Terminal Emulation Software
Many real-world applications for REAL/32 require some form of remote access to the REAL/32 system. The most cost effective medium for this is by using dial-up lines on the standard telephone network. Leased lines may also be employed where there is a need for permanent connections.
Terminal emulations at a glance
| NGTERM | IMSTerm Remote | Mimic | JavaTerm | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IMSTerm emulation | Yes | Yes | No | n/a | Yes |
| File Transfer | No | No | Yes | Yes | Note 1 |
| Dialup support - Modem | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Note 2 |
| Dialup support - ISDN | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Note 2 |
| Connection using IPX | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Connection using TCP/IP / Internet | Yes | No | No | No | Yes |
| Call back | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| Password protected access | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| Serial connection on all current Windows clients | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Direct and windows printing to all Windows ports | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Full screen operation on all current Windows clients | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Note 1 : File transfer is supported using FTP facility within the REAL/32 WEB Server.
Note 2 : Dialup support is supported when used in conjunction with a Internet DIALUP account or TCP/IP router.
Link to NGTERM specification page
REAL/32 is supplied as standard with a basic IMSTERM terminal emulator that allows direct serial cable access to a REAL/32 server from a standard DOS based PC. IMSTERM Remote goes one step further, adding remote Windows capability and full remote connectivity to REAL/32 across serial lines, modem lines, leased lines, ISDN or through IPX/SPX networking connections.
 | Provides terminal access to REAL/32 Servers from a remote PC |
| Supports dial-up modem, leased line, ISDN or IPX/SPX network connections |
| Maintains a telephone number database for dial-up links |
| Can be run under DOS, Windows 3.x, Windows 95 or REAL/32 |
| Can be loaded as a TSR or a transient program under DOS |
| Supports colour text modes and CGA graphics for remote DOS applications |
| Supports wide area network connections using IPX/SPX compatible bridge |
| Compatible with REAL/32 line monitor when using dial-up modem connections |
| Supports local printing from an application running on host REAL/32 server |
Imsterm Remote - main features
Using IMS terminal emulation technology IMSTERM Remote forms a complete remote access solution for REAL/32. It allows both DOS and Windows 3.x applications running on the REAL/32 host, to be presented on a remote PC running DOS, Windows 3.x. Windows 95 or REAL/32.
DOS Applications
IMS Remote supports DOS applications running on the REAL/32 server in 80 or 132 column monochrome text mode, colour text mode or CGA graphics mode. When IMSTERM Remote is running under DOS and is presenting a DOS application that is running on the REAL/32 host, it can be run as a TSR. This allows the user of the local PC to switch between a local DOS application and the applications running on the REAL/32 host with a simple hot key.
Windows 3.x Applications
IMSTERM remote contains remote Windows emulation technology licensed from Stac Electronics that allows it to support Windows 3.x applications running on the REAL/32 server in up to 800x600 x16 screen resolution. This is a sophisticated emulation that utilises caching technology to maximise screen update performance, even over a slow modem link. A file transfer facility is also included to allow for the remote upload and download of data and program files.
Physical Connections
Serial Lines
IMSTERM Remote can communicate directly to the host REAL/32 server via a standard null modem RS232 cable conncected to the local COM1 or COM2 ports. Depending on the speed of the local machine, speeds of up to 115Kb can be achieved. Buffered UART chips are strongly recommended for the local PC.
Modem Lines/ Leased Lines & ISDN
IMSTERM Remote will support any Hayes compatible modem for dial-up links. IMSTERM Remote will initialise the modem and perform the dialling and connection sequence with minimal user input. It can maintain a list of phone numbers with associated descriptions. The user can select from the list to dial the appropriate number. This can be used in a support organisation, for example, to maintain a list of customer sites. A standard modem cable is used to connect the modem with the local COM 1 or COM2 port. The COM port MUST have buffered UARTS for IMSTERM Remote to function correctly. Alternatively, an internal modem can be used configured as a COM1 or COM2 port.
For leased lines, an appropriate line driver must be used. IMSTERM Remote functions as though it has a direct serial connection.
ISDN lines require a suitable ISDN Terminal Adapter (TA). This is a digital version of a modem. TA's are used very much like dial-up modems and use standard initialisation and dial strings. Consult your ISDN provider for a suitable TA.
Network Connections
IMSTERM Remote uses the Novell IPX/SPX networking protocol when used across a network link. This is the standard protocol for Novell NetWare but is also available for a Windows NT based server.
The IMS Connectivity Extension Pack(1) contains a suitable IPX/SPX networking stack and low level drivers for a wide range of networking cards for IMSTERM Remote. REAL/32 comes supplied with its own IPX/SPX drivers for the host server end.
Licensing
IMSTERM Remote is licensed per remote user. For example, if a team of travelling sales people each need access to their central office based REAL/32 machine from a remote location, they would each need a licensed copy of IMSTERM Remote. Conversely, if a support engineer requires access to many REAL/32 systems (at each of his customer sites), he would only require a single licensed copy of IMSTERM Remote for his own machine.
