setting up STinG
This is a quick run down of what you need to do to set up STinG, based on my personal experience and reading stuff on c.s.a.s. I don't guarantee it will work with your ISP, or that you won't have to twiddle some of the settings to make it go on your machine. I've tried to annotate the bits where I'm offering general advice I haven't tried myself due to hardware differences etc, also I've tried to explicitly state assumptions where appropriate.
I've stuck to editing the config files using a text editor rather than using the dialer and CPXs as I find it easier that way.
- Download the archive and unpack it to a suitable partition. STinG isn't fussy about where it is for the most part as long as you tell it where to find things (see below) but it's as easy to leave the directory structure alone as not so why complicate things? If any of the individual bits have been updated since the main archive was released, grab those too, unpack them and substitute the revised versions for the ones in the main archive.
- You will almost certainly need to install HSmodem if you haven't yet done so. I don't intend to cover this here, apart from issues relating to AUTO folder order covered below.
- Copy STING.PRG and STING.INF to your AUTO folder. Edit STING.INF so that it contains the path to the folder where you have your STinG modules. If you have preserved the directory structure as unpacked, this will be X:\STING\STING\, where X is the partition where you have installed STinG. NB the final \ in the path is important!
- At this point you need to sort your AUTO folder either manually or
(better) using Autosort or a similar program. MagiC users can use
AUTOEXEC.BAT. This is to ensure that the programs execute in the right
order. Generally, HSmodem programs need to load last, but STinG
must load after HSmodem. These programs
should be in the following order:
- DRVIN.PRG (HSmodem driver loader)
- SCC.PRG or MFP.PRG (HSmodem port drivers: the appropriate one/s for your machine)
- STING.PRG
- Copy the CPXs to your CPX folder. You need to be running XControl or suitable alternative as your control panel server (eg Zcontrol, COPS) to use CPXs. I make the assumption you are already using one of these. Disable the old Modem CPX if you are using it as the new serial CPX replaces it.
- Reload your CPXs and run the new Serial Ports CPX. NB this just sets up speeds etc for the ports available on your machine, IT DOESN'T SELECT THE ACTIVE PORT FOR STinG! Select each available port and adjust settings to suit, then save the settings. You will notice the main difference from the old CPX is that this supports HSModem's extended speeds and buffers.
- Using a text editor (eg Everest, QED), edit DEFAULT.CFG in the STinG
directory (ie X:\STING\STING as mentioned above). What follows is the
supplied example with extra annotations by me:
----------DEFAULT.CFG--------8<------------------------ # #This is the STinG relevant stuff. #Leave most of this stuff alone to start with! #Lines beginning with a # are commented out (ie not active and #ignored by STinG) # #NB nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn represents a numerical IP address: edit to suit! # ALLOCMEM= 100000 # THREADING = 50 FRAG_TTL= 60 # ICMP_GMT= -60 ICMP_AD = 10 ICMP_FLAG = 0 # TCP_PORT= 1024 MSS = 2000 RCV_WND = 5000 DEF_RTT = 50 DEF_TTL = 128 TCP_ICMP= 1 # UDP_PORT= 1024 UDP_ICMP= 1 # #You might not need to enter your names here too if they are in #DIAL.SCR but I changed them just in case! #As a guide, if your email address is your_username@your.host.name #you would enter something like the following (check with your ISP #if unsure): # USERNAME= your_username HOSTNAME= your.host.name FULLNAME= Firstname Lastname # #Enter the nameserver address(es) and domain name here, or leave them #blank - might be overridden by the dial.scr in newer versions - I #have them as a hangover from old versions/STiK. Your ISP should #tell you the addresses for their nameserver/s and their domain name #if you are unsure. Domain name might be the same as your.host.name #above, or it might be the last couple of sections ie host.name: #this varies from ISP to ISP # NAMESERVER= nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn, nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn DOMAIN= domain.name DNS_CACHE = 64 DNS_SAVE= TRUE # #Again, this might be redundant with the new dial.scr, but it won't #hurt to put it here, I'm pretty sure # PAP_ID=your_username_here PAP_PASSWD=your_password_here # #Here starts the client relevant stuff. #the IRC stuff is used by AtarIRC, possibly by FracIRC #I don't use IRC yet, but put it in anyway in case I might some day! # #IRCNICK = Your_nick #IRCSERVER = your.irc.server #IRCPONGMSG= IRC is always slow and frustrating, isn't it? # #The following needs to be entered with appropriate values if you #use the STinG network time setter (useful with news if using #NEWSwatch for collection). See time server docs for details # #TIME_SERVER = ntp.demon.co.uk #TIME_ZONE = 0 #TIME_SUMMER = 03.30.10.26 # #The mail stuff is used by CAB for mailto: links # #EMAIL = your_username@your.host.name #SMTP_HOST = your.mail.server # #The http-proxy stuff is used by CAB when using a proxy server: #it can also be set withing CAB itself, though this doesn't work #with some CAB.OVLs. Your provider should be able #to tell you what to set it to if you need/want to use it #HTTP_PROXY= #HTTP_PROXY_PORT= # # Used by the Dialer : # DIALER= 127.0.0.1 #LOGIN_BATCH = X:\STING\DIALER\LOGIN.BAT # ----------end of DEFAULT.CFG--------8<------------------------
- The dialer is in X:\STING\DIALER\ as is DIAL.INF. Edit DIAL.INF to point to X:\STING\DIALER\ (remember X: is the partition you put STinG in, so it won't be X in the real thing!). DIAL.INF tells the dialer where to find its resource file etc, as you can move it somewhere convenient if you don't like it where it is or if you want to install it as an accessory (rename it to DIALER.ACC and put it where your other .ACCs are, along with DIAL.INF. As long as DIAL.INF is in the same directory as DIALER.APP/ACC it will find all its bits.
