While working on the Xyplex Maxserver 1620 for our upcoming terminal server video, I wanted to try re-creating a menu I thought I had seen before from a 1990s ISP. The idea is that the user can dial in with a modem, and then get a menu to choose between several options such as telneting to a unix host, or starting PPP to immediately get on the Internet.
Here is how to configure this. First we have to disable PPP on the port, otherwise PPP will automatically start:
Xyplex>> set port 2 ppp disabled
Xyplex -729- Parameter cannot be modified by a SET command
Xyplex>> define port 2 ppp disabled
Unfortunately a reboot is required. We then want to setup a “simple” menu, as opposed to the more complex nested menus that the Xyplex also supports:
Xyplex>> define server menu enabled
Xyplex -705- Change leaves approximately 1884992 bytes free
Xyplex>> define server menu 1 "Telnet to Sparcstation"
Enter Xyplex command> telnet 10.254.255.5
Xyplex>> define server menu 2 "Start PPP"
Enter Xyplex command> set port ppp enabled
Xyplex>> define server menu 9 "Logout"
Enter Xyplex command> quit
Xyplex>> define server menu prompt "Select a number: "
Xyplex>> define port 2 menu enabled
After another reboot, we can now dial in to port 2 and get the simple menu, and press 2 to start ppp:
If you were dialing in from Windows95, there was a config option you could enable to open a terminal window after dialing, so the user could press 2 to start PPP. In Windows XP, we can do this by editing the network connection properties -> Security tab, and enable “Show terminal window” under Interactive logon
And it works, we are greeted with this “After Dial Terminal” where we can enter 2, see the PPP handshake started from the Xyplex and then press Done:
