This text file has been translated to english by someone other than the author, and as such, may or may not contain errors (I'd like to think that it is completely correct, but I've never actually studied german, and have relied on RufTrade (a new and wonderful shareware german to english translator program (yes, I've sent my money in!), and my dictionary)). I have tested the instructions, and most of the rest (I couldn't make any of the errors occur), and it seems to be okay, but I make no warranty that the information in this text file will work, or that it won't do anything nasty. The author has absolutely nothing to do with this translation, so he cannot be held responsible either. This english text file is not part of the Duet package, unless the author himself includes it, and if he does, all the more power to him. Pay the shareware fee for this if you use it. It seems like a wonderful program, and I'm not keen on programmers for my machine of choice taking off for greener pastures. This programmer has a very open mind it seems where the shareware fees come in, so at least send him something! Anyway, it seems to be more or less right, so I hope it helps you install this program, and possibly understand it a little better. Leslie Hartmier (the name is german, the person is not!) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Duet (c) 1994 by Andrew Alich ============================== (Still a Netz for Ataris) author - Andrew Alich Rittergasse 4 D-97070 Würzburg KontoNr. 5102900, BLZ 790 500 00, Städtische savings bank Würzburg E-Mail: Mousenet: Andrew Alich @ WÜ Internet: Andreas_alich@wue.Maus.De Copyright - Copyright (c) 1994 by Andrew Alich. All rights reserved. Duet is Shareware, d. h. it may not be copied, used or passed along for commercial purposes, but may be distributed freely and only in unchanged form. The free distribution over mail-boxes is allowed and desired. If you use Duet regularly, you are asked to send me the amount of money that you feel the program is worth. There is no minimum or maximum; that is up to you to decide. If you have no money, perhaps you could send me a few nice words on a beautiful postcard. If enough people use shareware regularly, do not pay for it, (surprise!) and it becomes apparent that there is no market for shareware in the Atari world, the platform will die. It is necessary for everyone to show interest in good shareware programs by registering. If you are one of the unpaid shareware users, keep in mind that if you don't support the platform of shareware, the platform will dry up and leave you with a severely crippled system. It's up to you! Shareware offers the opportunity to test a program before you decide to buy it. The shareware price pays for the most current version, which may be the one that is already possessed and/or used. If you are not content with the currently available version of the program, it is not a bad idea to make the author aware of errors and suggestions, and if still interested in the program, wait upon the answer of the author. However, even if one is not completely satisfied with the program, if you use the program regularly, the shareware fee still applies. If the program doesn't please you, you don't need to use it. Responsibility - You use Duet at your own risk. I undertake no responsibility for any damage, whether through legitimate or unintentional use of Duet. Duet works for me with no trouble at all. If this is valid for any other computer configuration, I have no idea (having only a limited computer zoo, I can only test certain configurations). Anyone who wants to use Duet should, at least for the time being, read through the entire text. Meaning and purpose of Duet - Duet allows the connection of two TOS-based computers (ST/STE/TT/ Falcon etc..) over the MIDI, LAN or serial interfaces, the purpose of which is to allow each computer to use the other's drives (floppy and hard disk) and printer. Running Duet - Duet terminates after it installs itself, just like Big Net. It has internal (copying of the principal function at BIOS-plane) but nothing more to do with this or other Little Net derivative. Duet works at the BIOS level. It is on the one hand dependent on it, that constant BIOS-calls result (below 'normal' TOS-versions, that is). On the other hand, the drives of the other computer are available via the BIOS plane as well. This offers some advantages, but also at least one major disadvantage, that those of you might have guessed - if both machines are writing to the same partition at the same time, (this is not a problem if both system are left in the 'Read-Only' state) there is a very good possibility that the partition will have its FAT destroyed, effectively erasing all of the files! The 'Read/Write' state should only really be used if there is absolutely no way that both computers will be accessing the same partition simulataneously. Installation - First, you have to decide what interface you want to make the connection on. In the case of a 'normal' ST, MIDI is the fastest interface (this offers 31250 baud). If you have a computer with faster interfaces such as a TT connecting with an ST (its serial