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PE1RRR > PACKET 10.09.21 05:42l 178 Lines 5764 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 22858-PE1RRR
Read: GUEST
Subj: BPQ <> WW Converse (inc. JNOS Converse)
Path: IW8PGT<IZ3LSV<I3XTY<I0OJJ<EA2RCF<LU9DCE<N7HPX<W9GM<GB7YEW<AL0Y<IZ5FSA<
IK5FKA<IV3BVK<PE1RRR
Sent: 210910/0332Z @:PE1RRR.#NBW.NLD.EURO #:22858 [Rijen] $:22858-PE1RRR
From: PE1RRR@PE1RRR.#NBW.NLD.EURO
To : PACKET@WW
A recent query from a LinBPQ node operator gave me the nudge to publish
the setup that I use to interconnect WWC, worldwide converse with BPQ
allowing BPQ to interlink WWC with its own AX25 & NETROM ports.
Usually, use of a plain telnet session is sufficient to connect to
remote services in BPQ however when the remote service requires a login
to occur, sending a prompt to the user and trusting them to input the
correct information is unsatisfactory as in some circumstances this can
lead to spoofing.
AUTOMATING WITH EXPECT
The expect tool is used in here to replace the interactive process of
logging in with a preset behaviour.
The wrapper script connects to the remote service, in this case-
conversd, and sends the command sequence including the callsign of the
user to initialize the connection and log the person in with their
current callsign connected through the BPQ node.
The callsign itself is provided to the wrapper script by BPQ32
automatically upon connect. The problem with conversd is that it
requires a command prefix before the callsign to actually log in.
INSTALL EXPECT
You will need to ensure that the expect tool is installed on your
system, and that the path to ‘expect matches in the script provided
down below, by default this is /usr/bin/expect. sudo apt install expect
THE WRAPPER SCRIPT
#!/usr/bin/expect
gets stdin callsign
spawn -noecho nc IPADDRESS 3600
send "/n $callsign\n"
interact
exit
In the above example, substitute the IPADDRESS with the DNS host name
or static IP address of the conversd server you wish to connect to. You
may need to substitute the port number for the one provided to you by
the conversd owner. The default is usually port 3600, but it can
sometimes differ system to system. Place this script in a familiar
directory, for the sake of example this document will use a sub
directory “scripts” within the linbpq home directory.
/home/bpq/scripts/convwrap
Set the correct permissions:
chmod 755 /home/bpq/scripts/convwrap
CALLING THE WRAPPER SCRIPT
The wrapper script by itself doesnt do all of the work. Incoming
connections from BPQ have to pass through to a TCP port that is
connected to the wrapper script, this is easily achieved with the
openbsd-inetd package.
Install ‘openbsd-inetd on your system, if using a Raspbian or Debian
based install this is accomplished with:
sudo apt install openbsd-inetd
The openbsd-inetd utilizes two configuration files, these are:
/etc/inetd.conf
/etc/services
Edit the /etc/inetd.conf, insert the following line with the file path
adjusted accordingly to suit your own installation, be sure to ensure
the spaces or tabs are preserved:
convwrap stream tcp nowait bpq /home/bpq/scripts/convwrap
Edit the /etc/services file and insert a fresh port number for this
service, e.g port 63000:
convwrap 63000/tcp
Restart inetd so that it loads the above configuration.
sudo service inetd restart
CONFIGURING BPQ32
Insert an APPLICATION line below your existing application definitions,
ensure that you select an unused unique application number (the digit
after APPLICATION). BPQ has a maximum of 32 application definitions.
APPLICATION 9,WWC,ATTACH 10 127.0.0.1 63000 S,NOCALL-2,ALIAS,255
In the above example:
* ‘9 refers to application number 9, it is important that you choose
an application number between 1-32 that is not already in use.
* WWC is the command alias, a user connected to the BPQ node issues
this command to initiate the connection to the wrapper.
* ATTACH is the internal node command that requires a telnet PORTNUM.
* ‘10 is the telnet PORTNUM associated in bpq32.cfg, it will differ
system to system, if your system does not have a telnet port defined,
now is the time to do that
* 127.0.0.1 63000 is the host and TCP port number where the wrapper
script is provided (see /etc/services from earlier). 127.0.0.1 always
refers to ‘localhost or ‘self in human terms
* ‘S is the internal node flag that instructs the node to keep the
user connected to the node after disconnecting from the wrapper. This
is known as ‘Stay.
* NOCALL-2 is the optional callsign and SSID you want the wrapper to be
reachable via ax25 and NETROM.
* ALIAS is the optional 1-6 character maximum unique ax25 and NETROM
alias of the wrapper. Do NOT use the default- make sure you pick one
that does not collide with anyone else on the NETROM network.
* ‘255 is the optional NETROM quality to add the prior optional call
sign/alias to the NETROM broadcast, as it is a local and hard-wired
service, this can be maximum, 255.
TESTING
Test the wrapper using the simple telnet program. Connect to the
wrapper port, it should show the following: bpq@pe1rrr:~/scripts $
telnet localhost 63000 Trying ::1...
Trying 127.0.0.1...
Connected to localhost.
Escape character is '^]'.
In order to emulate what BPQ will do, type in your callsign and hit
enter. pe1rrr
/n pe1rrr
*
* Access to channel 0 has been removed from this server.
*
FYI: No password found.
Try /help mkpass.
conversd @ Rijen_NL Ping-Pong conversd saupp-1.62a
* Type /HELP for help.
* Welcome to RRRWWC Worldwide Converse Server
* Use /help for commands.
* ========================================================
*
*** There are 18 users on 9 channels online.
*** Will try local default channel 3333.
*** You created a new channel 3333.
*** Personal data set from file: Red, Rijen, JO21LO
*** Nickname set from file: Red
This document is also published on the WWW here:
https://eindhoven.space/2021/09/10/packet-radio-bpq-conversd-interlink/
:-)
--
PE1RRR <PE1RRR@PE1RRR.#NBW.NLD.EURO>
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