As per Relevance of the word question, we have this rfc below:
Network Working Group A.
Request for Comments: 1594 NASA
FYI: 4 J.
Obsoletes: 1325
Category: Informational G.
March 1994
FYI on Questions and
Answers to Commonly asked "New Internet User"
Status of this
This memo provides information for the Internet community. This
does not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution
this memo is unlimited
This FYI RFC is one of two FYI's called, "Questions and Answers
(Q/A), produced by the User Services Working Group of the
Engineering Task Force (IETF). The goal is to document the
commonly asked questions and answers in the Internet
New Questions and
In addition to updating information contained in the previous
of this FYI RFC, the following new questions have been added
Questions about Internet Organizations and Contacts
What is the InterNIC
Questions About Internet Services
What is gopher
What is the World Wide Web? What is Mosaic
How do I find out about other Internet resource discovery tools
User Services Working Group [Page 1]
RFC 1594 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users March 1994
Table of
1. Introduction................................................. 2
2. Acknowledgements............................................. 2
3. Questions About the Internet................................. 3
4. Questions About TCP/IP....................................... 5
5. Questions About the Domain Name System....................... 5
6. Questions About Internet Documentation....................... 6
7. Questions about Internet Organizations and Contacts.......... 13
8. Questions About Services..................................... 18
9. Mailing Lists and Sending Mail............................... 24
10. Miscellaneous "Internet lore" questions..................... 26
11. Suggested Reading........................................... 28
12. References.................................................. 29
13. Condensed Glossary.......................................... 31
14. Security Considerations..................................... 44
15. Authors' Addresses.......................................... 44
1.
New users joining the Internet community have the same questions
did everyone else who has ever joined. Our quest is to provide
Internet community with up to date, basic Internet knowledge
experience
Future updates of this memo will be produced as User Services
become aware of additional questions that should be included, and
deficiencies or inaccuracies that should be amended in this document
Although the RFC number of this document will change with
update, it will always have the designation of FYI 4. An
FYI Q/A, FYI 7, is published that deals with intermediate
advanced Q/A topics [11].
2.
The following people deserve thanks for their help and
to this FYI Q/A: Matti Aarnio (FUNET), Susan Calcari (InterNIC),
Corinne Carroll (BBN), Vint Cerf (MCI), Peter Deutsch (Bunyip),
Emtage (Bunyip), John Klensin (UNU), Thomas Lenggenhager (Switch),
Doug Mildram (Xylogics), Tracy LaQuey Parker (Cisco), Craig
(BBN), Jon Postel (ISI), Matt Power (MIT), Karen Roubicek (BBN),
Patricia Smith (Merit), Gene Spafford (Purdue), and Carol
(Sterling Software/NASA NAIC).
User Services Working Group [Page 2]
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3. Questions About the
3.1 What is the Internet
The Internet is a collection of thousands of networks linked by
common set of technical protocols which make it possible for
of any one of the networks to communicate with or use the
located on any of the other networks. These protocols
referred to as TCP/IP or the TCP/IP protocol suite. The
started with the ARPANET, but now includes such networks as
National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET), the
Academic and Research Network (AARNet), the NASA Science
(NSI), the Swiss Academic and Research Network (SWITCH), and
10,000 other large and small, commercial and research, networks
There are other major wide area networks that are not based on
TCP/IP protocols and are thus often not considered part of
Internet. However, it is possible to communicate between them
the Internet via electronic mail because of mail gateways that
as "translators" between the different network protocols involved
Note: You will often see "internet" with a small "i". This
refer to any network built based on TCP/IP, or might refer
networks using other protocol families that are composites
of smaller networks
See FYI 20 (RFC 1462), "FYI on 'What is the Internet?'" for
lengthier description of the Internet [13].
3.2 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, login, and use
services interactively (this is known as remote login
"TELNETing"). In addition, you can send electronic mail to
at any Internet site and to users on many non-Internet sites
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.
facilities include supercomputer centers, library catalogs
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specialized data collections. The guide is maintained by
Directory Services portion of the InterNIC and is available
in a number of ways. It is available for anonymous FTP from
host ds.internic.net in the resource-guide directory. It is
readable via the InterNIC gopher (gopher internic.net). For
information, contact admin@ds.internic.net or call the InterNIC
(800) 444-4345 or (908) 668-6587.
