🚀 go-pugleaf

I have installed PPP (I tried both ppp-sunos4.1.pl6.tar.Z and
pppd-1.01beta.tar.Z) on a Sparc1 running SunOS Release 4.1.1.  The
installation seems to be successful and my NeXT at home seems to
communicate nicely.  However, I have encountered a rather nasty
problem when I try a binary FTP between the Sparc and the NeXT.  I can
transfer files in Ascii mode and even a few in binary mode, but most
binary files cause the Sparc to crash.  The /usr/adm/messages file
gives a message like:

Sep  2 20:22:29 sol vmunix: assertion failed: dbp->db_ref > 0, file: ../../os/str_buf.c, line: 526

The OS then panics and reboots.

The problem does seem to be with binary files because I was able to
transfer gcc (9meg uuencoded) with no problems.  It also only occurs
when the transfer is from the sparc to the NeXT.  Binary transfers
from the NeXT to the Sparc work fine.  To clarify, it doesn't matter
which end I run FTP from.  If the file is being sent from the Sparc to
the NeXT (FTP on Sparc using put) or received from the Sparc by the
NeXT (FTP on NeXT using get), the Sparc crashes.

I am running the link over a NetBlazer using telnet to the host on
which I installed PPP (Unfortunately, not allowed to use the
NetBlazers PPP).  I don't think that telnet is the problem, but
somebody suggested that I make sure characters 250-255 were escaped.
So I went as far as modifying the source to force those characters to
be escaped.  Didn't help.  

I'm not lucky enough to have the source to str_buf (object located in
/usr/kvm/sys/sun4c/OBJ/str_buf.o).  Is there anybody who has an idea
of what the problem may be??  Help would be sincerely appreciated.

- Steve

-- 
====================================================================
Stephen Perkins                    |
Department of Computer Science     | perkins@cps.msu.edu
Michigan State University          |