Introduction

OS/2 users can be divided roughly into two groups: those using the Advantis dialler and those using other software. The group you belong to will affect your viewpoint as you read this feature.

If you are Advantis user, you are probably quite happy with your dialler, but you may be frustrated at being locked into one provider--IBM Internet Connection Services (formerly, the IBM Global Network). You may be reading this article to see if InJoy has the features and ease of use necessary to allow you to start looking at other ISP's without getting involved in some of the horror stories you may have heard about IBM's other dialling software--the infamous Dial Other Internet Provider (DOIP).

If you are using other software and you are not already using InJoy, you are probably using DOIP or one of the shareware or freeware enhancements of it. You may be wondering, "There must be a better way!" There is: InJoy.

Although the title and introduction to this article suggest InJoy is an Internet dialler, InJoy is far more than that. InJoy neatly uses the TCP/IP technology built in to Warp to handle the Internet as if it were a Network; the result is that InJoy handles LAN's as easily as it does the Internet¹. One powerful side-effect of this is the ease with which InJoy handles cable modems: only firewall support (for the protection of your computer) needs to be added.

Design

1. Appearance
   1. InJoy is a text-based, point and click program that runs in an OS/2 window. Leave it in a window because that's where it's supposed to be.

   2. InJoy opens to the main page, the one that will be visible during most of InJoy's operation. When you enter or change parameters, this page will temporarily replaced or overlayed with dialogue windows as necessary.

2. System
   1. Most other OS/2 products attempt to replace DOIP with an equivalent PM program, or enhance it by adding some of it's more obvious deficiencies such as the inability to automatically redial. The problem with these products is that they still depend on PPP.EXE, which is, to say the least, a very old piece of technology. It was written when IBM was still trying to compete for the consumer market. When IBM lost this battle to Microsoft, IBM also quit updating PPP.EXE and the related software. It has become a relic.

      After losing the battle for the consumer market, IBM turned its attention to where OS/2 has always been strong: big business, which depends heavily upon LAN's. IBM continues to update and develop the TCP/IP portions of OS/2 in order to serve those big businesses.

      When the InJoy was developed, the author chose to ignore PPP.EXE entirely and interface directly to the TCP/IP layers. By that single decision he bypassed all the problems associated the PPP.EXE relic and the diallers that use it, and leveraged one of the strongest, and most up-to-date areas of OS/2--the TCP/IP components! Many of InJoy's strengths flow from this fact.

Major Features

Although more will be said about this later, I need to mention the InJoy packaging briefly here. InJoy comes in 5 different packages/levels. The first two, basic and extended, are shipped as the same code with basic having several functions disabled (greyed out). The other three (SOHO, Professional, and API) are upgrades containing additional code that is each bundled and shipped separately.² Most of my comments will be based on the Extended version, which I believe provides the maximum Internet features at a low cost. Although I'll touch on the SOHO version, that version and up are primarily intended for LAN usage.

1. Terminal Mode
   1. If necessary you can have total control over COM and modem communication.

   2. You may find this helpful if, for example, you are writing a script. See below under "Scripts".

2. UI Priority Adjustment
   1. The priority of the User Interface thread can be adjusted to meet the needs of your particular system.

3. Speed
   1. My experience has shown a consistent 33-50% speed increase in speed over DOIP while downloading files or documents unless the Internet itself is unusually bogged down.

   2. Possible sources of this increases:
      1. Bypassing archaic PPP.EXE module; much of IBM profit depends on how good their TCP/IP system is, so it stands to reason they are making as efficient as possible.

      2. InJoy was efficiently written.

      3. Putting the UI in a separate, text, low-priority thread means it won't compete with the high-priority data transfer subroutines.

4. CHAP and PAP Authentication Protocols Support

   CHAP (Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol) & PAP (Password Authentication Protocol) are two ways ISP's use to verify that you as the person dialling in have the right to access the ISP's servers.

   No More Scripts!!

   1. This support means you no longer have to figure out what script to type into the DOIP Login Window or code into the PPPDial, etc. InJoy uses technology already in use by most ISP's to do this automagically.

5. MS-CHAP Protocol Support
   1. As Microsoft has done in so many other areas, they created a proprietary CHAP protocol for use with Win NT. InJoy easily, even automatically, adapts to this protocol.

