"PX/WINS in a Nutshell"

How Platinum Xpress works with WIN Server

Platinum Xpress/WINS is a Fidonet Package designed specifically for WINServer Client/Server system to give Wildcat! sysops complete FTN operations (Fidonet) for their BBS.

PX/WINS is the only product for the WIN Server to give you everything you need for direct Fidonet operations. One system, one integrated package, designed to reduce your maintenance time, by putting it all together for you.

Fidonet Features in PX/WINS:

• Fidonet compatible Frontend Mailer
• Fidonet compatible Echo Mail tosser/scanner
• Fidonet compatible Tic Processor
• Fidonet compatible Sysop Editor
• Fidonet compatible Nodelist Compiler
• Fidonet compatible Area/File Fix Requestor

and many more specific Fidonet inclusions.

Wildcat Interactive Net Server or WINS for short, is a TCP/IP based Client/Server system. What that means is there is a "Server Module" called wcSERVER.EXE. This controls all access to ALL data in the BBS.

Every other program is a "Client" to the server. All the WC*.EXE applets are "clients" to the server, such as:

• wcCONFIG.EXE- Configuration
• wcNODES.EXE - Node Monitor
• wcMENU.EXE - BBS Menu Designer
• wcDRAW.EXE - BBS ANSI Screen Designer
• wcONLINE.EXE- Online Controller
• wcMAIL.EXE - Internet Tosser/Scanner

etc, etc. So in your STARTUP folder, you would run wcSTART.EXE which is pre-designed to start:

• wcSERVER.EXE
• wcONLINE.EXE

In that order. You can add more to the wcSTART setup to start other applications, like wcMAIL.EXE.

Now, PX/WINS is a "Client" system to Wildcat!. All 3rd party applications can only be "CLIENTS" to the server since they have NO ACCESS to files directly. All clients must ask the server for information to do any work.

Because it is a TCP/IP client/server system, any client can be on any TCP/IP network, for example your LAN to use WINS.

PX/WINS Essential Components:

• PXONLINE - The Fidonet Online Controller, sits on top of wcONLINE. If wcONLINE is not loaded, no user can log in. It's in "Mailer Mode" only. This is the closest you can get to make PX work without Wildcat!. But it still needs the wcSERVER to talk too.

• PXECHO - The Mail Processor, Tic Processor, Nodelist compiler the "everything" processor. It runs full time waiting for someone to tell it to do something. PXONLINE gets echo bundles and tells PXECHO to process it via a signal.

• PXTOOLS - A ToolBar with your sysop editor, nodelist compiler, tic hatcher, echo database repair, etc.

and other programs. But the above is the main stuff. It also comes with PXSTART.EXE which is similar to wcSTART, but it's preset to start:

• wcSERVER
• wcONLINE
• wcMAIL (optional)
• PXECHO
• PXONLINE

in that order. Today, you really don't need PXSTART but it's all set for immediate startup once you install.

If you don't have WIN Server, PX/WINS is NOT going to work. It looks for the wcSERVER and, if not found, you will get an error. If you are running with the Personal (DEMO) Edition of WIN Server, there is no hook at this time in the Demo version for a Frontend program, and you will not be able to use PX/WINS. You must be with a registered version of WIN Server (baseline version is now the 2 node Community Edition) to use PX/WINS.

How PX/WINS works with WIN Server.

When you start all the applications, all programs are running at the same time:

• wcSERVER - Wildcat! server (sits on task bar). Must be running at all times.

• wcONLINE - Controls all connections except nodes configured as frontend. The PXONLINE controller will manager nodes setup as frontends.

• wcMAIL - Optional. The internet mail tosser/scanner. If you have internet connectivity, this will look at the gateway directory for new Internet *.D, *.X or *.BAG files to toss. You must get another program to move the files there.

• PXOnline - The PX frontend. It looks like the WCONLINE controller. But it only opens up the port which is configured as Frontend nodes in the WC Node Configuration program. So if you have 4 lines in the wcNODE Configuration you can have:

• Node 1 - Com1
• Node 2 - Com2 Frontend
• Node 3 - Local only
• Node 4 - Com 4 Frontend

and wcONLINE will only manage nodes 1 and 3 and PXOnline will manage nodes 2 and 4, etc. PXonline tosses netmail only. Bundles and tics are sent to PXECHO to process.

• PXEcho - We call this the "Data Processor". PXONLINE receives files and puts them in the various inbound directories and sends a signal to PXECHO to process the new files. This allows PXONLINE to immediately make the node available for new calls as PXECHO is processing data.

With all these programs working together, you have a very powerful, 32 bit mail/file Fidonet, Internet, BBS system.