Internet RAS-o-mania

Much More About Remote Access Service

I've talked about using Remote Access Service (RAS) for dialing betweenWindows NT systems. Even I was much impressed by RAS for this purpose--I simplyset it up, call, and I'm connected. Drive letters are available; printers work.

Connecting RAS to the Internet is not so simple. Microsoft doesn't controlall access to the Internet--not yet. So you can find almost as many ways toaccess to the Internet as you find Internet Service Providers (ISPs). You alsodiscover a lot of ways for a connection not to happen.

The Art of Connecting
The RAS Internet login process is familiar: You dial up, the modem connects,and the service identifies itself and asks your username. Then you get a promptfor your password. If the service accepts it, the system goes intoPoint-to-Point Protocol (PPP) mode, and you have a network-to-network Internetconnection. Of course, even online systems that follow this routine vary inimportant ways including how ISPs log in their users.

To help you connect and deal with the variations in login routines, I'llgive you some tips I didn't cover in "Top 10 RAS Problems Solved" (WindowsNT Magazine, January 1996). I'll also pass along someobservations I collected during a week of getting my own Internet connectiongoing on NT.

First, RAS is not a clone of the Windows 95 dialer, although you certainlysee a family resemblance. Internet applications under Win95 automatically causethe dialer to run. Under NT, before you run applications, you must run RAS andconnect. RAS's install options are different from Win95's, too. Knowledge ofWin95 will help, but understanding general modem troubleshooting is moreimportant.

Second, many ISP software packages won't install automatically on NT.You'll have better luck with packages designed for Windows 3.1 than with95-specific code. Yes, Win95 and NT are supposedly compatible, but thatcompatibility goes only so far: Many install programs use some 95-only featurethat NT lacks. Expect to dual-boot or install on a Win95 machine and move thesoftware.

For instance, I use Earthlink Network, a provider from California thatheavily promotes its TotalAccess Internet front-end package. That software workslike a dream on Win95, but its installer doesn't complete on NT. The window goesaway before installation finishes. Rather than mess with such problems, Ifocused on getting RAS operating.

Earthlink, like many large ISPs, provides specific instructions for settingup RAS. Be warned: If you choose a small ISP, you may know more about NT thanthe ISP does. Many a small ISP is run by three UNIX gurus who don't understandWindows 3.X, let alone NT and RAS.

RAS Homebrew Suggestions
While getting my Internet connection up, I learned much more than I wanted.I freely admit that TCP/IP routing, subnet masking, and such still leave meclueless, so your experience will probably be better than mine.

The following are some important lessons I learned. They are by no means acomplete how-to, even for the lone user connecting to the Internet, but I thinkthey'll help.

Don't expect your Internet connection to work the first time. Evenexperienced users tear their hair out setting up RAS. Read the RAS Help topics,"Getting Through Large Blocks of Text and Two-Second Gaps," and "TroubleshootingScripts Using DEVICE.LOG." Don't leave firearms within lethal range of themodem. Be patient.

When you install RAS, if you have a network card, pick a TCP/IP addressfor your computer, or the Network Control Panel won't let you finish. Thiswarning applies even if you're only using NetBEUI in your office. You cannotpick IP for dialout only. I just put in a bogus IP address, 145.145.145.145, toget around this problem. (I can hear Joel Sloss, technical editor for WindowsNT Magazine, screaming, "NO!'' all the way from Colorado.) A bogusaddress is certainly not recommended and will work only on the onecomputer that you're connecting to the Internet. If you want PCs to use this RASconnection, you must decide on an IP address scheme anyway.

Take your ISP's recommendations for connecting NT as just a startingpoint. Many ISPs, especially small ones, have little or no NT experience,and their instructions are sketchy at best. Take time to find someone incustomer support who knows RAS, and take notes.

If you have problems, use Terminal to pretend to be RAS, and dial inmanually. Watch the timing between commands because RAS thinks a two-secondpause is a command--another big difference between the Win95 dialer andRAS. Earthlink's modem front end has a multiple-
second pause before itputs up the Login: prompt, and Earthlink's switch.inf script doesn't take thispause into account. I read the notes in switch.inf carefully and added a waitloop.

When you create your RAS phone book entry, unless someone tells youotherwise, make sure you use only TCP/IP (Network button) and accept anyauthentication, including clear text (Security button). Click onAuthenticate, and use your current username and password on the edit screen, oryou'll have to give authentication information each time you dial.

