There are many things that control a connection for Anzio Lite and AnzioWin. This includes network devices, the host application, the host operating system, user login scripts, Microsoft Windows settings and more.

Telnet and Secure Shell (SSH) connections are stateful connections and must be up and available whenever a character of any type is passed either direction. If not, the user's connection can be dropped and thus, depending on the settings in Anzio, the Anzio window may close. This type of failure usually indicates some network or server action timed out, or the network connection was not available.

This is different than how the FTP (file transfer) or HTTP (web browser) protocol behaves, these protocols simply try to reconnect since no login is necessary.

These type of dropped connections are most often seen when connecting over the Internet through an ISP (Internet Service Provider). They can also occur when a hub, router or network switch is not properly configured or when one of these devices is beginning to fail (generating errors). There are some options a user can do to try to get around the issues:

Contact your ISP and let them know you are doing telnet or secure shell connections and the connections are dropping (if you get the right tech person, he/she will know what is miss-set in your connection to them).
Check your devices in-house and see if one of them is getting errors in their log file. If they are unmanaged devices, switch ports and see if the problem moves.
Make sure the host system is not timing out. There should not be a "tmout" or "tout" inside your host script files (.profile or login scripts). Also make sure the host and PC network cards are not generating any network errors.
Try setting the "Stay Alive" parameter (available in version 15 or later). Check under the Communications menu and Network : Stay Alive. This option, when set greater than zero, will send a single empty packet over the network stating that Anzio is still alive and working (typically set this for 30 seconds). However, setting this option too low may only show the problem earlier and more often and not really hide it. Again this option is masking some other problem or misconfiguration, but it will help in about 80% of the cases.

Check out the following pages for more information:

Can AnzioWin and Anzio Lite run from a file server?

Yes it can. In brief, you install Anzio on the file server and then set shortcuts up on the individual PCs which are sharing the file server's disk, to point at the Anzio software. You can set up individual default files (if you do, reference them on the shortcut command line, i.e. \anzio126\anzio32.exe my.def) or let Anzio use its common default file (anziowin.def for both AnzioWin and Anzio Lite), by just referencing the executable. In this last case, you may want to make anziowin.def a read-only file to prevent one user from changing settings. As for entering a serial number/activation code for each workstation, this may not be necessary. We do have a method of accessing a global license entry - call or email us for more information. Note that AnzioWin and Anzio Lite are licensed on a per-workstation base, a single license for each node accessing it from a terminal server, not one license per server, but one license per workstation.

Can Anzio play a Midi or MP3 file from a remote host when certain events occur?

Version 12.5 and earlier of AnzioWin or Anzio Lite can play only WAVE (.wav) files. Version 12.6 and later add support for other formats. These are played using the PLAYSOUND or PLAYMEDIA commands, which can be issued from the host system See the Anzio manual, the README.TXT file, or contact us for more information.

Can Anzio play a movie file from a remote host when certain events occur?

Version 12.5 or earlier of AnzioWin or Anzio Lite does not support these media file types. You could set up a macro in AnzioWin that would transfer the file and then launch it for Windows to handle. Starting with 12.6, the PLAYMEDIA command can play video as well as audio.

How can I set up Anzio to run from a terminal server / file server?

AnzioWin and Anzio Lite work well with terminal servers and in running them from file servers. However, do remember that AnzioWin and Anzio Lite licenses are on a per PC user. On a file server or terminal server this refers to the number of nodes that will have access to the server.

In order to set AnzioWin or Anzio Lite up to run from the server, install the product on the server and permit access to the users. That's it! Well almost. Two things that may be a headache:

Anzio looks for its default file, called AnzioWin.def, within the Anzio program's home directory. You can set every user up to use this default file by simply saving it as you'd like and then marking the file as "read-only" so not everyone can change it and affect others. OR you can set up individual anziowin.def files in user directories and when you create the shortcut, include the file name (see 3 below).

