Home • WIN32 version of JNOS - currently a concept project

November 14, 2007

Here's an updated demo version. If you have already gone through the first one, then all you have to do is replace your first JNOS demo (j2dist) with this new one. This one has a full mailbox now, and runs the smtp server (no rewrite yet). After you run JNOS, you can telnet into it like before, but now you can send/read/list/kill *local* messages to other people that login to your system (you need to 'smtp kick' to deliver the messages though). This release has 4 files - the original 3 (see below), plus domain.txt (needed for smtp server lookup). The demo uses my callsign (ve4klm) as hostname. You can edit the autoexec and domain.txt files to replace it with your own callsign. This version also automatically creates essential directories like spool, and logs. It also logs to the logs directory now - ie: logs/13Nov07.

November 6, 2007

I am very happy to report to you all - a demo version of JNOS for Windows. This is not a DOS executable. This is a true WIN32 executable, compiled using Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition. The only system requirement is that you have to install the WinPcap (Windows Packet Capture Library). JNOS for Windows uses WinPcap to interface to the network. At some point, I want to be able to include the WinPcap drivers and libraries with the JNOS installation files, so that users don't have to install the WinPcap separately, but not right now.

I think it's important to note that most of the source code for JNOS for Windows is from the original DOS and Linux source. In particular, I am using the original JNOS ip stack. There is no Windows IP stuff in here. It's all original NOS. The only Windows code needed so far is with respect to timers, context switching, and of course the WinPcap interface.

Install WinPcap first. Go to the WinPcap Site, click on the 'Get WinPcap' off the menu on the left side of their webpage, then go to the section entitled 'WinPcap 4.0.1 download', then run the 'Installer for Windows'.

Install the JNOS demo. Download this file, extract it to any directory. There are 3 files - jnos2win32.exe, autoexec.nos, and ftpusers. You must run JNOS as an Administrator or Power User, since the packet capture libraries will need permission to grab any network interfaces you want to work with.

Run JNOS for Windows by opening the folder you extracted the JNOS demo to. Click on the jnos2win32 executable. Once JNOS is running, bring up another Windows command session, then 'telnet 192.168.2.2', you should see a JNOS login prompt. Login with your callsign, use your name as the password. The ftpusers file that comes with the demo is just universal access. While you are telneted in, try some of the limited commands on the main JNOS console - use the ? command to list them all.

The only possible (minor) catch is that when JNOS starts you will see a list of network interfaces displayed on the console. The autoexec.nos assumes that the second entry displayed will be your ethernet card. If NOT, then you will have to edit the sample autoexec.nos, and change the 5th argument of the following line to indicate which interface JNOS (WinPcap) should be attaching to - note the number 2 that follows the mtu value of 1500 :

    attach pcap en0 1500 2 192.168.2.2

That's all. I know it's not much, BUT actually - it is ! As far as I know, this is the first ever release of a WIN32 (Windows) version of NOS. There will be stability issues of course for the first little while. Please do not report bugs, this is a concept release only, and it will most certainly be full of bugs. I will be releasing more demo versions as time permits, and of course more functionality will follow. This work was done over the past few months off and on. It actually was not as big an undertaking as I originally thought.