10. Communications Programs And Utilities

Here is a list of some communication software you can choose from, available via FTP, if they didn't come with your distribution.

• ecu - a communications program
• C-Kermit - portable, scriptable, serial and TCP/IP communications including file transfer, character-set translation, and zmodem support
• minicom - telix-like communications program
• procomm - procomm-like communications program with zmodem
• seyon - X based communication program
• xc - xcomm communication package
• term and SLiRP offer TCP/IP functionality using a shell account.
• screen is another multi-session program. This one behaves like the virtual consoles.
• callback is where you dial out to a remote modem and then that modem hangs up and calls you back (to save on phone bills).
• mgetty+fax handles FAX stuff, and provides an alternate ps_getty.
• ZyXEL is a control program for ZyXEL U-1496 modems. It handles dialin, dialout, dial back security, FAXing, and voice mailbox functions.
• irqtune will give serial port interrupts higher priority to improve performance. Using hdparm for hard-disk tuning may help some more.
• modemstat and statserial show the current state of various modem control lines
• SLIP and PPP software can be found at ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/network/serial.
• Other things can be found on ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/serial and ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/apps/serialcomm or one of the many mirrors. These are the directories where serial programs are kept.