Subject: MJRB-21 >> THE CONNECTION << MJRB-21 >> THE CONNECTION << *************************************************************** OVERVIEW -- Introduction to THE CONNECTION. -- Interactive Sessions, a Review. -- Basic information to configure set up files. -- Summary of information needed. -- Final comments. *************************************************************** THE CONNECTION *************************************************************** We have covered a lot of material in these past 18 lessons. We are now ready to take the next step and move toward making access to the Internet easier. We will begin by talking about configuration files and the necessary information you will need for setting up these files. We will then explore THE INTERNET ADAPTER or TIA and TRUMPET WINSOCK. These two packages allow users to connect to their accounts and then all the other packages (EMAIL and NEWS readers, FTP, ARCHIE, GOPHER, IRC, and WEB BROWSERS) become the tools for accessing the Internet quickly and easily. So, appropriately, we call this focus of lessons, The Connection. Each topic is a topic that we could spend weeks discussing. However, my intention is to get you started with this software. There will be information of sites where this software may be obtained, discussion of setting up the software and suggested configurations, as well as an overview of using the software. I will also provide a variety of suggested sites, NewsGroups, and other resources where you may be able to obtain a wealth of information on most these packages. ************************************************************* INTERACTIVE SESSIONS -- INFORMATION ************************************************************* For the duration of this course, I will continue to be available in two ways for interactive discussions. For some of you, the times I will be available will not be convenient. I wish it were possible to stay up here on the East Coast in order to give you opportunity to engage in these discussions. However, as much as the Internet draws me to spending many hours a night on my computer, I must get some sleep sometime. (To tell you the truth, I look funny with these dark rings under my eyes.) # 1. MJRB-QA Beginning somewhere around 8:00PM EST, I will plan to read my MJRB-QA list mail regularly and to respond to the questions and suggestions as quickly as possible. I will plan to follow this format for the rest of the course. My last response to MJRB-QA each night will be around 12:00 midnight EST. # 2. IRC Beginning somewhere around 10:00PM EST, I will plan to spend regular time on IRC. I will actually set up the channel around 8:00PM but will not readily respond to members who join much before 10:00PM. I need time to respond to the MJRB-QA list and prepare the lessons to be sent out. Here are the commands to use to get onto IRC, assuming you have the capability of using IRC. We will be talking about this topic in some detail later. To connect to the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) client type: IRC You will need to connect to an undernet server. If you are familiar with the Undernet.Org servers, connect to one closest to your location. If you don't know what server to connect to then type the following command: /SERVER Suggested servers: WASHINGTON.DC.US.UNDERNET.ORG NORMAN.OK.US.UNDERNET.ORG e.g. /server washington.dc.us.undernet.org e.g. /server norman.ok.us.undernet.org Once you are connected to the Undernet.Org server, type the following command (/links) to obtain a listing of various Undernet servers. Record the addresses in your notebook and find one closest to your location. You can then type /SERVER to reconnect to the Undernet.Org. /LINKS Once connected to the Undernet.Org IRC system, type the following command to join the MJRB channel for interactive discussion. My channel name is MJRB. Notice you must type the symbol (#) without the parentheses before the channel name. /JOIN #MJRB My nickname is 'PROF'. Be patient when you connect to the channel because I may be busy else where and may not respond to you immediately. However, I will respond by giving you a 'hello '. If you have problems connecting, keep trying. You will eventually succeed. ************************************************************* BASICS FOR CONFIGURING and SETTING UP FILES ************************************************************* There are some very important and basic pieces of information with which you must be familiar. Most of the software requires some sort of configuration setup in order to work correctly. Most of the configuration setup files use similar information, so taking time now to understand configuration terms will save you time later. The following terms will be the ones you will most likely see in one or another of the setup files. I suggest you set up a form where you record your particular information for these terms. Then, keep this form handy as a ready reference. You will in fact be referring to this form many times, so it is worth while to take the time now and develop this reference form. I would also recommend that you re-read ROADMAP MAP04 which discusses email addresses and domain addresses. This information is useful to review and to gain a good understanding of names and addresses, which is the focus of this lesson. # 1. First, we will talk about your computer and then the computer system to which you connect when going into the Internet. Your computer is known as the LOCAL system or site and your account site to which you connect is known as the HOST system or site. # 2. In the Internet world, there needs to be a way to identify the computers and systems that are inter-connected. Otherwise, there would be chaos and we could not enjoy this super highway. So, let's talk about how HOST systems are able