- Again using a text editor edit DIAL.SCR. There follows an example with
extra annotations. You can edit the DIAL.SCR using the dialer itself, but
save a copy of the original as when you save it from within the dialer
all the comment blocks will be deleted. Some info in the dialer
duplicates stuff in DEFAULT.CFG and will take priority for dialup
connections. This is because Peter Rottengatter is moving all the stuff
necessary for dialup connections into the dialer so you should only have
to use the one program for modem setups in future. Not sure if this is
finished, though, so editing DIAL.SCR is probably still the best option.
----------DIAL.SCR--------8<------------------------ # # # General Parameters # NB DEF_ROUTE is the thing for bypassing the route.tab (in older # versions you had to edit route.tab - now the dialer will set the # default route to the serial port). I think # RESIDENT makes the connection stay live even if you exit the # dialer: just run it again to use the disconnect button. # If you are using a port other than Modem 1 you will need to edit # SERIALPORT to match your chosen port. # SERIALPORT= Modem 1 DEF_ROUTE = TRUE MASQUERADE= FALSE EXEC_BATCH= FALSE CIX_LOGIN = FALSE RESIDENT= TRUE DEBUGGING = FALSE # # # Port Parameters # I have a fixed IP address which is entered in CLIENT_IP. I think # you either leave CLIENT_IP blank or set it to 0.0.0.0 if you get a # dynamic address on connection (PPP negotiates this at login # anyway, but I *think* it's important to leave it set to 0.0.0.0 for # PAP) # PROTOCOL is set to 1 for PPP # CLIENT_IP = nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn MTU = 576 PAP_ID= your_username_here PAP_PASSWORD= your_password_here PROTOCOL= 1 VJHC= FALSE LAN_PORT= FALSE # # # Addressing # The name settings duplicate those in DEFAULT.CFG, and # your provider should be able to tell you what you need to enter for # HOSTNAME if you're not sure. The nameserver entries must be in # numerical format as the nameserver is the thing that converts # machine names into numbers for connections. It can't convert its # own name before you've connected to it, IYSWIM. Your provider may # have just one or several nameservers. # USERNAME= your_username FULLNAME= Firstname Lastname HOSTNAME= your.host.name NAMESERVER= nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn NAMESERVER= nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn # # # Modem Specifics # With a bit of luck these defaults will work! # INIT= ATZ PREFIX= ATDT HANGUP= ,+++,ATH CONNECT_WAIT= 60 REDIAL_DELAY= 20 SUCCESS = CARRIER SUCCESS = CONNECT SUCCESS = CDWAIT FAILURE = BUSY FAILURE = NO CARRIER ABORT = NO DIALTONE # # # Telephone # Just change the phone number(s) unless you want to get to grips # with local.fee # PHONE_NUMBER= 123-4567 #PHONE_NUMBER= #PHONE_NUMBER= FEE_FILE= LOCAL.FEE ISP_TIME= 72, 0.07 ISP_SENT= 12288, 0.03 ISP_RECVD = 86016, 0.09 # # # Network Environment # # # # Dial Script # I use a login script rather than PAP myself, so I don't know huge # amounts about PAP. However it's easier to set up so worth a try # first. # You won't need a dial script using PAP, AIUI so comment out # everything following DIAL_SCRIPT and see if it works. If it doesn't # then you need to check the docs or mail P Rottengatter as I'm # unsure what else needs to be done for PAP. You could also check # the STinG help page too at: # # http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/2034 # # If you aren't using PAP you will need to enter the script used to # log on to your ISP. This is ISP dependent, but a look at the above # will hopefully show you the kind of thing needed. The login script # seems to cause some people a *lot* of problems, so it's worth # trying PAP first to avoid the problem if possible! # FIND_TIMEOUT= 60 # DIAL_SCRIPT # #WAIT= #REPT= #FIND= #RESP= # ----------end of DIAL.SCR--------8<------------------------
- Reboot your machine. This will make STinG pick up the new settings in DEFAULT.CFG.
- Run the STinG Internals CPX and ensure the Active box is checked. If you save this setting, STinG will always be active at startup, and you will have to uncheck the box if you want another program to use that serial port. OK or save to close the CPX.
- Run the STinG port setup CPX and ensure that the Active box here is UNCHECKED. If it's checked it will mess up the dialer! If all is well, cancel out of it. If the box is checked, uncheck it and save.
- Run the dialer and see if you get a successful connection.
- Assuming you do connect successfully, try pinging a host. Use a named host: it should resolve and start sending packets and receiving them back. If it fails to resolve, try a numeric IP address. If this works you have an incorrect nameserver setting somewhere. If it still doesn't work then you need to ask someone else for help (as I get out of my depth at this point!).
main problem areas
- Incorrect AUTO folder order.
- STinG or the dialer unable to find files because the relevant INF files have incorrect paths in them.
- STinG not active - check STinG Internals CPX
- Port set to active in STinG Port Setup CPX - make sure it ISN'T active as this will confuse the dialer.
- Using PAP when ISP doesn't support it - you'll have to do a login script after all.
- Login script problems - you'll need help from your ISP and c.s.a.s, also try a manual login using a terminal/comms program to see what the login dialogue is like.
Other settings may need alteration to suit an ISP, but as I don't know much about the innards of TCP/IP I can't really help you there, unfortunately.
Hopefully the thing will work OK first time (crosses fingers)!