This covers Nets based on the FidoNet standards. You can read about how to join FidoNet Proper on FidoNet.org. The high-level process is simple:
NOTE: There are other FTN Based nets with their own policies and rules to join. Links will be provided below as they are identified.
Net5x (aka the native network stack in WWIV 5+) supports Fido Technology Network (FTN) as well as the traditional WWIVnet style networking.
The bridge to FTN is implemented in networkf. networkf handles importing
from a FTN packet or bundle into a WWIVnet style packet (S*.net or local.net).
Using wwivconfig, you need to create a new network type. Change the type to Fido (the default is WWIVnet), by pressing the space bar to toggle the type.
You must name your network. This name will be used as the domain for both WWIVnet binkp transfers as well.
You must leave your node number as 1 for Fido. It’s not used externally and is needed by the WWIV networking tools to properly import and export packets.
You may use any directory for the Directory, typically these are located beneath the WWIV home directory and named after the network.
Now move down to Settings to configure the default settings for this network. After that you can add addresses that you will connect to, and customize the settings for that specific node.
Example:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────── Network Configuration; Net #4 ┐
│ Net Type : Fido │
│ Net Name : MyNet │
│ Node # : 1 │
│ Directory : mynet\ │
│ Settings : [Enter to Edit] │
│ Addresses : [Enter to Edit] │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
These are the default settings for all nodes in this network. Here is an example of using BSO style with the built-in BinkP. All of the directory names are relative to the network directory defined on the previous screen.
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────── [Press Enter to Edit] ┐
│ FTN Address: 11:2/115 │
│ Nodelist Base: MYNET │
│ Inbound Dir: in\ │
│ Temp In Dir: tempin\ │
│ Temp Out Dir: tempout\ │
│ Outbound Dir: out\ │
│ NetMail Dir: netmail\ │
│ BadPacket Dir: badpkt\ │
│ TIC Dir: tic\ │
│ Unknown Dir: unknown\ │
│ Origin Line: Mystic Rhythms BBS │
│ Mailer: BSO (FLO) [Recommended] Process TIC : Yes │
│ Transport: WWIV BinkP Cvt Hearts : No │
│ Cvt WWIV Pipe: Yes │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
One the Addresses page, you can select the address from the list. You may also press A to add an address or D to delete an address. You will need to define an address to set the packet types and passwords to use for that address.
This address is the host/hub that you connect to. This is not your FTN address. Often it is in the format of NN:Z/100.
Example:
┌──── Select Address ┐
│ 11:1/100 │
└────────────────────┘
Here’s where you need to set the compression type if needed. Only ZIP or
ARC is currently supported. Also if you use compression, please delete
your data/archivers.dat file once so that the commandline for unzip
will be updated to include the -j option (or just add that in yourself).
The packet password is what you and your uplink have defined. It should be all upper case.
Routing in FTN now works, you need to define a route string for nodes in the address list in wwivconfig for the network. The format is space separated list of routes. A route is a partial address ending in * as a wildcard. Optionally starting with ! to be a negative match.
Example:
"11:* !11:2/*" would match everything in zone 11, except for everything in
net 11:2/*.
Typically, you will route everything for the network through the hub you connect to. So you’d put the network number and a colon followed by a wildcard.
Example:
21:* This would route everything for network 21 (fsxNet) through this
address
** NOTE: AreaFix isn’t implemented yet. Neither is the max size fields.
Example:
┌─────────────────────────────────────── Address: 11:2/100 ┐
│ BinkP Host: networkhost.ddns.net │
│ BinkP Port: 24555 │
│ Session PW: PASSWORD │
│ │
│ Routes: 11:* │
│ Packet Type: FSC-0039 Type 2+ │
│ Compression: ZIP │
│ Max Arc Size: 0 │
│ Max Pkt Size: 0 │
│ Bundle Status: Crash │
│ │
│ Packet PW: PASSWORD Auto Callout: Yes │
│ Tic PW: PASSWORD Every N min: 60 │
│ AreaFix PW: PASSWORD Min K: 0 │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
You add subs normally. To enable it for networking, use (J) from BoardEdit to add a network. Add the FTN network as your would any other. Instead of a WWIVnet subtype, you will add it using the ECHOTAG. You may need to manually create a file called nECHOTAG.net (where ECHOTAG is the echo tag for the networked message area) in your network directory. This file contains all of the fidonet addresses to export this message area to.
If your uplink is 11:1/100 and your ECHOTAG is WWIV_TEST then your file
will be named nWWIV_TEST.net and will contain the follow line:
11:1/100
Please note that on case sensitive file systems, the echo tag is all uppercase, but the
n prefix and .net suffix is lower case.
FTN Netmail works much like WWIVnet netmail. The difference is addressing. The format (right now, this will change to become easier) is:
Username (zone:net/node)
If you have more than 1 FTN network, you’ll need to select the network from the list.
WWIV networking has the following command line tools:
| command | description |
|---|---|
| network1 | moves mail from p.net to local.net or s.net |
| network2 | moves mail from local.net into wwiv’s message bases |
| network3 | creates bbsdata.* and checks network consistency |
| networkb | WWIVnet binkp tool (like binkd, but only for WWIVnet |
| networkc | Cleanup tool, runs network{1-3} as needed. |
| networkf | WWIV FTN tool, imports mail from FTN bundles to s32675.net or exports s32765.net to FTN bundles. |
| networkt | processes TIC files in FTN networks |
FTN support works for leaf nodes, it is not currently expected to be used by mail hubs.
http://www.bbscorner.com/bbsnetworks/
http://www.net229.org/dbridge.htm