FBB Packet-radio BBS mini-HOWTO

• Index
• Introduction
• How to install X11 (Xwindow) version of LinFBB
• How to install LinFBB in addition to existing WinFBB
• How to install Protus password utility
• How to install an upgrade to a daemon version of LinFBB
• How to compile LinFBB's executable files
• How to access the "xfbbd" server from a DOS client?
• How to communicate with LinFBB in Serbian?
• How to make better ham radio rules?
• Bibliography
• Further information
• Getting help
• FBB Packet-radio BBS mini-HOWTO: How to install "xfbbd", a daemon version of LinFBB
• FBB Packet-radio BBS mini-HOWTO: How to use LinFBB's "xfbbX", a GUI client for Linux
• FBB Packet-radio BBS mini-HOWTO: How to use LinFBB's "xfbbW", a GUI client for Windows

3. How to install LinFBB in addition to existing WinFBB

Notice: Folks, you see, at my place, I have a dual-boot system, consisting of Windows NT and Linux (each of them having their own partition(s) and file system). I wanted to have 'independent' operating systems that won't see each other. So I made two NT's partitions as NTFS partitions and rest of the space used Linux as ext2 & swap partitions. Well, at first I have installed WinFBB under NT and X11 LinFBB under Linux. Both of them worked, but there was a big "problem": I could not share their system files. You might say: So, what a big deal. But, my FBB's should serve as packet-radio forwarding stations (regardless of which one I boot at the moment), so it was really needed for new LinFBB to "know", for example, the position where WinFBB has stopped the mail exchange last time (and vice- versa, of course).

• Well, in order to allow both WinFBB under Windows NT and LinFBB under Linux to use the same system files, it is needed to put these files in a place that both operating systems are able to "see". So I do that by re-installing WinFBB onto a FAT (FAT16) partition that is recognized by NT and Linux too. The best way to do that is to install a "fresh" copy of WinFBB on a FAT partition and to copy complete "old" WinFBB from NTFS partition over the fresh installation (whenever you are asked to rewrite existing files, you should answer "yes").
• When that is finished, you should have a "clone" of the existing old WinFBB, but this time on the FAT partition that is visible from under Linux. Anyway, you should check if the "new" one installation is able to run properly as the "old" one.
• I could also recommend you to check the file tree of WinFBB in order to become more familiar with it. The file tree of LinFBB is a bit different so it is advisable to note various details here and there.
• Some files can't be used as they are under both operating systems (without some necessary changes). That's why some file names should be renamed (or, at least, you should make appropriate copies of some files):

        init.srv    ->  init_w.srv
        forward.sys ->  forw_w.sys
        port.sys    ->  port_w.sys
        protect.sys ->  prot_w.sys
        
  

  FBB is able to recognize and accept those renamed files.

