MULTINET(8)

📦 version 2.65build2, in ubuntu jammy

💖 MULTINET 💖

okay bestie, so you know how you've got a Linux box and a whole remote VMS machine that you desperately need to talk DECnet to, but the network between them is IP-only and being super uncooperative? yeah. that. this is the multinet utility, from the DECnet utilities, and it's gonna fix that for you. 🦋

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

multinet [options] <local-decnet-addr> <remote-host>

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

So here's the tea: multinet spins up a tapX device and then copies all the DECnet packets from that device over IP to a remote Multinet* server. that's it, that's the magic. ✨

What that means practically is it gives you a way to connect a Linux box to a remote VMS machine over a network that's only got IP on it. and because Linux routing is right there doing its thing, you should be able to connect whole DECnet networks over the internet using this technique. iconic behavior honestly. 👑

Now the two arguments, because you will be asked about them:

  • local-decnet-addr — the DECnet node address of the tapX interface. ngl it does not have to match the address you're using on your other interfaces, that's totally allowed. but like… it might be less confusing if it does? your call, bestie. 🙈
  • remote-host — the IP address or host name of the remote Multinet server. and here's the fun part: if you send a HUP signal to the process, it will go look this name up again. so if the remote node changes its IP address you do not have to restart the server. the way that just works… 😭💅
*Multinet is a product, and probably a trademark, of Process Software. http://www.process.com and is available free for hobbyist use. The protocol used here was reverse engineered by Mark Berryman and Christine Caulfield.

shoutout to Mark and Christine fr fr, absolute legends, they reverse engineered this whole protocol. 🫶

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

  • -v — be verbose and dump packet contents to stderr. perfect for when you're nosy (affectionate). 🔍
  • -1 — advertise as a level 1 router.
  • -2 — advertise as a level 2 router. this is the default, so if you're not saying anything, this is what you're saying. 💫
  • -D — make the tapX device into the default DECnet device. this will force all traffic to non-local nodes down the Multinet link. it's giving main character energy, and it does not play.
IMPORTANT: due to a kernel bug you should not use this option unless you are using a Linux kernel version 2.6.17 or later. like, actually. do not. 💀
  • -p priority — router priority. default is 64.
  • -P port — port to talk to Multinet on. default is 700. only change this if you know the Multinet server is listening on a different port, okay? don't just guess. 🙅‍♀️
  • -m MTU — maximum size of packets. default is 576.
  • -t secs — timeout for IP connections. if no traffic is seen on the IP connection after this time, then the daemon will attempt to restart it. it's self-healing, we love a resilient queen. 🌈
  • -H hello timer — how often HELLO messages are sent, in seconds. default is 60. yes it's just out here saying hi constantly. relatable. 👋

⭐ EXAMPLES ⭐

multinet -1 -D 3.2 zarqon.tykepenguin.com

🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

and that's the whole vibe check bestie 💖 this page came out of the DECnet utilities, dated March 30 2006, and it's page MULTINET(8) in the system manager's manual. go forth and route, you got this 🧚✨

📦 where this page comes from