Technical Specifications
| Link Type | Workstation Requirements | Workstation Limit | Max. Speed | Physical Link | Link
Specific Features/ Requirements |
| Direct
Serial, Leased line |
MSDOS 5 and above, Windows 3.x,Windows 95, REAL/32 | Limited only by no. of serial ports on REAL/32 server | 115Kb (dependant on physical line speed) | Null modem cable for direct, line driver for leased line | Hardware handshake and buffered UARTS recommended |
| Dial-up Modem ISDN | As above | As above | Dependent on modem connection speed | Modem cable to COM1/2 or internal modem | As above. Phone no. database maintained, support for modem initialisation and dial strings |
| Network | As above | 32 per REAL/32 server | Dependent on network speed | Any physical networking connection that supports IPX/SPX | Support for IPX/SPX compatible network bridge. Supports printing to Novell NetWare print spoolers |
IMS sells the PTERM and MIMIC products from Logan Industries. These products have been written specifically for REAL/32 and together, form a complete remote access solution - ideal for the remote access, remote maintenance and remote support of REAL/32 systems.
3) PTERM
| Converts a PC into a fully functional REAL/32 workstation |
| PCTERM and PC/CGA compatible emulation |
| Hayes compatible Modem support for remote operation |
| Includes File transfer facility with automatic error detection and correction |
| Includes Remote BOSS (RBOSS) modem supervisor |
| MIMIC emulation |
The PTERM software allows a PC running DOS, WINDOWS or REAL/32 to connect to a host REAL/32 based system. PTERM supports a direct connection (via an RS232 line) or a remote connection via a Hayes compatible modem. PTERM can be used alone, or with a modem supervisor on the host REAL/32 machine.
The RBOSS modem supervisor is included with every PTERM and a more sophisticated supervisor, called MIMIC is available separately. PTERM uses a pull-down menu interface for ease of operation, configuration and mode selection. PTERM configuration options include baud rate (110 to 57600 baud depending on speed of PC and its serial ports), display adapter parameters, handshaking (DTR/DSR, RTS/CTS or XPC), emulation mode (PCTERM, PC/CGA, MIMIC or ANSI.SYS) and modem configuration.
A modem configuration editor allows PTERM to be customised to take advantage of specific modem features. A selection of pre-configured modem definitions for the popular modem brands is included.
A dialling directory allows PTERM to access multiple sites. Each entry in the dialling directory allows calling parameters (including phone number, desired baud rate and emulation mode) to be recorded.
PTERM tests for and takes advantage of 16550 type UART chips on standard COM ports. By enabling the 16550 type FIFO buffer, high speed baud rates can be achieved.
Used alone, PTERM can be used to directly or remotely connect to a REAL/32 serial port configured as a terminal port set for PCTERM or PC CGA emulation. The RBOSS supervisor can be loaded at the host end to add additional functionality including file transfer and security.
The file transfer facilities within RBOSS allow fast, bi-directional file transfers between the REAL/32 host and the PC running PTERM. The file transfer protocols employed use automatic error detection and correction to ensure error free file transfers. Wildcard and batch transfers are also supported.
RBOSS presents a login prompt to the dial-in user, forcing correct entry of a password before access to the system is granted. RBOSS can also detect a lost carrier (if the phone line goes down for example) and present a login prompt for the next caller so that system security is not compromised.
RBOSS uses its own set of login names, separate from REAL/32 user names and allows specific users to be marked as "Call Back" users. A call back user has a phone number stored next to the user name on the host machine. When a call back user accesses the system RBOSS drops the line and calls this number to gain the connection, providing additional security to the system. This is also useful if the host site is required to pay for the phone charges, in a home working situation for example.
PTERM is licensed per remote connection and RBOSS is licensed per host machine. RBOSS can be configured to control multiple serial lines if multiple access is required.
4) MIMIC
| Applications include: |
| Remote customer support
| Remote customer training
| Home working | |
| Background file transfer |
| Session takeover |
| Remote execution of applications |
| Call-back feature |
| Password protected access security |
The MIMIC modem supervisor provides the functionality of RBOSS but allows you to configure the port on the host REAL/32 machine as an Auxiliary port. This gives the added convenience of not needing to dedicate a serial line (and modem) for remote maintenance (as with RBOSS).
MIMIC also provides semi-automatic file transfers to occur in the background from a MIMIC site to other MIMIC sites. This feature can be exploited by applications issuing commands to the MIMIC process allowing files to be transmitted from within other applications.
MIMIC can be loaded and unloaded as required allowing other communications applications to access the modem when required (BBS, INTERNET etc). MIMIC can also take over other consoles on the system and in this respect is ideal for remote training, remote maintenance and remote support applications.
MIMIC can also be dialled into by standard ASCII communications packages (Voyager, Procomm, Telix, etc), allowing file transfer to be performed between a REAL/32 machine and any machine that has access to a standard communications program.
MIMIC can control a single serial line per REAL/32 host machine. For multi-line operations RBOSS must be utilised.