interface in the original state maximum 19200 Baud), you might consider, with a little work, a faster serial interface could be installed, and this interface could be used. To this purpose, I recommend Harun Scheutzow's RSVE or Stephan Skrodzki's RS_Speed. With it (and the suitable drivers) you can obtain with an 8 MHz ST with a TT over the serial interface a (Bit-)transmission speed of 57,600 baud. If you have two computers with a LAN-interface, you can alternately use this for the connection. Unfortunately, the program for using the Falcon's LAN interface does not function correctly; without doing tests on a Falcon, it seems unlikely to work. Harun Scheutzow's ST_ESCC is not, at present, supported, due to the fact that I do not have information on the heightened abilities of the 85C230. Once you have decided on the interface you'll be using, the interface must be the same on both computers. With the MIDI interface, the MIDI OUT on one computer must be plugged into the MIDI IN, and the opposite is also necessary to make the network ring. With a serial connection, in each case TxD must be connected to RxD of the other computer using a null modem. Handshaking is not necessary. You must use the correct driver for the chosen interface. With a 'normal' ST one can, admittedly, using corresponding hardware (see above) reach a transmission speed of 57,600 Baud. However, the 'normal' ST cannot actually receive the characters at that speed, even if RSVE or RS_Speed can (at maximum capacity the computer would have to be able to use data at 5,760 bytes per second). A 'normal' ST can use data at a maximum of about 4000 bytes per second. So, to use a faster computer with a slower computer at the connection speed of 57,600 baud, the faster computer must insert a break between two characters. To serve this purpose, the faster computer must use one of the special drivers, the programs that contain a 'D' (as in "delay") on the end of the name (e.g. DUET_S2D.PRG). These drivers activate the normally unused Timer A of the MFP. Program name | driver for -+- DUETLANF.PRG | LAN-interface of the Falcon (*) DUETLANT.PRG | LAN-interface of the TT/Mega STE DUETMIDI.PRG | MIDI-interface DUET_M.PRG | 'normal' serial interface (MODEM 1 of the TT/Mega STE) DUET_M2.PRG | MODEM 2 of the TT/Mega STE DUET_M2D.PRG | MODEM 2 of the TT/Mega STE with break insertion DUET_MF.PRG | serial interface of the Falcon DUET_MFD.PRG | serial interface of the Falcon with break insertion DUET_S2.PRG | SERIAL 2 of the TT/Mega STE DUET_S2D.PRG | SERIAL 2 of the TT/Mega STE with break insertion (*) this driver did not function when tested, but may do so in the future hopefully. Once you have selected the appropriate driver, you must insert it into your AUTO folder. DUETCONF.PRG and DUETCONF.INF must also be added to the AUTO folder. DUETCONF.PRG must come after the driver in the AUTO folder, using an AUTO folder order changer to change the physical sequence if necessary. Configuration - The configuration for the selected port is set as a result (at present exclusively) of having DUETCONF.PRG in the AUTO folder. For it to work, the following lines in DUETCONF.INF must be set. Blank lines and lines that start with a '#' (without quotation marks) are ignored. Lines, that start with the keywords -CPS -DRIVE -NETPRN -SPEED -STATE -TIMEOUT or -XSPEED are read and determine the settings of Duet. The value after CPS decides, using the drivers with break insertion (D on the end of the name) what the maximum character per second transfer rate is. The value must one-tenth as large as the baudrate (SPEED) is (the translation of a byte requires ten bits). With the connection of a normal ST with a TT over the serial interface at 57600 Baud offers due to the ST a maximum of 4,000 cps (and then, only if you don't move the mouse!). DRIVE can be entered more than once. Each 'DRIVE' line installs a drive at the existing computer, allowing the other computer to access that specific drive as its own. The first character after 'DRIVE' declares which drive will be accessible. The second character states what the drive's assigned letter will be on the other computer. The line 'DRIVE N C' mounts drive N, aliasing it as the other computer's drive C. NETPRN, if installed, must be installed on both computers. In the case that it is installed, printer outputs (outputs to the parallel interface) will be sent to the other computer. This will then allow both computers to share the printer via the parallel interface. The value after SPEED decides (except for the driver for the MIDI interface) baud rate. This must be set on both computers to be the same baud rate. Driver | possible values for SPEED -+- DUETLANF | 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200, 125000, 229500 DUETLANT | 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200, 125000, 229500 DUET_M | 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200 (*) DUET_M2 | 19200, 38400, 62500, 76800, 125000, 153600 DUET_M2D | 19200, 38400, 62500, 76800, 125000, 153600 DUET_MF | 19200, 38400, 62500, 76800, 125000, 153600 DUET_MFD | 19200, 38400, 62500, 76800, 125000, 153600 DUET_S2 | 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200, 125000, 229500 DUET_S2D | 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200, 125000, 229500 (*) without hardware modification, this interface only supports a maximum transmission rate of 19,200 baud. The higher transmission rates are only possible using the hardware modifications RSVE or RS_Speed. The value after STATE sets the read/write status of the netted drives. Possible values are 0 for 'Read-Only' and 1 for 'Read/Write'. Normally, 'Read-Only' (0) should be chosen. 