hague, the Netherlands
Lines: 33

brad@looking.on.ca (Brad Templeton) writes:

>A bidirectional line is quite difficult without a modem.
>You would need some fancy software.

>You need a silent getty that doesn't print any prompt, and even then
>it's tricky.

This 'fancy' software is called "uugetty". Call it with the -r flag,
and it will only prompt for login after having received a carriage
return. It will then create a UUCP LCK.. file, so the line cannot be used
for dialing out.

>As the port is always open, you have to be able to tell between a getty
>that has the port truly open and a user on the port.  Otherwise you can't
>know when it is safe to turn it around.

There is a theoratical problem when both systems are trying to connect
to each other at the same time. I have not seen this happen in practice,
though.

Too bad it's not included in Xenix. But even if it were, you would 
probarly have to rename it to getty, because there is no way
to have init respawn anything else then getty (that I know of).

Our AT&T 3B2 is connected with serial lines to both a Xenix
and an ISC 386/ix system, and we need twice as many serial lines
for Xenix as we do for 386/ix.
-- 
Pim Zandbergen                                 internet : pim@cti-software.nl
CTI Software BV                                uucp     : ..!uunet!ctisbv!pim
Laan Copes van Cattenburch 70                  phone    : +31 70 542302
2585 GD The Hague, The Netherlands             fax      : +31 70 512837