Network Working Group G. Malkin
Request for Comments: 1325 Xylogics
FYI: 4 A. Marine
Obsoletes: RFC 1206 SRI
May 1992
FYI on Questions and Answers
Answers to Commonly asked "New Internet User" Questions
Status of this Memo
This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does
not specify an Internet standard. Distribution of this memo is
unlimited.
Abstract
This FYI RFC is one of two FYI's called, "Questions and Answers"
(Q/A), produced by the User Services Working Group of the Internet
Engineering Task Force (IETF). The goal is to document the most
commonly asked questions and answers in the Internet.
New Questions and Answers
In addition to updating information contained in the previous version
of this FYI RFC, the following new questions have been added:
Questions About the Internet:
How do I get a list of all the hosts on the Internet?
Questions About Internet Documentation:
What is the RFC-INFO service?
What is an FYI?
What is an STD?
What is the Internet Monthly Report?
Questions About Internet Organizations:
What is the Internet Society?
Questions About Internet Services:
What is "archie"?
How do I Connect to archie?
Mailing Lists and Sending Mail
How Do I Send Mail to Other Networks?
User Services Working Group [Page 1]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
Table of Contents
1. Introduction................................................. 2
2. Acknowledgements............................................. 3
3. Questions About the Internet................................. 3
4. Questions About TCP/IP....................................... 5
5. Questions About the Domain Name System....................... 6
6. Questions About Internet Documentation....................... 6
7. Questions about Internet Organizations and Contacts.......... 14
8. Questions About Services..................................... 19
9. Mailing Lists and Sending Mail............................... 23
10. Miscellaneous "Internet lore" questions..................... 27
11. Suggested Reading........................................... 28
12. References.................................................. 29
13. Condensed Glossary.......................................... 30
14. Security Considerations..................................... 42
15. Authors' Addresses.......................................... 42
1. Introduction
New users joining the Internet community have the same questions as
did everyone else who has ever joined. Our quest is to provide the
Internet community with up to date, basic Internet knowledge and
experience, while moving the redundancies away from the electronic
mailing lists so that the lists' subscribers do not have to read the
same queries and answers over and over again.
Future updates of this memo will be produced as User Services members
become aware of additional questions that should be included, and of
deficiencies or inaccuracies that should be amended in this document.
Although the RFC number of this document will change with each
update, it will always have the designation of FYI 4. An additional
FYI Q/A, FYI 7, is published that deals with intermediate and
advanced Q/A topics [11].
The Q/A mailing lists are maintained by Gary Malkin at Xylogics.COM.
They are used by a subgroup of the User Services Working Group to
discuss the Q/A FYIs. They include:
quail@xylogics.com This is a discussion mailing list. Its
primary use is for pre-release review of
the Q/A FYIs. It is not necessary to be
on this list to get the FYI documents.
quail-request@xylogics.com This is how you join and leave the quail
mailing list.
quail-box@xylogics.com This is a write-only list which serves as a
User Services Working Group [Page 2]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
repository for candidate questions and
answers. It is not necessary to be on the
quail mailing list to forward to the
quail-box. Please note that this is not a
place to ask questions to which you don't
know the answers.
2. Acknowledgements
The following people deserve thanks for their help and contributions
to this FYI Q/A: Corinne Carroll (BBN), Vint Cerf (CNRI), Peter
Deutsch (McGill), John Klensin (MIT), Doug Mildram (Xylogics), Tracy
LaQuey Parker (UTexas), Craig Partridge (BBN), Jon Postel (ISI), Matt
Power (MIT), Joyce K. Reynolds (ISI), Karen Roubicek (Faxon),
Patricia Smith (Merit), Gene Spafford (Purdue), and Carol Ward (SRI).
3. Questions About the Internet
What is the Internet?
The Internet is a large collection of networks (all of which run
the TCP/IP protocols) that are tied together so that users of any
of the networks can use the network services provided by TCP/IP to
reach users on any of the other networks. The Internet started
with the ARPANET, but now includes such networks as NSFNET,
NYSERnet, and thousands of others. There are other major wide
area networks, such as BITNET and DECnet networks, that are not
based on the TCP/IP protocols and are thus not part of the
Internet. However, it is possible to communicate between them and
the Internet via electronic mail because of mail gateways that act
as "translators" between the different network protocols involved.
Note: You will often see "internet" with a small "i". This could
refer to any network built based on TCP/IP, or might refer to
networks using other protocol families that are composites built
of smaller networks.
I just got on the Internet. What can I do now?
You now have access to all the resources you are authorized to use
on your own Internet host, on any other Internet host on which you
have an account, and on any other Internet host that offers
publicly accessible information. The Internet gives you the
ability to move information between these hosts via file
transfers. Once you are logged into one host, you can use the
Internet to open a connection to another, login, and use its
services interactively (this is known as remote login or
"TELNETing". In addition, you can send electronic mail to users
User Services Working Group [Page 3]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
at any Internet site and to users on many non-Internet sites that
are accessible via electronic mail.
There are various other services you can use. For example, some
hosts provide access to specialized databases or to archives of
information. The Internet Resource Guide provides information
regarding some of these sites. The Internet Resource Guide lists
facilities on the Internet that are available to users. Such
facilities include supercomputer centers, library catalogs and
specialized data collections. The guide is published by the NSF
Network Service Center (NNSC) and is continuously being updated.
The Resource Guide is distributed free via e-mail (send a note to
resource-guide-request@nnsc.nsf.net to join the e-mail
distribution) and via anonymous FTP (in nnsc.nsf.net:resource-
guide/*). Hardcopy is available at a nominal fee (to cover
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 Electronic
Mail Addressing and Networks" by Donnalyn Frey and Rick Adams;
"The User's Directory of Computer Networks", by Tracy LaQuey; and
"The Matrix: Computer Networks and Conferencing Systems
Worldwide", by John Quarterman.
In addition, it is possible to find some information about
Internet sites in the WHOIS database maintained at the DDN NIC at
Network Solutions, Inc.. The DDN NIC (Defense Data Network,
Network Information Center) provides an information retrieval
interface to the database that is also called WHOIS. To use this
interface, TELNET to NIC.DDN.MIL and type "whois" (carriage
return). No login is necessary. Type "help" at the whois prompt
for more information on using the facility. WHOIS will show many
sites, but may not show every site registered with the DDN NIC
(simply for reasons having to do with how the program is set up to
search the database).
How do I get a list of all the hosts on the Internet?
You really don't want that. The list includes almost 727,000
hosts. Almost all of them require that you have access permission
to actually use them. However, there are many machines which
serve special functions and are available to the public. There is
not yet a definitive list, but below are some available machines.
