====== ZMODEM ======
zmodem.doc !copyrighted by MCS 1994 use it anyway you like but don't complain
this file should be accompanied by a readme which contains some background
information on implementing zmodem.
===== GENERAL =====
Documentation about the zmodem protocol internals; should be sufficient
to implement a completely functional zmodem protocol suite.
Zmodem is a file transfer protocol that attempts to maximize bandwidth
and minimize transfer times. it is a unidirectional protocol; i.e. the
return channel only transfers control information; no data. either side
may initiate the transfer; but the downloading site may respond to
an initialization frame by auto starting the download software.
Schematically a zmodem file transfer in progress looks like this:
|----------<< back channel <<-------------|
------+------- --------+------
| Sender | | Receiver |
| (upload) | | (download) |
-------------- --------+------
|---------->> data channel >>-------------|
Multiple files may be transferred in one session.
===== SAMPLE =====
all zmodem transactions are done using frames. a frame consists
of a header followed by one or more data subpackets.
a typical (simple) zmodem file transfer looks like this :
^sender ^receiver^
|ZRQINIT(0) | |
| |ZRINIT |
|ZFILE | |
| |ZRPOS |
|ZDATA data ... | |
|ZEOF | |
| |ZRINIT |
|ZFIN | |
| |ZFIN |
|OO | |
zmodem continuously transmits data unless the receiver interrupts
the sender to request retransmission of garbled data.
zmodem in effect uses the entire file as a window.
===== REQUIREMENTS =====
zmodem requires an 8 bit transfer medium; but allows encoded packets
for less transparent media.
zmodem escapes network control characters to allow operation with
packet switched networks.
To support full streaming, the transmission path should either assert
flow control or pass full speed transmission without loss of data.
Otherwise the zmodem sender must manage the window size.
zmodem places no constraints on the content files.
===== FRAMING =====
==== ZMODEM Frame ====
There are 2 classes of ZMODEM Frames:
- Hexadecimal (HEX) frames, containing only US-ASCII characters
- Binary (BIN16 or BIN32) frames, containing //almost// all possible octet values
=== HEX Frame ===
[CR] LF [XON]
HEX frames are terminated with an ASCII linefeed character. Some ZMODEM implementations send the HEX frame terminating linefeed character with the high bit set (0x8A, that's ASCII-LF with an even-parity bit set). Also, for some HEX frame types, the frame terminator may be followed by an XON (0x11) character ("transmit on" in so-called "software flow control").
=== Binary Frame ===
[[<* data subpacket> [...]] ]
Binary frames may contain zero or more data subpackets (depending on the frame type). The final subpacket of a binary data frame will be of type ZCRCW or ZCRCE.
==== Frame Header ====
**Frame Encoding** (single byte):
The //Frame Encoding// is also sometimes called the "Frame Style".
^ Style ^ AKA ^ Value ^ Frame Contents ^ Checksum ^
| HEX | ZHEX | ASCII '''B''' | Hexadecimal/US-ASCII characters only | 16-bit CRC |
| BIN16 | ZBIN | ASCII '''A''' | Binary | 16-bit CRC |
| BIN32 | ZBIN32 | ASCII '''C''' | Binary | 32-bit CRC |
Notes:
* All frames sent by the "receiver" must use HEX encoding.
**Frame Type** (single byte):
^ Type ^ Value ^ TX((from sender))^ RX((from receiver)) ^ Info ^ Data Subpkt ^ Notes ^
| ZRQINIT | 0x00 | Y | - | caps | - | Request ZRINIT from the receiver |
| ZRINIT | 0x01 | - | Y | caps | - | Receiver Initialized |
| ZSINIT | 0x02 | Y | - | flags | Attn sequence | Sender Initialized |
| ZACK | 0x03 | Y | Y | offset | - | Positive Acknowledgment |
| ZFILE | 0x04 | Y | - | options | File metadata | File information (name/len/date) |
| ZSKIP | 0x05 | - | Y | | - | Skip (don't send) this file |
| ZNAK | 0x06 | Y | Y | | - | Negative Acknowledgment |
| ZABORT | 0x07 | - | Y | | - | Terminate batch file transfer |
| ZFIN | 0x08 | Y | - | | - | Terminate transfer session |
| ZRPOS | 0x09 | - | Y | offset | - | Reposition the send offset |
| ZDATA | 0x0A | Y | - | offset | File contents | One or more data subpackets follow |
| ZEOF | 0x0B | Y | - | offset | - | End of file reached |
| ZFERROR | 0x0C | - | Y | | - | File I/O error |
| ZCRC | 0x0D | Y | Y | CRC-32 | - | File CRC request/response |
| ZFREECNT | 0x11 | Y | - | f-space | - | Request free disk space |
**Frame Info**: Up to 15 bytes (but typically 4) of frame type-specific information.\\
Note that later claims of //16// bytes of possible frame header data include the //Frame Type// byte.
