Interlnk
| Company type | Software utility |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer networking software |
| Founded | 1990 |
| Founder | Digital Research (initial developer) |
Area served | DOS systems |
| Products | File transfer and disk sharing utility for DOS |
| Owner | Digital Research (initial), IBM (PC DOS), Microsoft (MS-DOS) |
Interlnk, also known as FileLink, is a networking tool for DOS systems designed to facilitate disk and file sharing between two computers connected via serial or parallel ports.
On DR-DOS
FileLink was initially introduced in Digital Research's DR-DOS 5.0 released in 1990. It enabled file transfers solely through the serial port using a null modem cable. In this setup, the computer issuing commands functions as the slave, while the connected machine operates as the master. Transfer rates range from 110 up to 115,200 baud. Additionally, it provides the capability to browse files located on the remote system.
On PC DOS and MS-DOS
Interlnk was incorporated into IBM's PC DOS 5.02 (1992) and Microsoft’s MS-DOS 6.0, comprising two main components: the INTERLNK.EXE client driver and the INTERSVR.EXE server application. Drives connected to the server computer—including hard disks and floppy drives—are mapped as extra drives on the client machine, assigned drive letters following those already in use. The client system can also execute programs stored on the server.
The utility supports connections via null modem serial cables, 3-wire serial cables, or bidirectional parallel cables, including those marketed by third-party vendors such as LapLink and FastLynx. One of the computers must be running MS-DOS version 3.0 or newer. The client component is loaded through CONFIG.SYS using a DEVICE directive for INTERLNK.EXE; connection status can be checked with the interlnk command. The server is launched with the intersvr command, which presents a full-screen interface displaying connection information and mapped drives without requiring user input.
Compatibility with other platforms
In PC DOS 7, establishing a serial link is done via the intersvr command, whereas intersvr /lp1 activates parallel port connectivity. When running a PC DOS image under OS/2 2.1 or later, Interlnk operates as a client within a Virtual DOS machine environment.
Under Windows 95, Interlnk functions in real mode MS-DOS but does not work with Windows 95’s direct cable connection (DCC) feature. Furthermore, Interlnk is supported by FreeDOS.