Page 1¶

Product Information¶

Product name	Product number
Nortext Software Distribution (NSD)	230115C

Description of Product¶

Nortext Software Distribution, NSD, is a stand-alone program running under MS-DOS aimed at unattended update of specified PC files from any Ethernet-connected host-machine having an FTP-server.

Normally each PC will hold a number of similar files, and with NSD all PCs will get the same version of the software once it has been made available on the host system and the NSD program has been executed on the PC. Normally this will be done as part of the PC bootup procedure.

The use of NSD saves time and avoids the need for multiple re-installations of software, thereby reducing the possibility of human errors. The files are selectively fetched from host to the PC by comparing two parameter files, one on host and one in the PC, to decide if a newer version exists on the host.

NSD may only be used with an Ethernet connection and will, by default, use the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) program under TCP/IP to perform the file transfer. Alternatively, the Nortext Access Server (NAS) may be used if FTP is not available or unattended operation is required.

Average transfer rate is 8-20Kb/s using FTP, and 6Kb/s using NAS, depending on number of files, the size of each file, and on the type of Ethernet-interface hardware used. This transfer rate will be proportionately reduced if multiple PCs are updated simultaneously.

Reasons for New Version¶

Implementation of PING, multiple PC parameter files and forced update functions.
Increased data transfer rates
Access to UNIX filesystem
Important error corrections

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Product Information¶

Product name	Product number
Nortext Software Distribution (NSD)	230115C

Page 2 of 17

Table of Contents¶

Topic	Page
Requirements	3
Product contents	5
Installation procedure	6
Customisation	8
Operation	11
Product history	15
Additional programs delivered	16
Other information	16
Questionnaire	17

Copyright notice¶

The software described in this document is furnished under licence and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of such licence.

This document contains proprietary information of ND Comtec AS.

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Product Information¶


Product name	Product number
Nortext Software Distribution (NSD)	230115C

Requirements¶

The following products must be installed and the specified conditions satisfied in order to use this product.

PC¶

Any IBM-compatible PC-AT in the following configuration:

DOS 3.30 or better
At least 200Kb free DOS memory
At least 90Kb free disk space
The CONNECT.EXE driver loaded
*ND-OWS%\COMMS included in PATH and FTP.EXE present in that directory if NSD operation via FTP is required

Either: - OWS OpenLAN Adaptor / Ethernet (ND 110386)

Or: - OWS OpenLAN Adaptor / Cheapernet (ND 110394)

Either: - Desk Top Manager for OWS (ND 230025C) - PC-ET Communications SW (ND 230033A)

Or: - ND PC Starter Kit (ND 230123A) - ND Connect Module (ND 230125A)

ND Host¶

Any ND 500(0) computer in the following configuration:

Ethernet controller (any)
At least 1 page in user PARAMETERS-NTX for 1 file

Either: - NORTEXT Access Server (ND 211486B) for NSD operation via NAS

Or: - OpenLAN Server / Ethernet II (ND 211296) for NSD operation via FTP

Or: - OpenLAN TCP/IP Access Module/III (ND 211324) for NSD operation via FTP

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Product Information¶

Product name	Product number
Nortext Software Distribution (NSD)	230115C

XENIX host¶

To be announced

UNIX host¶

To be announced

 ___  Product Information             Page  4  of 17
|ND |_______________________________________|
|Comtec

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Product Information¶

Product name	Product number
Nortext Software Distribution (NSD)	230115C

Product contents¶

The following components are included in this product:

Hardware¶

None

Software¶

The following files are all located in the root directory of the distribution floppy diskette and are copied to the $ND-OWS$\NTX-WP directory during the installation procedure.

Name	Contents
NSD.EXE	NSD program file
NSPARA.NTX	Specimen PC parameter file
NSD-PARA.NTX	Specimen host parameter file
NEW-WS-P.NTX	Specimen PC parameter for host
INSTALL.BAT	Installation program
NSD-DOC.TXT	Installation information

Documentation¶

The following documentation is included with the product.

None.

The following documentation is also relevant to this product.

None.

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Product Information¶

Product name	Product number
Nortext Software Distribution (NSD)	230115C

Installation procedure¶

Check that the following items are satisfied before starting this installation.

The NDCONFIG file must have the following entries defined:

OPENLAN-HOSTS-MAINHOST  (Default host system name)
OWS-COMM-MEDIUM         (Must be set to ETHERNET)
OPENLAN-HOSTS-PATH      (Path to the file HOSTS.)

