Phone Field in /etc/uucp/Systems File

This field enables you to specify the telephone number, known as a token, of the remote computer for automatic dialers, which are known as port selectors. The telephone number consists of an optional alphabetic abbreviation and a numeric part. If an abbreviation is used, the abbreviation must be listed in the Dialcodes file.

Example 26–4 Entry in the Phone Field

nubian    Any    ACU       2400    NY555-1212    ogin: Puucp ssword:Passuan
eagle     Any    ACU, g    D1200   NY=3251       ogin: nuucp ssword:Oakgrass

In the Phone field, an equal sign (=) instructs the ACU to wait for a secondary dial tone before dialing the remaining digits. A dash (-) in the string instructs the ACU to pause four seconds before dialing the next digit.

If your computer is connected to a port selector, you can access other computers that are connected to that selector. The Systems file entries for these remote machines should not have a telephone number in the Phone field. Instead, this field should contain the token to be passed to the switch. In this way, the port selector knows the remote machine with which your host wants to communicate, usually just the system name. The associated Devices file entry should have a \D at the end of the entry to ensure that this field is not translated by using the Dialcodes file.