As per Relevance of the word services, we have this rfc below:
Network Working Group G.
Request for Comments: 1177 FTP Software, Inc
FYI: 4 A.
J.
August 1990
FYI on Questions and
Answers to Commonly asked "New Internet User"
Status of this
This FYI RFC is one of three FYI's called, "Questions and Answers
(Q/A), produced by the User Services Working Group (USWG) of
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). The goal is to document
most commonly asked questions and answers in the Internet
This memo provides information for the Internet community. It
not specify any standard. Distribution of this memo is unlimited
Table of
1. Introduction.................................................... 1
2. Acknowledgements................................................ 2
3. Questions About the Internet.................................... 2
4. Questions About TCP/IP.......................................... 3
5. Questions About Internet Documentation.......................... 4
6. Questions about Internet Organizations and Contacts............. 6
7. Questions About Services........................................ 9
8. Mailing Lists................................................... 11
9. References...................................................... 11
10. Suggested Reading.............................................. 12
11. Condensed Glossary............................................. 12
12. Security Considerations........................................ 23
13. Authors' Addresses............................................. 24
1.
New users joining the Internet community for the first time have
the same questions as did everyone else who has ever joined.
quest is to provide the Internet community with up to date,
Internet knowledge and experience, while moving the redundancies
from the electronic mailing lists so that the lists' subscribers
not have to read the same queries and answers over and over again
Future updates of this memo will be produced as USWG members
User Services Working Group [Page 1]
RFC 1177 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users August 1990
aware of additional questions that should be included, and
deficiencies or inaccuracies that should be amended in this document
Additional FYI Q/A's will be published which will deal
intermediate and advanced Q/A topics
The Q/A mailing lists are maintained by Gary Malkin at FTP.COM.
are used by a subgroup of the USWG to discuss the Q/A FYIs.
include
quail@ftp.com This is a discussion mailing list.
primary use is for pre-release (to
USWG) review of the Q/A FYIs
quail-request@ftp.com This is how you join the quail mailing list
quail-box@ftp.com This is where the questions and
will be forwarded-and-stored. It
not necessary to be on the quail
list to forward to the quail-box
2.
The following people deserve thanks for their help and
to the FYI Q/As: Berlin Moore (PREPNet), Craig Partridge (BBN),
Jon Postel (ISI), Karen Roubicek (BBNST), James Van Bokkelen (
Software, Inc.), John Wobus (Syracuse University), and David
Zimmerman (Rutgers).
3. Questions About the
I just got on the Internet. What can I do now
You now have access to all the resources you are authorized to
on your own Internet host, on any other Internet host on which
have an account, and on any other Internet host that
publicly accessible information. The Internet gives you
ability to move information between these hosts via
transfers. Once you are logged into one host, you can use
Internet to open a connection to another, log in, and use
services interactively. In addition, you can send electronic
to users at any Internet site and to users on many non-
sites that are accessible via electronic mail
There are various other services you can use. For example,
hosts provide access to specialized databases or to archives
information. The Internet Resource Guide provides
regarding some of these sites. The Internet Resource Guide
facilities on the Internet that are available to users.
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facilities include supercomputer centers, library catalogs
specialized data collections. The guide is published by the
Network Service Center (NNSC) and is continuously being updated
The Resource Guide is distributed free via e-mail (send a note
resource-guide-request@nnsc.nsf.net to join the e-
distribution) and via anonymous FTP (in nnsc.nsf.net:resource
guide/*). Hardcopy is available at a nominal fee (to
reproduction costs) from the NNSC. Call the NNSC at 617-873-3400
for more information
How do I find out if a site has a computer on the Internet
Three good sources to consult are "!%@:: A Directory of
Mail Addressing and Networks" by Donnalyn Frey and Rick Adams
"The User's Directory to Computer Networks", by Tracy LaQuey;
"The Matrix: Computer Networks and Conferencing
Worldwide", by John Quarterman
In addition, it is possible to find some information
Internet sites in the WHOIS database maintained at the DDN NIC
SRI International. The DDN NIC provides an information
interface to the database that is also called WHOIS. To use
interface, Telnet to NIC.DDN.MIL and type "whois" (
return). No login is necessary. Type "help" at the whois
for more information on using the facility. WHOIS will show
sites, but may not show every site registered with the DDN
(simply for reasons having to do with how the program is set up
search the database).