Today the trend for Internet information services is to strive
present the users with a friendly interface to a variety
services. The goal is to reduce the traditional needs for a
to know the source host of a service and the different
interfaces for different types of services. The Internet
(discussed more in the "Questions about Internet Services
section) is one such service to which you have access when
join the Internet
3.3 How do I find out if a site has a computer on the Internet
Frankly, it's almost impossible to find out if a site has
computer on the Internet by querying some Internet service itself
The most reliable way is to ask someone at the site you
interested in contacting
It is sometimes possible to find whether or not a site has
assigned an IP network number, which is a prerequisite
connecting an IP network to the Internet (which is only one
of Internet access). To do so, query the WHOIS database
maintained by the Registration Services portion of the InterNIC
You have several options about how to do such a query. The
common currently are to TELNET to the host rs.internic.net
invoke one of the search interfaces provided, or to run a
client locally on your machine and use it to make a query
the network
The RIPE Network Coordination Center (RIPE NCC) also maintains
large database of sites to whom they have assigned IP
numbers. You can query it by TELNETing to info.ripe.net
stepping through the interactive interface they provide
3.4 How do I get a list of all the hosts on the Internet
You really don't want that. The list includes more than 1.5
million hosts. Almost all of them require that you have
permission to actually use them. You may really want to
which of these hosts provide services to the Internet community
Investigate using some of the network resource discovery tools
such as gopher, to gain easier access to Internet information
User Services Working Group [Page 4]
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4. Questions About TCP/
4.1 What is TCP/IP
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) [4,5,6]
is the common name for a family of over 100 data-
protocols used to organize computers and data-
equipment into computer networks. TCP/IP was developed
interconnect hosts on ARPANET, PRNET (packet radio), and
(packet satellite). All three of these networks have since
retired; but TCP/IP lives on. It is currently used on a
international network of networks called the Internet,
members include universities, other research institutions
government facilities, and many corporations. TCP/IP is
sometimes used for other networks, particularly local
networks that tie together numerous different kinds of
or tie together engineering workstations
4.2 What are the other well-known standard protocols in the TCP/
family
Other than TCP and IP, the three main protocols in the TCP/
suite are the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) [8], the
Transfer Protocol (FTP) [3], and the TELNET Protocol [9].
are many other protocols in use on the Internet. The
Architecture Board (IAB) regularly publishes an RFC [2]
describes the state of standardization of the various
protocols. This document is the best guide to the current
of Internet protocols and their recommended usage
5. Questions About the Domain Name
5.1 What is the Domain Name System
The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical, distributed
of organizing the name space of the Internet. The
administratively groups hosts into a hierarchy of authority
allows addressing and other information to be widely
and maintained. A big advantage to the DNS is that using
eliminates dependence on a centrally-maintained file that
host names to addresses
5.2 What is a Fully Qualified Domain Name
A Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) is a domain name
includes all higher level domains relevant to the entity named
If you think of the DNS as a tree-structure with each node
its own label, a Fully Qualified Domain Name for a specific
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would be its label followed by the labels of all the other
between it and the root of the tree. For example, for a host,
FQDN would include the string that identifies the particular host
plus all domains of which the host is a part up to and
the top-level domain (the root domain is always null).
example, atlas.arc.nasa.gov is a Fully Qualified Domain Name
the host at 128.102.128.50. In addition, arc.nasa.gov is the
for the Ames Research Center (ARC) domain under nasa.gov
6. Questions About Internet
6.1 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 (RFC-EDITOR@ISI.EDU).
RFC Editor is Jon Postel
Most RFCs are the descriptions of network protocols or services
often giving detailed procedures and formats for
implementation. Other RFCs report on the results of
studies or summarize the work of technical committees
workshops. All RFCs are considered public domain
explicitly marked otherwise
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
Please consult RFC 1543, "Instructions to RFC Authors" [10],
further information. RFCs are accessible online in public
files, and a short message is sent to a notification
list indicating the availability of the memo. Requests to
added to 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
User Services Working Group [Page 6]
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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
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 "Internet Official
Standards" [2] memo is the reference for determining the
RFC to refer to for the current specification of each protocol
6.2 How do I obtain RFCs
RFCs are available online at several repositories around
world. For a list of repositories and instructions about how
obtain RFCs from each of the major U.S. ones, send a message
rfc-info@isi.edu. As the text of the message,
"help: ways_to_get_rfcs" (without the quotes).
An example of obtaining RFCs online follows
RFCs can be obtained via FTP from ds.internic.net with
pathname rfc/rfcNNNN.txt (where "NNNN" refers to the number of
RFC). Login using FTP, username "anonymous" and your
address as password. The Directory Services portion of
InterNIC also makes RFCs available via electronic mail, WAIS,
gopher
To obtain RFCs via electronic mail, send a mail message
mailserv@ds.internic.net and include any of the following
in the message body
document-by-name rfcnnnn where 'nnnn' is the RFC
The text version is sent
file /ftp/rfc/rfcnnnn.yyy where 'nnnn' is the RFC number
and 'yyy' is 'txt' or 'ps'.
help to get information on how to
the mailserver
6.3 How do I obtain a list of RFCs
Several sites make an index of RFCs available. These sites
indicated in the ways_to_get_rfcs file mentioned above and in
next question
User Services Working Group [Page 7]
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6.4 What is the RFC-INFO service
The Information Sciences Institute, University of
California (ISI) has a service called RFC-INFO. Even though
is a service, rather than a document, we'll discuss it in
section because it is so closely tied to RFC information
RFC-INFO is an email based service to help in locating
retrieval of RFCs, FYIs, STDs, and IMRs. Users can ask
"lists" of all RFCs and FYIs having certain attributes ("filters")
such as their ID, keywords, title, author, issuing organization
and date. Once an RFC is uniquely identified (e.g., by its
number) it may also be retrieved
To use the service, send email to: RFC-INFO@ISI.EDU with
requests as the text of the message. Feel free to put anything
the SUBJECT, the system ignores it. All input is
independent. Report problems to: RFC-MANAGER@ISI.EDU
To get started, you may send a message to RFC-INFO@ISI.EDU
requests such as in the following examples (without
explanations between brackets):
Help: Help [to get this information
List: FYI [list the FYI notes
List: RFC [list RFCs with window as keyword
in title
keywords:
List: FYI [list FYIs about windows
Keywords:
List: * [list both RFCs and FYIs about windows
Keywords:
List: RFC [list RFCs about ARPANET, ARPA NETWORK
etc.]
title: ARPA*
List: RFC [list RFCs issued by MITRE,
1989-1991]
Organization:
Dated-after: Jan-01-1989
Dated-before: Dec-31-1991
List: RFC [list RFCs obsoleting a given RFC
Obsoletes: RFC0010
List: RFC [list RFCs by authors starting
"Bracken"]
Author: Bracken* [* is a wild card
List: RFC [list RFCs by both Postel and Gillman
Authors: J. Postel [note, the "filters" are ANDed
User Services Working Group [Page 8]
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Authors: R.
List: RFC [list RFCs by any Crocker
Authors:
List: RFC [list only RFCs by S.D. Crocker
Authors: S.D.
List: RFC [list only RFCs by D. Crocker
Authors: D.
Retrieve: RFC [retrieve RFC-822]
Doc-ID: RFC0822 [note, always 4 digits in RFC#]
Help: Manual [to retrieve the long user manual
30+ pages
Help: List [how to use the LIST request
Help: Retrieve [how to use the RETRIEVE request
Help: Topics [list topics for which help is available
Help: Dates ["Dates" is such a topic
List: keywords [list the keywords in use
List: organizations [list the organizations known to
system
6.5 Which RFCs are Standards
See "Internet Official Protocol Standards" (currently RFC 1540)
[2]. This RFC documents the status of each RFC on the
standards track, as well as the status of RFCs of other types.
is updated periodically; make sure you are referring to the
recent version. In addition, the RFC Index maintained at
ds.internic.net repository notes the status of each RFC listed
6.6 What is an FYI
FYI stands for For Your Information. FYIs are a subset of the
series of online documents
FYI 1 states, "The FYI series of notes is designed to
Internet users with a central repository of information about
topics which relate to the Internet. FYI topics may range
historical memos on 'Why it was was done this way' to answers
commonly asked operational questions. The FYIs are intended for
wide audience. Some FYIs will cater to beginners, while
will discuss more advanced topics."
In general, then, FYI documents tend to be more
oriented, while RFCs are usually (but not always) more
oriented
FYI documents are assigned both an FYI number and an RFC number
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As RFCs, if an FYI is ever updated, it is issued again with a
RFC number; however, its FYI number remains unchanged. This
be a little confusing at first, but the aim is to help
identify which FYIs are about which topics. For example, FYI 4
will always be FYI 4, even though it may be updated several
and during that process receive different RFC numbers. Thus,
need only to remember the FYI number to find the proper document
Of course, remembering titles often works as well
FYIs can be obtained in the same way RFCs can and from the
repositories. In general, their pathnames are fyi/fyiNN.txt
fyi/fyiNN.ps, where NN is the number of the FYI without
zeroes
6.7 What is an STD
The newest subseries of RFCs are the STDs (Standards). RFC 1311
[12], which introduces this subseries, states that the intent
STDs is to identify clearly those RFCs that document
standards. An STD number will be assigned only to
specifications that have completed the full process
standardization in the Internet. Existing Internet standards
been assigned STD numbers; a list of them can be found both in
1311 and in the, "Internet Official Protocol Standards" RFC
Like FYIs, once a standard has been assigned an STD number,
number will not change, even if the standard is reworked and re
specified and later issued with a new RFC number
It is important to differentiate between a "standard"
"document". Different RFC documents will always have
RFC numbers. However, sometimes the complete specification for
standard will be contained in more than one RFC document.
this happens, each of the RFC documents that is part of
specification for that standard will carry the same STD number
For example, the Domain Name System (DNS) is specified by
combination of RFC 1034 and RFC 1035; therefore, both of
RFCs are labeled STD 13.
6.8 What is the Internet Monthly Report
The Internet Monthly Report (IMR) communicates online to
Internet community the accomplishments, milestones reached,
problems discovered by the participating organizations.
organizations involved in the Internet provide monthly updates
their activities for inclusion in this report. The IMR is
Internet information purposes only
User Services Working Group [Page 10]
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You can receive the report online by joining the mailing list
distributes the report. Requests to be added or deleted from
Internet Monthly Report list should be sent to "imr
request@isi.edu".
In addition, back issues of the Report are available for
FTP from the host ftp.isi.edu in the in-notes/imr directory,
the file names in the form imryymm.txt, where yy is the last
digits of the year and mm two digits for the month. For example
the July 1992 Report is in the file imr9207.txt
6.9 What is an Internet Draft? Are there any guidelines
for writing one
Internet Drafts (I-Ds) are the current working documents of
IETF. Internet Drafts are generally in the format of an RFC
some key differences
- The Internet Drafts are not RFCs and are not a
document series
- The words INTERNET-DRAFT appear in place of RFC
in the upper left-hand corner
- The document does not refer to itself as an RFC or as
Draft RFC
- An Internet Draft does not state nor imply that it is
proposed standard. To do so conflicts with the role
the IAB, the RFC Editor, and the Internet
Steering Group (IESG).
An Internet Drafts directory has been installed to make
documents available for review and comment by the IETF members
These draft documents that will ultimately be submitted to the
and the RFC Editor to be considered for publishing as RFCs.
Internet Drafts Directories are maintained on several
sites. There are several "shadow" machines which contain the
and Internet Drafts Directories. They are
West Coast (US) Address: ftp.isi.edu (128.9.0.32)
East Coast (US) Address: ds.internic.net (198.49.45.10)
Europe Address: nic.nordu.net (192.36.148.17)
Pacific Rim Address: munnari.oz.au (128.250.1.21)
To access these directories, use anonymous FTP. Login
username "anonymous" and your email address as password (
"guest" if that fails). Once logged in, change to the
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directory with "cd internet-drafts". Internet Draft files
then be retrieved. Once logged in, if you change to the
"ietf", you can retrieve a file called "1id-guidelines.txt",
explains how to write and submit an Internet Draft
6.10 How do I obtain OSI Standards documents
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
American National Standards
11 West 42nd
New York, NY 10036
Telephone: (212) 642-4900
However, the GOSIP specification which covers the use of
protocols within the U.S. Government is available from
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The
text of GOSIP Version 2 is now available from both sites
Online sources
Available through anonymous FTP from osi.ncsl.nist.
(129.6.48.100) as
./pub/gosip/gosip_v2.txt --
./pub/gosip/gosip_v2.txt.Z -- ascii
./pub/gosip/gosip_v2.ps --
./pub/gosip/gosip_v2.ps.Z -- PostScript
Hardcopy source
Standards Processing Coordinator (ADP
National Institute of Standards and
Technology Building, Room B-64
Gaithersburg, MD 20899
(301) 975-2816
User Services Working Group [Page 12]
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7. Questions about Internet Organizations and
7.1 What is the IAB
The Internet Architecture Board (IAB) is concerned with
and policy issues involving the evolution of the
architecture [7]. IAB members are deeply committed to making
Internet function effectively and evolve to meet a large scale
high speed future. The chairman serves a term of two years and
elected by the members of the IAB. The IAB focuses on the TCP/
protocol suite, and extensions to the Internet system to
multiple protocol suites
The IAB performs the following functions
1) Reviews 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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7.2 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 a large open community of network designers
operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with the
and the Internet protocol suite. The activity is performed in
number of working groups organized around a set of
technical areas, each working group has a chair, and each area
managed by a technical area director. The IETF overall is
by its chair and the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG),
which is made up of the area directors
The IAB has delegated to the IESG the general responsibility
the resolution of short- and mid-range protocol and
issues required to make the Internet function effectively, and
development of Internet standards
7.3 What is the IRTF
To promote research in networking and the development of
technology, the IAB established the Internet Research Task
(IRTF). The IRTF is a set of research groups, generally with
Internet focus. The work of the IRTF is governed by its
Research Steering Group (IRSG).
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
7.4 What is the Internet Society
The Internet Society is a relatively new, professional, non-
organization with the general goal of fostering the well-being
continued interest in, and evolution and use of the Internet.
