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                       The Basics to DATAPAC

                                 by

                             [MISTER X]

                            Feb. 2, 1991


1 )                   I N T R O D U C T I O N

     Here is some info for getting started with Datapac. It's a very
"obscure" system, and few people know how to use it.  Hopefully this will
help out.



2 )                        D I A L U P S

     In the Montreal [514] area:

          875-9470       Async.
          861-4725       x.25
          875-6452       BSC/SSI

     We want to use the asynchronous node, so the node we will call is
875-9470.  This is a 2400 dialup; it's as fast as Datapac gets (not all
regions have 2400 baud dialups... most are 300/1200)

     Be sure that your terminal is set to EVEN parity, 7 Data bits, 1 stop
bit.  If not, all you will get is garbage.



3 )                      U S I N G   D A T A P A C

     Okay, so we connected. You must then enter three periods, as:

                                  ... [ENTER]

     This is somewhat like enter the terminal identifier ("/") on TymNet.

     The system will respond with a message like: DATAPAC (xxxx xxxx).  This
is simply to idnetify the node you are ocnnected on, etc.

     Notice how Datapac - unlike TymNet, and alot like Telenet - is very
user unfriendly.  No PLEASE LOG IN prompts or anything. <sigh>

     Once you're in, connection to any given address (NUA) is done as
follows:
                                     P 1nua

     where NUA has a standard DNIC + 8 to 10 digit address. (more on NUAs
later, under PADs)

     Datapac "charges" using two methods: (1) by charging the Network
User Identifier (NUI), which is the only method used by TymNet, or (2) by
charging the remote system ("calling collect").  This second method allows
you to logon to an NUA without an NUI, however there IS a catch: you can
only connect to systems which accept these collect calls.

     When connecting to a "foreign" system, there are usually charges that
can't be charged collect.  This means you can only connect to systems on DNIC
3020. (By "foreign", I mean systems on a different network/DNIC, not
nessecarily in another country.  E.G.: a system on Telenet (3110) is foreign
to a Datapac system (3020).)

     Also, some systems, such as ODs and GODs wont accept a collect call.
This is because it is available to everyone (no accounts or PWs).  Systems
that will accept a collect calls are those where you need an account to
use it.  Some pads (which dont require an account) sometimes accept collect
calls, but I dont know of any such pad on the Datapac network (more about
PADs later).

     If you have a Datapac NUI, THEN PLEASE GIVE IT TO ME!!! ...seriously,
to enter it, you must type:

                               NUI [nui] [ENTER]

     If you know a system (such as a PAD) then simply enter P 1nua without
any NUI.  You might want to try connecting to the DATAPAC INFO SERVICE
(DIS), which is free, so it will accept a collect call.  The NUA is
302092100086.



4 )                              P A D S

     First off, what IS a PAD?  A pad is nothing more than a system located
on a given network which allows you to "call out".  So if you log TymNet,
connect to a PAD and from there (you're now on WHATEVER network that system
is on.  Your call from 3106 [TymNet] is to THAT system; that's where it
ends.) you call another system (such as CIS or QSD), your call will appear
to be coming from that system (which may be in another country), because
that is the network being used to connect you.

     Okay, enough on that shit.  So how do you use a PAD?

     That depends on what sort of PAD you are using.  Some dialports are
located on business or university systems.  This means you will need an
account, and once you're on the system, you will access the dialport
(usually an option like PLACE OUTGOING CALL or the like...)   Note that
there are many "lesser" networks on there systems, such as VICNET, which
only serves to link the computers of various universities across the world.
(you'll never connect to QSD or a GOD from VICNET).

     The other type of PADs are NUAs that connect you DIRECTLY to the
dialport, in which case you dont USUALLY need an account or PW.  I say
"usually" because some PADs (like the FINLAND PAD @ 244202051) now require
a PW in order to use it.