4. Questions About TCP/
What is TCP/IP
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) [4,5,6]
is the common name for a family of data-communications
used to tie computers and data-communications equipment
computer networks. TCP/IP originated for use on a network
ARPANET, but it is currently used on a large international
of universities, other research institutions,
facilities, and some corporations called the Internet. TCP/IP
also sometimes used for other networks, particularly local
networks that tie together numerous different kinds of
or tie together engineering workstations
What are the other standard protocols in the TCP/IP family
Other than TCP and IP, the three main protocols in the TCP/
suite are the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), the
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Transfer Protocol (FTP), and the Telnet Protocol. There are
other protocols in use on the Internet. The Internet
Board (IAB) regularly publishes an RFC [2] that describes
state of standardization of the various Internet protocols.
document is the best guide to the current status of
protocols and their recommended usage
5. Questions About Internet
What is an RFC
The Request for Comments documents (RFCs) are working notes of
Internet research and development community. A document in
series may be on essentially any topic related to
communication, and may be anything from a meeting report to
specification of a standard. Submissions for Requests
Comments may be sent to the RFC Editor, Jon
(POSTEL@ISI.EDU).
Most RFCs are the descriptions of network protocols or services
often giving detailed procedures and formats providing
information necessary for creating implementations. Other
report on the results of policy studies or summarize the work
technical committees or workshops
While RFCs are not refereed publications, they do
technical review from either the task forces, individual
experts, or the RFC Editor, as appropriate. Currently,
standards are published as RFCs, but not all RFCs
standards
Anyone can submit a document for publication as an RFC
Submissions must be made via electronic mail to the RFC Editor
RFCs are distributed online by being stored as public
files, and a short message is sent to the distribution
indicating the availability of the memo. Requests to be added
this distribution list should be sent to RFC-REQUEST@NIC.DDN.MIL
The online files are copied by interested people and printed
displayed at their sites on their equipment. (An RFC may also
returned via electronic mail in response to an electronic
query.) This means that the format of the online files must
the constraints of a wide variety of printing and
equipment
Once a document is assigned an RFC number and published, that
is never revised or re-issued with the same number. There
never a question of having the most recent version of a
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RFC. However, a protocol (such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP))
may be improved and re-documented many times in several
RFCs. It is important to verify that you have the most recent
on a particular protocol. The "IAB Official Protocol Standards
[2] memo is the reference for determining the correct RFC to
to for the current specification of each protocol
How do I obtain RFCs
RFCs can be obtained via FTP from NIC.DDN.MIL, with the
RFC:RFCnnnn.TXT or RFC:RFCnnnn.PS (where "nnnn" refers to
number of the RFC). Login with FTP, username "anonymous"
password "guest". The NIC also provides an automatic mail
for those sites which cannot use FTP. Address the request
SERVICE@NIC.DDN.MIL and in the subject field of the
indicate the RFC number, as in "Subject: RFC nnnn" (or "Subject
RFC nnnn.PS" for PostScript RFCs).
RFCs can also be obtained via FTP from NIS.NSF.NET. Using FTP
login with username "anonymous" and password "guest"; then
to the RFC directory ("cd RFC"). The file name is of the
RFCnnnn.TXT-1 (where "nnnn" refers to the number of the RFC).
NIS also provides an automatic mail service for those sites
cannot use FTP. Address the request to NIS-INFO@NIS.NSF.NET
leave the subject field of the message blank. The first line
the text of the message must be "SEND RFCnnnn.TXT-1", where
is replaced by the RFC number
Requests for special distribution should be addressed to
the author of the RFC in question, or to NIC@NIC.DDN.MIL.
specifically noted otherwise on the RFC itself, all RFCs are
unlimited distribution
Which RFCs are Standards
See "IAB Official Protocol Standards" (currently, RFC 1140) [2].