**Frame Header Integrity**: The //Frame Type// and //Frame Info// are integrity-protected with either a 16-bit or 32-bit CRC (determined by the frame encoding).
==== Data Subpacket ====
ZDLE
**ZDLE** is the ZMODEM Data-link-escape character (''^X'', ASCII 24).
=== Data Subpacket Length ===
* Data Subpackets may contain up to **1024** bytes of //data// (special octet values are transposed and escaped with //ZDLE//)
* The Data Subpacket Length is also sometimes referred to as the transmit "block size"
* The Data Subpacket Length can be dynamically adjusted by the sender during the transfer of a file, e.g. in response to errors reported by the receiver
* Some ZMODEM implementations (e.g. "ZedZap") support a Data Subpacket Length of up to 8K (8192 bytes)
=== Data Subpacket Types ===
The Data Subpacket Type is encoded in a single byte.
^ Type ^ ZACK/ZRPOS expected ^ End-of-Frame ^ Meaning ^ Notes ^
| ZCRCW | Yes (synchronous) | Yes | Wait or Write | "ZCRCW data subpackets expect a response before the next frame is sent ... to allow the receiver to write its buffer before sending more data" |
| ZCRCE | Only errors | Yes | End | "If the end of file is encountered within a frame, the frame is closed with a ZCRCE data subpacket which does not elicit a response except in case of error" |
| ZCRCQ | Yes (asynchronous) | No | Query | "ZCRCQ subpackets are not used if the receiver does not indicate full duplex ability with the [ZRINIT] CANFDX bit" |
| ZCRCG | Only errors | No | Go | "ZCRCG subpackets do not elicit a response unless an error is detected" |
=== Data Subpacket Integrity ===
The Subpacket //data// and //type// bytes are integrity-protected by either a 16-bit or 32-bit CRC.
===== LINK ESCAPE ENCODING =====
zmodem achieves data transparency by extending the 8 bit character set
(256 codes) with escape sequences based on the zmodem data link escape
character ZDLE
Link Escape coding permits variable length data subpackets without the
overhead of a separate byte count. It allows the beginning of frames to
be detected without special timing techniques, facilitating rapid error
recovery.
Link Escape coding does add some overhead. The worst case, a file
consisting entirely of escaped characters, would incur a 50% overhead.
The ZDLE character is special. ZDLE represents a control
sequence of some sort. If a ZDLE character appears in binary data,
it is prefixed with ZDLE, then sent as ZDLEE
5 consecutive CAN characters abort a zmodem session
Since CAN is not used in normal terminal operations, interactive
applications and communications programs can monitor the data flow for
ZDLE. The following characters can be scanned to detect the ZRQINIT
header, the invitation to automatically download commands or files.
Receipt of five successive CAN characters will abort a zmodem session.
Eight CAN characters are sent (just to be on the safe side)
The receiving program decodes any sequence of ZDLE followed by a byte with
bit 6 set and bit 5 reset (upper case letter, either parity) to the
equivalent control character by inverting bit 6. This allows the
transmitter to escape any control character that cannot be sent by the
communications medium. In addition, the receiver recognizes escapes for
0x7f and 0xff should these characters need to be escaped.
zmodem software escapes ZDLE (0x18), 0x10, 0x90, 0x11, 0x91, 0x13, and 0x93.
If preceded by 0x40 or 0xc0 (@), 0x0d and 0x8d are also escaped to
protect the Telenet command escape CR-@-CR. The receiver ignores
0x11, 0x91, 0x13, and 0x93 characters in the data stream.
===== HEADERS =====
All zmodem frames begin with a header which may be sent in binary or HEX
form. Either form of the header contains the same raw information:
- A type byte
- Four bytes of data indicating flags and/or numeric quantities depending
on the frame type
the maximum header information length is 16 bytes
the data subpackets following the header are maximum 1024 bytes long.
M L
FTYPE F3 F2 F1 F0 (flags frame)
L M
FTYPE P0 P1 P2 P3 (numeric frame)
Beware of the catch; flags and numbers are indexed the other way around !
==== 16 BIT CRC BINARY HEADER ====
A binary header is sent by the sending program to the receiving
program. All bytes in a binary header are ZDLE encoded.
A binary header begins with the sequence ZPAD, ZDLE, ZBIN.
0 or more binary data subpackets with 16 bit CRC will follow depending
on the frame type.
* ZDLE A TYPE F3/P0 F2/P1 F1/P2 F0/P3 CRC-1 CRC-2
==== 32 BIT CRC BINARY HEADER ====
A "32 bit CRC" Binary header is similar to a Binary Header, except the
ZBIN (A) character is replaced by a ZBIN32 (C) character, and four
characters of CRC are sent.