They are available via telnet.
User Services Working Group [Page 4]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
A geographic information server which provides latitude,
longitude and other statistics about a city.
telnet martini.eecs.umich.edu 3000
The Library of Congress maintains an online catalog.
telnet dra.com
NASA SpaceLink offers latest NASA news including shuttle
launches and satellite updates.
telnet spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov
4. Questions About TCP/IP
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-communications
protocols used to organize computers and data-communications
equipment into computer networks. TCP/IP was developed to
interconnect hosts on ARPANET, PRNET (packet radio), and SATNET
(packet satellite). All three of these networks have since been
retired; but TCP/IP lives on. It is currently used on a large
international network of networks called the Internet, whose
members include universities, other research institutions,
government facilities, and many corporations. TCP/IP is also
sometimes used for other networks, particularly local area
networks that tie together numerous different kinds of computers
or tie together engineering workstations.
What are the other well-known standard protocols
in the TCP/IP family?
Other than TCP and IP, the three main protocols in the TCP/IP
suite are the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) [8], the File
Transfer Protocol (FTP) [3], and the TELNET Protocol [9]. There
are many other protocols in use on the Internet. The Internet
Activities Board (IAB) regularly publishes an RFC [2] that
describes the state of standardization of the various Internet
protocols. This document is the best guide to the current status
of Internet protocols and their recommended usage.
User Services Working Group [Page 5]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
5. Questions About the Domain Name System
What is the Domain Name System?
The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical, distributed method
of organizing the name space of the Internet. The DNS
administratively groups hosts into a hierarchy of authority that
allows addressing and other information to be widely distributed
and maintained. A big advantage to the DNS is that using it
eliminates dependence on a centrally-maintained file that maps
host names to addresses.
What is a Fully Qualified Domain Name?
A Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) is a domain name that
includes all higher level domains relevant to the entity named.
If you think of the DNS as a tree-structure with each node having
its own label, a Fully Qualified Domain Name for a specific node
would be its label followed by the labels of all the other nodes
between it and the root of the tree. For example, for a host, a
FQDN would include the string that identifies the particular host,
plus all domains of which the host is a part up to and including
the top-level domain (the root domain is always null). For
example, PARIS.NISC.SRI.COM is a Fully Qualified Domain Name for
the host at 192.33.33.109. In addition, NISC.SRI.COM is the FQDN
for the NISC domain.
6. Questions About Internet Documentation
What is an RFC?
The Request for Comments documents (RFCs) are working notes of the
Internet research and development community. A document in this
series may be on essentially any topic related to computer
communication, and may be anything from a meeting report to the
specification of a standard. Submissions for Requests for
Comments may be sent to the RFC Editor (RFC-EDITOR@ISI.EDU). The
RFC Editor is Jon Postel.
Most RFCs are the descriptions of network protocols or services,
often giving detailed procedures and formats for their
implementation. Other RFCs report on the results of policy
studies or summarize the work of technical committees or
workshops. All RFCs are considered public domain unless
explicitly marked otherwise.
While RFCs are not refereed publications, they do receive
technical review from either the task forces, individual technical
User Services Working Group [Page 6]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
experts, or the RFC Editor, as appropriate. Currently, most
standards are published as RFCs, but not all RFCs specify
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 1111, "Instructions to RFC Authors" [10], for
further information. RFCs are accessible online in public access
files, and a short message is sent to a notification distribution
list indicating the availability of the memo. Requests to be
added to this distribution list should be sent to RFC-
REQUEST@NIC.DDN.MIL.
The online files are copied by interested people and printed or
displayed at their sites on their equipment. (An RFC may also be
returned via electronic mail in response to an electronic mail
query.) This means that the format of the online files must meet
the constraints of a wide variety of printing and display
equipment.
Once a document is assigned an RFC number and published, that RFC
is never revised or re-issued with the same number. There is
never a question of having the most recent version of a particular
RFC. However, a protocol (such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP))
may be improved and re-documented many times in several different
RFCs. It is important to verify that you have the most recent RFC
on a particular protocol. The "IAB Official Protocol Standards"
[2] memo is the reference for determining the correct RFC to refer
to for the current specification of each protocol.
How do I obtain RFCs?
RFCs are available online at several repositories around the
world. For a list of repositories and instructions about how to
obtain RFCs from each of the major US ones, FTP the file in-
notes/rfc-retrieval.txt from the host ISI.EDU. That host supports
anonymous login. You can also get information about RFC
repositories via electronic mail. Send a message to rfc-
info@isi.edu. In the body of the message, type
"help: ways_to_get_rfcs" (without the quotes).
Two examples of obtaining RFCs online follow.
RFCs can be obtained via FTP from NIC.DDN.MIL, with the pathname
rfc/rfcNNNN.txt (where "NNNN" refers to the number of the RFC).
Login using FTP, username "anonymous" and password "guest".
RFCs can also be obtained via FTP from NIS.NSF.NET. Using FTP,
User Services Working Group [Page 7]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
login with username "anonymous" and password "guest"; then connect
to the RFC directory ("cd RFC"). The file name is of the form
RFCnnnn.TXT-1 (where "nnnn" refers to the number of the RFC). The
NIS also provides an automatic mail service for those sites which
cannot use FTP. Address the request to NIS-INFO@NIS.NSF.NET and
leave the subject field of the message blank. The first line of
the text of the message must be "SEND RFCnnnn.TXT-1", where nnnn
is replaced by the RFC number.
Requests for special distribution should be addressed to either
the author of the RFC in question, to NIC@NIC.DDN.MIL, or to
NISC@NISC.SRI.COM. SRI International operates the
FTP.NISC.SRI.COM online repository of RFCs and other files, and
makes the RFCs available in hardcopy for those people who have
neither FTP nor e-mail access to the Internet. Hardcopy RFCs are
sold by SRI on a cost-recovery basis. In addition, SRI has a
hardcopy subscription service for RFCs, as well as several
publications that incorporate selections of RFCs. Unless
specifically noted otherwise on the RFC itself, all RFCs are for
unlimited distribution.
How do I obtain a list of RFCs?
SRI maintains a file that is an index of the RFCs. It lists each
RFC, starting with the most recent, and for each RFC provides the
number, title, author(s), issue date, and number of hardcopy
pages. In addition, it lists the online formats (PostScript or
ASCII text) for each RFC and the number of bytes each such version
is online. If an RFC is also an FYI, that fact is noted, with the
corresponding FYI number. (There is a parallel FYI Index
available). Finally, the Index notes whether or not an RFC is
obsoleted or updated by another RFC, and gives the number of that
RFC, or if an RFC itself obsoletes or updates another RFC, and
gives that RFC number. The index is updated online each time an
RFC is issued.
