Serial (RS232) to Ethernet experience

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I use MiamiDX on my 3.x OS because the lpr.device I need to print to my two printers will not work with AmiTCP. I have all the Termite and IBrowse original disks, but both Miami and Roadshow have setup options for using the serial Port to ISDN/DSL/modem devices. My guess that if they get a response back the TCP stack won't care what is sending them data. I'm not a network expert, but a few bucks spent on •bay may prove a learning experience even if I only end up connecting my 8-bitters to a BBS
 
bdb said:
it would ignore (if any) dialing and simply transfer the data just like a serial-to-serial gadget ought to
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When you connect the MSS-100 in Modem Mode, your computer works with it exactly as it would work with a real modem. You use Hayes AT commands to dial, hang up, etc. The big difference happens when you dial a phone number. Instead of using a phone number in your phone book or when issuing an ATDT command, you use the IP Address or DNS Host Name. So, if I wanted to connect to another device, such as another Lantronix in modem mode, a telnet BBS, a terminal listening on an IP port, etc., I would issue a command like:

atdt 192.168.0.99
or
atdt mybbs.com

If you don't use the modem emulation mode, the device acts as a virtual serial port. To connect to the device from a PC, you would use the Lantronix Com Port Redirector software. You could also configure two Lantronix devices to automatically connect to each other. This would literally give you a virtual serial cable from one device to the other.

At work, we use the Com Port Redirector Software and Lantronix devices to connect our old, serial only, time clocks to the network. You configure a com port to point to the IP Address of the Lantronix device then whenever you try to connect to that com port, you are connected over the network to the time clock.

I've got a lot of experience with these so I'm happy to help out anyone who needs assistance. I still want to try to play a game of Firepower over the Internet using two of these devices. :)

Heather
 
bdb said:
I use MiamiDX on my 3.x OS because the lpr.device I need to print to my two printers will not work with AmiTCP.
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It doesn't matter if it's AmiTCP, Termite, or MiamiDX (I assume Miami DX supports modems, I've only used it with ethernet)

bdb said:
... My guess that if they get a response back the TCP stack won't care what is sending them data.
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And that's the point. You need to get a response back.
That response back needs to be a PPP/SLIP response.
The modem emulator won't give you that. It is just a modem...

If you have a PPP/SLIP server that can respond over ethernet, then you could connect to that device... It sounds a bit like what PPPoE is, but I have a feeling that it isn't just straight PPP listening on ethernet, but a more robust protocol. Unfortunately, I'm not that familiar with PPPoE....

SkydivinGirl said:
I've got a lot of experience with these so I'm happy to help out anyone who needs assistance. I still want to try to play a game of Firepower over the Internet using two of these devices. :smile:
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I know.. ;-) I have moved all of my Amigas around recently and I have the A500 set up with my adapter connected, so I should be able to try this...
I can't remember if Firepower is modem or null modem? If it's modem, then it should be as easy as my tweaking my router to allow TCP/23 into my Lantronix and we're good to test..
(Not too worried about the security implications of someone hacking my Amiga 500... ;-) )

desiv
 
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Heather, you are real gold mine!

Thank you for the offer to help; when my Lantronix device comes in I may give you a jingle. I currently have no need to connect my home devices to each other other than having my iPhone print on my network and transfer photos. I set up Samba under OS 4.1 to see if it was possible, only to find out Samba won't talk to Windows 7 (nor Vista); it was just a try for the experience. I used to have my work PC protected with PGP which encrypted the hard drive with a 32K hardware key (USB thumb device) plus a password. Not for any tangible reason except to garner some experience with it.
 
desiv said:
I can't remember if Firepower is modem or null modem?
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I know for a fact that there is modem communication because I used to play with a friend in Michigan over the phone lines. I'm almost certain there's null modem capability for local play. Either one should work with the Lantronix. :)

@bdb

No problem at all. Feel free to pick my brain once you have your Lantronix adapter. :) As you say though, just trying to figure out if things can be done is half the fun!

Heather
 
desiv said:
You would need a linux box (or some other SLIP/PPP provider) to connect to, but getty/mgetty listens on serial ports, not ethernet.
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Sounds like solution
That said, even just "dialing" into a BBS is great fun.
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It is!
A vBulletin plugin that allows a telnet/text/BBS look and feel!!!
That would be awesome! desiv
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And if it's text only, you don't really need very fast connection
 
I used Miami, the adaptor hooked to my router and that's it!