The environment variable ND-OWS must be defined. This is normally done by including the command shown in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
```
SET ND-OWS=C:\ND-OWS
```

The NTX-WP directory must be a sub-directory of the directory shown above.

Automatic installation¶

Insert the distribution floppy disk in drive A: and type
```
A:\INSTALL ↵
```

The remaining steps may be performed from the menu. An abbreviated version of this product documentation is included in the file NSD-DOC.TXT

Option A - displays NSD-DOC.TXT on your screen.
Option B - prints NSD-DOC.TXT on your printer.
Option C - installs NSD on your hard disk.
Option D - terminates the menu and exits to DOS.

To install NSD, enter C and follow the instructions.

Manual installation¶

Copy the DOS program and example parameter file to the PC.

COPY A:\NSDPARA.NTX C:\ND-OWS\NTX-WP\NSDPARA.NTX
COPY A:\NSD.EXE C:\ND-OWS\NTX-WP\NSD.EXE

Copy the two host example parameter files to the default host defined by OPENLAN-HOSTS-MAINHOST in \ND-OWS\NDCONFIG. The files may be copied using FTP or any PC to ND host copy program.
```
Transfer A:\NSD-PARA.NTX to (PARAMETER-NTX)NSD-PARAM-:NTXP
Transfer A:\NSD-WS-P.NTX to (PARAMETER-NTX)NSD-WS-PARAM-:NTXP
```

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Product Information¶

Product name	Product number
Nortext Software Distribution (NSD)	230115C

Remove the floppy from drive A.
Edit the parameter files as described in the following chapter.

ND
Comtec

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Comtec Product Information¶

Product name	Product number
Nortext Software Distribution (NSD)	230115C

Customisation¶

The parameters in the NSD files are described below. The file \ND-OWS\NTX-WP\NSDPARA.NTX is stored on the PC and contains the information used to identify the files on the PC. The host parameter file (defined by PARAFILE in the PC parameter file) contains the information to identify the corresponding files on the host. Alternative PC parameter files stored on the host must follow the format of the PC parameter file.

Parameter file `\ND-OWS\NTX-WP\NSDPARA.NTX`¶

PARAFILE
Defines the name of the host parameter file using any legal host filename syntax, and a "version indicator" starting with the character # (43 octal) and terminated by any of the following characters: - the range 0:40 octal - % (45 octal) - / (57 octal)

Add /R to the parameter if a backup of the PC file is desired (before the transfer of a new version from host takes place).

If no parameter file is defined, NSD will use the file (PARAMETERS-NTX)NSD-WS-PARAM-:NTXP as default host parameter file.

Example for SINTRAN:

PARAFILE=TRYGG.(THORALF)NSD-PARAM-:NTXP #A00 /R

Example for UNIX:

PARAFILE=ntx1.(thoralf)/u1/thoralf/nsdparam #A00 /R

Note that for Unix, the complete path must be defined.

EXTND
Define EXTND as a maximum of three legal alphanumerics to form the filename extension for any backup file.

Example

EXTND= NSD

causes a backup to be made by copying the destination file to a new file with the same name, but with extension NSD.

FILExx
These entries define up to 100 different PC files whose

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Product Information¶

Product name	Product number
Nortext Software Distribution (NSD)	230115C

File Update¶

(xx=00-99) updating is to be controlled by NSD.

Define FILExx with complete DOS path and filename, #Yzz as the PC version number of this file, and /R to make a backup copy before update.

Example:

FILE00=C:\Nd-Ows\Comms\Hosts. #A00 /R

Note that a filename without extension must be terminated by a period . (56 octal).

Host Parameter File (defined by PARAFILE above)¶

PARAFILE
Defines the name of a new WS parameter file using any legal host filename syntax, and a version indicator starting with the character #, 43 octal.

Add /R to the parameter if a backup of the WS-file is desired (before the transfer of a new version from host takes place).

Example for SINTRAN:

PARAFILE=Mira.(Parameters-Ntx)New-PC-Para:Ntxp #A00

Example for UNIX:

PARAFILE=ntx1.(thoralf)/ul/thoralf/new-pc-param #A00 /R

Note that for Unix, the complete path must be defined.

FILExx (xx=00-99)¶

These entries define up to 100 different files corresponding to those defined on the PC. The files may be specified using any legal host filename syntax, #Yzz as the version of the file, and /A to for an ASCII type data transfer when using FTP, or to remove parity when using NAS.

Example for SINTRAN:

FILE01=(System)Aip-Hosts:Symb #A01 /A

Example for UNIX:

FILE00=/usr/comms/hosts #A00 /A

Note that for Unix, the complete path must be defined.

