RMS-GateWay

Here you will find the new LinuX-RMS-GateWay soon:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LinuxRMS
 

At this place just a short overview:

LinuX-RMS-Gateway is the next generation access software to the Winlink 2000 network.
LinuX-RMS-Gateway is a follow up to TelPac-Node/LinuX, a small package of software tools to run a Packet-Radio-GateWay on a LinuX system which connects to a Winlink2000 CMS host using a Telnet connection.

Here some of our goals for LinuX-RMS-Gateway Rev 2:

Step 1:

• new code structure - easier to maintain.

With Brian, W3SG a new programmer is in the team with a high level of knowledge.
Brian will bring in a lot of new nice features which probably will not be visible to the user, but may help the sysop to support the system:
• syslog-logging features - logging highly configurable, based on standard Linux features.

Select loglevel according to your requirements, from no logging for small embedded systems with very limited resources to debuglevel with high detailled output.
• new confuguration files, well structured and prepared for more features in future versions
• ... off course, some little bug fixes. We implemented it, you found it

Step 2:

• start the gateway either from ax25d and run on an ax25socket like TelPac-Node/LinuX - or -  start from a hostmode daemon!

This will support additional hardware, with that all PTC2, with that Pactor, HF-Packet ad Robust-Packet-Radio.
A first simple version for a Pactor-Gateway should support scanning with a PTC2-internal scanner and CAT-Interface.
• a sample shellscript and optional tools can be provided which allow to run the pactor station parallel as RMS-Gateway and Pactor-Packet-Radio-GateWay like DA5UDI does.

Step 3:

• full compatibility with the requirements of the new RMS GateWays in the Winlink2000 network.
• This will include
• initialisation of a new gateway in the Winlink2000 database by a sysop tool
• change of static information in the Winlink2000 database by a sysop tool
• automatic update of the actual channel status in the Winlink2000 database by a cron-job
• some other system features

Where are we ?

Here the status and our schedule on may 5th:
(You mayl find updates at our Yahoo-Group "LinuxRMS")
 

Step 1:

• nearly finished.
• The Alphatest in Packet-Radio is currently running at DB0LJ-10, DA5UDI-10 and W3SG-10.
• After some final finetuning and writing some documention - which may possibly be helpfull after all changes - we expect to bring out a betaversion next days.
• This version will require a new basic setup of the installation to open the door to new features!

Step 2:

• nearly finished.
• The Alphatest in Pactor is currently running at DA5UDI.

I am using the powerfull hostmode terminal software TNT at the moment.
• TNT by Mark Wahl, DL4YBG, updated by several other programmers later, is part of a lot of hamradio-friendly LinuX distributions.
• It is a quiet old software, open source.
• TNT is able to autostart external software on connect and communicate via a variity of different interfaces like unix-sockets, tcp-sockets, transparent shells, pty redirection etc..
• TNC can be started as a daemon without any console shell. A separate Shell can run remote if needed and connect via tcp/ip link.
• We do not require any specific version and no changes to the code. It needs to be verified but normally any version 1.9.x should work.
• A PTC2/PTC2Pro with additional Packet-Radio-modems is supported and may run as RMS-Packet-Radio- and RMS-Pactor-GateWay parallel.
• This installation only allows scanning several channels when using PTC2s with internal scanner/CAT-interface, not with PTC2E/EX

Step 3:

• will take some weeks...
• this will take a bit of time, we just got all details from the Winlink development team and need time for coding, testing, debugging etc.....
• Please give us some weeks, this is not done over night!

Requirements:

• an existing ax25 installation on your LinuX server with ax25-enabled kernel, ax25-libs and ax25-tools
• ax25 hardware like a TNC, soundcard or other packet-radio modem drivers, axip/axudp or anything else that is supported by LinuX to run Packet-Radio.

- OR-
the hostmode terminal software TNT and any hardware supporting WA8DED hostmode.
(Pactor can only be supported with a PTC2 running in hostmode, scanning currently only works with PTC2-internal scanner/CAT).
• radio equipment (usually a data-ready FM transceiver for VHF/UHF/SHF) or HF-equipment for Pactor, HF-Packet-Radio or Robust-Packet-Radio
• a 24/7 internet connection
• a registration to connect to the Winlink2000 CMS hosts

in some countries a special hamradio licence is necessary to run an automatic amateur radio station.

Licence regulations:

The communication tools are based on  the ax25-tools.
This part of the code will be open source and term of the GNU General Public licence.

We work for fun, we "borrow" code from other authors and we supply codes to others.
So the main part of our RMS GateWay Software is Open Source.

Unfortunately for security reasons parts of the Winlink2000 specific configuration tools can not be published with source.
 

Interested sysops are invited to join our  Yahoo-Group "LinuxRMS"

73 de

Hans-J. Barthen,
Franz-Josef-Str. 20,
D-56642 Kruft

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