0 or more binary data subpackets with 32 bit CRC will follow depending
on the frame type.
* ZDLE C TYPE F3/P0 F2/P1 F1/P2 F0/P3 CRC-1 CRC-2 CRC-3 CRC-4
==== HEX HEADER ====
The receiver sends responses in hex headers. The sender also uses hex
headers when they are not followed by binary data subpackets.
Hex encoding protects the reverse channel from random control
characters. The hex header receiving routine ignores parity.
use of hex headers by the receiving program allows control characters
to be used to interrupt the sender when errors are detected.
A HEX header may be used in place of a binary header
wherever convenient.
If a data packet follows a HEX header, it is protected with CRC-16.
A hex header begins with the sequence ZPAD, ZPAD, ZDLE, ZHEX.
The extra ZPAD character allows the sending program to detect
an asynchronous header (indicating an error condition) and then
get the rest of the header with a non-error specific routine.
The type byte, the four position/flag bytes, and the 16 bit CRC
thereof are sent in hex using the character set 01234567890abcdef.
Upper case hex digits are not allowed.
Since this form of hex encoding detects many patterns of errors,
especially missing characters, a hex header with 32 bit CRC has not
been defined.
A carriage return and line feed are sent with HEX headers. The
receive routine expects to see at least one of these characters, two
if the first is CR.
An XON character is appended to all HEX packets except ZACK and ZFIN.
The XON releases the sender from spurious XOFF flow control characters
generated by line noise. XON is not sent after ZACK headers to protect
flow control in streaming situations. XON is not sent after a ZFIN
header to allow proper session cleanup.
0 or more data subpackets will follow depending on the frame type.
* * ZDLE B TYPE F3/P0 F2/P1 F1/P2 F0/P3 CRC-1 CRC-2 CR LF XON
(TYPE, F3...F0, CRC-1, and CRC-2 are each sent as two hex digits.)
==== BINARY DATA SUBPACKETS ====
Binary data subpackets immediately follow the associated binary header
packet. A binary data packet contains 0 to 1024 bytes of data.
Recommended length values are 256 bytes below 2400 bps, 512 at
2400 bps, and 1024 above 4800 bps or when the data link is known to
be relatively error free.
No padding is used with binary data subpackets. The data bytes are
ZDLE encoded and transmitted. A ZDLE and frameend are then sent,
followed by two or four ZDLE encoded CRC bytes. The CRC accumulates
the data bytes and frameend.
===== PROTOCOL TRANSACTION OVERVIEW =====
zmodem timing is receiver driven. The
transmitter should not time out at all, except to abort the program if no
headers are received for an extended period of time, say one minute.
==== SESSION STARTUP ====
To start a zmodem file transfer session, the sending program is called
with the names of the desired file(s) and option(s).
Then the sender may send a ZRQINIT header. The ZRQINIT header causes a
previously started receive program to send its ZRINIT header without
delay.
In an interactive or conversational mode, the receiving application
may monitor the data stream for ZDLE. The following characters may be
scanned for B00 indicating a ZRQINIT header, a command to download
data.
The sending program awaits a command from the receiving program to
start file transfers.
In case of garbled data, the sending program can repeat the invitation
to receive a number of times until a session starts.
When the zmodem receive program starts, it immediately sends a ZRINIT
header to initiate zmodem file transfers, or a ZCHALLENGE header to
verify the sending program. The receive program resends its header at
response time (default 10 second) intervals for a suitable period of
time (40 seconds total) before exitting.
If the receiving program receives a ZRQINIT header, it resends the
ZRINIT header. If the sending program receives the ZCHALLENGE header,
it places the data in ZP0...ZP3 in an answering ZACK header.
If the receiving program receives a ZRINIT header, it is an echo
indicating that the sending program is not operational.
Eventually the sending program correctly receives the ZRINIT header.
The sender may then send an optional ZSINIT frame to define the
receiving program's Attn sequence, or to specify complete control
character escaping. if the receiver specifies the same or higher
level of escaping the ZSINIT frame need not be sent unless an Attn
sequence is needed.
If the ZSINIT header specifies ESCCTL or ESC8, a HEX header is used,
and the receiver activates the specified ESC modes before reading the
following data subpacket.
The receiver sends a ZACK header in response, containing 0.
==== FILE TRANSMISSION ====
The sender then sends a ZFILE header with zmodem Conversion,
Management, and Transport options (see ZFILE header type) followed
by a ZCRCW data subpacket containing the file name, file length and
modification date.
The receiver examines the file name, length, and date information
provided by the sender in the context of the specified transfer
options, the current state of its file system(s), and local security
requirements. The receiving program should insure the pathname and
options are compatible with its operating environment and local
security requirements.