How do I obtain OSI Standards documents from the Internet
OSI Standards documents are NOT available from the Internet
anonymous FTP due to copyright restrictions. These are
from
Omnicom Information
501 Church Street
Suite 304
Vienna, VA 22180
Telephone: (800) 666-4266 or (703) 281-1135 Fax: (703) 281-1505
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6. Questions about Internet Organizations and
What is the IAB
The Internet Activities Board (IAB) is the coordinating
for Internet design, engineering and management [7]. IAB
are deeply committed to making the Internet function
and evolve to meet a large scale, high speed future. The
serves a term of two years and is elected by the members of
IAB. The current Chair of the IAB is Vint Cerf. The IAB
on the TCP/IP protocol suite, and extensions to the
system to support multiple protocol suites
The IAB performs the following functions
1) Sets Internet Standards
2) Manages the RFC publication process
3) Reviews the operation of the IETF and IRTF
4) Performs strategic planning for the Internet,
long-range problems and opportunities
5) Acts as an international technical policy liaison
representative for the Internet community,
6) Resolves technical issues which cannot be treated
the IETF or IRTF frameworks
The IAB has two principal subsidiary task forces
1) Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF
2) Internet Research Task Force (IRTF
Each of these Task Forces is led by a chairman and guided by
Steering Group which reports to the IAB through its chairman.
the most part, a collection of Research or Working Groups
out the work program of each Task Force
All decisions of the IAB are made public. The principal
by which IAB decisions are propagated to the parties interested
the Internet and its TCP/IP protocol suite is the Request
Comments (RFC) note series and the Internet Monthly Report
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What is the IANA
The task of coordinating the use of the parameters of protocols
delegated by the Internet Activities Board (IAB) to the
Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). These protocol parameters
op-codes, type fields, terminal types, system names,
identifiers, and so on. The "Assigned Numbers" Request
Comments (RFC) [1] documents the currently assigned values
several series of numbers used in network
implementations
Current types of assignments listed in Assigned Numbers
maintained by the IANA are
Address Resolution Protocol
ARPANET and MILNET X.25 Address
ARPANET and MILNET Logical
ARPANET and MILNET Link
BOOTP Parameters and BOOTP Extension
Domain System
IANA Ethernet Address
Ethernet Numbers of
IEEE 802 Numbers of
Internet Protocol
Internet Version
IP Time to Live
IP TOS
Machine
Mail Encryption
Multicast
Network Management
PRONET 80 Type
Port
Protocol and Service
Protocol/Type Field
Public Data Network
Reverse Address Resolution Protocol Operation
Telnet
Terminal Type
Unix
X.25 Type
For more information on number assignments, contact IANA@ISI.EDU
What is "The NIC"?
"The NIC" is the Defense Data Network, Network Information
(DDN NIC) at SRI International, which is a network
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center which holds a primary repository for RFCs and
drafts. The host name is NIC.DDN.MIL. Shadow copies of the
and the Internet Drafts are maintained by the NSFnet
NNSC.NSF.NET and on MERIT.EDU
The DDN NIC also provides various user assistance services for
users; contact NIC@NIC.DDN.MIL or call 1-800-235-3155 for
information. In addition, the DDN NIC is the
registration authority for the root domain and several top
second level domains; maintains the official DoD Internet
Table; is the site of the Internet Registry (IR); and
the whois database of network users, hosts, domains, networks,
Points of Contact
What is the IR
The Internet Registry (IR) is the organization that is
for assigning identifiers, such as IP network numbers
autonomous system numbers, to networks. The IR also gathers
registers such assigned information. The IR may, in the future
allocate the authority to assign network identifiers to
organizations; however, it will continue to gather data
such assignments. At present, the DDN NIC at SRI
serves as the IR
What is the IETF
The Internet has grown to encompass a large number of
geographically dispersed networks in academic and
communities. It now provides an infrastructure for a
community with various interests. Moreover, the family
Internet protocols and system components has moved
experimental to commercial development. To help coordinate
operation, management and evolution of the Internet, the
established the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
The IETF is chaired by Phill Gross and managed by its
Engineering Steering Group (IESG). The IETF is a large
community of network designers, operators, vendors,
researchers concerned with the Internet and the Internet
suite. It is organized around a set of eight technical areas
each managed by a technical area director. In addition to
IETF Chairman, the area directors make up the IESG membership
The IAB has delegated to the IESG the general responsibility
making the Internet work and for the resolution of all short-
mid-range protocol and architectural issues required to make
Internet function effectively
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What is the IRTF
To promote research in networking and the development of
technology, the IAB established the Internet Research Task
(IRTF).