Configuring Miami to proper internet navigation is boring and not recommended to people with suicidal tendencies.

In my case I used my SCSI+8Mb A500 and a copy of Amosaic (pretty ancient) and successfully accessed Aminet. This is the end of my web browsing using an A500, lol.

FTP is faster enough and I recommend it even for intranet sharing (Samba handler). For a bit of more speed, go for baudbandit (Aminet), successfully getting 33k on my A500.

BTW: I'm using my UDS200 in modem emulation. My router acts as the "internet provider". I love modern technology, some times.
 
rkauer said:
I used Miami, the adaptor hooked to my router and that's it!
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Your router accepts a pseudo dial-up connection over ethernet and provides the SLIP/PPP response that Miami is looking for?????

Wow..

What type of router is that?

desiv
 
An ordinary D-Link, mate. The router itself does not know about what is asking for an IP, the modem emulator takes care of that.

The SLIP/PPP is configured directly into the Lantronix device and inside the Miami software. No sweat to make this kludge works. Honestly.

In Miami I just typed an available IP from the router.

The (very) hard task was resolving the DNS IP.:banghead: That particular bit take ages to figure out. In the end I simply gave up and typed Aminet IP directly into Amosaic.
 
rkauer said:
An ordinary D-Link, mate. The router itself does not know about what is asking for an IP, the modem emulator takes care of that.

The SLIP/PPP is configured directly into the Lantronix device and inside the Miami software. No sweat to make this kludge works. Honestly.

In Miami I just typed an available IP from the router.

The (very) hard task was resolving the DNS IP.:banghead: That particular bit take ages to figure out. In the end I simply gave up and typed Aminet IP directly into Amosaic.
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Is it possible to use this device with fixed IP instead of DHCP? I also want to connect my A500 to my fixed IP network.
 
Yes, you must enter into its configuration via the network. Check the page of the device you have.
 
Is it as simple as connecting one device into the A500 serial port, then the ethernet cable into my router (which is an ISP box and may be not easily tweakable)?
Or do i need 2 lantronix (one for the amiga and one for a PC that remains switched on)?
 
One unit (there are a few dual-RS232 to Ethernet, as mine, permitting two computers connecting at same time!) and the lan wire to the router.

Let the Lantronix do the DHCP and read the manual on Lantronix website.
 
As Rogerio said, these are very easy to configure. The great thing is that you can manually configure them if needed and there are a lot of options. You can even make one Lantronix adapter automatically connect to another one if you like. The possibilities are endless.

I tried playing Firepower over the Internet with another AmiBay member and it worked! Latency issues did cause it to be a bit quirky and slow, but we didn't play with the settings very much.

Heather
 
Well, i must buy one (or two) immediatly :)
If that permits null-modem link over the internet, everyone must buy one on Amibay to create a new online gaming community (Lotus2, Vroom, etc).
 
It will certainly act like a Null modem. The only issue is the lag. I'd be happy to help you test out some games. :thumbsup:

Heather
 
SkydivinGirl said:
I have a bunch of these devices and they work wonderfully. I made a post on Lemon64 on how to configure the Lantronix MSS100 for use on a C64. The settings are the same for most retro computers, but the baud rate might be different depending on the system.

I see the MSS100 on eBay quite often for very affordable prices.

Heather
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Heather's setting also work on the Amiga with no problems just change the Baud I use 19.2 till I try 38.4...:thumbsup:

And thanks Heather that was a great post I did not know I had to
use a null modem with that device..:thumbsup:


:coffee:
 
Add one of those puppies with a real fast serial interface like a clockport Port+Jnr or a MultifaceIII and you'll have a faster internet experience than some Amiga Ethernet card!

Oh, there is a parallel version of the Lantronix devices, too!
 
@Chris

I'm very happy the settings worked well for you! Lantronix has these serial devices that are meant to be connected as either a computer or a modem. For the ones that act like a computer connection, like the MSS100 devices, a null modem needs to be used to connect it to a computer; just like you would connect two computers together via serial. There ones that connect like a modem don't require the null modem adapter. :)

@Rogerio

I didn't realize they made parallel versions! That might be fun to try out.

Heather
 
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