The receiver may respond with a ZSKIP header, which makes the sender
proceed to the next file (if any) in the batch.
The receiver has a file with the same name and length, may
respond with a ZCRC header with a byte count, which
requires the sender to perform a 32 bit CRC on the
specified number of bytes in the file and transmit the
complement of the CRC in an answering ZCRC header.the crc is
initialised to 0xfffffff; a byte count of 0 implies the entire
file the receiver uses this information to determine whether to
accept the file or skip it. This sequence may be triggered
by the ZMCRC Management Option.
A ZRPOS header from the receiver initiates transmission of the file
data starting at the offset in the file specified in the ZRPOS header.
Normally the receiver specifies the data transfer to begin begin at
offset 0 in the file.
The receiver may start the transfer further down in the
file. This allows a file transfer interrupted by a loss
of carrier or system crash to be completed on the next
connection without requiring the entire file to be
retransmitted. If downloading a file from a timesharing
system that becomes sluggish, the transfer can be
interrupted and resumed later with no loss of data.
The sender sends a ZDATA binary header (with file position) followed
by one or more data subpackets.
The receiver compares the file position in the ZDATA header with the
number of characters successfully received to the file. If they do not
agree, a ZRPOS error response is generated to force the sender to the
right position within the file. (if the ZMSPARS option is used the
receiver instead seeks to the position given in the ZDATA header)
A data subpacket terminated by ZCRCG and CRC does not elicit a
response unless an error is detected; more data subpacket(s) follow
immediately.
ZCRCQ data subpackets expect a ZACK response with the
receiver's file offset if no error, otherwise a ZRPOS
response with the last good file offset. Another data
subpacket continues immediately. ZCRCQ subpackets are
not used if the receiver does not indicate full duplex ability
with the CANFDX bit.
ZCRCW data subpackets expect a response before the next frame is sent.
If the receiver does not indicate overlapped I/O capability with the
CANOVIO bit, or sets a buffer size, the sender uses the ZCRCW to allow
the receiver to write its buffer before sending more data.
A zero length data frame may be used as an idle
subpacket to prevent the receiver from timing out in
case data is not immediately available to the sender.
In the absence of fatal error, the sender eventually encounters end of
file. If the end of file is encountered within a frame, the frame is
closed with a ZCRCE data subpacket which does not elicit a response
except in case of error.
The sender sends a ZEOF header with the file ending offset equal to
the number of characters in the file. The receiver compares this
number with the number of characters received. If the receiver has
received all of the file, it closes the file. If the file close was
satisfactory, the receiver responds with ZRINIT. If the receiver has
not received all the bytes of the file, the receiver ignores the ZEOF
because a new ZDATA is coming. If the receiver cannot properly close
the file, a ZFERR header is sent.
After all files are processed, any further protocol
errors should not prevent the sending program from
returning with a success status.
==== SESSION CLEANUP ====
The sender closes the session with a ZFIN header. The receiver
acknowledges this with its own ZFIN header.
When the sender receives the acknowledging header, it sends two
characters, "OO" (Over and Out) and exits.
The receiver waits briefly for the "O" characters, then exits
whether they were received or not.
==== SESSION ABORT SEQUENCE ====
If the receiver is receiving data in streaming mode, the Attn
sequence is executed to interrupt data transmission before the Cancel
sequence is sent. The Cancel sequence consists of eight CAN
characters and ten backspace characters. zmodem only requires five
Cancel characters, the other three are "insurance".
The trailing backspace characters attempt to erase the effects of the
CAN characters if they are received by a command interpreter.
char ses_abort_seq[] = {
24,24,24,24,24,24,24,24,8,8,8,8,8,8,8,8,8,8,0
};
==== ATTENTION SEQUENCE ====
The receiving program sends the Attn sequence whenever it detects an
error and needs to interrupt the sending program.
The default Attn string value is empty (no Attn sequence). The
receiving program resets Attn to the empty default before each
transfer session.
The sender specifies the Attn sequence in its optional ZSINIT frame.
The Attn string is terminated with a null.
===== FRAME TYPES =====
The numeric values are listed at the end of this file.
Unused bits and unused bytes in the header (ZP0...ZP3) are set to 0.
==== ZRQINIT ====
Sent by the sending program, to trigger the receiving program to send
its ZRINIT header.
The sending program may
repeat the receive invitation (including ZRQINIT) if a response is
not obtained at first.
ZF0 contains ZCOMMAND if the program is attempting to send a command,
0 otherwise.