to be identified. **> A. A host system has a name and is often the DOMAIN name in your email address. As an example, I have two accounts. One account is with the Wrentham Internet Services, which by the way has merged with Kersur Technologies, Inc. The second account I have is with the World Standard Tool and Die Company. So let's look at my email addresses and determine my host domains. **> i). For the Wrentham Account or now know as my KERSUR ACCOUNT, my email address was: rbehrens@riva.com Now, my email address is: rbehrens@kersur.net The name 'riva.com' or 'kersur.net' is my HOST domain name. (And, for those of you who may have noticed, my host domain actually is KERSUR.NET now due to the merger. But, don't fuss over this point because it is not relevant to the discussion.) **> ii). For the World account, my email address is: rbehrens@world.std.com The name 'world.std.com' is my HOST domain name for the World. **> B. It is easier to remember the DOMAIN name by 'kersur.net' but in fact there is also a unique number which also identifies this and every other domain connected to the Internet. This unique number is the IP address. For my Kersur account, the IP address is 199.79.199.1 and for the World account the IP address is 192.74.137.5. The IP address of your host system may be displayed in the opening screen when you connect. You may also ask your administrator for the IP ADDRESS of you HOST. **> C. Thus, two very important terms you want to know is your account DOMAIN NAME and your account IP ADDRESS. This information will be used in all the clients setup or configuration files in order to identify your account server. **> D. Another term you will come across is 'DNS'. This term is Domain Name Server and is the same as your Host Domain Name and Host IP address. **> E. Another piece of information you will need is the type of system your HOST account is using. Again, you may need to ask your administrator for this information. This particular information is necessary to be able to order the correct TIA file. The following information is taken from the TIA single user file (which I will discuss tomorrow.) xxxxxxxxxxx (Below extracted from a TIA File) xxxxxxxxxxxxx Since TIA is a binary executable program (i.e., not a script) you must run the version that corresponds to the hardware and operating system of your UNIX host computer. TIA Version 1.03 is currently available for: (My comment: Software versions today may be different due to on-going updating of software. Don't worry about the version number at this time.) Hardware Operating System ------------------------------- Sun Sparc Solaris 2.x Sun Sparc SunOS 4.1.x Sun 3 SunOS 4.1.x 386/486 BSDI 1.x 386/486 SCO 386/486 LINUX DEC Alpha OSF/1 2.0 DEC ULTRIX 4.3 IBM RS/6000 AIX 3.2 SGI IRIX 4.0 HP 9000 HPUX 9.0 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx As an example, my TIA file is located on the World.Std.Com Account and the system they use is the 'SGI IRIX 4.0. You may also see the Hardware/Operating System information displayed to the screen when you sign on to your account. **> F. Other information you may need to ask your account site administrator to give you is the names and/or IP addresses for the following terms or servers, which you will need when you configure for your News Reader and Your email reader. The NEWS SERVER name. Often the name used will just be 'news' or the host IP address. The EMAIL SERVER name. Often the name used will just be 'mail' or the host IP address. # 3. Your LOCAL computer may also have a unique identification for the account server to recognize you. This is information you will need to obtain from the administrator of your account site. You may also have a DOMAIN name and an IP address. **> A. For my Kersur account, my DOMAIN name is 'behrens' and my IP address is 199.79.199.169. The thing that can be confusing here is that the same terms, DOMAIN and IP address, are used for both the HOST and the LOCAL computers. Just remember that your account site is the HOST through which you connect to the Internet. **> B. Another term you will find in the setup files is USER NAME. Often the USER NAME is the name you use in your email address before the '@' sign. In my Kersur account my email address is 'rbehrens@kersur.net'. Therefore, my USER NAME is 'rbehrens'. ************************************************************* SUMMARY Of INFORMATION NEEDED IN CONFIGURATION FILES ************************************************************* The following information will be used in configuring setup files. You may want to copy this form to your notebook and keep it handy for future reference. Personal Computer Information: -- LOCAL ---------------------------------------- 1. email address 2. user DOMAIN name 3. user IP address 4. USER NAME Your Account or Server Information: -- HOST ------------------------------------------- 1. DOMAIN NAME 2. IP ADDRESS 3. News Server Name 4. Email Server Name 5. Hardware and Operating System ************************************************************* FINAL COMMENTS ************************************************************* Take the time to get this information on a form that you will use as a handy reference. Configuring the software clients requires, most often, some or all of this information. There are often unique configuration files for each system or account or host, at times. So, you may need to work with your administrator to develop your configuration file correctly. Unfortunately, here is no one configuration file that will work for every one. To get your software clients running may be a very simple matter that requires very little experimenting with the above information. At other times, it may require a lot of trial and error in the possible combinations of configuration information