[HECnet] Intermittent Connection with PyDECnet?

[Johnny Billquist]

A couple of comments in general, as well as some answers to your 
questions...

First of all, unless PyDECnet is somewhat limited, it should be fine 
using the standard Multinet port for all incoming connections, them 
going up and down, or not. That is just basic TCP/IP. I can do that just 
fine under RSX. Actual VMS Multinet might have some silly limitations 
that I'm not aware of, but barring that, this is all pretty standard 
simple stuff.

And yes, as Bob noted, you'll have to be the connecting part, and him 
being the listener.

On 2020-03-02 18:27, Mark J. Blair wrote:
> This sounds promising! I am interested in at least running some experiments to find out how well it all works, and to learn enough to configure my future little patch of DECnet. I'd like to have fun participating, but not if it causes problems for my upstream node or HECnet in general. I know that my connectivity situation is unusual.

Your connectivity situation is not so extreme or unique as you might be 
thinking.
In general, this setup should not be any problem at all. Just go ahead, 
I'd say. Sounds like Bob would be the logical choice for a connection point.

> I am in southern California as my callsign suggests, just outside Riverside.
> 
> Is there any possibility of connecting through something like an SSH tunnel, and relying on that for a higher level of security and authentication for the link than the DECnet protocols natively provide?

Paul noted that PyDECnet don't have anything of the kind right now. For 
Multinet under VMS or RSX, there is no options at all here. It's just a 
plain connection.

That said, I wouldn't really worry too much. First of all, few people 
would understand DECnet unless they explicitly look for it. Second, this 
is all just hobbyist fun. It's not as if something actually depends on 
this running. Third, anyone (more or less) is free to connect if they 
want to anyway, so it's not a secret cabal with entrance rites.
In the end, if someone really is worried, they should not connect to 
HECnet to start with. DECnet itself was never designed for the security 
levels or issues people know about today. If security is keeping you 
awake at night, then you should not run DECnet at all. Don't fool 
yourself into thinking that because you are running some link over SSH 
or whatever, you are now safe.

> If I'd like to eventually connect several nodes on my local network into HECnet, would I need to consume a whole area number? Or is there a means for further routing within an existing HECnet area? I still have much to learn about DECnet. Looking through the HECnet node list, it looks like I could stake a claim on a batch of dog-related host names without treading in somebody else's naming conventions.

As Paul noted, there is no absolute need for an area of your own, but it 
is an option. Bob have an area, and you could just ask for a chunk of 
node numbers from him. If you have your own area, you need to have an 
area router. Areas are fairly large, so if you only have a few machines, 
and don't plan to be some major hub, it might make more sense to just 
ask for a a range of numbers within an existing area.

As far as nodenames goes, I can add a bunch once you have numbers. No 
problems at all around that.

> I agree that dynamic DNS is probably not quick enough for my dysfunctional use case. Sometimes my connection flaps up and down rapidly. I'm not sure if I could even accept an incoming connection, or if my cell provider is doing NAT and/or firewalling that would preclude that. I don't understand yet what makes my cellular connection quality so variable. Maybe loading on the local cell towers? Neutrino flux? Demonic corruption? Oddly, when my cell phone reports a "5GE" or "LTE" connection, I expect a poor experience. Everything works best when it's reporting "4G". My connection quality at any given time unpredictably ranges from "doesn't work at all" to "play World of Warcraft for hours with no issues". It's frustrating, but that's the price I pay for living on a nice, big patch of dirt instead of in suburbia.

Dynamic DNS is most likely not going to cut it. Neither is expecting 
someone else to connect to you. This is really a typical example of when 
you should be connecting to the other end.

Cellular don't really make any difference. If the connection is too bad, 
DECnet connection will drop. No big deal.

> My current physical hardware includes my VAX-11/730, a PDP-11/34A, and a planned future PDP-11/44 project. All of the physical hardware is waiting in varying states of disrepair for me to give it more attention, so I'll use SIMH simulations for semi-regular activity. My VAX-11/730 has formerly run, but it's presently waiting for me to fix some mouse damage. My PDP-11/34A is a work in progress; I've gotten the CPU working, but the big Fujitsu SMD drive it came with has a dead power supply that I haven't debugged yet. I don't know what's on its hard drive. I'll probably run RSX-11M on it, at least part-time? My PDP-11/44 is still a pile of dusty boards, an even dustier pile of chassis to Frankenstein together, and a twinkle in my eye.

In my view, real hardware is always fun. However, just start with 
getting any kind of connectivity running, and then you can continue 
working on your hardware as time allows.

> Has anybody else been on HECnet with dialup-like, or even (gasp!) mobile connections?

I know that people have done it occasionally. Not sure if anyone is 
doing it regularly.

   Johnny

-- 
Johnny Billquist                  || "I'm on a bus
                                   ||  on a psychedelic trip
email: bqt at softjar.se             ||  Reading murder books
pdp is alive!                     ||  tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol