Taylor UUCP for NEXTSTEP

NeGeN/NiNe/R&A distribution [2.0]
(version: Taylor 1.06.1)
June 1996

For general information contact: <negen-connect@negen.tudelft.nl>
Send suggestions and bug reports to: <negen-connect-bugs@negen.tudelft.nl>

This is the binary distribution of Taylor UUCP for NEXTSTEP, as brought to you by NeGeN/NiNe (the Dutch NEXTSTEP user group) and R&A.  It is meant as a complete replacement of the (slow, inefficient) BSD uucp that comes with the standard NEXTSTEP distribution.

IMPORTANT: due to (probably) a kernel bug in the serial driver introduced in NEXTSTEP 3.3 the use of Taylor UUCP occasionally causes system panics or -freezes on some Motorola systems (early 25 MHz '040 cubes, maybe others), which can and most probably will cause data corruption.  In other words: don't use Taylor UUCP if you run NS3.3 on such black hardware.  We are (still) trying to find a workaround for this rather nasty problem...

Taylor UUCP is distributed as a NEXTSTEP Installer package aptly named Taylor-UUCP.pkg, which not only contains the executables and documentation, but also tries to create a working Taylor UUCP configuration when it is unpacked.  This configuration assumes that you have a standalone system or a local network that is to be connected to the outside world by means of a single UUCP link.  If your situation is different you'll have to adapt this configuration to your own needs.  See the Taylor UUCP manual for more detailed information about configuration.  (The manual is available in GNU info hypertext format in /usr/local/info/uucp.info* after installation of the package.  You can browse through it using emacs' info mode, with the standalone `info' program that is available at GNU archive sites or with just about any text editor.  The manual is also available in texinfo source format in /usr/local/texinfo/uucp.texi. If you have NeXTTeX installed, you are offered to print it in the course of the installation procedure.)  Note that this version of Taylor UUCP is deliberately NOT configured to support the old BSD-style uucp configuration files; this is to avoid confusion and simplify our configuration support efforts.

This README file contains some (hopefully helpful) hints to assist you in creating a configuration that is right for your system.

IMPORTANT: you must install this package as "root".  This is because some executables must be installed as setuid uucp, and also because some system configuration files must be edited in the configuration process.  If you don't know how to become "root", you'll have to ask your system administrator to install this package.  (If you are your own system administrator and you still don't know how to become "root", you have a serious problem:-)

The original NS 3.x serial port drivers for Intel are notoriously unreliable at high speeds, so you may consider installing the Mux serial driver instead. This is distributed as a separate package named Mux-version.I.b.pkg.  An alternative is to get the updated serial drivers from NeXT, at www.next.com or ftp.next.com.

INSTALLATION

The installation guides you through a series of questions where you have to fill in the information listed below, and creates a new Taylor UUCP configuration in the directory /usr/local/conf/uucp. If you don't have a working Taylor UUCP configuration yet, you'll have to collect the following information about your UUCP link before you install the package:

 - the UUCP name of your system, i.e., the name by which your system is known to the mailhost of your UUCP provider.  This name is usually assigned to you by the provider.  (This defaults to the hostname of your system.)

 - the UUCP name of the mailhost.  (This defaults³ to "sun4nl", the mailhost of NLnet in Amsterdam.)

 - the name by which your system should login at the mailhost in order  to make a UUCP connection.  (This defaults to "U<your UUCP name>", which conforms to the naming convention used by NLnet.)

 - the password for your UUCP login at the mailhost. Usually assigned to you by your UUCP provider. (No default, obviously)

 - the full Internet host name by which your system is known to the outside world.  Usually you can request a specific hostname when you apply for a connection with your UUCP provider. (This defaults to "<your hostname>.NeGeN.NL").

