[geeks] AOL question

[Chris Byrne]

Brian,

AOL is VERY strange in the way it handles connections. Depending on where
you are, whether you use a shared POP or dedicated AOL POP, what number you
are dialling in on etc... etc... an AOL user may not actually be using
normal TCP/IP but AOLNet (yes folks AOLNet is still alive, well, and just as
bad as it always was, reports to the contrary not withstanding). AOLNet was
AOL's standard proprietary networking protocol which I think was IPX based
but I'm not sure.

I have also seen situations where the user received two addresses. One a
routable address bound to the dialup adapter and one a non-routable address
bound to the AOLNet adapter. The traffic to AOL was actually encapsulated in
standard TCP/IP packets. The standard packets had the routable address for
it's source, and the encapsulated AOL packet had the no-routable address as
its source.

What it comes down to is this. AOL is not an ISP. ISP's provide you with
direct (or at least semi-direct) routed and/or switched access to the
internet. AOL is an OSP (Online Service Provider) and direct your access
through their own proprietary systems. They have mostly switched over to
open systems, or at least compatible systems, but you still see situations
where AOL's network will not work with straight TCP/IP based protocols,
especially inbound.

This is a HUGE problem for my clients who want to use client VPN for their
remote users. Lots of those people use AOL and a lot of the time the VPN
client software doesn't work over AOL no matter what tricks you try.

Chris Byrne

-----Original Message-----
From: geeks-admin at sunhelp.org [mailto:geeks-admin at sunhelp.org]On Behalf
Of Brian Hechinger
Sent: 25 August 2001 17:31
To: geeks at sunhelp.org
Subject: [geeks] AOL question


my dad is an AOL user.  he just had his computer re-installed cause it was
getting all fuggered up.  well, before i could use TCP/IP from outside AOL
(fire up putty or teraterm and connect home to read mail) but now i can't.
does anyone know how to get it so that TCP/IP works from outside AOL?  it's
version 4 (6 hangs his freshly installed copy of the latest win98) if that
makes any difference.

thanks!!

-brian
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