From: discmaster1@soznet.net   
      
   Hello Everyone!   
      
   I used to run a DOS based BBS back in the early 90s. Over the last few years   
   I've toyed with the idea of trying to re-create my old BBS and have it   
   accessible to the Internet via telnet access. I guess I should mention up   
   front that I am a retro computer    
   user and I still have my old Commodore 64, Atari 800, and Amiga computers as   
   well as various PC Compatibles (Compaq Portables, Tandy systems, etc...) from   
   8088s - Pentium systems. About a year ago I felt I had enough of an idea to   
   create my new BBS and    
   have it feature many options and interesting concepts that would warrant the   
   time and effort to begin work on the system. What I'll do next, is explain the   
   software, and hardware that I purchased over the last year, and also built for   
   this project. I'll    
   then explain my issue with trying to get telnet access to my DOS BBS package.   
   Hopefully someone here might be able to help me by pointing me in the   
   direction of a program that may be able to perform the functions I need to get   
   my DOS BBS accepting telnet    
   calls.   
      
      
   [My Hardware / Software]   
      
   First, is the PC which will host my BBS   
      
   Board. . . . . . . . . . . . : 486   
   Proc. . . . . . . . . . . . . : Pentium 133 Overdrive   
   RAM. . . . . . . . . . . . . : 32MB (Will upgrade to 64mb)   
   Serial . . . . . . . . . . . . : 4 High speed Com Ports (2 built on board, and   
   a 2 port ISA Serial board)   
   Hard Drive . . . . . . . . : 4GB   
   External Storage. . .  : External Parallel CD-Rom, Multiple 250MB Parallel Zip   
   Drives   
   Operating Software. : DR-DOS 7.x   
   BBS Package. . . . . . : Wildcat MultiLine v4.22 (10 Nodes, Only using 4   
   though)   
      
      
   Second, is the PC which will run the Telnet Server. I actually have two PCs   
   that can run as the Tel Server. I'll list both   
      
   Board. . . . . . . . . . . . : AMD Athlon XP 3000+   
   Proc. . . . . . . . . . . . . : 2.10 GHZ   
   RAM. . . . . . . . . . . . . : 512MB   
   Serial . . . . . . . . . . . . : 4 High speed Com Ports via a special PCI   
   4-Port High Speed Serial card.   
   Hard Drive . . . . . . . . : 250GB   
   External Storage. . .  : N/A   
   Operating Software. : XP Pro   
   BBS Package. . . . . . : N/A   
      
   The following is the second PC that I have which I can use if necessary for a   
   Telnet Server. In case the above AMD is too fast for a connection between it   
   and the 486.   
      
   Board. . . . . . . . . . . . : Pentium   
   Proc. . . . . . . . . . . . . : Pentium 233   
   RAM. . . . . . . . . . . . . : 384 MB   
   Serial . . . . . . . . . . . . : 4 High speed Com Ports via a special PCI   
   4-Port High Speed Serial card.   
   Hard Drive . . . . . . . . : 8GB   
   External Storage. . .  : N/A   
   Operating Software. : Windows 98SE   
   BBS Package. . . . . . : N/A   
      
      
   Ok, So here goes my problem. I need a program that will allow the Telnet   
   Server computer to receive incomming telnet connections and then forward them   
   out through the connected serial ports which are connected to the BBS computer   
   via Null Modem Cables (   
   serial port to serial port connections between the BBS PC and Windows   
   Telserver). The BBS should then receive the signal from the Telnet Server PC   
   and think it is a modem connecting. The BBS then does its usual CONNECT and   
   the end user logs in and can    
   access the BBS the same as if he/she dialed in back in the old days.   
      
   Ok, so I searched the web for some type of program that can do this. I found a   
   program called TelBBS which was written to allow old Commodore 64 BBSes to   
   receive telnet connections. The way it worked was that a modern PC would   
   receive the incomming    
   telnet signal and then send the data out it's serial port through a null modem   
   cable and to the Commodore 64 running the BBS. I contaced the author of the   
   program and he said that the program can work with Commodore, Atari, Apple   
   IIE, and even old DOS PC    
   based computers. The program just received the incomming telnet data and sent   
   it out through the serial ports to the host BBS system.   
      
   So, I downloaded and configured and troubleshot many issues till I finally was   
   able to get the setup working. In the end I had the following lay out.   
      
   On the Telnet Server PC   
      
   4 instances of TelBBS. One instance per serial port (BBS node).   
      
   Example...   
      
   Telnet Connection to Node 1 on the BBS: 192.168.1.5 port 3000   
   Telnet Connection to Node 2 on the BBS: 192.168.1.5 port 3001   
   Telnet Connection to Node 3 on the BBS: 192.168.1.5 port 3002   
   Telnet Connection to Node 4 on the BBS: 192.168.1.5 port 3003   
      
   One of the really neat features of this TelBBS program is that if a caller   
   tries to connect to a node that is already in use, the Telnet server would   
   send off an ASCII text file that would display on the callers screen. It could   
   say anything, but the    
   general idea is to notify the caller that the line in in use or busy. Please   
   try one of our other access lines. You could then list all the nodes and the   
   IP/ports to connect to them. This was a really nifty feature as it gave the   
   caller an idea as to why    
   they can't connect and also what the other IPs are to connect to the other   
   nodes.   
      
   So, back to my progress. I tested the connection and setup between my Telnet   
   Server PC and the DOS Serial port BBS. I was able to connect, sign in, play   
   any game doors, browse messages, post new messages, list file areas, etc...   
   Everything worked    
   perfectly, except one of the most important features of a BBS.   
      
   Whenever I tried to download or upload to the BBS the following issues would   
   appear. I tried X, Y and Zmodem protocols and even Kermit. I tried baud rates   
   of 2400 through 115000k.   
      
   The transfer progress bar on the client side would progress between 4% and 8%   
   before the bar would drop back down to 1% and start over.   
      
   On the BBS console the transfer screen showed the progress of the current   
   transfer and it listed any problems. Each time the screen showed a progress of   
   between 4% and 8% and then would state that it was resending from 0. The CRC   
   error table would keep    
   incrementing stating that it was getting CRC errors.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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