'Read/Write' allows drive modification access (saving, erasing, defragmenting, etc.) to the drives of the other computer. Only one computer should be activated for r/w if you know exactly what you're doing. If both computers simultaneously write to the same partition, this can erase everything on the partition (through destruction of the FAT)! The value following TIMEOUT decides the time in seconds that the computer will wait before giving an error message, in the case that the other computer does not answer. XSPEED is something for specialists or those for whom SPEED is not sufficient. After every driver there are the following two (MFP) or three (SCC) parameters. The parameter being: MFP: 1.parameter: advantage: 1: 1:4 2: 1:10 3: 1:16 4: 1:50 5: 1:64 6: 1:100 7: 1:200 2. Parameter: Counter SCC: 1. parameter: flow phase: 0: RTxC 1: TRxC 2: BRG with RTxC as source 3: BRG with PCLK as source 2. Parameter: advantage: 0: 1:1 1: 1:16 2: 1:32 3: 1:64 3. Parameter: Counter Using this program with other computers and other programs - It should be possible for any computer with any TOS version to access another computer's drives using this program. In order to divert printer output to the other computer, however, will require a minimum of TOS 1.02. (To be more accurate: the xcon vectors) When attempting to observe the serial interfaces or LAN interface, the transmission parameters (transmission rate and protocol) can become disrupted through CPX modules and other programs, as can the XBIOS.Rsconf() call, in the case that the active TOS version does not support XBIOS.Bconmap(), which to my knowledge are all TOS versions up to and including TOS 1.04. TOS 2.06 and 3.06 do not seem to cause any problems whatsoever. On older TOS versions, either be sure that the MODEM.CPX is not active, or that it is at the same parameter as Duet has (existing baud rate, 8N1) set the communication setting to! Duet, being a TSR, cannot protect itself from any other programs that have a direct interface to the existing hardware to access or change parameters. If such a program changes a parameter, the communciation will no longer work, nor will it be able to be restarted without rebooting the machine(s). If one of the drivers that performs break insertions has been installed, no other computer may use Timer A of the MFP. Comments/hints - If the computer crashes when it is accessing the other computer's drive, it may be that the maximum sectorsize of the other computer is larger than the maximum sectorsize of the computer accessing it. The solution to this problem is that the hard drive drivers of both computers must be configured correspondingly (that is, the same or greater for the crashing computer!) Moving the mouse a good deal can interfere with high transmission rates. If there is any possibility that this is likely to happen, it might be a good idea not to move the mouse of the slower computer at all, or as little as possible. Occasionally, the system may appear to freeze due to a lot of mouse movements. This then, may cause the other computer to report that the other computer isn't answering, and will no longer allow the connection to continue. Most of the time, though, it will be possible to remove the 'blockage', and the other computer in the net will still be able to access the frozen computer's drives via the file selector. It is then possible to observe that an access really happens; since caches are separate directories which are possibly already buffered! Sometimes, due to a GEMDOS not noticing a media change after an alteration of a drive, the directory does not get updated. If this is the case, simply pressing the Esc key should rectify the situation. Another option is the program DUETCHG.PRG. This forces the operating system to ignore the rest of the drive's/drives' information, and removes the media change from the network altogether. Future - The future of Duet depends, in large part on your interest and your reactions. If I receive no reactions or input, that will show the lack of interest, and there will be no more work put in to this. If you have error messages, comments and/or suggestions, you may reach me at the above address. If you do not have an E-mail address, but want an answer, please include return postage. End Comments - At this point I would like to thank Christoph Zwerschke @ KA for his LED-Panel and the genial Debugging-Byte, who has helped me with this development very much. Who Christophs VGA-Simulator still as\than 'stiller Genießer' uses\ed, am with this asked, (self) too for this geniale program at last register to allow. -- leslieh@warpcon.ersys.edmonton.ab.ca Moo, eh? -- --