The zmodem/kermit issue
When Kerberized telnetd was installed on the Athena dialups, users of
zmodem complained that uploads of files to Athena, using rz from the
sipb locker, were failing. A workaround was given - type "rlogin
athena" at the pasta prompt instead of just "athena". Then zmodem
uploads worked again.
Requiring this workaround for zmodem means load on OLC. Encouraging
people to use kermit should mean we support it better than we do now.
Here's a chronology of related email:
- July 26, 1994
- Bruce calls for a meeting of various
people, including CSS, to discuss the issue.
- July 28, 1994
- Meeting date is set. Oliver
Thomas will represent CSS Athena/micro consultants.
- August 1, 1994
- Minutes are sent out to the
is-minutes@MIT.EDU mailing list detailing the decision to try to support
kermit better and not pursue zmodem support. Oliver submitted
clarifications to the action items.
- August 2, 1994
- Ted verifies that windowing kermit
works fine.
- August 8, 1994
- Oliver calls for reexamination
of not supporting zmodem, citing
- apparent popularity of zmodem
- ease of use of zmodem
- Mac kermit client ``in dismal shape''
Ted suggests trying an alpha version
of the Mac client that purports to be better.
- Mid-August, 1994
- With the term about to begin, everybody got busy doing other things.
Since a workaround existed for zmodem uploads, the issue went low on
everybody's priority list, so the conversation stalled.
- August 27, 1994
- Bruce pointed out that Columbia had
released a beta version of the
Mac
client, including many
bug
fixes.
- October 28, 1994
- Carla asks
the PPT to consider fixing things so that zmodem will work again.
- November 14, 1994
- Bruce creates a summary of options for
the PPT evaluate.
- November 16, 1994
- (from the PPT
minutes) CSS Position: "zmodem IS a supported product, and we
should make it work right!"
- December 3, 1994
- Bruce shares some findings
showing that flow control characters are being interpreted at the
dialup end, and not being passed to the client.
- December 14, 1994
- Bruce asks for
help on comp.protocols.kerberos, comp.sys.ultrix and comp.sys.aix.
No help is offered except for some stabs in the dark from epeisach,
none of which work when Bruce tries them.
- December 29, 1994
- Bruce finds a "zmodem options" dialog box on zterm with a checkbox
for "escape ctl chars". When this box is checked, transfers work
fine. Burce sends mail about
it.
Bruce R. Lewis / <brlewis@mit.edu>
$Date: 94/12/31 14:40:16 $