==== ZRINIT ====
Sent by the receiving program. ZF0 and ZF1 contain the bitwise or
of the receiver capability flags:
|''CANCRY'' |receiver can decrypt |
|''CANFDX'' |receiver can send and receive true full duplex |
|''CANOVIO'' |receiver can receive data during disk I/O |
|''CANBRK'' |receiver can send a break signal |
|''CANCRY'' |receiver can decrypt |
|''CANLZW'' |receiver can uncompress |
|''CANFC32'' |receiver can use 32 bit Frame Check |
|''ESCCTL'' |receiver expects ctl chars to be escaped |
|''ESC8'' |receiver expects 8th bit to be escaped |
ZP0 and ZP1 contain the size of the receiver's buffer in bytes, or 0
if nonstop I/O is allowed.
while all these capabilities are nice in theory most zmodem implem-
tations balk at anything other than 0,0. i.e. telix starts sending
35 byte packets when CANFC32 is on.
==== ZSINIT ====
The Sender sends flags followed by a binary data subpacket terminated
with ZCRCW.
|''TESCCTL'' |Transmitter expects ctl chars to be escaped |
|''TESC8'' |Transmitter expects 8th bit to be escaped |
The data subpacket contains the null terminated Attn sequence,
maximum length 32 bytes including the terminating null.
==== ZACK ====
Acknowledgment to a ZSINIT frame, ZCHALLENGE header, ZCRCQ or ZCRCW
data subpacket. ZP0 to ZP3 contain file offset. The response to
ZCHALLENGE contains the same 32 bit number received in the ZCHALLENGE
header.
==== ZFILE ====
This frame denotes the beginning of a file transmission attempt.
ZF0, ZF1, and ZF2 may contain options. A value of 0 in each of these
bytes implies no special treatment. Options specified to the
receiver override options specified to the sender with the exception
of ZCBIN. A ZCBIN from the sender overrides any other Conversion
Option given to the receiver except ZCRESUM. A ZCBIN from the
receiver overrides any other Conversion Option sent by the sender.
=== ZF0: CONVERSION OPTION ===
If the receiver does not recognize the Conversion Option, an
application dependent default conversion may apply.
|''ZCBIN'' |"Binary" transfer - inhibit conversion unconditionally|
|''ZCNL'' |Convert received end of line to local end of line convention. The supported end of line conventions are CR/LF (most ASCII based operating systems except Unix and Macintosh), and NL (Unix). Either of these two end of line conventions meet the permissible ASCII definitions for Carriage Return and Line Feed/New Line. Neither the ASCII code nor zmodem ZCNL encompass lines separated only by carriage returns. Other processing appropriate to ASCII text files and the local operating system may also be applied by the receiver. (filtering RUBOUT NULL Ctrl-Z etc)|
|''ZCRECOV''|Recover/Resume interrupted file transfer. ZCREVOV is also useful for updating a remote copy of a file that grows without resending of old data. If the destination file exists and is no longer than the source, append to the destination file and start transfer at the offset corresponding to the receiver's end of file. This option does not apply if the source file is shorter. Files that have been converted (e.g., ZCNL) or subject to a single ended Transport Option cannot have their transfers recovered.|
=== ZF1: Management Option ===
If the receiver does not recognize the Management Option, the
file should be transferred normally.
The ZMSKNOLOC bit instructs the receiver to bypass the
current file if the receiver does not have a file with the
same name.
Five bits (defined by ZMMASK) define the following set of
mutually exclusive management options:
|''ZMNEWL'' |Transfer file if destination file absent. Otherwise,transfer file overwriting destination if the source fileis newer or longer.|
|''ZMCRC'' |Compare the source and destination files. Transfer if file lengths or file polynomials differ.|
|''ZMAPND'' |Append source file contents to the end of the existingdestination file (if any).|
|''ZMCLOB'' |Replace existing destination file (if any).|
|''ZMDIFF'' |Transfer file if destination file absent. Otherwise,t ransfer file overwriting destination if files have |different lengths or dates.
|''ZMPROT'' |Protect destination file by transferring file only if the destination file is absent.|
|''ZMNEW'' |Transfer file if destination file absent. Otherwise, transfer file overwriting destination if the source file is newer.|
=== ZF2: TRANSPORT OPTION ===
If the receiver does not implement the particular transport
option, the file is copied without conversion for later
processing. better not to use these; see readme
|''ZTLZW'' |Lempel-Ziv compression. Transmitted data will be identical to that produced by compress 4.0 operating on a computer with VAX byte ordering, using 12 bit encoding. |
|''ZTCRYPT'' |Encryption. An initial null terminated string identifies the key. Details to be determined. |
|''ZTRLE'' |Run Length encoding, Details to be determined. |
A ZCRCW data subpacket follows with file name, file length,
modification date, and other information described in a later
chapter.
