HP extended the Internet capability of the HP 3000 when it began shipping the latest update for MPE/iX, the PowerPatch 1 for Release 5.5. The software which started shipping November 15 enables customers to make complete use of the first Telnet server capability in software for the HP 3000, Telnet/iX Server.
This server-based component first shipped with HP's initial release of 5.5 during September, but several features were either limited or not functioning at that time. Telnet/iX lets users outside the HP 3000 gain access to the system through standard Telnet commands when their system is networked to a 3000. Standard log-on security is maintained, so the users can run applications hosted on the HP 3000 from desktops not directly connected to MPE/iX systems.
In practice, this means that users who are logged into Unix servers can now establish virtual terminal sessions with the HP 3000. HP's initial Telnet solution was hardware-based. The Telnet Access Card required the presence of a Unix system somewhere in the network so that the 3000 could accept Telnet connections. It also demanded connections through HP's Distributed Terminal Controllers (DTCs).
When HP shipped the first version of Telnet/iX Server, it was of limited value to some sites because it didn't support block mode applications. The initial release was also limited to 250 connections. The software now supports VPlus block mode, user block mode, HP block mode, character mode and binary mode. HP also increased the server's capacity to 2,000 users.
Telnet/iX Server can access the MPE/iX Command Interpreter, so users can enter CI commands from non-3000 systems that support Telnet. HP supports the FREAD, FWRITE, FOPEN, FCLOSE FCONTROL and FDEVICECONTROL intrinsics through the server.
The newest version of the software also delivers TOGGLE ECHO and TOGGLE BINARY capabilities, to control the server's ability to echo characters and exchange characters that may not be data.
Most important to 3000 customers may be the price advantage that the software-based connectivity provides. For users who need only occasional access to the HP 3000 from non-3000 systems, Telnet's price (free with the operating system) balances well against the performance hit that customers are likely to take when they adopt a software-only connection strategy.
The Telnet/iX Server takes its place alongside several other Unix staples in a software package HP is now calling Internet Services: inetd, the master server for the group of internet services; bootpf, used to boot or stanr decicdes such as routers, perinter X-terminals and diskless workstations; and tfpd,, a daemon used to transfer boot files needed to start network devices.
Getting Internet Services up and running requires a system manager to install a network interface link card (standard with every PA-RISC HP 3000); install Net Transport communication software, to give Internet Services something to run on top of; and create or edit configuration files. HP outlines the process in a new manual, Configuring and Managing Internet Services (32650-90835).