Conference noted::excursion

    Forgive my ignorance, I know the term RAS but I've not knowingly used
    it.  I use Win95 Dialup Networking to do PPP. But I think I can answer 
    some of your questions.
    
    
    >I have a good RAS connection from my PC (Win-95 with service pack 1
    >installed) to a NT 3.51 server at my (PKO) site; I can use Explorer to
    >net-map to a drive on my VMScluster and I can do file copies between
    >local (myPC) disks and disks(s) on my VMScluster.
    
    Are these NetBEUI connections?  Have you verified (with ping for
    example) that TCP/IP is actually working?
    
    >-    I've tried both setting Connection=Direct and Connection=Modem (in
    >the Comm. tab of the eX.Control.Panel; makes no difference. {What I
    >want is Connection=use_the_existing_RAS_link, but I don't know how to
    >say that.}
    
    These settings are for eXcursion's soon-to-be-defunct Xremote only. 
    Don't even bother fiddling with them.
    
    >-    I've tried setting Access Control stuff pretty much the way I have
    >it set from my on-site PC, and I even tried disabling access control.
    >Did not matter, but I don't think I'm getting far enough for this to
    >matter.
    
    Right, I don't think you're getting that far either.
    
    >   -    XDMCP is disabled.  If this is wrong, I'm clueless.
    
    XDMCP is unimportant in this contect, you could either enable it or
    disable it.  It's job is to fire a login box back from your chosen Unix
    system.  If you only wish to run a few assorted applications, best to
    turn it off.
    
    >-    I may have installed eX while RAS was disconnected.  Does this
    >matter? If so, can it be fixed via eX.Control.Panel, or is it time to
    >re-install eX and start over?
    
    I can't see how it would matter. eXcursion dynamically checks the
    available network "adapters."
    
    >So - how do I tell eX to use TCP/IP via the established RAS connection,
    >instead of trying to grab the com.port and dial away?  I've been told
    >that eX can be made to work via RAS, but the incantation escapes me.
    
    I guess this is what I'm not understanding.  If you're using some
    mechanism other than "Dialup Networking" to establish your TCP/IP
    connection, why is the Dialup Networking even set up as an adapter?
    
    Again, my experience with eXcursion dialup is limited to using Win95's
    dialup networking (PPP) and with Win31 and Trumpet Winsock (SLIP). (And
    of course the many abortive attempts at getting Xremote to work. ;-)  I
    presume your Control Panel "Account" definition isn't using Xremote as
    its transport.
    
    #Gary
    

	NetBEUI vs. TCP/IP:  I could not tell what was being used, so I
	clicked on Win's control panel then clicked on the Network icon, 
	and found that both NetBEUI and TCP/IP were allowed.  TCP/IP was
	set as the default proto, but I didn't trust that, so I removed
	all the bindings with NetBEUI and re-booted.  Then, when I fired
	up the RAS (that's PPP to you and me) link from MyPC to PKO (which
	worked OK in that I could map to my VMS disk), the connection
	details only listed TCP/IP (NetBEUI also used to be listed).

	So, I guess I have a TCP/IP link.  Yet, when I started eX's server,
	it invoked my (Trumpet v3.0d) WinSock, which croaked since the
	com.port was already in use by DialUp Net'ing.

	On the other hand, when I ran TCPmeter, it showed no activity
	in either direction - even when I fiddled with some VMS files from
	Win95.  And, when I ran Ping, it also invoked my WinSock.

	So, is this RAS/DialUpNet/PPP link actually using NetBEUI instead
	of TCP/IP in spite of my de-binding NetBEUI? Or, do Ping and eX
	ignore the TCP/IP that is being used by RAS, and blindly invoke
	WinSock?

	Is there a protocol stack overview somewhere, which diagrams the
	software piece parts and what protocols are used at different
	layers?  Or, maybe, some description of who calls whom to create
	and destroy a connection from eX?

All help gladly accepted.  Thanks & Cheers, Bob

    >So, I guess I have a TCP/IP link.  Yet, when I started eX's server, it
    >invoked my (Trumpet v3.0d) WinSock, which croaked since the com.port
    >was already in use by DialUp Net'ing.
    
    Um.  Sounds to me as though you've got a winsock.dll that you don't
    want.  eXcursion, when it starts wants to use winsock.  If the winsock
    dll isn't there when excursion (or any other winsock app) starts, it
    will get loaded.  That's what's happening with you.  Apparently the
    winsock dll that is loading when you start eXcursion (or ping) is the
    one from the Trumpet kit, *not* the one from Microsoft, which is what
    the Dialup Networking would want to use.  
    
