Subject: Re: Adding gkermit
To: None <tech-userlevel@netbsd.org>
From: Thor Lancelot Simon <tls@rek.tjls.com>
List: tech-userlevel
Date: 10/30/2006 12:27:44
On Mon, Oct 30, 2006 at 12:09:48PM -0500, Thor Lancelot Simon wrote:
> On Mon, Oct 30, 2006 at 09:56:41PM +1100, Daniel Carosone wrote:
> > On Sun, Oct 29, 2006 at 06:10:15PM -0500, Thor Lancelot Simon wrote:
> > > We had a serial port, but no serial communications software; so to get
> > > a new kernel on the machine so we could use the network, I had to split
> > > a uuencoded g-kermit into many pieces and upload it with cu. 
> > 
> > Ugh, what a PITA, but I have to ask..  why not use pppd?
> 
> To say that I am leery of changing the line discipline on the console
> tty is a major understatement.

Oh, and there's another issue: kermit will work across "difficult" links
(e.g. connections through console servers, in the presence of escape
characters like drop-to-ddb or the Vax console's ^P that one MUST not
send, etc.) where PPP doesn't have a chance, and it adapts better to
highly lossy line conditions.

Kermit is basically the ultimate off-road data transfer machine, which
is why if we're going to ship one thing for this purpose, Kermit should
really be it.

Thor