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Product Information¶

Product name	Product number
Nortext Software Distribution (NSD)	230115C

If the version numbers defined in the PARAFILE parameter of the PC and host parameter files are not equal, the file defined by PARAFILE in the host parameter file will be copied to the PC parameter file, NSDPARA.NTX.

To avoid NSD copying the parameter file more than once, ensure that the version numbers defined are equal in both the host parameter file and in the new PC parameter file. This 'new' version number must be different from the one defined in the old PC parameter file.

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Product Information¶

Product Name	Product Number
Nortext Software Distribution (NSD)	230115C

Product Operation¶

The following information presents a technical overview of the operation of the product. It is provided for installation personnel and system supervisors as an aid to troubleshooting and to provide greater understanding of the product. Information for users, where relevant, is provided in the documentation listed in the product contents section.

Outline¶

NSD uses two parameter files. The first, \ND-OWS\NTX-WP\NSDPARA.NTX, is located on the PC, and includes a parameter, PARAFILE, giving the name and location of the second, host, parameter file. The host name may be specified, if desired, to override the value of OPENLAN-HOSTS-MAINHOST given in NDCONFIG.

NSD will fetch a default parameter file NSD-WS-PARAM-:NTXP from the user PARAMETERS-NTX on the host defined in NDCONFIG if it is unable to locate the PC parameter file.

The host parameter file is copied to the DOS directory defined either as TEMP or TMP in the DOS environment. If neither of these two environment variables are defined, the current directory is used.

The PARAFILE entry in the PC parameter file also specifies the current version number of the parameter file. This version number is compared to the version number in the PARAFILE entry of the host parameter file. If the values are found to be different, the new PC parameter file specified in the PARAFILE entry of the host parameter file is fetched. This new parameter file replaces the existing PC parameter file which is deleted. The version number given in the PARAFILE entry of the new PC parameter file must match the version number given in the PARAFILE entry of the host parameter file.

The FILExx parameters in the two files are then compared to select the files to be updated. Once the required files have been copied, the version fields in the PC parameter file for the corresponding FILExx parameters are updated to match those in the host parameter file. When this has been completed, the host parameter file is deleted from the PC. The updated version numbers in the PC parameter file ensure that the file is not transferred again until an updated version is provided on the host. The new version is again indicated by a changed version number in the host parameter file.

NSD always updates files (including the PC parameter file itself) whose version numbers are different in the PC and host parameter files. An update will still be performed if the host version number is different.

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Product Information¶

Product Name	Product Number
Nortext Software Distribution (NSD)	230115C

is lower than the PC version.

If an error occurs whilst NSD is being executed, the program will terminate with ERRORLEVEL set to 1.

Specifying Additional Files¶

Care should be taken when defining an additional file entry in the parameter files. The necessary FILExx entry must be defined in both the host parameter file and in the host copy of the PC parameter file and the version number assigned should be the same in both files. However, a potential problem arises with version numbers for the previously defined FILExx entries. When the new PC parameter file is fetched from the host the original version numbers will be lost and with them the only way of determining which PC files should be updated.

There are, therefore, two choices for these other FILExx entries. The version numbers may either be set to a different value from that in the host file to ensure that ALL the files are fetched from the host, or they may be set to the same value as in the host parameter file. The first method guarantees that the files on the PC are all the correct version but will severely degrade system performance whilst the files are updated. The second method ensures that only the new file is downloaded at the risk of not updating some other files which have also been changed but not yet downloaded.

The update of all files is the only realistic solution in most installations. However, the number of files copied to the PC may be minimized by splitting the files into groups with each group specified in a different parameter file (which references its own host parameter file). The PC must then make multiple executions of NSD each specifying a different parameter file using the /P command line switch. This reduces the number of files which must be updated to the number contained in the group to which the new FILExx entry was added.

It is important to remember to also change the PARAFILE entry version numbers of the two host files (i.e. host and new PC file) to cause the new PC parameter file to be fetched from the host.

Communications¶

NSD, by default, uses FTP for the file transfer. This is achieved by starting FTP with input taken from the file NSDFTP.INP, and using NSDFTP.OUT as a logfile. These two files are deleted automatically if FTP executes normally. The user is prompted to enter the password for PARAMETERS-NTX. It is not possible to enter the password.

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Product Information¶

Product Name	Product Number
Nortext Software Distribution (NSD)	230115C

Example¶

User PARAMETERS-NTX
Password <entered by user>
ascii
get (System)Aip-Hosts:Symb C:\ND-OWS\COMMS\HOSTS
ascii get Tlf-Liste:Data c:\user\Tlf-List.Dta
quit

If the NAS transfer option is selected, each file is transferred separately and operation is fully automatic.

Starting NSD¶

If the NSD command is executed without any modifiers, all out-of-date files will be fetched using FTP for file transfer. No debug information will be displayed, and the default PC parameter file will be used.

The operation of NSD may be controlled by a number of command line modifiers.

Modifiers¶

/ALL
Will force an update of all files, even if they are indicated to be the current version.

/NAS
Will force NSD to use NAS for the file transfer.

/DBG
Will cause debug information to be displayed during run-time. The two files used for FTP transfer will be retained (if they were created) using this option.

/P=
May be used to force NSD to use the PC parameter file specified rather than \ND-OWS\NTX-WP\NSDPARA.NTX which is used by default. The file extension must not be specified as NSD will automatically append .NTX to the specified file name.

Example:

NSD /P=newfile

the file \ND-OWS\NTX-WP\NEWFILE.NTX will be used

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Product Information¶

Product name	Product number
Nortext Software Distribution (NSD)	230115C

as the local parameter file.

/NO_PING will override the normal NSD host check. This function is performed by sending a message to the host and checking that a reply is received. This function requires an RT program on host, that was first released as part of version M04 of the NORTEXT BASIC RT product.

___  __  ___

/ _ | \/ || | | | | |\/| || | || | | | || ___/|| |_||

Comtec

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Product Information¶

Product name	Product number
Nortext Software Distribution (NSD)	230115C

Product history¶

Changes in the most recent version are listed first in each section.

New functions/commands¶

version C00

/NO_PING to omit a quick check if NORTEXT and remote server is active.
/P=<parameter file name> to use another parameter file than the default one.
/ALL to transfer all files regardless of the version indicators defined in the parameter files.

Changed functions/commands¶

None.

Removed functions/commands¶

None.

Other modifications¶

version C00

Now able to access a UNIX filesystem.
Increased transfer buffer size, and thereby reduced transfer time.

Errors corrected¶

version C00

Did not get a correct error message if communication was dead.
Error in transfer of files bigger than 64K bytes.

Errors known but not corrected¶

None.

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Product Information¶

Product name	Product number
Nortext Software Distribution (NSD)	230115C

Additional programs delivered¶

The following programs are included with this product.

None.

Other information¶

You should be aware of the following additional information.

None.

ND Comtec

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Product Information¶

Product name	Product number
Nortext Software Distribution (NSD)	230115C

QUESTIONNAIRE:¶

** HELP YOURSELF BY HELPING US!! ****

Did you have any problems understanding these PD-sheets?
Have you found any errors?
Do you miss any information?

Please let us know!

Make your comments on this page and mail it to:

ND Comtec R&D
N-7004 Trondheim
NORWAY

Your Comments:

PI Rev. 900719 230115-C00

Page 1¶

Product Information¶

Description of Product¶

Reasons for New Version¶

Page 2¶

Product Information¶

Table of Contents¶

Copyright notice¶

Page 3¶

Product Information¶

Requirements¶

PC¶

ND Host¶

Page 4¶

Product Information¶

XENIX host¶

UNIX host¶

Page 5¶

Product Information¶

Product contents¶

Hardware¶

Software¶

Documentation¶

Page 6¶

Product Information¶

Installation procedure¶

Automatic installation¶

Manual installation¶

Page 7¶

Product Information¶

Page 8¶

Comtec Product Information¶

Customisation¶

Parameter file \ND-OWS\NTX-WP\NSDPARA.NTX¶

Page 9¶

Product Information¶

File Update¶

Host Parameter File (defined by PARAFILE above)¶

FILExx (xx=00-99)¶

Page 10¶

Product Information¶

Page 11¶

Product Information¶

Product Operation¶

Outline¶

Page 12¶

Product Information¶

Specifying Additional Files¶

Communications¶

Page 13¶

Product Information¶

Example¶

Starting NSD¶

Modifiers¶

Page 14¶

Product Information¶

Page 15¶

Product Information¶

Product history¶

New functions/commands¶

Changed functions/commands¶

Removed functions/commands¶

Other modifications¶

Errors corrected¶

Errors known but not corrected¶

Page 16¶

Product Information¶

Additional programs delivered¶

Other information¶

Page 17¶

Product Information¶

QUESTIONNAIRE:¶

Parameter file `\ND-OWS\NTX-WP\NSDPARA.NTX`¶