Don't spend $20 less and buy a no-name modem. RAS supports manymodems, but some brands are, to be charitable, not well designed. A genericmodem is false economy. Spend the money on a Supra, a USR, or even a Hayesmodem. I have a battered Intel 14.4EX. RAS identified it immediately, it isreasonably immune to noise, and the aluminum case makes a great coaster.

Once you connect successfully, use the Remote Access Monitor to watchthe traffic. If you click on the "lights" on Monitor, it will showuseful statistics. For instance, I get lots of modem overruns that slowthroughput. The Monitor shows me what kind. If you have an internal modem, theMonitor can help you tell whether any traffic is going through--the classic,has-my-connection-hung problem.

Get an external modem if you can. The Monitor can't tell a badtelephone line from a wrong number. I started the RAS install during a big LosAngeles rainstorm. I got a noisy phone line three out of five times and wouldn'thave known if I hadn't been listening. Another time-saver is to power cycleexternal modems while you're debugging, clearing them back to default state.

Turn on the FIFO (first in-first out) for your modem's serial port.The FIFO feature of most modern serial port chips implements an eight-characterbuffer in each direction. Buffering is important in a multitasking operatingsystem. NT may be reading the disk when a character is read in from the modemand might not see it before the next character overwrites it. Enable FIFO is onthe Ports Control Panel, Settings menu, Advanced... submenu. This feature workson most internal modems' serial ports, too. You have to reboot NT to enable it.If you have an old I/O card, the $20 investment to change it is worthwhile.

RAS Works--Now What?
After RAS connects, any Winsock-compliant application should work normally.I say should because Winsock, the Internet interface that mostapplications use, is an evolving standard. Certainly, Netscape, Eudora,Explorer, and such work well once you set them up right.

I was about to write a lament on the unequal treatment of non-Intel NT, howno browsers are available; how you have to use old 16-bit ones under emulation.But an Internet Explorer version is now available for each kind of NT CPU. (Thesoftware had been on the Internet only three days when I found it.)

Visit http://www.microsoft.com/ie/ie.htm for your copy of the InternetExplorer for Windows NT. Be warned: This software lives on the same pool ofmachines as Microsoft's popular new Internet Information Server (IIS), the Webserver product available for free download. Getting a complete copy of the 849KBExplorer self-extracting archive took me five tries, probably because of thesite's heavy traffic.

I've since installed Explorer twice on different Intel-based NT systems.Each install took fewer than three minutes. I've cruised the Internet for (toomany) hours with nary a crash. Of course, many sites use advanced Netscapefeatures, such as tables, that don't display correctly with Explorer. Thesefeatures are why so many Web pages are "Enhanced for Netscape" and whyMicrosoft is playing catch-up in the Internet game.

Non-Intel NT users have to be content with Explorer for now becauseNetscape won't work on non-Intel NT systems. When the new 80386 emulator in NT4.0 hits the street, you'll get hot Web-browser features such as Shockwave andJava. For now, Explorer for NT lets you surf the Internet and download programs.

Returning to IIS: A pitched battle is raging on the Internet about whetherIIS is less expensive than Netscape's Web server. Netscape points out that IISrequires NT Server, whereas Netscape's product runs on NT Workstation andincludes several back-end improvements that cost much more from Microsoft. Bothcompanies have position papers online about why each is the more cost effective.Read them before deciding.

Speaking of Netscape, once I had Explorer working right, I used it todownload the latest Netscape browser, which also worked fine. It's more than3MB, so you need some patience to get it. And Eudora Pro, Qualcomm's popularInternet mail package, also installed and ran without incident, once I found outall its mail parameters.

Cool Image Software
While testing Internet Explorer, I came across an NT-savvy company, BlackBelt Systems (http://www.intermarket.net/blackbelt/bx_home.html). Itoffers WinImages, powerful image-manipulation software for all four NTplatforms. It does morphing, animation, and image enhancement. I haven't (yet!)tried this software, but the Web site proves that hot cross-platform softwarecan come from small companies. A demo is available for Windows 3.X, 95, and NT,free for downloading.

Winding Down
Next month includes three big multimedia shows, so I'll have more "warjournal" coverage of graphics and NT products. Excuse me for now; I have toget my email from my new Internet connection.