Society (often abbreviated ISOC) is integrating the IAB, IETF,
IRTF functions into its operation
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The following goals of the Society are taken from its charter
A. To facilitate and support the technical evolution
the Internet as a research and education infrastructure
and to stimulate the involvement of the
community, industry, government and others in
evolution of the Internet
B. To educate the scientific community, industry and
public at large concerning the technology, use
application of the Internet
C. To promote educational applications of
technology for the benefit of government, colleges
universities, industry, and the public at large
D. To provide a forum for exploration of new
applications, and to stimulate collaboration
organizations in their operational use of the
Internet
More information about the Internet Society is available
anonymous FTP from the host: isoc.org in the directory: isoc
Information is also available via the ISOC gopher, accessible
"gopher isoc.org" if you are running a gopher client
7.5 What is the IANA
The task of coordinating the assignment of values to
parameters of protocols is delegated by the Internet
Board (IAB) to the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).
These protocol parameters include op-codes, type fields,
types, system names, object identifiers, and so on. The "
Numbers" Request for Comments (RFC) [1] documents the
assigned values from several series of numbers used in
protocol implementations. Internet addresses and
System numbers are assigned by the Registration Services
of the InterNIC. The IANA is located at USC/Information
Institute
Current types of assignments listed in Assigned Numbers
maintained by the IANA are
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Address Resolution Protocol
BOOTP Parameters and BOOTP Extension
Character
Domain System
Encoding Header Field
ESMTP Mail
Ethernet Multicast
Ethernet Numbers of
Ethernet Vendor Address
IANA Ethernet Address
ICMP Type
IEEE 802 Numbers of
Internet Protocol
Internet Version
IP Option
IP Time to Live
IP TOS
Internet Multicast
Inverse Address Resolution
Machine
Mail Encryption
Mail System
Mail Transmission
MILNET X.25 Address
MILNET Logical
MILNET Link
MIME
MIME/X.400 Mapping
Network Management
Novell
Operating System
OSPF Authentication
Point-to-Point Protocol Field
Protocol
Protocol and Service
Protocol/Type Field
Public Data Network
Reverse Address Resolution Protocol Operation
SUN RPC
TCP Option
TCP Alternate Checksum
TELNET
Terminal Type
Version
Well Known and Registered Port
X.25 Type
XNS Protocol
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For more information on number assignments, contact: IANA@ISI.EDU
7.6 What is a NIC? What is a NOC
"NIC" stands for Network Information Center. It is
organization which provides network users with information
services provided by the network
"NOC" stands for Network Operations Center. It is an
that is responsible for maintaining a network
For many networks, especially smaller, local networks,
functions of the NIC and NOC are combined. For larger networks
such as mid-level and backbone networks, the NIC and
organizations are separate, yet they do need to interact to
perform their functions
7.7 What is the InterNIC
The InterNIC is a five year project partially supported by
National Science Foundation to provide network
services to the networking community. The InterNIC
operations in April of 1993 and is a collaborative project
three organizations: General Atomics provides Information
from their location in San Diego, CA; AT&T provides Directory
Database Services from South Plainsfield, NJ; and
Solutions, Inc. provides Registration Services from
headquarters in Herndon, VA. Services are provided via
network electronically, and by telephone, FAX, and
documentation
General Atomics offers Information Services acting as the "NIC
first and last resort" by providing a Reference Desk for new
experienced users, and midlevel and campus NICs. The
Reference Desk offers introductory materials and pointers
network resources and tools
AT&T services include the Directory of Directories,
Services, and Database Services to store data available to
Internet users
Network Solutions, Inc. (NSI) provides Internet
services including IP address allocation, domain registration,
Autonomous System Number assignment. NSI also tracks points
contact for networks and domain servers and provides online
telephone support for questions related to IP address or
name registration
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All three portions of the InterNIC can be reached by calling (800)
444-4345 or by sending a message to info@internic.net.
from outside the U.S. can telephone +1 (619) 445-4600.
online information is available at host is.internic.net
accessible via gopher or TELNET
7.8 What is the DDN NIC (nic.ddn.mil)?
The DDN NIC is the Defense Data Network NIC. Until the
of the InterNIC, the DDN NIC had been responsible for
services to the whole Internet, especially for
services. Now the DDN NIC focuses on serving its
constituency of MILNET users. Its host is nic.ddn.mil;
address hostmaster@nic.ddn.mil may still be in older
registration documentation. The DDN NIC maintains close ties
the newer InterNIC
7.9 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 delegates some
assignment authority to regional registries (such as NCC@RIPE.
and APNIC-STAFF@APNIC.NET). However, it will continue to
data regarding such assignments. At present, the
Services portion of the InterNIC at Network Solutions, Inc.,
serves as the IR
8. Questions About
8.1 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. Many people can be found, however
via the InterNIC WHOIS services, or KNOWBOT. Generally, it
still necessary to ask the person for his or her email address
8.2 How do I use the WHOIS program at the InterNIC
Services
There are several ways to search the WHOIS database. You
TELNET to the InterNIC registration host, rs.internic.net.
is no need to login. Type "whois" to call up the
retrieval program, or choose one of the other options presented
you. Help is available for each option. You can also run
client of the WHOIS server and point it at any whois
you'd like to search. Pointing a client at the whois
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ds.internic.net will enable you to query the databases at
hosts: ds.internic.net, rs.internic.net, and nic.ddn.mil
For more information, contact the InterNIC at (800) 444-4345
the registration services group at (703) 742-4777.