This RFC Index is available online for anonymous FTP from the
FTP.NISC.SRI.COM host as rfc/rfc-index.txt. The FYI Index is
online as fyi/fyi-index.txt. They are also available via
electronic mail by sending a message to mail-server@nisc.sri.com.
In the body of the message, say "send rfc-index" or "send fyi-
index" (don't use quotes, but do use lowercase). The RFC Index is
also available from the SRI in hardcopy for $12, as are individual
RFCs. Call SRI at 1-415-859-3695 for help in obtaining the Index.
User Services Working Group [Page 8]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
What is the RFC-INFO service?
The Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern
California (ISI) has announced a service called RFC-Info. Even
though this is a service, rather than a document, we'll discuss it
in this section because it is so closely tied to RFC information.
RFC-Info is an e-mail based service to help in locating and
retrival of RFCs and FYIs. Users can ask for "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 RFC number) it may also
be retrieved.
To use the service send e-mail to RFC-INFO@ISI.EDU with your
requests in the body of the message. Feel free to put anything in
the SUBJECT, the system ignores it. All input is case
independent. Report problems to RFC-MANAGER@ISI.EDU.
To get started, you may send a message to RFC-INFO@ISI.EDU with
requests such as in the following examples (without the
explanations between brackets):
Help: Help [to get this information]
List: FYI [list the FYI notes]
List: RFC [list RFCs with window as keyword or in title]
keywords: window
List: FYI [list FYIs about windows]
Keywords: window
List: * [list both RFCs and FYIs about windows]
Keywords: window
List: RFC [list RFCs about ARPANET, ARPA NETWORK, etc.]
title: ARPA*NET
List: RFC [list RFCs issued by MITRE, dated 1989-1991]
Organization: MITRE
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 with "Bracken"]
Author: Bracken* [* is a wild card matches everything]
List: RFC [list RFCs by both Postel and Gillman]
Authors: J. Postel [note, the "filters" are ANDed]
Authors: R. Gillman
List: RFC [list RFCs by any Crocker]
Authors: Crocker
List: RFC [list only RFCs by S.D. Crocker]
User Services Working Group [Page 9]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
Authors: S.D. Crocker
List: RFC [list only RFCs by D. Crocker]
Authors: D. Crocker
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 the system]
Which RFCs are Standards?
See "IAB Official Protocol Standards" (currently, RFC 1280) [2].
What is an FYI?
FYI stands for For Your Information. FYIs are a subset of the RFC
series of online documents.
FYI 1 states, "The FYI series of notes is designed to provide
Internet users with a central repository of information about any
topics which relate to the Internet. FYI topics may range from
historical memos on operational questions. The FYIs are intended
for a wide audience. Some FYIs will cater to beginners, while
others will discuss more advanced topics."
In general, then, FYI documents tend to be more information
oriented, while RFCs are usually (but not always) more technically
oriented.
FYI documents are assigned both an FYI number and an RFC number.
As RFCs, if an FYI is ever updated, it is issued again with a new
RFC number; however, its FYI number remains unchanged. This can
be a little confusing at first, but the aim is to help users
identify which FYIs are about which topics. For example, FYI 4
will always be FYI 4, even though it may be updated several times
and during that process receive different RFC numbers. Thus, you
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 same
repositories. In general, their pathnames are fyi/fyiNN.txt or
fyi/fyiNN.ps, where NN is the number of the FYI without leading
User Services Working Group [Page 10]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
zeroes.
What is an STD?
The newest subseries of RFCs are the STDs (Standards). RFC 1311
[12], which introduces this subseries, states that the intent of
STDs is to identify clearly those RFCs that document Internet
standards. An STD number will be assigned only to those
specifications that have completed the full process of
standardization in the Internet. Existing Internet standards have
been assigned STD numbers; a list of them can be found both in RFC
1311 and in the IAB Official Protocol Standards RFC.
Like FYIs, once a standard has been assigned an STD number, that
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" and
"document." Different RFC documents will always have different RFC
numbers. However, sometimes the complete specification for a
standard will be contained in more than one RFC document. When
this happens, each of the RFC documents that is part of the
specification for that standard will carry the same STD number.
For example, the Domain Name System (DNS) is specified by the
combination of RFC 1034 and RFC 1035; therefore, both of those
RFCs are labeled STD 13.
What is the Internet Monthly Report?
The Internet Monthly Report communicates online to the Internet
Research Group the accomplishments, milestones reached, or
problems discovered by the participating organizations. Many
organizations involved in the Internet provide monthly updates of
their activities for inclusion in this report.
The Internet Monthly Report is for Internet information purposes
only.
You can receive the report online by joining the mailing list that
distributes the rerpot. Requests to be added or deleted from the
Internet Monthly report list should be sent to "cooper@isi.edu".
In addition, back issues of the Report are available for anonymous
FTP from the host NIS.NSF.NET in the 'imr' directory with the file
names in the form IMRYY-MM.TXT, where YY is the last two digits of
the year and MM two digits for the month. For example, the June
1991 Report is in the file IMR91-06.TXT.
User Services Working Group [Page 11]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
What is an Internet Draft? Are there any guidelines available for
writing one?
Internet Drafts (I-Ds) are the current working documents of the
IETF. Internet Drafts are generally in the format of an RFC with
some key differences:
- The Internet Drafts are not RFCs and are not a numbered
document series.
- The words INTERNET-DRAFT appear in place of RFC XXXX
in the upper left-hand corner.
- The document does not refer to itself as an RFC or as a
Draft RFC.
- An Internet Draft does not state nor imply that it is a
proposed standard. To do so conflicts with the role of
the IAB, the RFC Editor, and the Internet Engineering
Steering Group (IESG).
An Internet Drafts Directory has been installed to make available,
for review and comment by the IETF members, draft documents that
will be submitted ultimately to the IAB and the RFC Editor to be
considered for publishing as an RFC. The Internet Drafts
Directories are maintained primarily at the NSFNET Network Service
Center (NNSC). There are several "shadow" machines which contain
the IETF and Internet Drafts Directories. They are:
NSF Network Service Center: nnsc.nsf.net
DDN NIC: nic.ddn.mil
SRI International: ftp.nisc.sri.com
Pacific Rim: munnari.oz.au
Europe: nic.nordu.net (192.36.148.17)
To access these directories, use anonymous FTP. Login with
username, "anonymous", password, "guest". Once logged in, change
to the directory, "cd internet-drafts". Internet Draft files can
then be retrieved.