Anzio requires a registration/activation license code in order to run. You can purchase individual licenses for each user, one quantity license to share among each user, or you can install the license on the server (saving from having to enter it for each user). If you wish to do this last option, give us a call and we can let you know how to do set it up for a server.

You do need to create the shortcuts on each users desktop. With most server software, you can do this easily. If you need to give each user access to their own default file, it may take a little more work. A shortcut can point to individual default files by doing

<executable name> <default file name>

such as

f:\anzio126\anzio32r.exe $UserHomeDir\anziowin.def

SFTP versus FTP, what are the differences?

FTP is the "file transfer protocol" most often used over the Internet. It is even used by most browsers when doing downloads. Starting in version 12.6 of AnzioWin, we included an integrated FTP client that could auto-login to a host, transfer files and provide some user feedback. It could also be used within macros and scripts for AnzioWin.

AnzioWin version 15 introduces SFTP support, FTP over a Secure Shell connection. SFTP encrypts all its data and control sequences during a SFTP session, just as SSH would for a terminal session.

There are major differences however. FTP actually runs utilizing the Windows "wininet" routines and requires opening a separate network connection to the host requiring a separate login and password be entered again (though AnzioWin can do this in the background). This also means your firewall must allow FTP connections in and out.

SSH SFTP does not require a separate login, does not require a new network connection and does not require access through a firewall. SFTP works over a "back-channel" of SSH, running in the background of the same SSH session you are currently logged into.

More information can be found in the Anzio manual, How-To and Read-Me files, and in our support pages at our web site.

AnzioWin and Anzio Lite ZModem dates are suddenly wrong

When AnzioWin and Anzio Lite does file transfers, the date it grabs from the host is coming out wrong. The date comes in as a long integer, based on some beginning date and the size of this exceeds an artificial limit (this is not a buffer overflow issue, merely a bug).

In AnzioWin and Anzio Lite version 12.6zd or earlier and in releases of AnzioWin and Anzio Lite prior to 12.6, and in releases of AnzioWin and Anzio Lite version 15.0f or earlier, there was a problem whereby this integer was too large when the host file creation date was 1/10/2004 or newer.

Version 12.6zf and version 15.0m fix this problem. If you are on an early release of AnzioWin or Anzio Lite 15.0 or 12.6, you can update to the appropriate later release free of charge to fix this problem. The latest patch version can be downloaded from the Download page of our web site.

Users on releases prior to version 12.6 that are experiencing this zmodem problem, need to contact us about updates. Updates run 25% of list price and can be ordered online or by contacting us directly.

I am having problems with ZModem, XModem, YModem and Anzio, why?

First off, see our document on Using ZModem in Anzio. This will describe some of the problems associated with ZModem file transfer.

One thing to remember with the Zmodem, protocols (including Xmodem and Ymodem) is that they are old protocols designed to work over serial connections.

Commonly what we see is that someone is running Zmodem, Xmodem, Ymodem over a network connected Anzio and expecting it to work as it would over a serial connection. In about 75% of the cases it may work great. But in the other 25% of the cases, these protocols fail and usually fail badly. There are several contributing factors to this:

network drivers - the network speed, how network traffic gets routed and buffered internally
the X-ON/X-OFF protocol for controlling packet loss
issues with dropped packets and getting out of synch
problems with numerous releases and whether the one on your system has been updated to work over a network

You can play with parameters in Anzio, namely windows and buffer sizes, and you may be able to get better functionality out of it. Check with the vendor of the operating system and ask if anyone is running these protocols over network connections. However, we recommend using FTP for network file transfers. You will find FTP about 200% faster and more reliable for moving files between systems.

I am having problems with Kermit and Anzio, why?

See our document on Using Kermit in Anzio. This will describe some of the problems associated with Kermit file transfer.

As with Zmodem, it is important to remember that the Kermit protocol is designed to work over serial connections.

