DOS-Over-UNIX from non-console ttys

[~XT6510300~Frank McGee~C23~L25~6326~]

In article <CRUM.89Jul26111859 at lipari.usc.edu> crum at lipari.usc.edu (Gary L. Crum) writes:
>A Microport representative told me that their Merge products allowed
>execution of DOS programs only from the console ttys of 286 and 386
>computers.  Do any DOS-Over-UNIX systems allow execution of DOS
>programs from other ttys, e.g. by users logged in over network and
>serial line connections?  What about VP/ix (and the derived system
>used in the Sun-386i?)  I realize that difficulties might arise from
>the lack of display cards associated with non-console ttys.  This issue
>wasn't addressed by the article in the 1-May-1989 UNIX Today! article on

You can run Simultask (AT&T's version of VP/ix from Interactive) on
remote terminals.  Your mileage may vary on other vendors products, my
comments refer to Simultask only.  There are some things to watch for
though because a lot of remote terminals don't map well to MSDOS
consoles.  Some differences that can be a real pain in the but are :

Most ascii terminals are 80x24, and an MSDOS console is 80x25.  This
means that when you use something like a real vt100 instead of a
terminal specifically designed for MSDOS use (such as an AT&T 605 or
Wyse) you'll lose a line; could be the top or bottom line depending
upon how your application paints the screen.  On Lotus 1-2-3, you lose
the Status line, which wasn't too painfull to me because I know Lotus
well enough to not have to use it that much.

Keep in mind that many MSDOS applications need keys that don't have an
analogue under general purpose computing, like NumLock, PageUp, Alt,
PageDown, End, and Home.  Under Simultask, there are terminal
description files in /usr/vpix/term that you can use to map ascii
keystrokes to PC scan-code sequences, so you can make ctrl-whatever
sequences map to other keys that you don't have on your keyboard.  In
addition, most MSDOS applications like you to have atleast 8 function
keys, and some applications like them to be "shift"able or "alt"able.

You can only use applications that use standard text modes remotely.
You can run graphics programs on the console (EGA and CGA are the only
modes currently supported, but VGA items (VGAROM) are provided but you
use it at your own risk).

There are some specific ioctl's that you need to run Simultask over a
serial line.  The AT&T IPC drivers have always had enough in them to
support Simultask over remote terminal lines.  Your mileage may vary
with other vendors.  I've run Simultask on the Bell Technologies Hub-6,
ICC, and ACE without problems, I think the Computone 8-port card worked
as well.

I've used an AT&T 630 and an AT&T 5620 to run Simultask in multiple
windows.  The only thing to watch for was to make sure that function
keys were programmed properly, and corresponding entries were made to
the terminfo definitions and /usr/vpix/term entries.  My applications
only needed arrow keys and function keys; don't know what you'd do to
use PageUp, PageDown, ALT, or others.  Also, it helped a lot to have an
80x25 window (user-configurable on the 630, you have to make a layers
init file for the 5620).  Also, the IPC 2.1 drivers will install a bad
xt driver that won't let you run layers if you have an IPC present.  If
you have an IPC, you should get the 3.0 drivers from NSSC
(1-800-922-0354).  I was able to run 7 simultaneous Simultasks with
those configurations, but performance was pretty poor.

Hope this helps you out,

-- 
Frank McGee, AT&T
Tier 3 Indirect Channel Sales Support
attmail!fmcgee