In the area of network protocols, the distinction between
and engineering is not always clear, so there will sometimes
overlap between activities of the IETF and the IRTF. There is,
fact, considerable overlap in membership between the two groups
This overlap is regarded as vital for cross-fertilization
technology transfer
The IRTF is a community of network researchers, generally with
Internet focus. The work of the IRTF is governed by its
Research Steering Group (IRSG). The chairman of the IRTF and
is David Clark
7. Questions About
How do I find someone's electronic mail address
There are a number of directories on the Internet; however, all
them are far from complete. The two largest directories are
WHOIS database at the DDN NIC and the PSInet White Pages
Generally, it is still necessary to ask the person for his or
email address
How do I use the WHOIS program at the DDN NIC
To use the WHOIS program to search the WHOIS database at the
NIC, telnet to the NIC host, NIC.DDN.MIL. There is no need
login. Type "whois" to call up the information retrieval program
Next, type the name of the person, host, domain, network,
mailbox for which you need information. If you are only
part of the name, end your search string with a period.
"help" for a more in-depth explanation of what you can search
and how you can search. If you have trouble, send a message
NIC@NIC.DDN.MIL or call 1-800-235-3155. Bug reports can be
to BUG-WHOIS@NIC.DDN.MIL and suggestions for improvements to
program can be sent to SUGGESTIONS@NIC.DDN.MIL
How do I become registered in the DDN NIC's WHOIS database
If you would like to be listed in the WHOIS database, you
have an electronic mailbox accessible from the Internet.
obtain the file NETINFO:USER-TEMPLATE.TXT. You can
retrieve this file via anonymous FTP from NIC.DDN.MIL or get
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through electronic mail. To obtain the file via electronic mail
send a message to SERVICE@NIC.DDN.MIL and put the file name in
subject line of the message; that is, "Subject: NETINFO USER
TEMPLATE.TXT". The file will be returned to you overnight
Fill out the name and address information requested in the
and return it to REGISTRAR@NIC.DDN.MIL. Your application will
processed and you will be added to the database. Unless you
an official Point of Contact for a network entity registered
the DDN NIC, the DDN NIC will not regularly poll you for updates
so you should remember to send corrections to your information
your contact data changes
How do I use the White Pages at PSI
Performance Systems International, Inc. (PSI), sponsors a
Pages Pilot Project that collects personnel information
member organizations into a database and provides online access
that data. This effort is based on the OSI X.500
standard
To access the data, telnet to WP.PSI.COM and login as "fred" (
password is necessary). You may now look up information
participating organizations. The program provides help on usage
For example, typing "help" will show you a list of commands
"manual" will give detailed documentation, and "whois"
provide information regarding how to find references to people
For a list of the organizations that are participating in
pilot project by providing information regarding their members
type "whois -org *".
For more information, send a message to INFO@PSI.COM
What is Usenet? What is Netnews
Usenet and Netnews are common names of a distributed
bulletin board system that some computers on the
participate in. It is not strictly an Internet service:
computers not on the Internet also participate
How do I get on Usenet? How do I get Netnews on my computer
To get on Usenet, you must acquire the software, which
available for some computers at no cost from some anonymous
sites across the Internet, and you must find an existing
site that is willing to support a connection to your computer
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What is anonymous FTP
Anonymous FTP is a conventional way of allowing you to sign on
a computer on the Internet and copy specified public files from
[3]. Some sites offer anonymous FTP to distribute software
various kinds of information. You use it like any FTP, but
username is "anonymous" and the password is "guest".
