<TITLE>The DXSpider Installation Manual v1.50: Microsoft Windows Installation</TITLE>
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<P>What you'll be left with once you've followed these instructions
is (hopefully) a working DX Spider v1.50 system that is capable
of accepting or originating "internet" connections, plus inbound
<P>What you'll be left with once you've followed these instructions
is (hopefully) a working DX Spider v1.50 system that is capable
of accepting or originating "internet" connections, plus inbound
<P>On the other hand, you may have an enquiring mind, or better yet,
may be looking for a useful way of connecting your current
(perhaps) AK1A cluster "to the internet" via some networking
mechanism (BPQEther, etc) or other. I won't be producing
instructions for the latter case, because I don't have an AK1A to
<P>On the other hand, you may have an enquiring mind, or better yet,
may be looking for a useful way of connecting your current
(perhaps) AK1A cluster "to the internet" via some networking
mechanism (BPQEther, etc) or other. I won't be producing
instructions for the latter case, because I don't have an AK1A to
<P>Whatever, this document is intended to get you started with DX
Spider in a Microsoft Windows ™ environment. It's not
intended to teach you anything other than how to perform a
minimum configuration of a DX Spider installation and have it
able to connect across "the internet" to other DX Clusters, while
<P>Whatever, this document is intended to get you started with DX
Spider in a Microsoft Windows ™ environment. It's not
intended to teach you anything other than how to perform a
minimum configuration of a DX Spider installation and have it
able to connect across "the internet" to other DX Clusters, while
-accepting inbound TELNET and radio connections.
-<P>
-<H2><A NAME="ss5.2">5.2 The requirements</A>
+accepting inbound TELNET and radio connections.</P>
+
+<H2><A NAME="ss5.2">5.2</A> <A HREF="installation.html#toc5.2">The requirements</A>
<LI>If all goes according to plan, about an hour to spare</LI>
<LI>Plenty of good, strong tea</LI>
</UL>
<LI>If all goes according to plan, about an hour to spare</LI>
<LI>Plenty of good, strong tea</LI>
</UL>
a random pile of junk (AMD K6-2 333MHz, 64 Mb memory, Windows 98
v4.10.1998). As a result, I have reason to believe that what I'm
about to describe will perform equally on any 32-bit MS Windows
a random pile of junk (AMD K6-2 333MHz, 64 Mb memory, Windows 98
v4.10.1998). As a result, I have reason to believe that what I'm
about to describe will perform equally on any 32-bit MS Windows
<P>Because of the changes that have recently been made to the core
"cluster.pl" module and the introduction of a very lightweight
"winclient.pl", I have a sneaking suspicion that this will now
run on any platform that has reasonably complete support for
Perl. Is there someone out there with both an enquiring mind and
<P>Because of the changes that have recently been made to the core
"cluster.pl" module and the introduction of a very lightweight
"winclient.pl", I have a sneaking suspicion that this will now
run on any platform that has reasonably complete support for
Perl. Is there someone out there with both an enquiring mind and
<P>Please bear in mind, though, that my instructions relate solely
to how to get this going under a Microsoft Windows environment,
<P>Please bear in mind, though, that my instructions relate solely
to how to get this going under a Microsoft Windows environment,
-and I have zero intention of trying to make them say otherwise.
-<P>
-<H2><A NAME="ss5.4">5.4 Perl</A>
+and I have zero intention of trying to make them say otherwise.</P>
+
+<H2><A NAME="ss5.4">5.4</A> <A HREF="installation.html#toc5.4">Perl</A>
ActivePerl v5.6. For my testing & development, I used build 623.
(A recent installation used the newer ActivePerl v5.6.1, build
633 without any noticable difficulty.) You can get this from:
ActivePerl v5.6. For my testing & development, I used build 623.