=== ZF3: EXTENDED OPTIONS ===
The Extended Options are bit encoded.
|''ZTSPARS'' | Special processing for sparse files, or sender managed selective retransmission. Each file segment is transmitted as a separate frame, where the frames are not necessarily contiguous. The sender should end each segment with a ZCRCW data subpacket and process the expected ZACK to insure no data is lost. ZTSPARS cannot be used with ZCNL. |
==== ZSKIP ====
Sent by the receiver in response to ZFILE, makes the sender skip to
the next file.
==== ZNAK ====
Indicates last header was garbled. (See also ZRPOS).
==== ZABORT ====
Sent by receiver to terminate batch file transfers when requested by
the user. Sender responds with a ZFIN sequence. (or ZCOMPL in case of
server mode).
==== ZFIN ====
Sent by sending program to terminate a zmodem session. Receiver
responds with its own ZFIN.
==== ZRPOS ====
Sent by receiver to force file transfer to resume at file offset
given in ZP0...ZP3.
==== ZDATA ====
ZP0...ZP3 contain file offset. One or more data subpackets follow.
==== ZEOF ====
Sender reports End of File. ZP0...ZP3 contain the ending file
offset.
==== ZFERR ====
Error in reading or writing file, protocol equivalent to ZABORT.
==== ZCRC ====
Request (receiver) and response (sender) for file polynomial.
ZP0...ZP3 contain file polynomial.
==== ZCHALLENGE ====
Request sender to echo a random number in ZP0...ZP3 in a ZACK frame.
Sent by the receiving program to the sending program to verify that
it is connected to an operating program, and was not activated by
spurious data or a Trojan Horse message. this is the most simply
defeated security system ever invented. don't rely on it and better
still don't use or implement it. build your security measures around
starting the download at all and disallow explicit path names.
==== ZCOMPL ====
Request now completed.
==== ZCAN ====
This is a pseudo frame type in response to a
Session Abort sequence.
==== ZFREECNT ====
Sending program requests a ZACK frame with ZP0...ZP3 containing the
number of free bytes on the current file system. A value of 0
represents an indefinite amount of free space.
==== ZCOMMAND ====
ZCOMMAND is sent in a binary frame. ZF0 contains 0 or ZCACK1 (see
below).
A ZCRCW data subpacket follows, with the ASCII text command string
terminated with a NULL character. If the command is intended to be
executed by the operating system hosting the receiving program
(e.g., "shell escape"), it must have "!" as the first character.
Otherwise the command is meant to be executed by the application
program which receives the command.
If the receiver detects an illegal or badly formed command, the
receiver immediately responds with a ZCOMPL header with an error
code in ZP0...ZP3.
If ZF0 contained ZCACK1, the receiver immediately responds with a
ZCOMPL header with 0 status.
Otherwise, the receiver responds with a ZCOMPL header when the
operation is completed. The exit status of the completed command is
stored in ZP0...ZP3. A 0 exit status implies nominal completion of
the command.
If the command causes a file to be transmitted, the command sender
will see a ZRQINIT frame from the other computer attempting to send
data.
The sender examines ZF0 of the received ZRQINIT header to verify it
is not an echo of its own ZRQINIT header. It is illegal for the
sending program to command the receiving program to send a command.
If the receiver program does not implement command downloading, it
may display the command to the standard error output, then return a
ZCOMPL header.
==== ZFILE FRAME FILE INFORMATION SUBPACKET ====
zmodem sends the same file information with the ZFILE frame data
The pathname (file name) field is mandatory. each field after
pathname is optional and separated from the previous one by
a space. fields may not be skipped. the use of the optional
fields is (by definition) optional to the receiver.
=== PATHNAME ===
The pathname (conventionally, the file name) is sent as a
null terminated ASCII string.
No spaces are included in the pathname. ((some ZMODEM implementations support path/file names that include spaces))
Filename Considerations
* File names should be translated to lower case unless the sending system supports upper/lower case file names. This is a convenience for users of systems (such as Unix) which store filenames in upper and lower case.
* The receiver should accommodate file names in lower and upper case.
* When transmitting files between different operating systems, file names must be acceptable to both the sender and receiving operating systems. If not, transformations should be applied to make the file names acceptable. If the transformations are unsuccessful, a new file name may be invented be the receiving program.
* If directories are included, they are delimited by /; i.e., ''subdir/foo'' is acceptable, ''subdir\foo'' is not.
=== LENGTH ===
The length field is stored as a decimal string
counting the number of data bytes in the file.
The zmodem receiver uses the file length as an estimate only.
It may be used to display an estimate of the transmission time,
and may be compared with the amount of free disk space. The
actual length of the received file is determined by the data
transfer. A file may grow after transmission commences, and
all the data will be sent.
=== MODIFICATION DATE ===
The mod date is sent as an octal number giving the time the
contents of the file were last changed measured in seconds from
Jan 1 1970 Universal Coordinated Time (GMT). A date of 0
implies the modification date is unknown and should be left as
the date the file is received.