8. Mailing
What are some good mailing lists or news groups
The TCP-IP, IETF, and RFC Distribution lists are primary lists
new Internet users who desire further information about
and emerging developments in the Internet. The first two
are unmoderated discussion lists, and the latter is
announcement service used by the RFC Editor
How do I subscribe to the TCP-IP mailing list
To be added to the TCP-IP mailing list, send a message to
TCP-IP-REQUEST@NIC.DDN.
How do I subscribe to the IETF mailing list
To be added to the IETF mailing list, send a message to
IETF-REQUEST@ISI.
How do I subscribe to the RFC Distribution list
To be added to the RFC Distribution list, send a message to
RFC-REQUEST@NIC.DDN.
9.
[1] Reynolds, J., and J. Postel, "Assigned Numbers", RFC 1060,
USC/Information Sciences Institute, March 1990.
[2] Postel, J., Editor, "IAB Official Protocol Standards", RFC 1140,
Internet Activities Board, May 1990.
[3] Postel, J., and J. Reynolds, "File Transfer Protocol (FTP),
959, USC/Information Sciences Institute, October 1985.
[4] Postel, J., "Internet Protocol - DARPA Internet Program
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Specification", RFC 791, DARPA, September 1981.
[5] Postel, J., "Transmission Control Protocol - DARPA
Program Protocol Specification", RFC 793, DARPA, September 1981.
[6] Leiner, B., R. Cole, J. Postel, and D. Mills, "The DARPA
Protocol Suite", IEEE INFOCOM85, Washington D.C., March 1985.
Also in IEEE Communications Magazine, March 1985. Also
ISI/RS-85-153.
[7] Cerf, V., "The Internet Activities Board" RFC 1160, CNRI,
1990.
10. Suggested
For further information about the Internet and its protocols
general, you may choose to obtain copies of the following works
Bowers, K., T. LaQuey, J. Reynolds, K. Roubicek, M. Stahl, and A
Yuan, "Where to Start - A Bibliography of General
Information", RFC 1175, FYI 3, CNRI, U Texas, ISI, BBN, SRI
Mitre, August 1990.
Comer, D., "Internetworking with TCP/IP: Principles, Protocols
and Architecture", Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 1989.
Krol, E., "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Internet", RFC 1118,
University of Illinois Urbana, September 1989.
11. Condensed
As with any profession, computers have a particular terminology
their own. Below is a condensed glossary to assist in making
sense of the Internet world
address There are two separate uses of this term in
networking: "electronic mail address" and "
address". An electronic mail address is the
of characters that you must give an electronic
program to direct a message to a particular person
See "internet address" for its definition
AI Artificial
The branch of computer science which deals with
simulation of human intelligence by computer systems
AIX Advanced Interactive
IBM's version of Unix
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ANSI American National Standards
A group that defines U.S. standards for the
processing industry. ANSI participates in
network protocol standards
ARP Address Resolution
An Internet protocol which runs on Ethernets
Token Rings which maps internet addresses to MAC addresses
ARPA Advanced Research Projects
The former name of what is now called DARPA
ARPANET Advanced Research Projects Agency
A pioneering long haul network funded by ARPA.
served as the basis for early networking research
well as a central backbone during the development
the Internet. The ARPANET consisted of
packet switching computers interconnected by leased lines
ASCII American Standard Code for Information
B
One character of information, usually eight bits wide
b bit - binary
The smallest amount of information which may be
in a computer
BBN Bolt, Beranek, and Newman, Inc
The Cambridge, MA company responsible for development
operation and monitoring of the ARPANET, and later
the Internet core gateway system, the CSNET
and Information Center (CIC), and NSFnet
Service Center (NNSC).
BITNET Because It's Time
BITNET has about 2,500 host computers, primarily
universities, in many countries. It is managed
EDUCOM, which provides administrative support
information services. There are
main constituents of the network: BITNET in the
States and Mexico, NETNORTH in Canada, and EARN
Europe. There are also AsiaNet, in Japan,
connections in South America. See CREN
bps bits per
A measure of data transmission speed
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BSD Berkeley Software
Term used when describing different
of the Berkeley UNIX software, as in "4.3
UNIX".
catenet A network in which hosts are connected to
with varying characteristics, and the
are interconnected by gateways (routers).