• Make a backup of the actual WinFBB (I do that by copying the whole WinFBB file structure into the other Windows partition that won't be shared with Linux, like NTFS one). You'll never know when a catastrophe may happen, so as a result, you won't be able to start neither of the "old" WinFBB or the "new" LinFBB. As a precaution, the backup might be the easiest way to recover at least the old WinFBB for a while (until you configure your new LinFBB, OK?).
• Now, you should restart your machine and boot into Linux. Log on as 'root' or make 'su' from a user's account.
• Mount a shared FAT directory (where FBB files are): mount -t vfat /dev/hda2 /mnt/win (for example). If that works, later you may adopt that change within your /etc/fstab configuration.
• Copy LinFBB archive to /tmp directory.
• Position yourself to the 'base' directory: cd /usr/local/fbb (for example).
• Unpack the archive: tar xvzf /tmp/filename.
• Start the installation script ./install.sh and, after asked for the 'base' installation directory, chose /usr/local/fbb. It doesn't matter if the program warns you that such directory already exists so existing files will be overwritten (by the way, if you choose a mounted directory shared with NT, many original WinFBB files, located there, would be over-written by LinFBB files, so after returning to Windows, WinFBB might not be as functional as before this installation).
• Copy /usr/local/fbb to /mnt/win/fbb but do *not* rewrite existing files with the new files having the same names.
• Copy /mnt/win/fbb/init_w.srv to /mnt/win/fbb/init_l.srv file.
• Edit /mnt/win/fbb/init_l.srv to what is needed for Linux. You may use the existing file /mnt/win/fbb/init.srv as an example.
• Copy newly edited /mnt/win/fbb/init_l.srv over the /mnt/win/fbb/init.srv (if you do not do that, maybe you wouldn't be able to start LinFBB using ./xfbb.sh, like me at the first time).
• Copy /mnt/win/fbb/system/port_w.sys to /mnt/win/fbb/system/port_l.sys file.
• Edit /mnt/win/fbb/system/port_l.sys to what is needed for Linux and LinFBB. You may use the existing file /mnt/win/fbb/system/port.sys as an example.
• Edit /mnt/win/fbb/xfbb.sh in order to fix the right path.
• Ensure that you are in FBB's main directory: cd /mnt/win/fbb (for example).
• Start the script ./xfbb.sh to run LinFBB. If everything is OK, your LinFBB under Linux should run with the same configuration as your "old" WinFBB under Windows. From this point, both FBB's should behave very similar (actually, I must admit that WinFBB has much better visual quality than X11 LinFBB, but probably the reasons for that you may find in Windows-vs.-Linux-GUI quality "battle field"). FYI, my actual WinFBB is v7.00g25 (05 January 2000) and X11 LinFBB is v7.00g (04 August 1998).
• Although this combination WinFBB/X11 LinFBB works fine, I have noticed some problems. For example, LinFBB was not able to use amsat forward_to_file routine (located in /mnt/win/fbb/system/fwd directory), because that file was composed like this (for example):

    A AMSAT
    *
    P @
    *
    C D:\FBB\SYSTEM\SAT\AMSAT.TXT     <-- looks familiar to DOS/Windows only
    *
    G AMSAT
    *
    --------
  
        
  

  On the other side, LinFBB's amsat.sys (located in /etc/ax25/fbb/fwd directory) has suggested something like this:

    A AMSAT
    *
    P @
    *
    C /var/ax25/fbb/sat/amsat.txt     <-- looks familiar to Linux only
    *
    G AMSAT
    *
    --------
  
        
  

  Well, then I copied LinFBB's amsat.sys into /mnt/win/fbb/system/fwd directory so it could become functional. As a result, I got two amsat.txt files, one of them for each of WinFBB/LinFBB, and of course, both files appeared on different locations: the first one was /mnt/win/fbb/system/sat/amsat.txt and it was filled by WinFBB; the other one was in /var/ax25/fbb/sat/amsat.txt and was filled by LinFBB. I didn't like it that way.

  In order to have only one result, regardless of FBB version, the newly copied amsat.sys had to be slightly changed:

    A AMSAT
    *
    P @
    *
    *C /var/ax25/fbb/sat/amsat.txt
    C /mnt/win/fbb/system/sat/amsat.txt
    *
    G AMSAT
    *
    --------
  
        
  

  As you can see now, when LinFBB is active, its amsat.sys will not forward into its "native" location of amsat.txt. Instead of that, it will go to the location of the WinFBB's amsat.txt and just add some new materials into it, OK?

  Well now it's up to you to decide what to do with your growing amsat.txt. An old DosFBB manual says that the 'batch' file (I suppose, the old good APPEL.BAT) should be adopted in order for SATUPDAT.EXE can update sat tracking data and, after that, to erase AMSAT.TXT because it is not needed anymore. Well, I haven't found a way to manage that in both WinFBB and LinFBB. Actually, whenever I perform housekeeping from either of them, it seems that AMSAT.TXT remains intact. Happily, it doesn't grow too much, so it's not a big problem. Any suggestion here?