    If you're looking for my advice, lose Trumpet.  Make sure the winsock
    dll in the \windows directory is the one that MS includes on the Win95
    CD.  My guess is that you're using Dialup networking to do NetBEUI, and
    Trumpet to do TCP/IP.  It might work if you add another modem and phone
    line. ;-)
    
    #Gary

    FWIW, I do this all the time from my Windows NT Alpha system at home to
    work. I use the native Dial Up Networking (aka; RAS) with PPP of
    Windows NT.
    rtt

	.3 was the right clue.  I had already concluded that Trumpet's
	winsock was the wrong stuff and I had tried renaming the winsock.dll
	and wsock32.dll in the trumpet folder from .dll's to .tr's,
	and renaming the equivalent .ms's to .dll's in the win95 folder,
	*but* those were not the relevant .ms/dll files:  after lots of
	barking up the wrong tree, I discovered that the .ms/dll files
	that mattered were in the win95\system folder.  Arrrgh!

	So, playing the re-name game lets me switch between the in-house
	environment (eXcursion to my VMS host) and the out-house
	environment (using Trumpet's stack to get to my non-DEC ISP).
	A bit of a kludge, but usable.

Thanks for you help, Gary.  Cheers, Bob

    >So, playing the re-name game lets me switch between the in-house
    >environment (eXcursion to my VMS host) and the out-house environment
    >(using Trumpet's stack to get to my non-DEC ISP). A bit of a kludge,
    >but usable.
    >
    >Thanks for you help, Gary.  Cheers, Bob
    
    You're welcome.  Oh, and be careful about using your computer in an
    out-house.  It's no fun when the keyboard falls down the hole.  ;-)
    
    #Gary

>>	So, playing the re-name game lets me switch between the in-house
>>	environment (eXcursion to my VMS host) and the out-house
>>	environment (using Trumpet's stack to get to my non-DEC ISP).
>>	A bit of a kludge, but usable.

I'm not sure why you find this necessary.  I do not use Trumpet, I use W95
Dial-Up Networking for everything, and I have no problem using one dial-up
icon for connecting to Digital and another for connecting to my ISP.  Of
course, I can't use them both simultaneously, but there are no conflicts in the
settings.

						Brian

Why, .7 asks, do I use two TCP/IP stacks, and incur this kludge?

	Trumpet's WinSock has a built-in scripting capability which is
	very handy for accessing my ISP.  My script handles modem setup,
	all the interaction to log onto the ISP (account, password,
	time-outs and retries and validation), and maintains a histogram 
	of connection baud rate; I even had a script (no longer used) 
	which tried multiple phone no's for the ISP, to cover some busy 
	MUX periods.

	And, there's the issue of who got there first:  I've been using
	various versions of Trumpet's WinSock since before Win-95 was
	released - long before M-S net'ing was available in PKO.  M-S 
	net'ing is, for me, the new kid on the block.

	Perhaps I'm not using the full power of the eXcursion/MS stack,
	but the Netscape/Trumpet stack is *far* easier to use:  one
	double-click on the Netscape icon gets me logged onto my ISP;
	using the eXcursion/MS stack to log onto my VMS host requires
	lots of mouse-clicks and typing some password at least twice.
	
	  - Is there a way to get dial-up networking and eXcursion to
	    remember these password(s), and stop prompting me for them
	    every time I fire up this stack?  Checking the 'Remember this
	    Password' block seems to do nothing.

	  - Are there scripting facilities for DUN and for eX to automate
	    startup stuff?  And, are they documented?

		{Ignoring the extra mouse-clicks and typing, getting 
		 logged onto my ISP via Netscape/Trumpet is a lot faster 
		 than getting logged onto my VMS host via eXcursion/MS.  
		 Probably due to other factors, including a badly overloaded 
		 LAN in PKO, but certainly annoying.}

	Disclaimer:  I don't work for or own stock in Trumpet.  I'd have
	been delighted to find a way to do what I want using nothing but
	DEC and M-S software; Trumpet software costs me money to use, and
	I take no pleasure in paying or touting them.

Cheers, Bob

I don't know if everything you are asking for can be done, can be done easily,
or is documented, but many of your questions may be answered at the "Windows 95
Annoyances" page:

	http://www.creativelement.com/win95ann/

I believe it's a little out of date, though, and I know of at least one person
who has set up scripting for Dial-Up Networking, so I'll follow up if
necessary.  Timeout, retries, and account/password are handled automatically by
DUN without scripts.

This is probably beyond the scope of this conference, so if you're interested
further, I'd be happy to respond by mail.

						Brian