For further information on the Internet Drafts of the IETF, or if
you have problems with retrieving Internet Draft documents,
contact Megan Davies (mdavies@nri.reston.va.us) or Greg Vaudreuil
(gvaudre@nri.reston.va.us) for assistance.
User Services Working Group [Page 12]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
How do I obtain OSI Standards documents?
OSI Standards documents are NOT available from the Internet via
anonymous FTP due to copyright restrictions. These are available
from:
Omnicom Information Service
501 Church Street NE
Suite 304
Vienna, VA 22180 USA
Telephone: (800) 666-4266 or (703) 281-1135
Fax: (703) 281-1505
American National Standards Institute
11 West 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036 USA
Telephone: (212) 642-4900
However, the GOSIP specification which covers the use of OSI
protocols within the U.S. Government is available from SRI and
from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
The final text of GOSIP Version 2 is now available from both
sites.
Online sources:
Available through anonymous ftp from osi.ncsl.nist.gov
(129.6.48.100) as:
./pub/gosip/gosip_v2.txt -- ascii
./pub/gosip/gosip_v2.txt.Z -- ascii compressed
./pub/gosip/gosip_v2.ps -- PostScript
./pub/gosip/gosip_v2.ps.Z -- PostScript compressed
Available through anonymous ftp from ftp.nisc.sri.com
(192.33.33.22) as:
netinfo/gosip-v2.txt -- ascii
netinfo/gosip-v2.ps -- PostScript
Hardcopy sources:
Standards Processing Coordinator (ADP)
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Technology Building, Room B-64
Gaithersburg, MD 20899
(301) 975-2816
User Services Working Group [Page 13]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
Network Information Systems Center
SRI International, Room EJ291
333 Ravenswood Ave.
Menlo Park, CA 94025
1-415-859-3695
7. Questions about Internet Organizations and Contacts
What is the IAB?
The Internet Activities Board (IAB) is the coordinating committee
for Internet design, engineering and management [7]. IAB members
are deeply committed to making the Internet function effectively
and evolve to meet a large scale, high speed future. The chairman
serves a term of two years and is elected by the members of the
IAB. The current Chair of the IAB is Lyman Chapin. The IAB
focuses on the TCP/IP protocol suite, and extensions to the
Internet 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, identifying
long-range problems and opportunities,
5) Acts as an international technical policy liaison and
representative for the Internet community, and
6) Resolves technical issues which cannot be treated within
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 a
Steering Group which reports to the IAB through its chairman. For
the most part, a collection of Research or Working Groups carries
out the work program of each Task Force.
User Services Working Group [Page 14]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
All decisions of the IAB are made public. The principal vehicle
by which IAB decisions are propagated to the parties interested in
the Internet and its TCP/IP protocol suite is the Request for
Comments (RFC) note series and the Internet Monthly Report.
What is the IETF?
The Internet has grown to encompass a large number of widely
geographically dispersed networks in academic and research
communities. It now provides an infrastructure for a broad
community with various interests. Moreover, the family of
Internet protocols and system components has moved from
experimental to commercial development. To help coordinate the
operation, management and evolution of the Internet, the IAB
established the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
The IETF is chaired by Phill Gross and managed by its Internet
Engineering Steering Group (IESG). The IETF is a large open
community of network designers, operators, vendors, and
researchers concerned with the Internet and the Internet protocol
suite. It is organized around a set of several technical areas,
each managed by a technical area director. In addition to the
IETF Chairman, the area directors make up the IESG membership.
The IAB has delegated to the IESG the general responsibility for
making the Internet work and for the resolution of all short- and
mid-range protocol and architectural issues required to make the
Internet function effectively.
What is the IRTF?
To promote research in networking and the development of new
technology, the IAB established the Internet Research Task Force
(IRTF).
In the area of network protocols, the distinction between research
and engineering is not always clear, so there will sometimes be
overlap between activities of the IETF and the IRTF. There is, in
fact, considerable overlap in membership between the two groups.
This overlap is regarded as vital for cross-fertilization and
technology transfer.
The IRTF is a community of network researchers, generally with an
Internet focus. The work of the IRTF is governed by its Internet
Research Steering Group (IRSG). The chairman of the IRTF and IRSG
is Jon Postel.
User Services Working Group [Page 15]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
What is the Internet Society?
The Internet Society is a relatively new, professional, non-profit
organization with the general goal of fostering the well-being and
continued interest in, and evolution and use of the Internet. The
Society (often abbreviated ISOC) anticipates that it will
integrate the IAB, IETF, and IRTF functions into its operation.
The following goals of the Society are taken from its charter:
A. To facilitate and support the technical evolution of
the Internet as a research and education infrastructure, and to
stimulate the involvement of the scientific community,
industry, government and others in the evolution of the
Internet;
B. To educate the scientific community, industry and the
public at large concerning the technology, use and application
of the Internet;
C. To promote educational applications of Internet
technology for the benefit of government, colleges and
universities, industry, and the public at large;
D. To provide a forum for exploration of new Internet
applications, and to stimulate collaboration among
organizations in their operational use of the global Internet.
More information about the Internet Society is available for
anonymous FTP from the host NNSC.NSF.NET in the directory isoc.
Here is a list of the files available:
Filename (Topic) Description
index-isoc An index of the isoc directory
announcement Internet Society Announcement
charter Internet Society Charter
inet-conference INET 92 Internet Society Annual Meeting
Announcement and Call for Participation
isoc-advisory-council The Internet Society advisory council
isoc-founding-members List of the Internet Society founding
members
User Services Working Group [Page 16]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
isoc-secretariat Information about the Internet Society
secretariat
isoc-trustees List of the Internet Society trustees
questions-and-answers Internet Society Questions & Answers
by Vint Cerf
membership-organizations Internet Society Organizational
Membership Form
membership-individuals Internet Society Individual Membership
Form
This information is also available via electronic mail via the
NNSC Info-Server. The Info-Server is an automated program that
retrieves information through electronic mail. To receive these
files via the Info-Server, send a mail message to: info-
server@nnsc.nsf.net. In the body of the message, type "Request:
isoc" followed by the topic names of any files you'd like. For
example:
Request: isoc
Topic: inet-conference
Topic: questions-and-answers
Topic: charter
Topic: announcement
Request: end
Notice that the "Topics" for the Info-Server correspond to the
file names used when FTPing.
What is the IANA?
The task of coordinating the assignment of values to the
parameters of protocols is delegated by the Internet Activities
Board (IAB) to the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).
