Table of Contents
The Services screen
Network > Services shows every port your board can open, in one list. It is the quickest way to see what is switched on, change a port, or turn something off.
Figure 1. The Services screen. In this example HTTP has been moved to port 8080.
What the screen shows
At the top are Save and Revert, a line that explains the page, and a legend for the colours:
| Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Green ON | The service is switched on. PBDispatch listens on its port. |
| Red OFF | The service is switched off. |
| Grey | The service is not set up yet, or is not built yet. It cannot be changed here. |
| Blue added | A port that you did not list yourself. The screen added it, for example the passive range that FTP needs. |
The services are in groups. Each row shows the service name and a short description, the coloured button, a box with the port, the protocol (TCP or UDP), the name of the configuration file it is saved in, and an Open page button that opens that service's own PBConfig screen. Click the coloured button to flip a service, or type in the port box to change the port. The bar at the bottom says how many services are on, for example “12 of 16 services on”.
| Group | Rows (default port) |
|---|---|
| Caller access | Telnet (23), SSH (22), RLogin (513) |
| Web | HTTP (80), HTTPS (443, shown grey as NOT BUILT: the secure web listener is not built yet), the in-browser fTelnet terminal (port 1123, runs only while HTTP is on) |
| Files and news | FTP (21), the FTP passive data range, NNTP (119) and NNTPS (563) |
| Inter-BBS | Who is online (UDP 11), Message (TCP 18), Finger (TCP 79), BinkP (24554), and the QWK hub FTP with its passive range |
| Advanced | The old SSH bridge, on the loopback address only |
The screen has no file of its own. Each change is written into that service's own configuration file, the same one its own PBConfig screen edits, so the two always agree.
Rules
- A service whose configuration file does not exist yet shows a grey button instead of ON or OFF. Click Open page, set it up there once, click Save, and then it can be switched here.
- Two services cannot use the same port on the same protocol. TCP and UDP are counted separately. Passive ranges must not overlap each other or another port, and must start at 1024 or higher. The screen tells you which rows clash and does not save.
- Switching a service off keeps its file and its port. Switching it on again restores them.
Saving, and restarting PBDispatch
Save writes only the files that changed. PBDispatch opens its listening ports when it starts, so a change needs a restart of PBDispatch. PBConfig asks:
- Yes closes PBDispatch and starts it again from the same folder. Callers who are online keep their sessions, because each node runs on its own, but PBDispatch no longer tracks them after the restart.
- No changes nothing and reminds you that the new settings apply after the next restart.
If PBDispatch is not running, PBConfig just tells you the settings apply the next time it starts.
Tip: you can also stop, start or restart a single service live from PBDispatch without restarting it all. See Service Management.
After changing a port, remember the firewall and the router. The checklist is on Before you install.