 - The type of your modem.  The following modem types are supported, in a tone dial (the default) and a pulse dial variety (suffixed with -pulse):

o TCP
Although technically this is not a modem, it is still offered as a choice here.  Choose this if you intend to use uucp over a TCP (or PPP) connection.

o DIRECT
Although technically this is not a modem, it is still offered as a choice here.  Choose this if you intend to use uucp over a direct serial (null-modem) connection.

o MT2400D
Micro Technologies MT2400D (V22bis) modem.
Recommended: 2400 baud, with hardware flow control (cuf?).

o TrailblazerPlusPEP
Telebit Trailblazer with PEP protocol.
Recommended: 19200 baud.

o TrailblazerPlusAuto
Telebit Trailblazer auto-configuring.
Recommended: 19200 baud.

o V32bis
Generic V32bis (eg. ZyXEL?) modem. (14k4)
Recommended: 38400 baud if your serial port can handle it, else 19200 or even 9600 baud.

o MT1432BAI
MultiTech MT1432bai modem. (14k4)
Recommended: 38400 baud if your serial port can handle it, else 19200 or even 9600 baud.

o MT1932ZDX
MultiTech MT1932zdx modem. (14k4/19k2 proprietary)
Recommended: 38400 baud if your serial port can handle it, else 19200 or even 9600 baud.

o MT2834ZDX
MultiTech MT2834zdx modem. (28k8)
Recommended: 57600 or 38400 baud if your serial port can handle it, else 19200 or even 9600 baud.

Note: at high speeds hardware flow control is mandatory.  Make sure that your modem cable supports h/w flow control.

Old 68030 cubes don't support h/w flow control at all.

Black hardware cannot reliably support speeds above 38400 baud.  Intel hardware usually does, if you use a non-buggy serial driver.

If you have a modem that is not listed above, you'll have to choose one that is close to your own modem, and hope for the best.  Usually the generic V32bis entry is a good place to start.  (You'll probably have to create new entries for your modem in dial and port (in /usr/local/conf/uucp) to get it to work correctly; please let us know when you succeeded so we can add it to the distribution.)

Depending on what you chose for the modem type above, either:

 - in case you chose a real modem: the phone number, for the modem to call in order to make a connection to the mailhost. (This defaults to "0206658599", for sun4nl.)

 - in case you chose a TCP connection: the full Internet host name of the mailhost, in order to make a TCP connection to the mailhost.

 - in case you chose a DIRECT connection: nothing (aint that simple:-) 

Finally you are asked to make some administrative decisions about your own system:

 - Where to have the UUCP spool directory: choose either the default /usr/spool/uucp or /usr/spool/taylor-uucp.  This is probably a matter of personal taste.

 - Whether you want to use the new sendmail configuration that is supplied with the package instead of NeXT's standard sendmail configs.  (Note that this replacement is known to work for standalone machines only; it may or may not work correctly on a machine that has been configured as a mailhost server for a local networkÐthis has not been tested).  If you already have a sendmail configuration that works with the original uucp you can choose to update it for use with Taylor UUCPÐin fact, all NeXT-supplied sendmail configuration files will be updated to make use of Taylor UUCP in that case, along with the actual current configuration.  In any other circumstance, if you choose to use NeXT's standard sendmail configuration, you're on your own as far as sendmail support is concerned...

 - When to call the mailhost for the daily poll.  This creates an entry in /etc/crontab.local which forces an outgoing call to the mailhost. (if it doesn't already exist)

 - Whether you want outgoing mail to be sent more-or-less immediately instead of queueing it until the daily poll.  This creates another entry in /etc/crontab.local which checks for work every 15 minutes.

The installation updates some system files, i.e. /etc/crontab.local, /usr/adm/daily and /usr/adm/weekly, with entries to support Taylor UUCP.  These entries are bracketed with:
 
## Entries for Taylor UUCP, added at date by NeGeN distribution revision:
...
## End of Taylor UUCP entries.

so a subsequent installation knows how to find and update them.  

A backup is made of every file that has been changed during the installation.

If you have already installed the UUCP package, and you want to change the configuration without re-installing the entire package, you can run the shell script <package-name>.post_install in the package wrapper by hand in a terminal window.

