-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PC-NFS(tm) Release 3.0.1 SunFLASH Vol 16 #5 April 1990 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This version of PC-NFS has been shipping for some time now, but many people have not upgraded. Also, this article also containts some useful information on 3rd party terminal emulators that work with PC-NFS and some memory management solutions - johnj -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PC-NFS, which provides the benefits of Sun's ONC/NFS enterprise networking to DOS PC users, has an upgrade from version 3.0, to version 3.0.1. This is effective as of July 5, 1989. As the version number implies, PC-NFS 3.0.1 is primarily a maintenance release. There are four major software changes and numerous minor revisions, most of which are transparent to the user. In addition, the upgrade includes a new Serial Communications Guide and "change pages" for the current PC-NFS 3.0 documentation that correct or clarify many items. Other products in the PC-NFS product line, PC-NFS LifeLine Mail and Backup(tm), and PC-NFS Programmer's Toolkit(tm) run unchanged over the 3.0.1 release of PC-NFS. For more information about these products call Sun's PC-NFS experts at 1-800-334-7866. I. Upgrade Procedure: ---------------------- All product upgrading is handled by the Telemarketing Group of Sun's Customer Support Division (CSD). The domestic CSD is reachable by phone at 1-800-USA-4SUN (option 6). Outside the US, please contact your local support office for upgrade information. II. What's New in PC-NFS 3.0.1 ------------------------------ The following is a summary of the major changes in PC-NFS Release 3.0.1. For a comprehensive description of these changes please refer to the following documents: "PC-NFS 3.0.1 Release Notes" "3.0.1 Install Guide Change Pages" "3.0.1 User Guide Change Pages" "PC-NFS Serial Communications Guide" These documents are shipped with the new PC-NFS 3.0.1 upgrade. A. DOS 4.0 Compatibility. ------------------------- PC-NFS is now compatible with DOS 4.0. This involved adding support for a number of new system calls, including the new generalized file "open/create". We believe that PC-NFS 3.0.1 is "bug for bug" compatible with IBM PC DOS 4.00, including all undocumented system calls. Support for DOS 4.0 is an important statement of Sun's commitment to PC-NFS for OEM's and VEU's. B. 8-Bit International Character Set Support. -------------------------------------------- PC-NFS now supports 8-bit international character sets for filenames. This resolves problems associated with using the commands, "copy" or "xcopy" with files whose names use 8-bit characters. C. Improved Network Printing. ---------------------------- In response to many PC-NFS user requests, the network printing capability has been substantially enhanced. The print redirector, PRT.EXE, is more robust and handles errors more effectively; if network-related problems occur, users can invoke NET PRINT to report and, if possible, correct them. For print spooling, the 5 minute timeout interval now works as expected. In addition, the default timeout of 5 minutes is now user-configurable. "NET PRINT filename" now correctly handles previously redirected printer output. To accomodate Transcript(tm) software, particularly newer versions which accept fewer control characters in ASCII data streams, PC-NFS 3.0.1 filters most control characters from the print stream in "Standard Text" and "PostScript"(tm) printing modes. More applications now print successfully to PostScript printers in either mode. For situations in which such filtering is not appropriate, a new "raw" print option has been added. A documented workaround for network printing with Microsoft Word(tm) is provided. The printer hot key setting is fixed, so that changing the hot key in "nfsconf" works correctly on pcs and is not lost on reboot. D. Compatibility Fixes. ----------------------- Improved co-existence with Microsoft Windows, expecially in the area of printing. Compatibility with the network versions of Nantucket Clipper(tm), dBase III+(tm), and Foxbase(tm). Better handling of certain illegal DOS requests, such as performing a directory search on a plain file or creating a file with a null name. Borland's Turbo Pascal(tm) and various command shells are now fully compatible. Improved write caching schemes for better performance with certain applications. E. Other Fixes. --------------- The ability to protect applications stored on NFS servers from unauthorized copying by marking .EXE and .COM files as "execute only." (This feature is not applicable to .BAT files) Improved ICMP and subnet routing capabilities. Support for multiple user group membership via the "group" YP map. Support for longer Yellow Pages domain names. (Host names are still restricted to 15 characters for DOS compatibility reasons.) More natural semantics for symbolic links; links that are not valid DOS filenames are now handled. Fixes to FTP, including better handling of multi-file requests and stripping DOS EOF characters in ASCII mode. Improvements to Telnet, including better option negotiation, configurable CR-LF or CR-NULL at EOL, and better VT-100 emulation. F. Modem Dial up Communications with SLIP enhanced. ---------------------------------------------------- Remote communications with SLIP serial line connectivity is improved. Included are support for Sun OS 4.0 servers, improved gateway installation (with routing), and a new Serial Communications Guide, which provides clear SLIP installation instructions and trouble shooting tips. F. NOT in this release: ----------------------- Additional terminal emulations, including graphics or 3270. Contact these third party terminal emulation vendors for their "PC-NFS specific" terminal emulator products: DCS, Diversified Computer Systems, Inc. 3775 Iris Avenue, Suite 1B Boulder CO 80301 303-447-9251 WRQ, Walker, Richer and Quinn, Inc. 2825 Eastlake Ave. East Seattle WA 98102 206-324-0350 Support for intelligent Excelan cards, token ring drivers or the Ungermann-Bass NIU driver. Ungermann-Bass is now providing the NIU driver for PC-NFS. Sun still provides the Ungermann-Bass NIC driver with PC-NFS. Sun also provides driver kits for board vendors who wish to develop PC-NFS compatible drivers. Support for EMS or other memory-reduction techniques. Code size in this release remains the same. Several memory management products are available to address the 640k barrier. Among them are: "HIcard(tm)" RYBS Electronics 5721 Arapahoe Ave, Suite A Boulder, CO 80303 303-449-7605 "386max Professional(tm)" Qualitas, Inc. 7101 Wisconsin Ave, Suite 1386 Bethesda, MD 20814 301-469-8848 Operation in the OS|2 DOS "Compatibility Box". Co-existence with 3Com 3+ Share(tm) and PC-NFS on the same network. We are working with 3Com to restore this previously available feature. A patch will be released as soon as it is completed. For co-existence with Novell's Netware and Microsoft Networks, customers may contact the following vendor for information about their "ISOLAN(r) Multi-Protocol Support" software products and controller cards: BICC Data Networks 1800 West Park Drive Westborough, MA 01581 508-898-2422 or BICC Data Networks 47061 Warm Springs Blvd. Fremont, CA 94539 415-490-8000 and in the UK: BICC Data Networks The System Centre Brindley Way Hemel Hempstead Herts HP3 9XJ 0442-231000 ****************************************************************** All product names are registered trademarks of their respective manufacturers. ******************************************************************* The above pricing and product availability information is for U.S. Customers only. For customers outside the U.S., please contact the local sales office. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sunflash is an electronic mail news service from Sun Microsystems, Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Please address comments to John McLaughlin (sun!sunvice!johnj or johnj@sunvice.East.Sun.COM). (305) 776-7770.