In the October 28, 1999, Windows 2000 Pro UPDATE newsletter, I asked whether I'm the only Windows 2000 (Win2K) or Windows NT user who still uses Telnet. The question came up after I discovered major changes in the Win2K Telnet implementation between Release Candidate 1 (RC1) and RC2. The response from readers was overwhelming—they're definitely still using Telnet. For those readers who aren't familiar with Telnet, it's a way to extend a command prompt over the network. You run a Telnet server on a host machine and a Telnet client on another machine on the network. On the client, you can then access a command prompt or a special-purpose application from the Telnet server.
Win2K RC1 and NT provide a simple Windows-based Telnet application. One benefit of this program is that it lets you easily capture text to a log file: Select Start Logging from the Terminal menu, do what you need to do online, select Stop Logging, and save the resulting text file. The Win2K RC1 and NT Telnet client features a familiar Windows look that includes options and settings on various menus, as Screen 1, page 220, shows. This interface simplifies using the application and helps new users who are accustomed to Windows discover the application's features. However, the Win2K RC1 and NT Telnet application is far from the best product on the market. The program is slow and primitive, and it provides for only two hardware terminal emulations.
The Telnet application that Windows 2000 Professional (Win2K Pro) RC2 includes isn't a Windows application—it's a character-mode application that runs in a Win2K Pro command prompt, as Screen 2, page 220, shows. The new Telnet application lacks a menu bar and provides a unique two-level text-menu user interface (UI). If you run the Telnet application without specifying a connection or port, the system will present you with the following information:
Microsoft (R) Windows 2000 (TM) Version 5.00 (Build 2128)
Welcome to Microsoft Telnet Client
Telnet Client Build 5.00.99201.1
Escape Character is 'CTRL+]'
Microsoft Telnet>
For a list of commands, type
help
and the system provides a list of abbreviated commands. Table 1, page 220, lists the action that each command performs. To return to the command list from an active session, press Ctrl+].
If you want to access a nonstandard port, the new application accepts a port number in the command prompt. By default, the application uses port 23, which is the default Telnet port. However, on most Web servers you can telnet to port 80 to view the raw HTML that the Web server delivers.
When you run Telnet from the command line and type
display
at the prompt, the system outputs the following information:
Microsoft Telnet> display
Escape Character is 'CTRL+]'
WONT AUTH (NTLM Authentication)
LOCAL_ECHO off
Sending both CR & LF
WILL TERM TYPE
Preferred Term Type is ANSI
Microsoft Telnet>