These protocol parameters include op-codes, type fields, terminal
types, system names, object identifiers, and so on. The "Assigned
Numbers" Request for Comments (RFC) [1] documents the currently
assigned values from several series of numbers used in network
protocol implementations. Internet addresses and Autonomous
System numbers are assigned by the Network Information Center at
Network Solutions, Inc. This responsibility has been delegated by
the IANA to the DDN NIC which serves as the Internet Registry.
The IANA is located at USC/Information Sciences Institute.
Current types of assignments listed in Assigned Numbers and
User Services Working Group [Page 17]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
maintained by the IANA are:
Address Resolution Protocol Parameters
ARPANET and MILNET X.25 Address Mappings
ARPANET and MILNET Logical Addresses
ARPANET and MILNET Link Numbers
BOOTP Parameters and BOOTP Extension Codes
Domain System Parameters
IANA Ethernet Address Blocks
Ethernet Numbers of Interest
IEEE 802 Numbers of Interest
Internet Protocol Numbers
Internet Version Numbers
IP Time to Live Parameter
IP TOS Parameters
Machine Names
Mainl Encryption Types
Multicast Addresses
Network Management Parameters
Point-to-Point Protocol Field Assignments
PRONET 80 Type Numbers
Port Assignments
Protocol and Service Names
Protocol/Type Field Assignments
Public Data Network Numbers
Reverse Address Resolution Protocol Operation Codes
TELNET Options
Terminal Type Names
Unix Ports
X.25 Type Numbers
For more information on number assignments, contact IANA@ISI.EDU.
What is a NIC? What is a NOC?
"NIC" stands for Network Information Center. It is an
organization which provides network users with information about
services provided by the network.
"NOC" stands Network Operations Center. It is an organization
that is responsible for maintaining a network.
For many networks, especially smaller, local networks, the
functions of the NIC and NOC are combined. For larger networks,
such as mid-level and backbone networks, the NIC and NOC
organizations are separate, yet they do need to interact to fully
perform their functions.
User Services Working Group [Page 18]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
What is "The NIC"?
"The NIC" usually refers to the Defense Data Network, Network
Information Center (DDN NIC), which is now at Network Solutions,
Inc. The DDN NIC is a network information center that maintains a
repository for RFCs and Internet Drafts. The host name is
NIC.DDN.MIL. Shadow copies of the RFCs and the Internet Drafts
are maintained on several other hosts as well, including
NIS.NSF.NET and FTP.NISC.SRI.COM.
The DDN NIC also provides various user assistance services for DDN
users; contact NIC@NIC.DDN.MIL or call 1-800-365-3642 for more
information. In addition, the DDN NIC is the Internet
registration authority for the root domain and several top and
second level domains; maintains the official DoD Internet Host
Table; is the site of the Internet Registry (IR); and maintains
the WHOIS database of network users, hosts, domains, networks, and
Points of Contact.
This NIC was located for many years at SRI International, so you
may also hear the term "SRI NIC". SRI also maintains an online
information repository and provides general Internet information
services. For example, the SRI Network Information Systems Center
is currently the only site that provides paper copies of the RFCs,
which are made available on a cost recovery basis. Call 415-859-
3695 for more information on this service.
What is the IR?
The Internet Registry (IR) is the organization that is responsible
for assigning identifiers, such as IP network numbers and
autonomous system numbers, to networks. The IR also gathers and
registers such assigned information. The IR may, in the future,
allocate the authority to assign network identifiers to other
organizations; however, it will continue to gather data regarding
such assignments. At present, the DDN NIC at Network Solutions,
Inc., serves as the IR.
8. Questions About Services
How do I find someone's electronic mail address?
There are a number of directories on the Internet; however, all of
them are far from complete. The largest directories are the WHOIS
database at the DDN NIC, the PSInet White Pages, and KNOWBOT.
Generally, it is still necessary to ask the person for his or her
email address.
User Services Working Group [Page 19]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
How do I use the WHOIS program at the DDN NIC?
To use the WHOIS program to search the WHOIS database at the DDN
NIC, TELNET to the NIC host, NIC.DDN.MIL. There is no need to
login. Type "whois" to call up the information retrieval program.
Next, type the name of the person, host, domain, network, or
mailbox for which you need information. If you are only typing
part of the name, end your search string with a period. Type
"help" for a more in-depth explanation of what you can search for
and how you can search. If you have trouble, send a message to
NIC@NIC.DDN.MIL or call 1-800-365-3642.
How do I become registered in the DDN NIC's WHOIS database?
If you would like to be listed in the WHOIS database, you must
have an electronic mailbox accessible from the Internet. First
obtain the file netinfo/user-template.txt. You can retrieve this
file via anonymous FTP from NIC.DDN.MIL.
Fill out the name and address information requested in the file
and return it to REGISTRAR@NIC.DDN.MIL. Your application will be
processed and you will be added to the database. Unless you are
an official Point of Contact for a network entity registered at
the DDN NIC, the DDN NIC will not regularly poll you for updates,
so you should remember to send corrections to your information as
your contact data changes.
How do I use the White Pages at PSI?
Performance Systems International, Inc. (PSI), sponsors a White
Pages Pilot Project that collects personnel information from
member organizations into a database and provides online access to
that 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" (no
password is necessary). You may now look up information on
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" will
provide information regarding how to find references to people.
For a list of the organizations that are participating in the
pilot project by providing information regarding their members,
type "whois -org *".
For more information, send a message to WP-INFO@PSI.COM.
User Services Working Group [Page 20]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
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 pages
services in the Internet. Using the Knowbot Information Service,
you can form a single query that can search for white pages
information from the NIC WHOIS service, the PSI White Pages Pilot
Project, and MCI Mail, among others, and have the responses
displayed in a single, uniform format.
Currently, the Knowbot Information Service can be accessed through
TELNET to port 185 on hosts nri.reston.va.us and sol.bucknell.edu.
From a UNIX host, use "telnet nri.reston.va.us 185". There is
also an electronic mail interface avaliable by sending mail to
netaddress at either nri.reston.va.us or sol.bucknell.edu.
The commands "help" and "man" summarize the command interface.
Simply entering a user name at the prompt searches a default list
of Internet directory services for the requested information.
Organization and country information can be included thorgh the
syntax: "userid@organization.country". For example, the queries
"droms@bucknell" and "kille@ucl.gb" are both valid. Note that
these are not Domain Names, but rather a syntax to specify an
organization and a country for the search.
The default list of directory services currently includes the
whois services at the DDN NIC and the white pages service for
MCIMail. If an organization is specified, the PSI X.500 service
is also searched. Other services can be requested explicitly.
What is USENET? What is Netnews?