6. Dial-on-Demand [Extended version and up only]
   1. This feature allows InJoy to remain set up all the time, but only actually be connected to the ISP when an application such as an email client or browser accesses the Internet.

   2. If the computer is off line when you or an application attempts to access the Internet, In-Joy first dials the ISP and establishes the connection. Then the access request is forwarded to the ISP in the form of a TCP/IP packet.

   3. If no Internet activity is detected activity for a specified period of time, InJoy disconnects from the ISP.

   4. This powerful feature allows you to make the most of the amount of time in your ISP contract.

7. Large Pool of Phone Numbers
   1. Considerable flexibility in assigning how often and when phone numbers are used.

8. Supports large number of miscellaneous PPP parameters such as VJ compression, FCS checking, timeouts, and priority.

9. Network Address Translation (aka IP Masquerading) [Extended version and up only]
   1. This feature allows multiple computers on a LAN to connect to the Internet through a single ISP

   2. This feature also makes InJoy suitable for use in Tunnelling configurations.³

   3. InJoy accomplishes this magic by assigning a single IP address to the entire LAN, so that from the outside world, i.e. the internet, all your computer appear as a single computer.

10. Packet Filtering [SOHO version and up only]
    1. This permits the Network administrator to set up InJoy so that certain packets (e.g. pings or tracerts) are rejected)

    2. The filtering is accomplished using "plugins", or configuration files, inserted into the "filters" subdirectory.

    3. This is one way to make life tougher on hackers.

11. Firewall Support [SOHO version and up only]
    1. Firewalls are a set of rules about which computers can and cannot access the LAN. With the Firewall in place, InJoy makes the LAN a secure, enclosed area within cyberspace. This is also accomplished by means of a plugin, or configuration file, which contains the set of rules.

12. Host Triggered Actions
    1. This advanced feature allows you to define a "trigger string" which, if received from the LAN server, ISP, or Laptop (while on the road) will cause the computer to redial or reboot, depending on the setting in InJoy.

13. Scripts
    1. Should you encounter a rare ISP that doesn't support PAP/CHAP, or wish to improve the automatic procedure generated by InJoy, InJoy still supports scripts. They can be created in two ways:
       1. By having InJoy LEARN them;

       2. By writing them yourself using a simple language and a text editor. The User Guide contains complete instructions on the language as well as examples.

14. Autorun Feature
    1. InJoy allows a list of applications together with command-line parameters for each to be started as InJoy starts. Each application can be started when InJoy started, when before it dials, or when the host connects. Similarly each application can be shut down before or after the host is disconnected or when InJoy exits.

    2. A similar, but different, list of applications can be associated with each host defined in InJoy. This allows you to tailor the applications to the ISP you are connecting with.

15. Tracing
    1. InJoy provides considerable flexibility as to what information should be kept or displayed and where that information should be saved or displayed to.

    2. If tracing parameters are changed while InJoy is running, they take effect immediately.

    3. The files created by InJoy trace feature are compatible with OS/2 IPTrace and IPFormat commands.

16. Connection Logging
    1. InJoy maintains detailed logs containing connections, disconnections, length of time connected and various summaries.

    2. This information is maintained on disk and may be displayed at any time.

Next time: How to use InJoy to set up configurations to solve communication problems.

¹InJoy doesn't make the constant distinction between LAN and modem seen in OS/2 as pairs of icons such as Netscape (Lan) and Netscape (Modem).

²There is also sixth product, called InJoy Firewall; however this is promoted, priced, and handled separately from the other products. This is a version of InJoy that has been tailored especially for cable modem access.

³Tunnelling is essentially a technique where two or more groups of computers are connected via the Internet so that they behave as a single LAN.

For Further Reading:

15 Frequently Asked Questions  The 15 most frequently asked questions about InJoy

Often Asked Questions  This repository of Often Asked Questions and their answers is a real education in OS/2 communication!

OS/2 Routes - TCP/IP Part 1 - From EDM/2 by Tom Brown.

OS/2 Routes - TCP/IP Part 2 - From EDM/2 by Tom Brown.

OS/2 Routes - PPP Automation - From EDM/2 by Tom Brown.

PPP.EXE Documentation