OS/2 eZine - The Best OS/2 Reading Anywhere!

August 16, 2002

Brent R. Scott is employed as an Internet Network Engineer with a large telecommunications company. He is also working to obtain his Master of Science degree in Systems Engineering from George Mason University. On the side, he maintains a family web and mail service from his home.

During personal time, he and his wife enjoy playing music together (violin and piano) as well as doing home improvement projects on their house on the weekends.

If you have a comment about the content of this article, please feel free to vent in the OS/2 eZine discussion forums.

There is also a Printer Friendly version of this page.

Home

Want a Jacaranda Blue Wireless PCCard for your OS/2 or eCS system? Visit www.mensys.nl!

Comparing Terminal Applications

Accessing data communications equipment such as routers and switches for configuration and error correction, is a demand for most anyone responsible for deploying and maintaining such devices. The means by which this is accomplished is through the use of terminal software on a PC which handles console connectivity to a device through the PC's serial port. This simple task requires the ability of the PC to handle signaling scenarios based on the requirements of the device to be accessed. There is a broad selection of applications for OS/2 Warp that provide this function. The purpose of this article is to provide a brief review of a few terminal applications that offer console capability for accessing data communication devices such as routers and switches. The applications reviewed here were obtained by browsing Hobbes and sifting through the /pub/os2/apps/comm/term directory.

Criteria
Review of each application will be based upon the following criteria:

Installation
Configuration
Interface
Console Ability

ComTalk

By Microsoft Corporation

Yes, Microsoft is the actual developer of this software. This should not be surprising, however, considering Microsoft's involvement with OS/2 in the early days.

Installation
I downloaded comtalk.zip into its own directory and unzipped it. No more was needed beyond this simple task. Adding the directory to the path statement in config.sys is optional if you want to execute the command from anywhere in the directory hierarchy. Also, an optional shadow can be created in the Warp Center tray, on the Desktop or anywhere of convenience.

Usage
Usage for this application is quite simple. From the OS/2 Command line run the command 'comtalk' or double click on the icon in the folder where ComTalk was unzipped. A terminal window will appear with a menu bar across the top. Configuration is somewhat simple as well. Choose 'Session' from the menu bar and select 'Settings...' from the list. This gives all the basic options, such as COM port, needed for setting access through a serial port on the PC. Upon completion of the settings, I selected 'Open Port' from the 'Session' menu. After hitting return a few times, I was given the familiar prompt of the router to which I was trying to access. Environment options are somewhat limited, or actually non-existent. There is also the problem with the text scrolling out of the viewing area and becoming inaccessible. However, it did come with the source code, so possibly some digging around can yield a correction to this error for anyone with any C programming abilities.

InterCOMM version 0.92

By AdeptSoft

Installation
Download the file ic92.zip to a permanent directory and unzip it. From the OS/2 shell, run the command ICInst.cmd. You will be prompted to install InterCOMM in the directory where it was unzipped. If you do not want it installed in this directory, move all the files to the directory where you want it installed or just re-unzip it in the correct directory and run ICInst.cmd from that directory. After selecting 'y' for the correct installation directory, a setup screen appears showing where the application was installed. Selecting 'OK' creates a modem file and then opens the User's Guide. You will also notice a new icon on your desktop containing objects linked to the application.

Usage
InterCOMM can function as a modem dialer as well as a standard terminal. For the sake of this article I am only interested in its capabilities for consoling to a directly connected device, however, for anyone looking for multiple functions, this may be a profitable application for consideration. Double clicking on the INTERcomm icon in the desktop folder will produce an initial information screen which includes the author, copyright notice, and amount of time left for the trial (yes, this is only a Demo Beta version). Configuration is obtained by clicking on the 'Settings' option of the menu bar. Here, the usual port settings can be set. There are also the options for terminal type, modem settings (for dialer purposes), and directories. A nice option is the ability to execute scripts on the session.

To test this application I configured the settings for my serial port and selected the 'Connect Terminal' option from the 'Connections' menu. This brought up a separate terminal window and gave me access to my router. Simple enough and seemingly versatile. Though, I was not able to test out the remote script execution feature for this article.

miniTerm version Alpha 5

By Tumyeto Software Inc.

Installation
I unzipped mt-a5.zip to a directory D:\tmp\miniterm. Nothing more was needed beyond this showing that it was a simple program with a small footprint. Of course, adding the directory to the path statement in config.sys is optional if you want to execute the command from anywhere in the directory hierarchy. Also, an optional shadow can be created in the Warp Center tray, on the Desktop or anywhere of convenience.

Usage
To run, just type 'term' at an OS/2 command prompt or click on the term.exe icon in the icon view of the folder where miniTerm was unzipped. Configuration is simple since the configuration screen appears upon first usage. Once the desired configurations are set, Esc quits and saves the changes. Just type Alt-c to return to the configuration page. Modifying the simple options of COM port and speed gave me immediate access into my router. A benefit to this application is its ability to be run via a telnet session. This allows it to be used on a console server running OS/2 Warp. Though with this flexibility comes the trade-off of having no environment settings to manipulate. All interaction is through an OS/2 command shell.

ZOC version 3.13

Installation
Unzip zoc313.zip to a temporary directory such as C:\tmp\zoc. Run the installation program included with the unzipped files. This will initiate a simple installation screen. The only field that should need any settings is the installation path. Decide where Zoc should be installed and type it here (ex. D:\Apps\Zoc). Everything else is automatically populated. Unless Zoc was previously installed, nothing else needs to be changed. The defaults should work. Click the install button and all the files will be copied as well as a folder will be placed on the desktop.

Usage
Open the Zoc 3.13 folder on the desktop and double click the Zoc icon. A screen will appear and, depending on what is connected to COM1 a message may inform you that COM1 did not respond. Clearing the message then prompts that the version of Zoc is older and a new version should be obtained. For now, I'm not going to pursue a new version. [Version 4.05 is current and you can get more information here. Ed.] A manual connection screen appears prompting for some basic settings such as device and connection name. Just cancel this screen for now. You may also want to uncheck the 'Show this window when starting the program' option at the bottom.

Selecting 'Settings...' under the 'Options' menu reveals the settings notebook. The settings of greatest concern are located on the first tab. I set the COM port and signal settings similar to all the previous applications. If you will look on the right hand side of the notebook, you will notice that the capability of this application extends far beyond the capabilities for this review. For someone looking for a dialer as well, this may be another feasible application. After selecting 'Save' and then 'OK' at the top, I was brought back to the Zoc window. Selecting 'Device' then 'Manual Connection' provides a dialog box we saw earlier. The defaults here should be sufficient, so select 'OK'. After doing so, I pressed enter a few times and once again saw the familiar prompt of my router.

Conclusion

The applications reviewed here fulfilled the demand for handling console access to directly connected devices. Some of these provide a beautiful PM environment while others yield a simple command-line structure. The few applications I reviewed here show the versatility and availability of programs both in the PM environment and in a command-line shell. Many more options are available and upon further investigation, the right application to perform console connectivity for anyone responsible for data communication equipment can be found.

Home