needed. However, learning to configure files correctly is an education in and of itself. You will succeed eventually. Having the above information handy will make this task of configuring files just a tad bit easier and a tad bit less frustrating. We will begin to use this information in the next series of lessons. The next lesson will discuss TIA (The Internet Adapter). This software package allows users with graphic capability to be able to use graphic clients. Not all HOST systems will require you to have TIA in your home directory on the host system. The lesson to follow TIA will be a discussion of WINSOCK TRUMPET. This software package allows you to connect to your HOST system and sets up the necessary configuration for all other clients. ============================================================ Robert R. Behrens MJ & RB Computing, Inc. 5 Lakeshore Drive Bellingham, Ma. 02019 rbehrens@kersur.net Copyright Robert Behrens 1995. All Rights Reserved. ============================================================ Robert R. Behrens MJ & RB Computing 5 Lakeshore Drive Bellingham, Ma. 02019 (508) 883-2652 rbehrens@kersur.net rbehrens@world.std.com http://www.kersur.net/~rbehrens ============================================================================= Reference.COM has begun archiving MJRB-TRAINING as of: Jan. 30, 1997 Searchable archives for the list is available at: http://www.reference.com/cgi-bin/pn/listarch?list=MJRB-TRAINING@world.std.com ============================================================================= To unsubscribe from this list, send E-mail to majordomo@world.std.com with the message UNSUBSCRIBE MJRB-TRAINING Contact owner-mjrb-list@world.std.com or rbehrens@kersur.net if you have problems. ============================================================================= WEB PAGE: http://www.kersur.net/~rbehrens ============================================================================= Subject: QA Re: Win95 System Monitor On Sat, 1 Mar 1997 22:47:16 -0500 (EST) Debra Daily wrote: >It just so happened I was poking around in the System Monitor today and >noticed that the Kernal Processing Usage was set to "fixed", while all >the other ones I looked at were set to "automatic". I decided to change >this.... not really sure why...... except to compare the difference (and >supposing that it will change as it needs to). Would you have any >thoughts on this? > >And while we're here, would you have any idea about what the "value" >numbers mean? (The help file leaves quite a bit to be desired.) The chart values can be either a fixed scale (0-100%, or 0-to some value) or can be automatic (values from 0-to whatever fills the screen). Depending upon how many items you place in the monitor window and whether or not you use line charts or bar charts you might have to select "automatic" so that the scales will fit in the window. Usage percentages are best set at fixed, i.e. 0-100% so you can monitor how much this resource is consuming, all others are best set at automatic. The value numbers are based on the percentage or the size. For instance, if you are monitoring Kernel Processor Usage as a %, then the "last value:" is the percentage just monitored and the "Peak value:" is the highest percentage since monitoring began. If you are monitoring Swapfile size, then the values refer to megabytes (Mb) of swapfile size. To monitor 16-bit applications, choose Add - Memory Manager - Swappable memory. The number of bytes allocated from the swap file. Locked pages still count for the purpose of the count. This includes code from 16-bit applications and DLLs, but not code from Win32 DLLs and executable files. The number includes the disk cache. To see the actual size, subtract the value of the Disk Cache Size. If the computer appears to be slow, check the values reported by Kernel Processor Usage (%) and by Memory Manger Page Faults and Memory Manager Locked Memory. 1) If the values for Kernel Processor Usage are high even when the user is not working, check to see what application might be keeping it busy. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to see list of tasks in the Close program box. 2) If the values for Memory Manager Page Faults are high, then applications are using memory above your current capability. Buy more RAM... 3) If the values for Memory Manager Locked Memory are high, then inadequate free-memory might be affecting performance. Close an application to free resources. If the values for Memory Manager Discards and Memory Manager Page-outs indicate a lot of activity, perfomance problems might be related to system memory. Buy more RAM... If you have "memory leakage", i.e., an application doesn't free memory when it finishes, monitor the value of Kernel Threads over Time. This will indicate whether the application is starting threads and not reclaiming them. Win95 is supposed to automatically remove such threads when the application closes, but if you identify a "leak" while the application is running, you should close and restart it periodically. Gerry Boyd -- gboyd@netcom.com ============================================================================= Reference.COM has begun archiving MJRB-TRAINING as of: Jan. 30, 1997 Searchable archives for the list is available at: http://www.reference.com/cgi-bin/pn/listarch?list=MJRB-TRAINING@world.std.com ============================================================================= To unsubscribe from this list, send E-mail to majordomo@world.std.com with the message UNSUBSCRIBE MJRB-QA Contact owner-mjrb-list@world.std.com or rbehrens@kersur.net if you have problems. ============================================================================= WEB PAGE: http://www.kersur.net/~rbehrens =============================================================================