Last month an article was published in AMUS in which a rationale was provided
for why it is important to learn how to take advantage of the power of
AlphaTCP for networking with other computers. The idea was to then proceed
with several smaller articles that provide much more detail on how to network
with a given type of computer. At least three "how to's will be presented
here during the coming months. The first will deal with Windows 95, the
second with DOS based systems, and the last will deal with Macintosh type
computers.
Windows 95
The current article describes how to work with a PC that has Windows 95 as
its operating system. This assumes that a Kingston ethernet card has been
installed in the PC, and the card has been programmed to have an IRQ number 5
(probably), and an I/O address of 280 (probably). It also assumes that one
of the green lights on the back of that card remain lighted when the PC is on
and a 10BASET cable is connected from the PC to a hub that is, in turn,
connected to an Alpha Microsystems computer.
If the above is not the case, call your dealer, TADC, AMUS, and/or, of
course, Alpha Microsystems Tech. Support to get this accomplished.
When a PC is operating on Windows 95, you should see a set of Icons displayed
on the left side of the screen. These icons include one labeled "MY
COMPUTER". Double click on this icon. The next screen will display a set of
icons one of which is called Control Panel. Double click on this icon. The
next screen will display a dozen or so icons. Double click on the one called
"Network". Another screen will be displayed, in the middle of which will be
an area called "Add". Click on "Add" and you will see four possibilities
displayed: "Client", "Adaptor", "Protocol", and "Service".
CLIENT
First click on "Client", then "Add" . A second screen displays several
possibilities on the left of the screen. Click on the one called
"Microsoft", then "OK" at the bottom of the display. This leads to a list of
"Manufacturers" on the left and a list of "Models" on the right. Click on
"OK" and a list of detected network domains will be displayed. The
manufacturer required here, "Novel Anthem", is not displayed, so place the MP
on the down arrow at the bottom right of the display and hold down on it
until "Novel Anthem" is displayed. Click on "Novel Anthem". A new list of
options will be displayed at the right of the screen. Click on NE2000
compatible, then click on "OK". You will now see a set of programs displayed
at the top left of the display. Click on "Add" (in on the middle section of
the screen). The same four possibilities, "Client", "Adaptor", "Protocol",
and "Service" will again be displayed.
Page 2
If the above does not work, instead of clicking on "Client", try clicking on
Adapter". Then proceed as above. It is also possible that sometimes a
given window will not be completely displayed on the terminal. In one
instance the request was to click on "OK", when finished setting up that
screen. The only problem was there was no "OK" displayed on the screen. Why
this happened is unclear. However, if it does happen, put the MP (Mouse
Pointer) on the top of the window and drag it up until the bottom becomes
visible.
PROTOCOL
Click on "Protocol", and "Add". A new list of options will be displayed
under Protocols. Click on "TCPIP", then "Add". A list of manufacturers will
be displayed on the left and a list of Protocols will be displayed on the
right. Click on "Microsoft" under Manufacturers, and then click on "TCP/IP"
on the list of Protocols. Now click on "OK" and the list of network
components will again be displayed with TCP/IP at the bottom of the list.
Click on "TCP/IP" and then click on "Properties". A new display will appear
that allows you to set the IP address for this computer.
IP ADDRESS
The "IP address" is the unique number assigned to any computer on the
Internet. It consists of four 3 digit numbers, with a period between each set
of three digits. For example, when I am working just on the Alpha
Microsystems computer and do not yet have the IP number that would be
assigned to my network by a provider, I arbitrarily use the number 200.1,1,1
to identify the Alpha Microsystems computer. Any other computer that is
hooked to this network will have a number 200.1.1.n, where n represents the
number assigned to any given computer on this "local area" network.
Back to the new display noted above. Two options are displayed toward the
top left of the display. One (Automatic selection), is darkened, the other
is "Manual Selection". Click on the circle in from of the box labeled
"Manual Selection". Note that toward the right of the display are two rows
where four sets of numbers can be entered. Only enter information in the
first row. Place the MP on the first box to the left of the four and click
once. Now enter the IP address in these boxes. Using the example described
right above, type 200.1.1.2. You will note that the curser will skip from
section one to section 2 to sections 3, etc., as the information is entered.
Next touch enter or return, and the screen will again display the options
selected so far. Place the MP on OK and the original four options will be
displayed again.
PRIMARY NETWORK LOGON
At the middle of the screen is a box labeled "Primary Network Logon", and the
phrase "Client for Microsoft Networks" will be displayed. Click on this and
one other option (Windows Logon) will be displayed. Click on this option,
then click on "OK", and the list of selected options will again be displayed.
Click on "OK" and a new window will appear that is labeled "Resources".
Page 3
RESOURCES
This window will consist of three pieces of information: Basic Configuration
0, IRQ #, and I/O address range. The IRQ # is set initially to 3, and the
I/O address range to 300. A small character is displayed at the left side of
the IRQ # and the I/O address that indicates whether or not these data
conflict with other devices in the computer. Assuming that the initial data
conflict with other devices in the computer, place the MP on the up (or down)
arrow for the IRQ # and click until the desired IRQ # is displayed. Note
that the character indicating a conflict should not be present for the IRQ #
selected. One good option for an IRQ # is 5, but this will depend upon how
your system has been configured. This number, and the I/O address (next
paragraph) should be the same as that entered when the Kingston card was
installed.