8.3 How do I use the Knowbot Information Service
The Knowbot Information Service is a white pages "meta-service
that provides a uniform interface to heterogeneous white
services in the Internet. Using the Knowbot Information Service
you can form a single query that can search for white
information from the NIC WHOIS service, the PSI White Pages
Project, and MCI Mail, among others, and have the
displayed in a single, uniform format
Currently, the Knowbot Information Service can be accessed
TELNET to port 185 on hosts cnri.reston.va.us
sol.bucknell.edu. From a UNIX host, use "telnet cnri.reston.va.
185". There is also an electronic mail interface available
sending mail to netaddress at either cnri.reston.va.us
sol.bucknell.edu
The commands "help" and "man" summarize the command interface
Simply entering a user name at the prompt searches a default
of Internet directory services for the requested information
Organization and country information can be included through
syntax: "userid@organization.country". For example, the
"droms@bucknell" and "kille@ucl.gb" are both valid. Note
these are not Domain Names, but rather a syntax to specify
organization and a country for the search
8.4 What is the White Pages at PSI
Performance Systems International, Inc. (PSI), sponsors a
Pages Project that collects personnel information from
organizations into a database and provides online access to
data. This effort is based on the OSI X.500 Directory 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 *".
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Access to the White Pages data is also possible via programs
act as X.500 Directory User Agent (DUA) clients
For more information, send a message to WP-INFO@PSI.COM
8.5 What is USENET? What is Netnews
USENET is the formal name, and Netnews a common informal name,
a distributed computer information service that some hosts on
Internet use. USENET handles only news and not mail. USENET
a variety of underlying networks for transport, including parts
the Internet, BITNET, and others. Netnews can be a valuable
to economically transport traffic that would otherwise be sent
mail. USENET has no central administration
8.6 How do I get a Netnews feed
To get a Netnews feed, you must acquire the server software,
is 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.
many cases, this "connection" merely represents additional
over existing Internet access channels
One well-known anonymous FTP archive site for software
information regarding USENET is ftp.uu.net. There is a "news
directory which contains many software distribution
information sub-directories
It is recommended that new users subscribe to and
news.announce.newusers since it will help to become oriented
USENET and the Internet
8.7 What is a newsgroup
A newsgroup is a bulletin board which readers interested in
newsgroup's particular topic can read and respond to
posted by other readers. Generally, there will be a few "threads
of discussion going on at the same time, but they all share
common theme. There are approximately 900 newsgroups, and
are more being added all the time
There are two types of newsgroups: moderated and unmoderated.
moderated newsgroup does not allow individuals to post directly
the newsgroup. Rather, the postings go to the newsgroup'
moderator who determines whether or not to pass the posting to
entire group. An unmoderated newsgroup allows a reader to
directly to the other readers
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8.8 How do I subscribe to a newsgroup
You don't subscribe to a newsgroup. Either you get it on
machine or you don't. If there's one you want, all you can do
ask the systems administrator to try to get it for you
8.9 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". Many systems will request that
password you choose is your email address. If this fails,
generic password is usually "guest".
8.10 What is "archie"?
The archie system was created to automatically track anonymous
archive sites, and this is still its primary function. The
currently makes available the names and locations of
2,100,000 files at some 1,000 archive sites
Archie's User Access component allows you to search the "files
database for these filenames. When matches are found, you
presented with the appropriate archive site name, IP address,
location within the archive, and other useful information
You can also use archie to "browse" through a site's
listing in search of information of interest, or obtain a
list of the archive sites known to that server
The archie server also offers a "package descriptions" (
"whatis") database. This is a collection of names
descriptions gathered from a variety of sources and can be used
identify files located throughout the Internet, as well as
useful information. Files identified in the whatis database
then be found by searching the files database as described above
8.11 How do I connect to archie
You can connect to archie in a variety of ways. There is
conventional TELNET interface, an electronic mail interface, and
variety of client programs available. The use of a client
strongly encouraged. There are currently 22 archie
located throughout the world
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To try the TELNET interface to archie you can TELNET to one of
22 archie servers (preferably the one nearest you, and
non-peak hours). Log in as "archie" (no password is required).