Internet is an example of a catenet
CCITT International Consultative Committee
Telegraphy and Telephony
core
Historically, one of a set of gateways (routers
operated by the Internet Network Operations
at BBN. The core gateway system forms a central
of Internet routing in that all groups must
paths to their networks from a core gateway
CREN The Corporation for Research and Educational
BITNET and CSNET have recently merged to form CREN
CSNET Computer + Science
A large data communications network for institutions
research in computer science. It uses several
protocols including some of its own. CSNET sites
universities, research laboratories, and
companies. See CREN
DARPA U.S. Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects
The government agency that funded the ARPANET and
started the Internet
The unit transmitted between a pair of internet modules
The Internet Protocol provides for transmitting blocks
data, called datagrams, from sources to destinations
The Internet Protocol does not provide a
communication facility. There are no
either end-to-end or hop-by-hop. There is no
control for data, only a header checksum. There
no retransmissions. There is no flow control. See IP
DCA Defense Communications
The government agency responsible for installation
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the Defense Data Network (DDN), including the
and MILNET lines and PSNs. Currently, DCA
the DDN, and supports the user assistance and
registration services of the DDN NIC
DDN Defense Data
Comprises the MILNET and several other DoD networks
DDN NIC The network information center at SRI International
It is the primary repository for RFCs and Internet drafts
as well as providing other services
DEC Digital Equipment
DECnet Digital Equipment Corporation
A networking protocol for DEC computers and network devices
default
A routing table entry which is used to direct any
addressed to any network numbers not explicitly
in the routing table
DOD U.S. Department of
DOE U.S. Department of
DNS The Domain Name System is a mechanism used
the Internet for translating names of host
into addresses. The DNS also allows host
not directly on the Internet to have
names in the same style
EARN European Academic Research
One of three main constituents of BITNET
EBCDIC Extended Binary-coded Decimal Interchange
EGP External Gateway
A protocol which distributes routing information
the routers and gateways which interconnect networks
A network standard for the hardware and data link levels
There are two types of Ethernet: Digital/Intel/Xerox (DIX
and IEEE 802.3.
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FIPS Federal Information Processing
FTP File Transfer
The Internet standard high-level protocol
transferring files from one computer to another
gateway A special-purpose dedicated computer that attaches
two or more networks and routes packets from
network to the other. In particular, an
gateway routes IP datagrams among the networks
connects. Gateways route packets to
gateways until they can be delivered to the
destination directly across one physical network
GB
A unit of data storage size which represents 2^30 (
1 billion) characters of information
Gb
2^30 bits of information (usually used to express
data transfer rate; as in, 1 gigabit/second = 1Gbps).
GNU Gnu's Not
A UNIX-compatible operating system developed by
Free Software Foundation
header The portion of a packet, preceding the actual data
containing source and destination addresses
error-checking fields
host
The part of an internet address that designates
node on the (sub)network is being addressed
HP Hewlett-
High-speed communications link
I/O Input/
IAB Internet Activities
The IAB is the coordinating committee for
design, engineering and management
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IBM International Business Machines
IEEE Institute for Electrical and Electronics
IETF Internet Engineering Task
The IETF is a large open community of network designers
operators, vendors, and researchers whose purpose is
coordinate the operation, management and evolution
the Internet, and to resolve short- and mid-
protocol and architectural issues. It is a major
of proposed protocol standards which are submitted to
Internet Activities Board for final approval. The
meets three times a year and extensive minutes of
plenary proceedings are issued
Any connection of two or more local or wide-area networks
The global collection of interconnected regional
wide-area networks which use IP as the
layer protocol
internet
An assigned number which identifies a host in an internet
It has two or three parts: network number, optional
number, and host number
IP Internet
The network layer protocol for the Internet. It
datagram protocol defined by RFC 791.
IRTF Internet Research Task
The IRTF is a community of network researchers
generally with an Internet focus. The work of the
is governed by its Internet Research Steering Group (IRSG).