Similarly place the MP on the up (or down) arrow associated with the I/O
address range. Alpha Microsystems suggests using the number 280. Assuming
that the selected IRQ # and the I/O address range do not appear to conflict
with other devices in the computer, click on "OK".
RESTART YOUR COMPUTER
At this point a new window will appear that suggests that the computer should
be restarted. Click on "Yes", and the system will re-boot. At this point
Windows 95 will request additional software from the Windows 95 install
disk(s). This process is very easy if the install disk was a CDROM. If not,
you will have to systematically load all your floppy disks, one by one, and
in order, on the system and let Windows 95 select the network software
associated with the above procedures.
If a conflict is detected by Windows 95 during the re-boot process, a message
will appear during the boot process that says "Your Network Adapter
compatible (0000) is not working properly. You may need to set it again." The
word "may" is an understatement. You WILL need to correct the problem before
the work stations will connect to the TCP/IP network! The most likely source
of the problem is that an inappropriate IRQ number or I/O address number as
entered, and/or the station's IP address was not entered correctly.
Oh NO! A conflict exists!
OK, the process is a bit of a nuisance, but it is not hard to find out why a
conflict exists. Use the help information provided with Windows 95. Double
click on "My Computer", then click on "Help" at the top of the window. Click
on "Help Topics", "Trouble shooting", "Hardware Conflict", "Start the
Hardware Troubleshooter" , "Click here to view Device Manager", and, finally,
click on "Properties". A list of the devices will be displayed on the system
along with their respective IRQ #s. Unfortunately, no device address are
displayed. Call your Dealer, AMUS, and/or Alpha Microsystems tech. support
for help on this problem.
Depending upon how the work stations was configured, you should find at least
one free IRQ #. When finished, click "OK" and Windows 95 will return to the
control panel. Don't forget to exit from the help window by clicking on the
"X" at the top right of the window.
Page 4
Typically the PC will re-boot without any problems. The next task is to
create an Icon that will make it easy to establish a Telnet connection with
the Alpha Microsystems computer.
CREATE A TELNET ICON
A Telnet Icon makes it possible to have an interactive, on-line session
between the PC and the Alpha Microsystems computer, or any other computer, as
far as that goes. This turns out to be a very easy problem to solve. Click
once on the right most mouse button. A display will appear at the bottom of
the screen. Click on "New". This line will darken and should remain darkened
when the MP is moved to the right most display where you will click on
"Shortcut". This will produce a new screen that has a line toward the top
called "Command Line". Enter the following on that line:
C:\windows\telnet.exe 200.1.1.1, where the 200.1.1.1 is the IP address of the
server with which you wish to connect. Click on "Next". Another screen will
appear with the temporary name of the ICON displayed. Type Amos over the
existing name, assuming you wish to access an Alpha Microsystem computer with
an ICON named "AMOS". Click on "Finish". You will see the new ICON
displayed on the primary Windows 95 screen.
At this point the PC is ready to make a telnet connection with an Alpha
Microsystems computer. Double click on AMOS, and everything else being
correct, the next thing you will see will be a "logon" or "login" (UltraSAFE)
message from the Alpha Microsystems computer. This message should occur
almost instantaneously. If it does not occur at all, then there is a problem
with the wiring, software, etc., someplace. If the logon screen appears
quickly, but disappears almost as fast, there is probably a problem with the
way the network as been setup on the Alpha Microsystem computer. You will
probably need to to log to the ALphaTCP account and check CONFIG. and HOSTS.
Assuming that the LOGON or LOGIN (UltraSAFE) screen stays, then it is helpful
to modify the terminal characteristics of the PC before completing the logon
process.
PC TERMINAL CHARACTERISTICS
This procedure is concerned with configuring the PC so that the information
is displayed more like it would appear on an AM62A type station. To set
terminal characteristics, when the first LOGON/LOGIN screen appears, i.e., a
Telnet connection has been made with the Alpha Microsystems computer, four
boxes will appear at the top of the screen. Click on "Terminal" and a set of
terminal preferences will be displayed. Click on VT100/Arrows and
VT-100/ANSI. Click on "Fonts", then "Courier New", and click on the up arrow
until the number 8 appears in the font size box. Click on "OK". The terminal
preferences will again be displayed. Click on "OK" and you are ready to
proceed to log on to the Alpha Microsystems computer.
When finished, remember to log off the Alpha Microsystems computer. Then
place the MP on "Connect", move the MP to "Exit", and the original Windows 95
ICONS will be displayed.
Page 5
AN FTP ICON
An Ftp Icon makes it possible to "get" a file from another computer, and/or to
"put" a file from your station on another computer. This assumes, of course,
that you have permission (a logon procedure) for accessing the other
computer. The process is just like that described above, except that the
phrase "ftp.exe" replaces the phrase "telnet.exe" entered above. Remember to
give this Icon and different name for that given the Telnet Icon created
above. One possibility is AMOSFTP.
So much for the details of how to network a Windows 95 station to an Alpha
Microsystems computer. It has been my experience that sometimes there may be
something slightly different from one PC to another. Try the above. If it
doesn't work, add to, or otherwise update this article. That way, we will
all be able to move more rapidly, and with less frustration, into this big
wide world of networking!
