port -- System Administration

File that describes ports for UUCP
/usr/lib/uucp/port

File /usr/lib/uucp/port  names and describes  the serial ports  that uucico
and cu use to connect to remote systems.

port consists  of a set of  entries, one for each  port.  Entries should be
separated from each other by one blank line.  Each entry consists of one or
more of the following commands:

port port_name
     Name  the port  being described.   This command  must appear  first in
     every port's entry.

type string
     This command gives the type of port.  It must appear immediately after
     the port command.  string must be one of the following:

     direct
          The port directly accesses another, usually via a serial port.

     modem
          The port accesses a modem.  This is the default.

     pipe The connection is a pipe that runs through another program

     stdin
          The  connection  runs through  the  standard  input and  standard
          output.  Use this option when uucico is run as a login shell

     tcp  The port is a TCP port.

protocol string
     List   the  protocols   that  can   be  used   with  this   port.   If
     /usr/lib/uucp/sys  contains  a  list  of  protocols, that  list  takes
     precedence over  the one set  in port. We recommend  that protocols be
     specified in  the file  sys intsead of  here.  For information  on the
     available protocols, see the Lexicon article sys.

protocol-parameter protocol parameter
     Set a parameter for  the protocol. This command recognizes exactly the
     same arguments  as its namesake in  the system-configuration file sys.
     For information on how to use this command, see the Lexicon entry for

seven-bit true|false
     If true, then this port (or  the modem plugged into it ) supports only
     seven-bit  transfers; if  false, then it  supports both  seven-bit and
     eight-bit protocols.   uucico uses  this command only  during protocol
     negotiation, to force the selection  of a protocol that works across a
     seven-bit link.   It will not prevent  eight-bit characters from being
     transmitted.  The default is false.

     Note that some devices use only  seven bits to define a character, and
     reserve the eighth bit as a  parity bit.  It is not possible it is not
     possible to send eight-bit characters across such devices.

reliable true|false
     This command is used only  when your system negotiates with the remote
     system over  what protocol to  use.  If set  to false, it  forces your
     system  to accept  only a  protocol  that works  over a  seven-bit (or
     unreliable)  connection.   If  true,  then  an eight-bit  protocol  is
     acceptable.  The default is false.

half-duplex true|false
     If  true, then  this  port supports  only half-duplex  communications,
     which  forces uucico  not to  use a  bidirectional protocol  with this
     port.  If  it is  false, then the  port supports both  half-duplex and
     full-duplex communications.  The default is false. sys.

device string
     This command names the  device associated with the port.  For example,
     the command

         device /dev/com2l

     names port  com2l as the  device used by  this port.  This  command is
     used only with ports of types modem or direct.

baud number
speed number
     Set   the  baud   rate  for   this   port.   If   an  entry   in  file
     /usr/lib/uucp/sys specifies  a speed but  no port entry,  uucico tries
     every entry  in port that  has a matching  baud rate, in  the order in
     which  they  appear,  until it  finds  one  that  is unlocked.   These
     commands are used only with ports of type modem or direct.

baud-range low high
speed-range low high
     Set the range of speeds at  which this port can be run.  low gives the
     minimum speed,  high the maximum.  This command  applies only to ports
     of type modem.

carrier true|false
     If true, the port supports carrier; if false, the port does not.  If a
     port does not support carrier, the carrier-detect signal will never be
     required on this port, regardless  of what the modem chat script says.
     If a  direct port  supports carrier,  the port will  be set  always to
     expect carrier.

     This  command applies  only  to ports  of  type direct  or modem.  The
     default for a modem port is true; but for a direct port is false.

hardflow true|false
     If true,  turn on hardware  flow control for this  port; otherwise, do
     not.  The default is true. This  command applies only to ports of type
     direct or modem.

dial-device device
     Send dialing  instructions to device,  instead of the  the normal port
     device.  This applies only to ports of type modem.

dialer string
     Names the  dialer to use.   Information about the dialer  is read from
     file /usr/lib/uucp/dial. This applies only to ports of type modem.

dialer string ...
     Execute  a  simple  dialing  script.   This  command can  be  used  in
     situations  where the  dialing script  is so simple  that it  would be
     cumbersome to embed it within  a separate file.  If the command dialer
     is  used with  only  one argument  (to  name a  dialing script),  this
     command is ignored.  This applies only to ports of type modem.

dialer-sequence dialer phone_number ...
     Name pairs of dialers  and telephone numbers.  The telephone number is
     substituted for the escape sequences \D or \T in the dialer entry.  In
     effect, this  lets you  name a  sequence of chat  scripts to  use.  At
     present, this command is the only  way to use a chat script with a TCP
     port.

     This command applies only to ports of type modem or tcp.

lockname name
     Use name when  locking this port.  This applies only  to ports of type
     modem or direct.

service service_name
     Name the TCP port to use.   If this names a service, then uucico looks
     the port  for that service in  file /etc/services. If it  is a number,
     then uucico  binds itself to  that TCP port.   If this command  is not
     used,  then uucico  by  default uses  the well-known  port 540.   This
     command applies only to ports of type tcp.

command command [ arguments ]
     If the port  is of type pipe, name the  command and its arguments with
     which uucico will be exchanging  data.  For example, if your system is
     on a network,  then command could a form of  the command rlogin, which
     would permit uucico to log into the remote system via the network.

Example

The following gives a sample entry for a port:

    port MWCBBS
    type modem
    device /dev/com2l
    baud 9600
    dialer tbfast
The following describes each command in detail:

port This  names the  port  being described  in  this entry,  in this  case
     MWCBBS.

type The type of port -- in this case, a modem.

device
     The device  used by  this port.  The  device name usually  matches the
     port name, but it does not have to.

baud The speed of the port, in this case 9600.

dialer
     The type of dialing device (i.e.,  modem) plugged into this port -- in
     this case,  the dialer named  tbfast. This dialer is  described in the
     file /usr/lib/uucp/dial. For  information on how a dialer is described
     in its file, see the Lexicon entry for dial.

See Also

Administering COHERENT,
dial,
sys,
UUCP

Notes

Only the superuser root can edit /usr/lib/uucp/port.

The  file port  supports many  commands in addition  to the  ones described
here.  This  article describes  only those commands  that might be  used in
typical UUCP  connections.  For more  information, see the  original Taylor
UUCP documentation, which is in the archive /usr/src/alien/uudoc.tar.Z.

© 2012 by Stephen A. Ness