USENET is the formal name, and Netnews a common informal name, for
a distributed computer information service that some hosts on the
Internet use. USENET handles only news and not mail. USENET uses
a variety of underlying networks for transport, including parts of
the Internet, UUCP, BITNET, and others. USENET is not part of the
Internet proper. Netnews can be a valuable tool to economically
transport traffic that would otherwise be sent via mail. USENET
has no central administration.
How do I get on USENET?
To get on USENET, you must acquire the software, which is
available for some computers at no cost from some anonymous FTP
sites across the Internet, and you must find an existing USENET
site that is willing to support a connection to your computer. In
many cases, this "connection" merely represents additional traffic
User Services Working Group [Page 21]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
over existing Internet access channels.
One well-known anonymous FTP archive site for software and
information regarding USENET is ftp.uu.net. There is a "news"
directory which contains many software distribution and
information sub-directories.
It is recommended that new users subscribe to and read
news.announce.newusers since it will help to become oriented to
USENET and the Internet.
What is anonymous FTP?
Anonymous FTP is a conventional way of allowing you to sign on to
a computer on the Internet and copy specified public files from it
[3]. Some sites offer anonymous FTP to distribute software and
various kinds of information. You use it like any FTP, but the
username is "anonymous". Many systems will allow any password and
request that the password you choose is your userid. If this
fails, the generic password is usually "guest".
What is "archie"?
The archie system was created by a group at McGill University in
Montreal to automatically track anonymous FTP archive sites, and
this is still its primary function. The system curently makes
available the names and locations of some 1,500,000 files at some
900 archive sites.
Archie's User Access component allows you to search the "files"
database for these filenames. When matches are found, you are
presented with the appropriate archive site name, IP address, the
location within the archive, and other useful information.
You can also use archie to "browse" through a site's complete
listing in search of information of interest, or obtain a complete
list of the archive sites known to that server.
The archie server also offers a "package descriptions" (or
"whatis") database. This is a collection of names and descriptions
gathered from a variety of sources and can be used to identify
files located throughout the Internet, as well as other useful
information. Files identified in the whatis database can then be
found by searching the files database as described above.
Additional databases are planned for the coming months.
User Services Working Group [Page 22]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
How do I connect to archie?
You can connect to archie in a variety of ways. There is a
conventional TELNET interface, an electronic mail interface, and a
variety of client programs available. There are currently nine
archie servers located throughout the world.
To try the TELNET interface to archie you can TELNET to the host
ARCHIE.MCGILL.CA and login as user "archie" (there is no password
required). Type "help" to get you started. The "servers" command
can be used to locate an archie server closer to your site. Using
an archie server closer to you relieves some of the load on the
McGill host.
You can obtain details on using the electronic mail interface by
sending mail to "archie@archie.mcgill.ca" with the word "help" in
either the subject or body of the message.
Documentation on archie is available for anonymous ftp from
ARCHIE.MCGILL.CA in the subdirectory "archie/doc". A variety of
archie client programs are available in the subdirectory
"archie/clients". Questions, comments, and suggestions can be
sent to the archie development group by sending mail to "archie-
group@archie.mcgill.ca".
What is "TELNET"?
The term "TELNET" refers to the remote login that's possible on
the Internet because of the TELNET Protocol [9]. The use of this
term as a verb, as in "telnet to a host" means to establish a
connection across the Internet from one host to another. Usually,
you must have an account on the remote host to be able to login to
it once you've made a connection. However, some hosts, such as
those offering white pages directories, provide public services
that do not require a personal account.
9. Mailing Lists and Sending Mail
What is a mailing list?
A mailing list is really nothing more than an alias that has
multiple destinations. Mailing lists are usually created to
discuss specific topics. Anybody interested in that topic, may
(usually) join that list. Some mailing lists have membership
restrictions, others have message content restrictions, and still
others are moderated. Most large, "public" mailing lists, such as
IETF and TCP-IP, have an additional mail address to which requests
to be added or deleted may be sent. Usually, these are of the
User Services Working Group [Page 23]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
form listname-request.
There is a "list-of-lists" file available on the host
ftp.nisc.sri.com that lists most of the major mailing lists,
describes their primary topics, and explains how to subscribe to
them. The file is available for anonymous ftp in the netinfo
directory as interest-groups (that is, the path is:
netinfo/interest-groups). It can also be obtained via electronic
mail. Send a message to mail-server@nisc.sri.com with the body of
the message reading, "Send netinfo/interest-groups" and the file
will be returned in moderate size pieces via electronic mail.
How do I contact the administrator of a mailing list rather than
posting to the entire list?
For every mailing list mentioned in the "interest-groups" file,
there is a description of how to join the list or send other such
administrative messages to the person in charge of the list. In
general, however, it is usually safe to assume that you can send a
message to an address in the format of ListName-request@domain.
The convention of having a parallel mailbox conforming to the "-
request" format is very widely followed. All administrative
messages regarding using, joining, or quitting the list should be
sent to that mailbox instead of to the whole list so that the
readers of the list don't have to read them.
What are some good mailing lists?
The TCP-IP, IETF, and RFC Distribution lists are primary lists for
new Internet users who desire further information about current
and emerging developments in the Internet. The first two lists
are unmoderated discussion lists, and the latter is an
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.MIL
How do I subscribe to the IETF mailing list?
To be added to the IETF mailing list, send a message to:
IETF-REQUEST@ISI.EDU
User Services Working Group [Page 24]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
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.MIL
Note that all announcements to this list are also sent to the IETF
list. So, if you are on the IETF list, you don't need to be on
this list, too.
How do I send mail to other networks?
Mail to the Internet is addressed in the form user@domain.
Remember that a domain name can have several components and the
name of each host is a node on the domain tree. So, an example of
an Internet mail address is june@nisc.sri.com.
There are several networks accessible via e-mail from the
Internet, but many of these networks do not use the same
addressing conventions the Internet does. Often you must route
mail to these networks through specific gateways as well, thus
further complicating the address.
Here are a few conventions you can use for sending mail from the
Internet to three networks with which Internet users often
correspond.
Internet user to Internet user:
username@hostname.subdomain.toplevel domain
e.g. gsmith@nisc.sri.COM
Internet user to BITNET user:
user%site.BITNET@BITNET-GATEWAY
e.g. gsmith%emoryu1.BITNET@cunyvm.cuny.edu.
gsmith%emoryu1@CORNELLC.CIT.CORNELL.EDU
Internet user to UUCP user:
user%host.UUCP@uunet.uu.net
user%domain@uunet.uu.net
User Services Working Group [Page 25]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
Internet user to SprintMail user:
/G=Mary/S=Anderson/O=co.abc/ADMD=SprintMail/C=US/@SPRINT.COM
-or-
/PN=Mary.Anderson/O=co.abc/ADMD=SprintMail/C=US/@SPRINT.COM
(Case is significant.)