ÐÐÐÐÐÐÐÐÐÐ
³ Note to package redistributors: these defaults are contained in a small file named  NeGeN.config  inside the package wrapper.  If you want to provide your own defaults, e.g. for a local  provider, create a similar defaults file inside the package wrapper using  NeGeN.config  as a template.  Your configuration will show up in the list of default configurations the user has to choose from. 

From the original Taylor UUCP README

This is the README file for version 1.06 of the Taylor UUCP package.

It was written by Ian Lance Taylor.  I can be reached at ian@airs.com,
or, equivalently, uunet!cygint!airs!ian, or c/o Cygnus Support,
48 Grove Street, Somerville, MA 02144, USA.

There is a mailing list for discussion of the package.  The list is
hosted by Eric Schnoebelen at cirr.com.  To join (or get off) the
list, send mail to taylor-uucp-request@cirr.com.  Mail to this address
is answered by the majordomo program.  To join the list, send the
message ``subscribe ADDRESS'' where ADDRESS is your e-mail address.
To send a message to the list, send it to taylor-uucp@cirr.com.  The
old list address, taylor-uucp@gnu.ai.mit.edu, will also work.  There
is an archive of all messages sent to the mailing list at ftp.cirr.com.

This package is covered by the Gnu Public License.  See the file
COPYING for details.  If you would like to do something with this
package that you feel is reasonable but you feel is prohibited by the
license, contact me to see if we can work it out.

The most recent version may be obtained from any Gnu archive site.
The canonical site is prep.ai.mit.edu.  There are many mirror sites,
including ftp.uu.net and wuarchive.wustl.edu.

WHAT IT IS

This is the complete source code for a Unix UUCP package.  It provides
everything you need to make a UUCP connection.  It includes versions
of uucico, uusched, uuxqt, uux, uucp, uustat, uulog, uuname, uuto,
uupick, and cu, as well as uuchk (a program to check configuration
files), uuconv (a program to convert from one type of configuration
file to another) and tstuu (a test harness for the package).

This is the standard UUCP package of the Free Software Foundation.

The package currently supports the 'f', 'g' (in all window and packet
sizes), 'G', 't' and 'e' protocols, as well a Zmodem protocol, the FX
UUCICO 'y' protocol, and two new bidirectional protocols.  If you have
a Berkeley sockets library, it can make TCP connections.  If you have
TLI libraries, it can make TLI connections.  It supports a new
configuration file mechanism which I like (but other people dislike).

The package has a few advantages over regular UUCP:

    You [can] get the source code.

    It uses significantly less CPU time than many UUCP packages.

    You can specify a chat script to run when a system calls in,
    allowing adjustment of modem parameters on a per system basis.

    You can specify failure strings for chat scripts, allowing the
    chat script to fail immediately if the modem returns ``BUSY''.

    If you are talking to another instance of the package, you can use
    the new bidirectional protocol for rapid data transfer in both
    directions at once.  You can also restrict file transfers by size
    based on the time of day and who placed the call.

On the other hand:

    [...]

    You don't get uuclean, uusend, uuq, uusnap, uumonitor, uutry,
    uupoll, etc.  If you have current copies of these programs, you
    may be able to use them.  Shell scripts versions of uuclean and
    uutry are provided, with most, if not all, of the functionality of
    the usual programs.  I believe the supplied uustat program allows
    you to do everything that uuq, uusnap and uumonitor do.  uupoll
    could be written as a shell script.

    [...]
 
If you start using this package, I suggest that you join the mailing
list (see above) to keep up to date on patches and new versions.  I am
also open to suggestions for improvements and modifications.

DOCUMENTATION

The documentation is in the file uucp.texi, which is a Texinfo file.
Texinfo is a format used by the Free Software Foundation.  You can
print the documentation using TeX in combination with the file
texinfo.tex.  DVI, PostScript and info versions of the documentation
are available in a separate package, uucp-doc-1.06.tar.gz.

[...]

Taylor-UUCP README.rtf 2.1, 1996/06/29 11:34:07.  Copyright ã1994,1995 R&A..