ISO International Standards
JvNC John von Neumann National Supercomputer
KB
A unit of data storage size which represents 2^10
(1024) characters of information
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Kb
2^10 bits of information (usually used to express
data transfer rate; as in, 1 kilobit/second = 1Kbps = 1Kb).
KNET Kangaroo
Hardware/software product (Spartacus/Fibronics) that
IBM mainframes to communicate over networks with the TCP/
protocol suite
LAN Local Area
A network that takes advantage of the proximity of
to offer relatively efficient, higher speed
than long-haul or wide-area networks
LISP List Processing
MAC Medium Access
For broadcast networks, it is the method which devices
to determine which device has line access at any
time
Mac Apple Macintosh computer
MB
A unit of data storage size which represents
2^20 (one million) characters of information
Mb
2^20 bits of information (usually used to express
data transfer rate; as in, 1 megabit/second = 1Mbps).
MILNET Military
A network used for unclassified military
applications. It is part of the Internet
MIT Massachusetts Institute of
MTTF Mean Time to
The average time between hardware breakdown or loss
service. This may be an empirical measurement or
calculation based on the MTTF of component parts
MTTR Mean Time to
The average time it takes to restore service after
breakdown or loss. This is usually an empirical measurement
User Services Working Group [Page 18]
RFC 1177 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users August 1990
MVS Multiple Virtual
An IBM operating system based on OS/1.
NASA National Aeronautics and Space
NBS National Bureau of
Now called NIST
network
The part of an internet address which designates
network to which the addressed node belongs
NFS Network File
A network service that lets a program running on
computer to use data stored on a different computer
the same internet as if it were on its own disk
NIC Network Information
An organization which provides network users
information about services provided by the network
NOC Network Operations
An organization which is responsible for
a network
NIST National Institute of Standards and
Formerly NBS
NSF National Science
NSFNET National Science Foundation
A high-speed internet that spans the country, and
intended for research applications. It is made up
the NSFnet Backbone and the NSFnet regional networks
It is part of the Internet
NSFNET
A network connecting 13 sites across the continental
States. It is the central component of NSFnet
NSFNET
A network connected to the NSFnet Backbone that covers
region of the United States. It is to the regionals
local sites connect
User Services Working Group [Page 19]
RFC 1177 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users August 1990
New York State Educational and Research
An internet which serves NY educational and
institutions. It also serves as the NSFnet
network for New York State
OSI Open Systems
A set of protocols designed to be an international
method for connecting unlike computers and networks.
has done most of the work developing OSI and will
use it as soon as possible
OSI Reference
An "outline" of OSI which defines its seven layers
their functions. Sometimes used to help describe
networks
OSPFIGP Open Shortest-Path First Internet Gateway
An experimental replacement for RIP. It addresses
problems of RIP and is based upon principles that
been well-tested in non-internet protocols. Often
to simply as OSPF
packet The unit of data sent across a packet switching network
The term is used loosely. While some
literature uses it to refer specifically to data
across a physical network, other literature
the Internet as a packet switching
and describes IP datagrams as packets
PC Personal
PCNFS Personal Computer Network File
POSIX Portable Operating System
Operating system based on UNIX
A formal description of message formats and the
two computers must follow to exchange those messages
Protocols can describe low-level details
machine-to-machine interfaces (e.g., the order
which bits and bytes are sent across a wire
or high-level exchanges between
programs (e.g., the way in which two
transfer a file across the Internet).
User Services Working Group [Page 20]
RFC 1177 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users August 1990
PSC Pittsburgh Supercomputing
PSCNET Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center
RFC The Internet's Request for Comments documents
The RFCs are working notes of the Internet research
development community. A document in this series may be
essentially any topic related to computer communication,
may be anything from a meeting report to the specification
a standard
RIP Routing Interchange
One protocol which may be used on internets simply to
routing information between gateways. It is used on
LANs and on some of the NSFnet regional networks
RJE Remote Job
The general protocol for submitting batch jobs
retrieving the results
RLOGIN Remote
A service on internets very similar to TELNET. RLOGIN
invented for use between Berkeley Unix systems on the
LAN at a time when TELNET programs didn't provide all
services users wanted. Berkeley plans to phase it out
RPC Remote Procedure
An easy and popular paradigm for implementing
client-server model of distributed computing
server A computer that shares its resources, such as
and files, with other computers on the network.