     When you place a call using a PAD, the call is charged to IT.  So it IS
possible, in some cases, to connect to an NUA without an NUI.  For example,
you can switch over to the Telenet network from TymNet by login in with
SPRINTNET (or SPRINT).  Once on Telenet, you could only call Telenet NUA's
(DNIC 3110), as long as they accepted collect calling.  Of course, all of the
3110xxx00xxx ODs and GODs couldn't be reached, but you COULD reach the Swiss
SANDOZ network (311020100141).  Once on Sandoz, you could place a call to
just about ANY NUA.  I'm not sure if this trick still works, as I think
Sandoz now refuses collect calls.

     The same can be done with Datapac, except that in the case of this PAD,
an account name is required.  That is because you are connecting Dpac PSN.
So once on Datapac, you connect to 302083600019.  This is GANDALF STARMASTER.
(note that STARMASTER 2000's are part of Datapac's outdialing network.
Check out DIS for more info on this... that's what its there for!)

     Once on, you will be asked for a service name. In many cases the
service is X25.  When you are hacking out PADs, keywords to try as services
are X25, DATAPAC and DPAC (if yer on Dpac, of course!), INTERNET and INET
(available on many networks) and the usual array of GUEST, USER, PUBLIC,
etc.

     In this case, the service IS "x25".  Once you enter this, the system
will connect you to a Datapac node.  In some cases, you could just type in
Dpac commands as you would normally, except that you'd be able to connect to
ANY NUA.  Not in this case.  This is one of those PADs where you HAVE to
know the commands, cuz they ain't standard (not to ME anyways!)



5 )                    T H E   C A N A D A   P A D

     The first thing you enter once you are connected to the Datapac node is
the NUI:  Prof System [ENTER]

     You will then be prompted with a '*'.  Enter the NUA as follows:

                                     P-1nua

     (notice the '-' between the P and the 1, unlike a standard Dpac
command.)

     You will then be connected... except that the display stops after 3
lines, and you get a PAGE prompt.  When you get this, hit CTRL-P (call up
PAD commands).  You will get another '*' prompt.  Enter:  SET 22:0 [ENTER].
This doesn't happen on all systems.  I've seen it happen on QSD.  If you
connect and dont get a PAGE prompt, dont worry.

     Everything should be back to normal.  One page later, you will get
another '*' prompt.  Simply hit ENTER to exit PAD command mode. Now
everything should run real smooth!

     Using PADs liek this, you can connect to GODs or systems.  Of course,
if you're connecting with a GOD, it will be real slow, since you're going
thru a whole bunch of PSNs.



6 )                          C O N C L U S I O N

     Hopefully, this will have helped out.  As you can probably see by now,
CANADA pads (with 3020 DNICs) are very usefull.  There where several of them
a while back (better than GANDALF STARMASTER), but they've either died, or
are now PW protected.  I know there are more out there, they just need to be
found.  I know hacking Datapac isn't as much fun as hacking Telenet NUAs,
but there are still some interesting things to be found.  You find your
usual array of ODs and GODs, PRIMENET's and the like, but you also get some
interesting systems.  One for example is at NUA 302091600460.  If you look
at the HELP file, you will see that there is supposed to be a way to acces
both DATAPAC and INTERNET (among other things!) thru it.  However, when I
attempted to, I got an INSUFFICIENT ACCESS PRIV. message.  Hopefully someone
else will have better luck at it than me.

     Not many people pay much attention to Datapac, especially Americans.
So when you actually FIND something, most people dont know about it.

     Also, unlike Telenet, Datapac NUAs dont work with area codes.  If we
look at the structure of an NUA:

                               xxxx yyy 00 zzz ee

     Where:  xxxx     = 4 digit DNIC
             yyy00zzz = 8 digit address
      and    ee       = optional 2 digit extention

     On Telenet, yyy is ALWAYS the area code (US) of the address' location
(e.g: a system in Mississippi [ac 601] would HAVE to be 311060100xxx).  This
doesn't apply for Datapac's NUAs.  For example, the Montreal OD (ac 514) is
302082700903.

     This makes it a bit harder to hack stuff on Datapac.  At least on
Telenet, if you want to hack out an OD for a particular area, you know where
to hunt for it.  Even when "exploring", you know there'll be less systems if
you look in Cactus City, Arizona than in a major business area like New York
or L.A.

     Anyways, nuff said.  I've had it typing.


                                                        Mister X.
						+       STINGER 
				IPA/HA