Type "help" to get you started
Here is a list of archie servers as of the date this was written
archie.au* 139.130.4.6
archie.edvz.uni-linz.ac.at* 140.78.3.8
archie.univie.ac.at* 131.130.1.23
archie.uqam.ca* 132.208.250.10
archie.funet.fi 128.214.6.100
archie.th-darmstadt.de* 130.83.22.60
archie.ac.il* 132.65.6.15
archie.unipi.it* 131.114.21.10
archie.wide.ad.jp 133.4.3.6
archie.hana.nm.kr* 128.134.1.1
archie.sogang.ac.kr* 163.239.1.11
archie.uninett.no* 128.39.2.20
archie.rediris.es* 130.206.1.2
archie.luth.se* 130.240.18.4
archie.switch.ch* 130.59.1.40
archie.ncu.edu.tw* 140.115.19.24
archie.doc.ic.ac.uk* 146.169.11.3 United
archie.unl.edu 129.93.1.14 USA (NE
archie.internic.net* 198.48.45.10 USA (NJ
archie.rutgers.edu* 128.6.18.15 USA (NJ
archie.ans.net 147.225.1.10 USA (NY
archie.sura.net* 128.167.254.179 USA (MD
Note: Sites marked with an asterisk "*" run archie version 3.0.
You can obtain details on using the electronic mail interface
sending mail to "archie" at any of the above server hosts.
the word "help" as the text of your message for directions
Questions, comments, and suggestions can be sent to the
development group by sending mail to info@bunyip.com
8.12 What is "gopher"?
The Internet Gopher presents an extremely wide variety of
types of information in an easy to use menu-driven interface
Gopher servers link information from all around the Internet in
manner that can be transparent to the user. (Users can
discover the source of any piece of information, however, if
wish.) For example, gopher links databases of every type
applications, white pages directories, sounds, and pictures
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Some gophers are available via TELNET. Since most gophers
linked to other gophers, if you can get to one, you can get
many. You can, for example, telnet to naic.nasa.gov and use
public gopher
The best way to use the gopher service, as with all client/
type services, is by running your own gopher client. The
Gopher was developed at the University of Minnesota.
information is available for anonymous FTP on the
boombox.micro.umn.edu
8.13 What is the World Wide Web? What is Mosaic
The World Wide Web is a distributed, hypermedia-based
information browser. It presents users with a friendly point
click interface to a wide variety of types of information (text
graphics, sounds, movies, etc.) and Internet services. It
possible to use the Web to access FTP archives, databases,
even gopher servers
The most familiar implementations of the World Wide Web are
Mosaic clients developed by the National Center for
Applications (NCSA). Mosaic software is available online
ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu
8.14 How do I find out about other Internet resource
tools
The field of Internet resource discovery tools is one of the
dynamic on the Internet today. There are several tools
addition to those discussed here that are useful for
or searching Internet resources. The EARN (European Academic
Research Network) Association has compiled an excellent
that introduces many of these services and provides
about how to find out more about them. To obtain the document
send a message to listserv@earncc.bitnet
listserve%earncc.bitnet@cunyvm.cuny.edu. As the text of
message, type "GET filename" where the filename is
"nettools ps" or "nettols memo". The former is in
format. This document is also available for anonymous FTP on
hosts, including naic.nasa.gov, where it is available in
files/general_info directory
earn-resource-tool-guide.ps and earn-resource-tool-guide.txt
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8.15 What is "TELNET"?
The term "TELNET" refers to the remote login that's possible
the Internet because of the TELNET Protocol [9]. The use of
term as a verb, as in "telnet to a host" means to establish
connection across the Internet from one host to another. Usually
you must have an account on the remote host to be able to login
it once you've made a connection. However, some hosts, such
those offering white pages directories, provide public
that do not require a personal account
If your host supports TELNET, your command to connect to a
host would probably be "telnet <hostname>" or "telnet
address>". For example, "telnet rs.internic.net" or "
198.41.0.5".
9. Mailing Lists and Sending
9.1 What is a mailing list
A mailing list is an email address that stands for a group
people rather than for an individual. Mailing lists are
created to discuss specific topics. Anybody interested in
topic, may (usually) join that list. Some mailing lists
membership restrictions, others have message content restrictions
and still others are moderated. Most "public" mailing lists
a second email address to handle administrative matters, such
requests to be added to or deleted from the list.