example of this is a Network Files System (NFS
Server which shares its disk space with a
that does not have a disk drive of its own
Sesquicentennial
Texas-based regional network named for their
SMTP Simple Mail Transfer
The Internet standard protocol for
electronic mail messages from one computer to another
SMTP specifies how two mail systems interact and
format of control messages they exchange to transfer mail
User Services Working Group [Page 21]
RFC 1177 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users August 1990
SNA System Network
IBM's data communications protocol
subnet A portion of a network, which may be a physically
network, which shares a network address with other
of the network and is distinguished by a subnet number.
subnet is to a network what a network is to an internet
subnet
A part of the internet address which designates a subnet
It is ignored for the purposes internet routing, but
used for intranet routing
SURANET Southeastern Universities Research Association
An NSFNET regional network
T1 A term for a digital carrier facility used to transmit
DS-1 formatted digital signal at 1.544 megabits per second
T3 A term for a digital carrier facility used to transmit a DS-3
formatted digital signal at 44.746 megabits per second
TCP Transmission Control
A transport layer protocol for the Internet. It is
connection oriented, stream protocol defined by RFC 793.
TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
This is a common shorthand which refers to the
of application and transport protocols which run over IP
These include FTP, Telnet, SMTP, and UDP (a
layer protocol).
Telenet A public packet-switching network operated by US Sprint
Telnet The Internet standard protocol for remote
connection service. Telnet allows a user at one
to interact with a remote timesharing system
another site as if the user's terminal was
directly to the remote computer
Token
A type of LAN. Examples are IEEE 802.5, ProNET-10/80
FDDI. The term "token ring" is often used to denote 802.5
Tymnet A public packet-switching network operated by
Douglas Network Systems Company
User Services Working Group [Page 22]
RFC 1177 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users August 1990
UDP User Datagram
A transport layer protocol for the Internet. It is
datagram protocol which simply adds a level of
to IP datagrams. It is defined by RFC 768.
ULTRIX UNIX-based operating system for Digital Equipment
computers
UNIX An operating system developed by Bell Laboratories
supports multiuser and multitasking operations
UUCP UNIX-to-UNIX Copy
A protocol used for communication between
UNIX systems
VMS Virtual Memory
A Digital Equipment Corporation operating system
WAN Wide Area
WESTNET One of the National Science Foundation funded
TCP/IP networks that covers the states of Arizona
Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming
WHOIS An Internet program which allows users to query a database
people and other Internet entities, such as domains, networks
and hosts, kept at the NIC. The information for people
a person's company name, address, phone number and
address
XNS Xerox Network
A data communications protocol developed by Xerox.
uses Ethernet to move the data between computers
X.25 A data communications protocol developed to describe
data passes into and out of public data
networks. The public networks such as Telenet and Tymnet
use X.25 to interface to customer computers
12. Security
Security issues are not discussed in this memo
User Services Working Group [Page 23]
RFC 1177 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users August 1990
13. Authors'
Gary Scott
FTP Software, Inc
26 Princess
Wakefield, MA 01880
Phone: (617) 246-0900
EMail: gmalkin@ftp.
April N.
SRI
Network Information Systems
333 Ravenswood Avenue, EJ294
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Phone: (415) 859-5318
EMail: APRIL@NIC.DDN.
Joyce K.
USC/Information Sciences
4676 Admiralty
Marina del Rey, CA 90292-6695
Phone: (213) 822-1511
EMail: jkrey@isi.
User Services Working Group [Page 24]
if you see any problems within the linking, don't worry be happy,
this is version 0.1 of the Relevance System and you gotta expect some crappy subroutines sometimes,
just be content we did not write this in Java, which would have made this "bigger and better" HAHAHHA.
RFC documents can be found at I.E.T.F.
Relevance System Copyright © 2002 Spectrum WorldResearch
other technical nosh by ServerMasters Corporation
collaboration of BobX