We see many cases where someone is running Kermit over a network connected Anzio and expecting it to work as it would over a serial connection. In about 75% of the cases it may work great. But it's the other 25% that is hard to fix. Fortunately, unlike the Zmodem protocol, Kermit and its clones, such as G-Kermit and c-Kermit, are a little better supporting in a network environment - provided you are using the most recent versions.

You can play with some parameters in Anzio, namely windows and get better result. Also check the Columbia Kermit Project, http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/, for release information.

As with Zmodem, we recommend using FTP for network file transfers. You will find FTP about 200% faster and more reliable for moving files between systems.

Can I automate a file transfer?

In short, YES. There are two procedures that are commonly used and I am sure others exist. With AnzioWin, commands can be issued from the host system controlling Anzio's functionality, either telling Anzio to run a PC program or have Anzio perform an internal function. The two most common procedures to follow involve ZModem or FTP. There are several helpful documents in our knowledgebase dealing with the various types of file transfers available through Anzio.

I am having trouble with "ftpput" and "ftpget" in a script.

User macros are done through AnzioWin with a specific syntax in most cases. The usual problem with the ftpput, sftpput, ftpget and sftpget is the missing host parameters. Currently the host parameter IS NEEDED. This may change in the future, but for now it must be included. However, it can be an empty string such as the following:

/usr/bin/printf "\034%s\035" "ftpput \"\" c:\\temp\\mytest.pdf"

The double-quotes in the command represent the host name and force AnzioWin to use the actual PC file name (without the directory information). Also note that you may have to escape the backslashes in this string, depending on your shell and scripting. You can provide the host name if you wish:

/usr/bin/printf "\034%s\035" "ftpput mynew.pdf c:\\temp\\mytest.pdf"

Another common problem is understanding that you MUST log in before performing a file transfer over FTP. One advantage you have with AnzioWin, if you have the login wizard enabled and a username and password included, the login for your FTP or SFTP will be automated when doing transfers through scripts. An alternative is to provide the host login information within the file transfer string itself (password can be optional if one is not required by your ftp server):

/usr/bin/printf "\034%s\035" "ftpput username[:password]@hostname/hostfilename pcfilename"

An example might look like this:

/usr/bin/printf "\034%s\035" "ftpput jdoe:fido123@server2/mynew.pdf c:\\temp\test.pdf"

The other, most common problem is using wildcards and understanding how this works. The minimum syntax for "ftpput" and "sftpput" requires the PC file name:

ftpput "" <PC filename>

The PC filename can be a wildcard or a list of files to transfer:

ftpput "" c:\temp\*.pdf

ftpput "" c:\temp\myfiles.*

ftpput "" c:\temp\inv-????.pdf

ftpput "" c:\temp\inv-0020.pdf,c:\temp\inv-0021.pdf,c:\temp\inv-0022.pdf

(remember that you may have to escape the backslashes and enclose the file names in quotes if there are any embedded spaces).

In doing WILDCARDS or a file list, you also need to be aware that the host name should either be left empty or it can be a directory on the server. You must have write permissions for the "put" to be performed to a specified directory. A list of file names to transfer "as" is not supported at this time.

For server file transfers, sftpget and ftpget, you can also specify a set of wildcard strings, similar to those above. And like the above, the PC file name should be left blank or be a directory name with write permissions. A list of file names to transfer "as" is not supported at this time.

In both cases, if you do not specify a host or PC directory (depending on the upload or download direction), the default will be used. For putting files on the host, the upload default directory is the first directory logged into with your username and password. For the PC download default directory, the directory is that specified in the "Transfer Options". If none is specified, the current working directory is the default.

Note - Wildcard transfers first appeared in AnzioWin version 15.2j for sftpput and sftpget. AnzioWin versions later than version 16.2 supports wildcards in the FTP protocol as well (ftpput and ftpget). Please contact us for more information if you are having problems and want to use this feature.