Internet user to CompuServe user:
Replace the comma in the CompuServe userid (represented
here
with x's) with a period, and add the compuserve.com
domain name.
CompuServe user to Internet user:
>Internet:user@host Insert >internet: before an
Internet address.
Internet user to MCIMail user:
accountname@mcimail.com
mci_id@mcimail.com
full_user_name@mcimail.com.
What is a newsgroup?
A newsgroup is a bulletin board which readers, interested in that
newsgroup's particular topic, can read and respond to messages
posted by other readers. Generally, there will be a few "threads"
of discussion going on at the same time, but they all share some
common theme. There are approximately 900 newsgroups, and there
are more being added all the time.
There are two types of newsgroups: moderated and unmoderated. A
moderated newsgroup does not allow individuals to post directly to
the newsgroup. Rather, the postings go to the newsgroup's
moderator who determines whether or not to pass the posting to the
entire group. An unmoderated newsgroup allows a reader to post
directly to the other readers.
How do I subscribe to a newsgroup?
You don't subscribe to a newsgroup. Either you get it on your
machine or you don't. If there's one you want, all you can do is
ask the systems administrator to try to get it for you. The same
is true for creating newsgroups.
User Services Working Group [Page 26]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
10. Miscellaneous "Internet lore" questions
What does :-) mean?
In many electronic mail messages, it is sometimes useful to
indicate that part of a message is meant in jest. It is also
sometimes useful to communicate emotion which simple words do not
readily convey. To provide these nuances, a collection of "smiley
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 :-( frown
:) also a smile ;-) wink
:-D laughing 8-) wide-eyed
:-} grin :-X close mouthed
:-] smirk :-o oh, no!
What do "btw", "fyi", "imho", "wrt", and "rtfm" mean?
Often commmon expressions are abbreviated in informal network
postings. These abbreviations stand for "by the way", "for your
information", "in my humble [or honest] opinion", "with respect
to", and "read the f*ing manual" (with the "f" word varying
according to the vehemence of the reader).
What is the "FAQ" list?
This list provides answers to "Frequently Asked Questions" that
often appear on various USENET newsgroups. The list is posted
every four to six weeks to the news.announce.newusers group. It
is intended to provide a background for new users learning how to
use the news. As the FAQ list provide new users with the answers
to such questions, it helps keep the newsgroups themselves
comparatively free of repetition. Often specific newsgroups will
have and frequently post versions of a FAQ list that are specific
to their topics.
Other information is also routinely posted. Here are the subject
lines of several general information postings provided on USENET:
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions (the "FAQ" list)
Introduction to news.announce
What is Usenet?
Rules for posting to Usenet
User Services Working Group [Page 27]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
How to Create a New Newsgroup
How to Create a New Trial Newsgroup
A Primer on How to Work With the Usenet Community
Emily Postnews Answers Your Questions on Netiquette
Hints on writing style for Usenet
USENET Software: History and Sources
List of Active Newsgroups
Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies, Part I
Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies, Part II
How to Construct the Mailpaths File
Regional Newsgroup Hierarchies, Part I
Regional Newsgroup Hierarchies, Part II
Regional Newsgroup Hierarchies, Part III
List of Moderators
Publicly Accessible Mailing Lists, Part I
Publicly Accessible Mailing Lists, Part II
Publicly Accessible Mailing Lists, Part III
List of Periodic Informational Postings
How to Get Information about Networks
A Guide to Social Newsgroups and Mailing Lists
All of these articles are normally archived for FTP access on
pit-manager.mit.edu in /pub/usenet/news.announce.newusers.
11. Suggested Reading
For further information about the Internet and its protocols in
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 Internetworking
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.
User Services Working Group [Page 28]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
12. References
[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 1280,
Internet Activities Board, March 1992.
[3] Postel, J., and J. Reynolds, "File Transfer Protocol (FTP), RFC
959, USC/Information Sciences Institute, October 1985.
[4] Postel, J., "Internet Protocol - DARPA Internet Program Protocol
Specification", RFC 791, DARPA, September 1981.
[5] Postel, J., "Transmission Control Protocol - DARPA Internet
Program Protocol Specification", RFC 793, DARPA, September 1981.
[6] Leiner, B., R. Cole, J. Postel, and D. Mills, "The DARPA Internet
Protocol Suite", IEEE INFOCOM85, Washington D.C., March 1985.
Also in IEEE Communications Magazine, March 1985. Also as
ISI/RS-85-153.
[7] Cerf, V., "The Internet Activities Board" RFC 1160, CNRI, May
1990.
[8] Postel, J., "Simple Mail Transfer Protocol", RFC 821,
USC/Information Sciences Institute, August 1982.
[9] Postel, J., and J. Reynolds, "TELNET Protocol Specification", RFC
854, USC/Information Sciences Institute, May 1983.
[10] Postel, J., "Request for Comments on Request for Comments -
Instructions to RFC Authors", RFC 1111, USC/Information Sciences
Institute, August 1989.
[11] Malkin, G., A. Marine, and J. Reynolds, "FYI on Questions and
Answers: Answers to Commonly Asked 'Experienced Internet User'
Questions", FYI 7, RFC 1207, FTP Software, SRI, USC/Information
Sciences Institute, February 1991.
[12] Postel, J., "Introduction to the STD Notes", RFC 1311,
USC/Information Sciences Institute, March 1992.
User Services Working Group [Page 29]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
13. Condensed Glossary
As with any profession, computers have a particular terminology all
their own. Below is a condensed glossary to assist in making some
sense of the Internet world.
ACM Association for Computing Machinery
A group established in 1947 to promote professional
development and research on computers.
address There are two separate uses of this term in internet
networking: "electronic mail address" and "internet
address". An electronic mail address is the string
of characters that you must give an electronic mail
program to direct a message to a particular person.
See "internet address" for its definition.
AI Artificial Intelligence
The branch of computer science which deals with the
simulation of human intelligence by computer systems.
AIX Advanced Interactive Executive
IBM's version of Unix.
ANSI American National Standards Institute
A group that certifies organizations which develop U.S.
standards for the information processing industry. ANSI
accredited groups participate in defining network protocol
standards.
ARP Address Resolution Protocol
An Internet protocol which runs on Ethernet and all IEEE
802.X LANs which maps internet addresses to MAC addresses.
ARPA Advanced Research Projects Agency
The former name of what is now called DARPA.
