Subject : What kind of interaction can JNOS accomplish with Winlink.

  As of : Monday, August 16, 2010

Version : this document details capabilities of the rsync'able version
          of JNOS 2.0h available on the VE4KLM development system.

This documentation is ongoing, and will be updated as I learn more how to
interact with the Winlink system. At this stage, I have only detailed how
you can interact with an RMS Packet system using JNOS as a client.

I have done stuff where JNOS acts as a server for incoming sessions from
Airmail, as well there is work I am doing with WINMOR that also needs to
be documented. As time permits, I will add to this very file.

1) JNOS <-- 'RF' --> RMS Packet Node
   ---------------------------------

 If you want to compose a message on JNOS, and have that message sent to a
 user (callsign) on the Winlink system via the RMS Packet node, you will need
 to have the user configured in the '/jnos/spool/forward.bbs' file. If you do
 not do this, then the message just sits in that users area on JNOS, and will
 never get forwarded to Winlink. If the user were to login to JNOS, they will
 see it of course, and be able to read it, delete it, etc. But, if they do not
 use the JNOS system, the message will just sit there till the end of time.

 So, for example, if VE4PKT, WU3V, and WB0TAX are all Winlink users who may
 never ever touch your JNOS system, but you want to get messages to them via
 the nearest RMS Packet node (which in this example is VE4PKT-10), you need
 an entry like the following in your 'forward.bbs' file :

   ------
   ve4pkt
   ax25 rms ve4pkt-10
   ve4pkt
   wu3v
   wb0tax
   ------

 Then setup an hourly forward in your 'autoexec.nos', for example :

   at 15 "mbox ki Ve4pkt+"

 Of course, any messages (to your JNOS bbs callsign) waiting on the Winlink
 system will be forwarded back to your JNOS system where you can read it, or
 delete it, just like it were any other message you usually receive on your
 JNOS system.

 The 'rms' port is an ax25 interface to a KISS mode tnc, for example :

  attach asy ttyS1 - ax25 rms 4096 256 9600

 To send a message to any of those calls, just send it like you would any
 other regular JNOS user, for example, 'sp wu3v', or 'sp ve4pkt', etc.

2) Challenges, Limitations, Request for Comments, Ideas
   ----------------------------------------------------

 Your JNOS system can forward to any user(s) on Winlink, but user(s) have to
 be explicitly routed to the RMS Packet node through the 'forward.bbs' file,
 which is an extra administration step. If you have users other than yourself
 on your JNOS system it becomes even more of a pain I suppose. Those users
 will have to ask you to configure all the Winlink users they want to be
 able to send messages to, from the convenience of your JNOS system.

 In the case of other users wanting to interact with Winlink from your JNOS
 system, presently those users will only be able to send mail. The forwarding
 process will only pick off messages belonging to the callsign of the JNOS bbs,
 and no one else. This is were things differ, because you can have multiple
 users (callsigns) forwarded in the same forward session between JNOS, FBB,
 and other *traditional* packet BBS systems. Not the case with Winlink. I
 hope that explanation makes sense, if not, send me an email, and perhaps
 we can both clarify what I mean. Perhaps reading the next 2 paragraphs
 will help with that.

 OF COURSE - if the users really want to interact with Winlink, they could
 just go direct to the RMS Packet node using RMS Express, or Airmail, etc.

 So, how can I have it so that JNOS picks off messages for other users on
 the system besides the SYSOP callsign ? Well, legally I can't make it part
 of the automated forwarding, since I would have to use the CALLSIGN of a
 particular user for the source call. No way can that be allowed !

 Another idea is to maybe introduce another command the user could run after
 they connect to the JNOS system. This command could do a forward session to
 the RMS Packet node but using the particular users source call instead of the
 callsign of the JNOS bbs, then any waiting messages would be picked off for
 that user. Because the user is the one initiating the command, I would think
 that would be legal, and no different than the user connecting to any other
 system from my own system.

 SO, at present, if other users on your JNOS want to check for messages on
 Winlink, they can actually connect to the RMS packet node, and run a few
 commands to list, read, and delete their messages. How long these commands
 will remain supported is another thing. They could disappear anytime :(

 There is a new form of Connect command at the JNOS command prompt. I have for
 now named it, 'nisc', meaning 'Connect without inverting SSID of your call',
 so for example if you are a user of my particular JNOS system, you should
 connect to the RMS Packet node as follows :

   nisc rms ve4pkt-10

 If you were to use the regular 'connect', you will not any messages to your
 callsign. Winlink actually treats YOURCALL and YOURCALL-15 as separate users
 if you can believe that. Apparently, that is a desireable feature. So, beware
 of this (that is why I created the 'nisc' command for the time being).

 Once you are connected to an RMS Packet node, use LM, RM, KM, or BYE.

73 de Maiko Langelaar / VE4KLM

http://www.langelaar.net