Before you Start

Before you can make a PAD call, you need to know the following information:

• the type of terminal you are using

• whether the remote host is in the PAD hosts database

If the host you are calling turns out not to be in the PAD hosts database, you also need to know

• its exact address

• which link to call it over

You also need to find out what parameters, if any, you need to set. You are very unlikely to need to set parameters if you are calling a host that is in the PAD Hosts Database. You may need to set parameters if you are calling a host that is not in the PAD Hosts Database.

Finding out your Terminal Type

To find out your terminal type, enter the following command:

localhost% set | grep term

You system will display the terminal type, like this:

term   sun-cmd

Make a note of the terminal type, as you will need it once you have established a PAD connection.

Displaying the PAD Hosts Database

If you are not sure whether the host you want to call is in the PAD hosts database, you can use the pad program in command mode to find out.

1. Start the pad program, by entering:

   localhost% /opt/SUNWconn/bin/pad

   The system displays the PAD: prompt:

   PAD:

   This tells you that you are in command mode.

2. Enter the hosts command to display the PAD hosts database:

   PAD: hosts

   The system displays the PAD hosts database:

   PAD: hosts HOSTS AVAILABLE --------------- Name: host1 Name: host2 Name: host3

   ---

   Note -

   Starting the pad program is more convenient if /opt/SUNWconn/bin is in your PATH. If it is not, ask your System Administrator to add it. Once this is done, you only need to type pad to start the pad program.

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Address Formats

If there is no entry for a host in the PAD Hosts Database, you must use its address to make a call to it. The type of address you use depends on the type of network you are making the call across.

• PSDN

  If you are making a call across a Packet Switched Data Network, you must enter the remote host's X.121 address. This is almost certainly a DTE address and can be up to 15 decimal digits long.

• LAN

  If you are making a call to a host that is on the same LAN as you, you must enter its LSAP address. This is 14 hexadecimal digits long and is made up of the host's 12 digit MAC address, followed by a 2 digit SAP address. The default SAP address for X.25 systems is 7e. For example, if the remote host's MAC address was 080020092186, its LSAP address would be 0800200921867e.

If you are not sure of a remote host's address, ask your System Administrator.

Address Extensions

You can specify additional components to a numeric address. Each must be preceded by an identifier to tell the software what kind of extension this is. The available components and identifiers are:

Link Numbers

A link is an association between a physical line, for example a serial cable or a phone line, and a hardware port on your machine. You must specify the link number when you specify the address if the following are all true:

• you have multiple links on your machine

• you are using a numeric address rather than a name or alias

• your system administrator has not set up the Solstice X.25 routing feature

• you are calling over a link other than link 0, the default link