KA9Q NOS and JNOS
| KA9Q NOS and JNOS | |
|---|---|
| Type | TCP/IP networking software for packet radio |
| Original author | Phil Karn, KA9Q |
| First platforms | CP/M, then MS-DOS on the IBM PC |
| Status of NOS | Considered obsolete by its author; source widely reused |
| JNOS | |
| Started by | Johan Reinalda, WG7J |
| Later developers | James Dugal, N5KNX; Maiko Langelaar, VE4KLM (JNOS 2.0) |
| Platforms | DOS originally; now Linux, including the Raspberry Pi |
| Main features | TCP/IP router, BBS, email, NET/ROM, APRS, Winlink interface |
KA9Q NOS is a package of TCP/IP networking software written by Phil Karn, KA9Q, that let amateurs run the internet's own protocols over packet radio in the days when a home computer had no networking of its own. Usually called simply "KA9Q" or "NOS," it turned a DOS PC with a TNC into a small internet host and router that could send email, transfer files and log in to other stations by radio. Because Karn distributed the source code, many hams built their own versions. The best known of these, JNOS, is still used for packet BBS and mail systems today.
KA9Q NOS
Karn first wrote his TCP/IP software for computers running the CP/M operating system and then moved it to MS-DOS on the IBM PC. An earlier program called NET was followed by NOS, which was restructured so that many tasks could run at once on a single-user DOS machine. With it, a station could run TCP/IP over AX.25, the link protocol of packet radio, and also over telephone modems and serial cables. Hams on the air used addresses from a block of internet addresses set aside for amateur radio, known as AMPRNet or "net 44."
NOS offered far more than a basic connection. Versions of it handled AX.25 and NET/ROM node networking alongside TCP/IP and provided file transfer (FTP), mail (SMTP and POP), finger, a keyboard chat system called convers, and a packet mailbox. Karn's TCP/IP work also gave rise to the KISS protocol: he co-wrote the 1987 KISS specification so that a TNC would simply pass raw frames to the computer, leaving his software on the computer to do the protocol work.
The source spread widely and was adapted to many machines. Jonathan Naylor, G4KLX, ported it to the Acorn Archimedes, and an Amiga version also appeared. Outside amateur radio, a version of KA9Q was the standard connection software for the early British internet provider Demon Internet until 1995. By the mid-1990s many variants were in circulation, among them JNOS, TNOS, WNOS, and versions by PA0GRI and others.
Karn himself now regards NOS as obsolete, since modern operating systems such as Linux include TCP/IP and even AX.25 and NET/ROM support of their own. Its main legacy is the generation of hams who first used internet protocols on the air and the programs descended from it.
JNOS
JNOS began as a customized version of NOS for MS-DOS by Johan Reinalda, WG7J. Reinalda maintained it until 1994, after which development passed to James Dugal, N5KNX. A port for Linux and other Unix-like systems followed, and the 1.11 series was current around 2000.
The modern line, JNOS 2.0, has been developed by Maiko Langelaar, VE4KLM, who has distributed its source along with a builder program that downloads, compiles and installs it. It runs on Linux, including the Raspberry Pi, and a native Windows version has also been worked on. JNOS 2.0 can use software modems such as AGW Packet Engine as well as hardware TNCs.
A single JNOS program can act as:
- A TCP/IP router between radio ports and other networks.
- A packet BBS that stores and forwards mail and bulletins with other BBS systems.
- An email server that exchanges messages with ordinary internet mail systems, along with FTP and web servers.
- An AX.25 and NET/ROM node, with links to distant systems over the internet when wanted.
- An APRS digipeater and internet gateway.
- A Winlink interface for exchanging email with that network.
Its flexibility comes with a learning curve. JNOS is configured through text files and its own command language, and it rewards operators who already understand IP networking.
See also
External links
- KA9Q at Wikipedia
- The KISS TNC paper on Phil Karn's site
- JNOS 2.0 project page