(A recent installation used the newer ActivePerl v5.6.1, build
633 without any noticable difficulty.) You can get this from:
-<A HREF="http://www.activestate.com/Products/ActivePerl/Download.html">http://www.activestate.com/Products/ActivePerl/Download.html</A><P>The link takes you to an initial page of System Requirements and
+<A HREF="http://www.activestate.com/Products/ActivePerl/Download.html">http://www.activestate.com/Products/ActivePerl/Download.html</A></P>
+<P>The link takes you to an initial page of System Requirements and
Software Prerequisites. If you do not have it already installed,
you can download and install the Windows Installer 2.0 for a Win98
installation. Be forewarned, you will have to reboot your PC at the
Software Prerequisites. If you do not have it already installed,
you can download and install the Windows Installer 2.0 for a Win98
installation. Be forewarned, you will have to reboot your PC at the
<P>If you already have the installer on your PC, simply click on the
Next arrow at the bottom of the page. Two clicks will finally get
you to the actual download page. The MSI version of Build 633 is
now 8.6MB in size, so make that a big cup of tea or coffee if you're
<P>If you already have the installer on your PC, simply click on the
Next arrow at the bottom of the page. Two clicks will finally get
you to the actual download page. The MSI version of Build 633 is
now 8.6MB in size, so make that a big cup of tea or coffee if you're
<P>During installation, please ensure that you do choose the options
to "Add Perl to the PATH environment variable" and "Create Perl
file extension association"; it will make your life so much
easier. Once the installation is finished, be sure to reboot your
PC. You probably won't be told anywhere else that this needs to
<P>During installation, please ensure that you do choose the options
to "Add Perl to the PATH environment variable" and "Create Perl
file extension association"; it will make your life so much
easier. Once the installation is finished, be sure to reboot your
PC. You probably won't be told anywhere else that this needs to
<P>Once you've rebooted, open a "DOS box" (Start > Run > command
might do it, if you can't find it elsewhere) and from wherever it
lands, type PERL -v <ENTER> (it's better if that's a lower-case
<P>Once you've rebooted, open a "DOS box" (Start > Run > command
might do it, if you can't find it elsewhere) and from wherever it
lands, type PERL -v <ENTER> (it's better if that's a lower-case
installation. If you're not, you must go back to the beginning
and discover what went wrong and fix it. It's pointless to
proceed unless this simple check is passed. Assuming it did work,
installation. If you're not, you must go back to the beginning
and discover what went wrong and fix it. It's pointless to
proceed unless this simple check is passed. Assuming it did work,
</H2>
<P>Some extensions ("packages") need to be added to the base Perl
distribution, and we'll do this next. If you're using the Perl I
recommended, and don't know any better for yourself, then just
blindly following these instructions will work just fine. If that
</H2>
<P>Some extensions ("packages") need to be added to the base Perl
distribution, and we'll do this next. If you're using the Perl I
recommended, and don't know any better for yourself, then just
blindly following these instructions will work just fine. If that
-didn't describe you, then you're on your own.
-<P>Visit the following URL:
+didn't describe you, then you're on your own.</P>
+<P>Visit the following URL:</P>
<P>If this is a new installation, now would also be a good time to
install a copy of WinZip on your PC. Make yourself a convenient
directory to unpack all of these zip files into (I put mine in
<P>If this is a new installation, now would also be a good time to
install a copy of WinZip on your PC. Make yourself a convenient
directory to unpack all of these zip files into (I put mine in
the same directory. When prompted, simply overwrite the Readme file
from each zip package. Note that where these files land will be
directly related to where you chose to install your ActivePerl
the same directory. When prompted, simply overwrite the Readme file
from each zip package. Note that where these files land will be
directly related to where you chose to install your ActivePerl
<P>If all that seemed to work OK, time to move along. Before anyone
who is familiar with PPM tells me that we didn't need to download
and keep those files locally, I knew that. I also knew that PPM
is sometimes awkward to configure via firewalls, and that
sometimes the repositories don't always work the way we'd hope. I
<P>If all that seemed to work OK, time to move along. Before anyone
who is familiar with PPM tells me that we didn't need to download
and keep those files locally, I knew that. I also knew that PPM
is sometimes awkward to configure via firewalls, and that
sometimes the repositories don't always work the way we'd hope. I
-do it that way because it suits me.
-<P>
-<H2><A NAME="ss5.6">5.6 Getting Spider</A>
+do it that way because it suits me.</P>
+
+<H2><A NAME="ss5.6">5.6</A> <A HREF="installation.html#toc5.6">Getting Spider</A>
</H2>
<P>Get the current version of the DX Spider distribution. This needs
to be v1.50 or later. You've got two ways (currently) of getting
this; either get a CVS update from sourceforge (if you don't know
what this is, then it isn't for you) or get the latest "official"
</H2>
<P>Get the current version of the DX Spider distribution. This needs
to be v1.50 or later. You've got two ways (currently) of getting
this; either get a CVS update from sourceforge (if you don't know
what this is, then it isn't for you) or get the latest "official"
date. However, there is always the very slight chance that it might
unstable. Generally, there will be a note on the website if this is
date. However, there is always the very slight chance that it might
unstable. Generally, there will be a note on the website if this is
<P>The only difference between "CVSlatest.tgz" and the latest
"official" release version is that it is more up to date. <B>Do not confuse
the "CVSlatest.tgz" file with "Downloading from Sourceforge with CVS" - they
are two quite different things.</B> "Downloading from Sourceforge with CVS" is
<P>The only difference between "CVSlatest.tgz" and the latest
"official" release version is that it is more up to date. <B>Do not confuse
the "CVSlatest.tgz" file with "Downloading from Sourceforge with CVS" - they
are two quite different things.</B> "Downloading from Sourceforge with CVS" is
<P>If you go down the CVS route (ie installing WinCVS as explained in the Admin
manual and downloaded from sourceforge), then everything will be nicely
installed on your local disk. If you got the CVSlatest.tgz file, unzip
<P>If you go down the CVS route (ie installing WinCVS as explained in the Admin
manual and downloaded from sourceforge), then everything will be nicely
installed on your local disk. If you got the CVSlatest.tgz file, unzip
temporary fold and then open it. Say "Yes" and then you will get the typical
Classical WinZip listing of files ready for extraction. Remember, extract
them to your desired root directory ("C:\" or "D:\" or ...). The following
temporary fold and then open it. Say "Yes" and then you will get the typical
Classical WinZip listing of files ready for extraction. Remember, extract
them to your desired root directory ("C:\" or "D:\" or ...). The following