DOS emulator program in UNIX to run CD-ROMs

[Tom Tipsword]

>      Our library consortium is looking into using a DOS emulator program
> (on our UNIX system) to run CD-ROMs from our central site.  The hope
> is that we could network text-based CD-ROMs this way and have them
> accessible through our dumb terminals.  There may be some challenges
> with re-mapping the keyboard but perhaps not much else with a good
> emulation program.  This seems like a great way to network CD's but I
> haven't seen this done yet and wonder why not.  I don't have much
> experience with DOS emulators and would like some suggestions.  If
> this works, it would be a wonderful networking tool for all of us
> libraries with dumb terminals.  I'll reply to this list if we're
> successful with it.

We've been doing this on a production basis for over two years now.   
To the best of my knowledge we were the first site to get this 
working properly, though I believe the University of Georgia libraries were 
also doing something along this line in a similar time frame.  There was 
considerable discussion of this on the cdromlan list awhile back which
might still be available in the list archives.

Anyway, in a nutshell, our students telnet to a box running Linux 
(free!), log in, are validated via an encrypted look up to our 
student records system, successful validation executes a script which 
starts a DOSEMU (also free!) session (originally on the same box, but 
now running on another server to speed things up), which logs in to our 
NetWare server over an ipx bridge and runs DOS CD-ROMs in their native 
search mode.  We have titles from UMI, Knight Ridder (nee' DIALOG), 
and Newsbank up and working fine.

This was a bit of a hack when we first tried it, but as releases of 
Linux and DOSEMU have come out over the years it has gotten 
considerably easier.  The F keys were an occasional problem at first 
so we had to come up with some work arounds, but most (but not all, 
unfortunately) telnet programs do a decent enough emulation to make 
them work ok.

I just created a test account which I'll leave active for a week or 
so in case anybody wants to take a look at how this works.   There is 
a readme file with some additional information on our home page 
( http://amelia.db.erau.edu/  -- then click on Online Resources) and 
you can also connect to the CD-ROMs from there or telnet directly 
to amelia.db.erau.edu (155.31.19.4).  Login as cdrom, enter 9999994 
when you are asked for your Colleague ID, then cdromtest when you 
are asked for your SSN.

TNT

Tom Tipsword  
Systems Manager, Hunt Memorial Library      vox:  904-226-6601 
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University        fax:  904-226-6368
Daytona Beach, FL 32114

http://amelia.db.erau.edu/~tom/     tom at wilbur.db.erau.edu

"I just tell the stories.  You interpret them as you wish." -- Oliver Sacks.