Starlan Woes

[Chuck Bacon]

I have two 3b1 systems, both with HDB and starlan.  I've tried to
configure them both using the menu, and not insinuating any probably
wrong ideas of my own.

I have been able to bring up the test menu under ua, and it tells me
that the network is up, and that the other end is reachable.  

If I try cu from one end to the other, I get a connected message,
and cu hangs forever with no response from the other end.  If I
try Uutry, I get timed out.  No other part of uucp gets past
apologizing for failure (even with a cute mail message from uucp).
So here are some of my configuration files; I wonder if some kind
soul might explain what they do.

Systems
	eugene	Any	STARLAN_NAU,eg	- eugene "" "" ogin:--ogin: nuucp
	eugene	Any	STARLAN_cu	- eugene "" "" ogin:--ogin: nuucp

Devices
	STARLAN		starlan	- Any	STARLAN
	STARLAN_NAU,eg	starlan - Any	STARLAN	\D.serve pc_uucp
	STARLAN_UU,eg	starlan - Any	STARLAN \D.serve SLAN_uucico
	STARLAN_cu	starlan - Any	STARLAN \D.serve nls

Dialers
	STARLAN_NIU	"" ""	\r\d\r\d\r DIAL:-\r\d\r\d\r-DIAL: \D "" \d\d\c
	SLAN_uucico	"" ""	NLPS:000:001:101\N\c
	SLAN_login	"" ""	NLPS:000:001:1\N\c
	nls		"" ""	NLPS:000:001:1\N\c
	pc_uucp		"" ""	NLPS:000:001:102\N\c

/usr/net/nls/starlan/dbf
	1:na:NULL,:/usr/net/servers/sl	#Remote Login
	102:n:NULL,:/usr/net/servers/uucplogin	#Mail/File Transfer

(Of course, I haven't shown non-starlan-related entries in these files).
There are several questions about all this (apart from the Central Question:
how do I make it work?):

1. Does anyone have a sheet showing what utterances are interpreted by
  whomever hears those strings which start with NLPS?  Those numbers
  presumably mean something, but of course the documentation is mum.

2. The NLPS codes end in 1, 101, or 102.  In particular, SLAN_uucico
  ends in 101.  It would appear that there is no server for that.
  Should I add to /usr/net/nls/starlan/dbf a line something like
  101:n:NULL,:/usr/lib/uucp/uucico	#UUCP		?

3. Has anyone managed to get cu to work over starlan?

3. Do those ",eg" endings mean anything?  Or was that just a slavish
  copying of the "for-instance" examples in the comments?

5. Finally, how about the r-utilities in bsdslan.cpio?  Can I get these
  utilities up without succeeding with UUCP, or must UUCP come first?

Apart from feeling really dumb that I haven't gotten uucp working over
starlan, should I consider feeling dumber since if I can't get uucp up,
I probably won't succeed with bsdslan either?!  (I can feel fairly
comfortable with my ability to detect tortured logic, though).

Seriously though, I'd like some pointers on the interaction of HDB and starlan.
--
Chuck Bacon - crtb at helix.nih.gov - 301-496-4823
	"After all, computers have rights too!" - Ernst Bacon, 1898-1990