🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <2400042@kailand> pwolfe@kailand.KAI.COM writes:
> The Annex is an ethernet terminal server, sold by Encore Computer Corp.  I
> read somewhere that Encore sold the whole annex works to Systech

The product line was sold to and is now being developed and manufactured
by Xylogics, Inc.

As for some problems he reports:

> The only problems I've run into is getting any parallel printers to work on
> the parallel port

This is something new.  The Annex printer port supports a standard centronics
interface and shouldn't have problems with parallel printers.  I've played
with such things as Printronix P600s to HP Laserjets on Annexes with no
problems.  In additional to the physical interface, the Annex receives
printjobs from a host via a BSD-lpd-like spooling protocol.  The Annex
host tools include two ways of getting BSD-lpd print jobs to an Annex:
either through a simple change the lpd sources or by an auxillary print
program, which can be used as part of an output filter for a printer.

> getting an Apple Laserwriter to work on any serial port
> (the LaserWriter talks back, and there's no way I know to get something to
> read that)

This is true for any Postscript printer, which generally requires a
bi-directional interface to pass back status messages.  The way to use
such a printer is via a reverse-telnet program.  This is a daemon that
runs on a host, and uses a "pty" to fool the Adobe postscript driver
into thinking its got a tty.  Such a program ("rtelnet") is provided
on with the Annex host tools.  A similar program ("annexf") was written
by John Sloan of Wright State Univ <jsloan@wright.edu>, for use just
as a printer filter.  "rtelnet" lets you do other things (like use
an Annex port for things like a host "getty", etc).

> and the annex cannot be made a "trusted" host, since Encore made
> some silly mistakes in their rlogin protocol (when a user types "rlogin host
> -l otheruser", the annex sends "otheruser" as both the local and remote
> usernames, no matter when they originally logged on with).

This is probably true of most terminal servers that implemented "rlogin".
Don't, repeat DON'T, put them in your hosts.equiv files unless you're sure
about them!  Even worse, don't EVER put "+" in a hosts.equiv file (assuming
YP support).

This particular slipup on the Annex is fixed in Annex R4.1.  The Annex will
assure the validity of the rlogin protocol messages.  Even better, if
you use Annex security to authorize users, the Annex *will* fill in the
rlogin protocol message correctly, meaning that you won't be "needlessly"
prompted for a host password if that host has you in its hosts.equiv file.

> Also, it's
> possible, but really painful to get someone else's UUCP to dialup through an
> annex.  I gave up, as it was much easier to just leave one modem directly
> connected to a host, and only tell people we uucp with what that phone
> number is.

This is something that can be gotten around in a few ways, such as using
rtelnet, or "dedicated ports".  A "modern" UUCP also makes such chat
scripts easy.

-- 
John Robert LoVerso			Xylogics, Inc.  617/272-8140
loverso@Xylogics.COM			Annex Terminal Server Development Group
{encore,sequent}!xylogics!loverso	[formerly of Encore Computer Corp]