This standard format was chosen to eliminate ambiguities
arising from transfers between different time zones.
=== FILE MODE ===
The file mode is stored as an octal string.
Unless the file originated from a Unix system, the file mode is
set to 0.
=== SERIAL NUMBER ===
set this field to 0.
=== NUMBER OF FILES REMAINING ===
This field is coded as a decimal number, and includes the
current file. This field is an estimate, and incorrect values
must not be allowed to cause loss of data.
=== NUMBER OF BYTES REMAINING ===
This field is coded as a decimal number, and includes the
current file. This field is an estimate, and incorrect values
must not be allowed to cause loss of data.
=== FILE TYPE ===
set this field to 0.
The file information is terminated by a null. If only the pathname
is sent, the pathname is terminated with two nulls. The length of
the file information subpacket, including the trailing null, must
not exceed 1024 bytes; a typical length is less than 64 bytes.
===== STREAMING TECHNIQUES / ERROR RECOVERY =====
zmodem provides several data streaming methods
selected according to the limitations of the sending environment,
receiving environment, and transmission channel(s).
==== WINDOW MANAGEMENT ====
When sending data through a network, some nodes of the network store
data while it is transferred to the receiver. 7000 bytes and more of
transient storage have been observed. Such a large amount of storage
causes the transmitter to "get ahead" of the receiver.
This condition is not fatal but it does slow error recovery.
To manage the window size, the sending program uses ZCRCQ data
subpackets to trigger ZACK headers from the receiver. The returning
ZACK headers inform the sender of the receiver's progress. When the
window size (current transmitter file offset - last reported receiver
file offset) exceeds a specified value, the sender waits for a
ZACK packet with a receiver file offset that reduces the window
size. ZRPOS and other error packets are handled normally.
==== FULL STREAMING WITH SAMPLING ====
If the receiver can overlap serial I/O with disk I/O, and if the
sender can sample the reverse channel for the presence of data
without having to wait, full streaming can be used with no Attn
sequence required. The sender begins data transmission with a ZDATA
header and continuous ZCRCG data subpackets. When the receiver
detects an error, it executes the Attn sequence and then sends a
ZRPOS header with the correct position within the file.
At the end of each transmitted data subpacket, the sender checks for
the presence of an error header from the receiver. To do this, the
sender samples the reverse data stream for the presence of either a
ZPAD or CAN character (using rdchk() or a similar mechanism). Flow control characters (if present) are acted upon.
Other characters (indicating line noise) increment a counter which is
reset whenever the sender waits for a header from the receiver. If
the counter overflows, the sender sends the next data subpacket as
ZCRCW, and waits for a response.
ZPAD indicates some sort of error header from the receiver. A CAN
suggests the user is attempting to "stop the bubble machine" by
keyboarding CAN characters. If one of these characters is seen, an
empty ZCRCE data subpacket is sent. Normally, the receiver will have
sent an ZRPOS or other error header, which will force the sender to
resume transmission at a different address, or take other action. In
the unlikely event the ZPAD or CAN character was spurious, the
receiver will time out and send a ZRPOS header.
The obvious choice of ZCRCW packet, which would trigger an ZACK from
the receiver, is not used because multiple in transit frames could
result if the channel has a long propagation delay.
Then the receiver's response header is read and acted upon; starting
with a resynchronize.
A ZRPOS header resets the sender's file offset to the correct
position. If possible, the sender should purge its output buffers
and/or networks of all unprocessed output data, to minimize the
amount of unwanted data the receiver must discard before receiving
data starting at the correct file offset. The next transmitted data
frame should be a ZCRCW frame followed by a wait to guarantee
complete flushing of the network's memory.
If the receiver gets a ZACK header with an address that disagrees
with the sender address, it is ignored, and the sender waits for
another header. A ZFIN, ZABORT, or TIMEOUT terminates the session; a
ZSKIP terminates the processing of this file.
The reverse channel is then sampled for the presence of another
header from the receiver (if sampling is possible). if one is detected
another error header is read. Otherwise,
transmission resumes at the (possibly reset) file offset with a ZDATA
header followed by data subpackets.
==== FULL STREAMING WITH REVERSE INTERRUPT ====
The above method cannot be used if the reverse data stream cannot be
sampled without entering an I/O wait. An alternate method is to
instruct the receiver to interrupt the sending program when an error
is detected.
The receiver can interrupt the sender with a control character, break
signal, or combination thereof, as specified in the Attn sequence.
After executing the Attn sequence, the receiver sends a hex ZRPOS
header to force the sender to resend the lost data.
When the sending program responds to this interrupt, it reads a HEX
header (normally ZRPOS) from the receiver and takes the action
described in the previous section.