subscription requests should be sent to the administrative
rather than to the list itself
9.2 How do I contact the administrator of a mailing list
than posting to the entire list
Today there are two main methods used by mailing
adminstrators to handle requests to subscribe or unsubscribe
their lists. The administrative address for many lists has
same name as the list itself, but with "-request" appended to
list name. So, to join the ietf-announce@cnri.reston.va.us list
you would send a message to ietf-announce
request@cnri.reston.va.us. Most often, requests to a "-request
mailbox are handled by a human and you can phrase your request
a normal message
More often today, especially for lists with many readers
administrators prefer to have a program handle routine
administration. Many lists are accessible via LISTSERVE
or other mailing list manager programs. If this is the case,
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administrative address will usually be something
"listserv@host.domain", where the address for the mailing
itself will be "list@host.domain". The same listserve address
handle requests for all mailing lists at that host. When
with a program, your subscription request will often be in
form, "subscribe ListName YourFirstName YourLastName" where
substitute the name of the list for ListName and add your
name at the end
The important thing to remember is that all
messages regarding using, joining, or quitting a list should
sent to the administrative mailbox instead of to the
list so that the readers of the list don't have to read them
9.3 How do I send mail to other networks
Mail to the Internet is addressed in the form user@host.domain
Remember that a domain name can have several components and
name of each host is a node on the domain tree. So, an example
an Internet mail address is june@nisc.sri.com
There are several networks accessible via email from the Internet
but many of these networks do not use the same
conventions the Internet does. Often you must route mail to
networks through specific gateways as well, thus
complicating the address
Here are a few conventions you can use for sending mail from
Internet to three networks with which Internet users
correspond
Internet user to Internet user
username@hostname.subdomain.toplevel
e.g. gsmith@nisc.sri.
Internet user to BITNET user
user%site.BITNET@BITNET-
e.g. gsmith%emoryu1.BITNET@cunyvm.cuny.edu
gsmith%emoryu1@CORNELLC.CIT.CORNELL.
Internet user to UUCP user
user%host.UUCP@uunet.uu.
user%domain@uunet.uu.
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Internet user to SprintMail user
/G=Mary/S=Anderson/O=co.abc/ADMD=SprintMail/C=US/@SPRINT.
-or
/PN=Mary.Anderson/O=co.abc/ADMD=SprintMail/C=US/@SPRINT.
(Case is significant.)
Internet user to CompuServe user
Replace the comma in the CompuServe userid (represented
with x's) with a period, and add the compuserve.com
name
xxxx.xxxx@compuserve.
CompuServe user to Internet user
>Internet:user@
Insert >internet: before an Internet address
Internet user to MCIMail user
accountname@mcimail.
mci_id@mcimail.
full_user_name@mcimail.com
10. Miscellaneous "Internet lore"
10.1 What does :-) mean
In many electronic mail messages, it is sometimes useful
indicate that part of a message is meant in jest. It is
sometimes useful to communicate emotion which simple words do
readily convey. To provide these nuances, a collection of "
faces" has evolved. If you turn your head sideways to the left
:-) appears as a smiling face. Some of the more common faces are
:-) smile :-(
:) also a smile ;-)
:-D laughing 8-) wide-
:-} grin :-X close
:-] smirk :-o oh, no
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10.2 What do "btw", "fyi", "imho", "wrt", and "rtfm" mean
Often common expressions are abbreviated in informal
postings. These abbreviations stand for "by the way", "for
information", "in my humble [or honest] opinion", "with
to", and "read the f*ing manual" (with the "f" word
according to the vehemence of the reader :-).
10.3 What is the "FAQ" list
This list provides answers to "Frequently Asked Questions"
often appear on various USENET newsgroups. The list is
every four to six weeks to the news.announce.newusers group.
is intended to provide a background for new users learning how
use the news. As the FAQ list provide new users with the
to such questions, it helps keep the newsgroups
comparatively free of repetition. Often specific newsgroups
have and frequently post versions of a FAQ list that are
to their topics. The term FAQ has become generalized so that
topic may have its FAQ even if it is not a newsgroup
Here is information about obtaining the USENET FAQs, courtesy
Gene Spafford
Many questions can be answered by consulting the most
postings in the news.announce.newusers and news.lists groups.
those postings have expired from your site, or you do not
news, you can get archived postings from the FTP server on
host rtfm.mit.edu
These archived postings include all the Frequently Asked
posted to the news.answers newsgroups, as well as the most
lists of Usenet newsgroups, Usenet-accessible mailing lists,
moderators, and other Usenet-related information posted to
news.announce.newusers and news.lists groups
To get the material by FTP, log in using anonymous FTP (userid
anonymous and your email address as password).
The archived files, and FAQ files from other newsgroups, are
in the directory
/pub/usenet/news.
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Archived files from news.announce.newusers and news.lists are in
/pub/usenet/news.announce.
/pub/usenet/news.
respectively
To get the information by mail, send an email message to: mail
server@pit-manager.mit.edu containing
send usenet/news.answers/TITLE/
where TITLE is the archive title, and PART is the portion of
posting you want
Send a message containing "help" to get general information
the mail server, including information on how to get a list
archive titles to use in further send commands
11. Suggested
For further information about the Internet and its protocols
general, you may choose to obtain copies of the following works
well as some of the works listed as References
Krol, Ed. (1992) The Whole 