On Sat, Mar 03, 2001 at 06:33:25PM -0500, Todd A. Erickson wrote:
> I second that emotion!  I have an old 386 and another 486 running Linux with
> NO PROBLEMS at all!  Not to mention two other powerful machines running Linux.
>
> What Herbert wants to do can be very easily and reliably done with Linux!
>
>
> On Sat, Mar 03, 2001 at 05:14:34PM -0500, Herbert Graf wrote:
> > > does anyone know of a VNC server for DOS - one that sits up in high memory
> > > and talks tcp/ip via an ethernet card, without DOS even being aware of
> > > it/them (VNS, Ethernet, TCP/IP)?  Seems like such a thing might just be
> > > possible, and would be just the thing for getting all those lowly 386sx
> > > systems running - the ones rescued from assorted dumpsters -
> > > without having
> > > to dedicate realestate to bulky objects like monitors and keyboards.
> >
> >         It's an interesting idea, however I think the problem is lack of OS
> > support. What I mean is in Windows when you want to open a TCP/IP connection
> > you simply open a socket, everything else is taken care of for you. To
> > implement the same in DOS you'd need to build in network card support, a
> > TCP/IP stack and everything else needed. Also I believe VNC is a bitmapped
> > environment, so you would also have to convert the DOS display to a bitmap
> > in order to be compatible with VNC.
> >         A much better solution IMHO is just to install Linux. There are alot of
> > smaller distros that will run fine on a 386 and everything is already built
> > in, a telnet server (or SSH) and almost any other server you want limited
> > only by memory and HD space. TTYL

1) There is a DOS version of VNC available at:
   http://c0w.inode.at/mjy/dosvnc.html
   There is even an 1MB RAM version!!!
   It requires just DOS and packet drivers,
   However I'm not sure how secure VNC is (I think that the password is sent
   encrypted, but the rest of the session is not, however I don't remember
   where have I read it - probably you should check the docs or the sources)
   Well I tried to use it, but I had enormous problems with keys mapping.
   However if you use the plain english keyboard, there should be no
   problem.
2) If you do not need graphics, the Linux+SSH is the best choice for you.
   I've successfully ran the modified (my own 2.2.18 kernel, ppp stuff
   removed, vlock added and modified startup files) Polopyrin distro
   (sorry, I've forgotten the exact URL) on 386SX without FPU +5MB of RAM.
3) If you are going to use your machine as an X terminal, 8MB of RAM is the
   minimum. And once again you have to think about the security.
   If you install just a X server, you can connect to the X server with:
   X -query your.big.server.name
   but then your session is unencrypted and may be sniffed or hijacked.
   You have two options to make such configuration secure.
   a) Install the X server, window manager and xterm on your small machine
      ("small terminal"),
      run the xterm and login with ssh to the "big server" (X forwarding in ssh
      should be switched on), then you will be able run the programs on the
      remote "big server" using your small machine as a display. The whole
      X traffic will be encrypted.
   b) Run the X server on your terminal: "$ X".
      On the next virtual console (CTRL+ALT+F2) do ($ is the system prompt):
      $ export DISPLAY=:0
      $ ssh -X your.big.server.name
      after loging in, just run the window manager on the big server
      (eg.: $ icewm-gnome, the strict syntax depends on the window manager
      you use), and then connect to the X console (usually ALT+F7),
   c) Use the VPN approach. If you are the root of the remote big server,
      install the VPN stuff on it (eg. the kernel with "international
      extensions" and use CIPE, or install the "tunnel vision"), in this
      case the whole traffic between your "small terminal" and the "big
      terminal" may be safely encrypted. However this setup is not trivial
      and requires

Please remember, connection security is VERY IMPORTANT SUBJECT, unless you
use just your home internal network. The sniffers are widely available, and
it is very easy to read the telnet or ftp password from the TCP/IP packet...

--
                                HTH, Regards
                                Wojtek Zabolotny
                                wzab@ise.pw.edu.pl

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