==== FULL STREAMING WITH SLIDING WINDOW ====
If none of the above methods is applicable, hope is not yet lost. If
the sender can buffer responses from the receiver, the sender can use
ZCRCQ data subpackets to get ACKs from the receiver without
interrupting the transmission of data. After a sufficient number of
ZCRCQ data subpackets have been sent, the sender can read one of the
headers that should have arrived in its receive interrupt buffer.
A problem with this method is the possibility of wasting an excessive
amount of time responding to the receiver's error header. It may be
possible to program the receiver's Attn sequence to flush the
sender's interrupt buffer before sending the ZRPOS header.
==== SEGMENTED STREAMING ====
If the receiver cannot overlap serial and disk I/O, it uses the
ZRINIT frame to specify a buffer length which the sender will not
overflow. The sending program sends a ZCRCW data subpacket and waits
for a ZACK header before sending the next segment of the file.
A sufficiently large receiving buffer allows throughput to closely
approach that of full streaming. For example, 16kb segmented
streaming adds about 3 per cent to full streaming zmodem file
transfer times when the round trip delay is five seconds.
===== CONSTANTS =====
==== ASCII ====
SOH 0x01
STX 0x02
EOT 0x04
ENQ 0x05
ACK 0x06
LF 0x0a
CR 0x0d
XON 0x11
XOFF 0x13
NAK 0x15
CAN 0x18
==== ZMODEM ====
ZPAD 0x2a /* pad character; begins frames */
ZDLE 0x18 /* ctrl-x zmodem escape */
ZDLEE 0x58 /* escaped ZDLE */
ZBIN 0x41 /* binary frame indicator (CRC16) */
ZHEX 0x42 /* hex frame indicator */
ZBIN32 0x43 /* binary frame indicator (CRC32) */
ZBINR32 0x44 /* run length encoded binary frame (CRC32) */
ZVBIN 0x61 /* binary frame indicator (CRC16) */
ZVHEX 0x62 /* hex frame indicator */
ZVBIN32 0x63 /* binary frame indicator (CRC32) */
ZVBINR32 0x64 /* run length encoded binary frame (CRC32) */
ZRESC 0x7e /* run length encoding flag / escape character */
==== FRAME TYPES ====
ZRQINIT 0x00 /* request receive init (s->r) */
ZRINIT 0x01 /* receive init (r->s) */
ZSINIT 0x02 /* send init sequence (optional) (s->r) */
ZACK 0x03 /* ack to ZRQINIT ZRINIT or ZSINIT (s<->r) */
ZFILE 0x04 /* file name (s->r) */
ZSKIP 0x05 /* skip this file (r->s) */
ZNAK 0x06 /* last packet was corrupted (?) */
ZABORT 0x07 /* abort batch transfers (?) */
ZFIN 0x08 /* finish session (s<->r) */
ZRPOS 0x09 /* resume data transmission here (r->s) */
ZDATA 0x0a /* data packet(s) follow (s->r) */
ZEOF 0x0b /* end of file reached (s->r) */
ZFERR 0x0c /* fatal read or write error detected (?) */
ZCRC 0x0d /* request for file CRC and response (?) */
ZCHALLENGE 0x0e /* security challenge (r->s) */
ZCOMPL 0x0f /* request is complete (?) */
ZCAN 0x10 /* pseudo frame; other end cancelled session with 5* CAN */
ZFREECNT 0x11 /* request free bytes on file system (s->r) */
ZCOMMAND 0x12 /* issue command (s->r) */
ZSTDERR 0x13 /* output data to stderr (??) */
==== ZDLE SEQUENCES ====
ZCRCE 0x68 /* CRC next, frame ends, header packet follows */
ZCRCG 0x69 /* CRC next, frame continues nonstop */
ZCRCQ 0x6a /* CRC next, frame continuous, ZACK expected */
ZCRCW 0x6b /* CRC next, ZACK expected, end of frame */
ZRUB0 0x6c /* translate to rubout 0x7f */
ZRUB1 0x6d /* translate to rubout 0xff */
==== RECEIVER CAPABILITY FLAGS ====
CANFDX 0x01 /* Rx can send and receive true full duplex */
CANOVIO 0x02 /* Rx can receive data during disk I/O */
CANBRK 0x04 /* Rx can send a break signal */
CANCRY 0x08 /* Receiver can decrypt */
CANLZW 0x10 /* Receiver can uncompress */
CANFC32 0x20 /* Receiver can use 32 bit Frame Check */
ESCCTL 0x40 /* Receiver expects ctl chars to be escaped */
ESC8 0x80 /* Receiver expects 8th bit to be escaped */
===== See Also =====
* [[util:sexyz]]
* [[:ref:|Reference Library]]
{{tag>zmodem}}