ARPANET Advanced Research Projects Agency Network
A pioneering long haul network funded by ARPA. It
served as the basis for early networking research as
well as a central backbone during the development of
the Internet. The ARPANET consisted of individual
packet switching computers interconnected by leased lines.
AS Autonomous System
A collection of gateways (routers) under a single
administrative authority using a common Interior Gateway
Protocol for routing packets.
User Services Working Group [Page 30]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
ASCII American (National) Standard Code for Information Interchange
B Byte
One character of information, usually eight bits wide.
b bit - binary digit
The smallest amount of information which may be stored
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 Coordination
and Information Center (CIC), and NSFNET Network
Service Center (NNSC).
BITNET Because It's Time Network
BITNET has about 2,500 host computers, primarily at
universities, in many countries. It is managed by
EDUCOM, which provides administrative support and
information services. There are three
main constituents of the network: BITNET in the United
States and Mexico, NETNORTH in Canada, and EARN in
Europe. There are also AsiaNet, in Japan, and
connections in South America. See CREN.
bps bits per second
A measure of data transmission speed.
BSD Berkeley Software Distribution
Term used when describing different versions
of the Berkeley UNIX software, as in "4.3BSD
UNIX".
catenet A network in which hosts are connected to networks
with varying characteristics, and the networks
are interconnected by gateways (routers). The
Internet is an example of a catenet.
CCITT International Telegraph and Telephone
Consultative Committee
core gateway
Historically, one of a set of gateways (routers)
operated by the Internet Network Operations Center
at BBN. The core gateway system forms a central part
User Services Working Group [Page 31]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
of Internet routing in that all groups had to advertise
paths to their networks from a core gateway.
CREN The Corporation for Research and Educational Networking
BITNET and CSNET have recently merged to form CREN.
CSNET Computer + Science Network
A large data communications network for institutions doing
research in computer science. It uses several different
protocols including some of its own. CSNET sites include
universities, research laboratories, and commercial
companies. See CREN.
DARPA U.S. Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
The government agency that funded the ARPANET and later
started the Internet.
Datagram
A self-contained, independent entity of data carrying
sufficient information to be routed from the source
to the destination data terminal equipment without
reliance on earlier exchanges between this source
and destination data terminal equipment and the
transporting network.
DCA Defense Communications Agency
Former name of the Defense Information Systems Agency
(DISA). See DISA.
DDN Defense Data Network
Comprises the MILNET and several other DoD networks.
DDN NIC The network information center at Network Solutions, Inc.
It is the primary repository for RFCs and Internet Drafts,
as well as providing other services.
DEC Digital Equipment Corporation
DECnet Digital Equipment Corporation network
A networking protocol for DEC computers and network devices.
default route
A routing table entry which is used to direct any data
addressed to any network numbers not explicitly listed
in the routing table.
User Services Working Group [Page 32]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
DISA Defense Information Systems Agency
Formerly called DCA, this is the government agency
responsible for installing the Defense Data Network
(DDN) portion of the Internet, including the MILNET
lines and nodes. Currently, DISA administers the
DDN, and supports the user assistance services of the
DDN NIC.
DNS The Domain Name System is a mechanism used in
the Internet for translating names of host computers
into addresses. The DNS also allows host computers
not directly on the Internet to have registered
names in the same style, but returns the electronic
mail gateway which accesses the non-Internet network
instead of an IP address.
DOD U.S. Department of Defense
DOE U.S. Department of Energy
dot address (dotted address notation)
Dot address refers to the common notation for Internet
addresses of the form A.B.C.D; where each letter represents,
in decimal, one byte of the four byte IP address.
Dynamic Adaptive Routing
Automatic rerouting of traffic based on a sensing and analysis
of current actual network conditions. NOTE: this does not
include cases of routing decisions taken on predefined
information.
EARN European Academic Research Network
EBCDIC Extended Binary-coded Decimal Interchange Code
EGP Exterior Gateway Protocol
A protocol which distributes routing information to the
gateways (routers) which connect autonomous systems.
Ethernet
A network standard for the hardware and data link levels.
There are two types of Ethernet: Digital/Intel/Xerox (DIX)
and IEEE 802.3.
FDDI Fiber Distributed Data Interface
FDDI is a high-speed (100Mb) token ring LAN.
User Services Working Group [Page 33]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
FIPS Federal Information Processing Standard
FTP File Transfer Protocol
The Internet standard high-level protocol for
transferring files from one computer to another.
gateway See router
GB Gigabyte
A unit of data storage size which represents 10^9 (one
billion) characters of information.
Gb Gigabit
10^9 bits of information (usually used to express a
data transfer rate; as in, 1 gigabit/second = 1Gbps).
GNU Gnu's Not UNIX
A UNIX-compatible operating system developed by the
Free Software Foundation.
header The portion of a packet, preceding the actual data,
containing source and destination addresses and
error-checking fields.
host number
The part of an internet address that designates which
node on the (sub)network is being addressed.
HP Hewlett-Packard
I/O Input/Output
IAB Internet Activities Board
The IAB is the coordinating committee for Internet
design, engineering and management.
IBM International Business Machines Corporation
ICMP Internet Control Message Protocol
ICMP is an extension to the Internet Protocol. It
allows for the generation of error messages,
test packets and informational messages related to IP.
IEEE Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers
User Services Working Group [Page 34]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
IETF Internet Engineering Task Force
The IETF is a large open community of network designers,
operators, vendors, and researchers whose purpose is to
coordinate the operation, management and evolution of
the Internet, and to resolve short- and mid-range
protocol and architectural issues. It is a major source
of proposed protocol standards which are submitted to the
Internet Activities Board for final approval. The IETF
meets three times a year and extensive minutes of the
plenary proceedings are issued.
internet
internetwork
Any connection of two or more local or wide-area networks.
Internet
The global collection of interconnected local, mid-level and
wide-area networks which use IP as the network layer
protocol.
internet address
An assigned number which identifies a host in an internet.
It has two or three parts: network number, optional subnet
number, and host number.
IP Internet Protocol
The network layer protocol for the Internet. It is a packet
switching, datagram protocol defined in RFC 791.
IRTF Internet Research Task Force
The IRTF is a community of network researchers,
generally with an Internet focus. The work of the IRTF
is governed by its Internet Research Steering Group (IRSG).
ISO International Organization for Standardization
KB Kilobyte
A unit of data storage size which represents 10^3
(one thousand) characters of information.
Kb Kilobit
10^3 bits of information (usually used to express a
data transfer rate; as in, 1 kilobit/second = 1Kbps = 1Kb).
User Services Working Group [Page 35]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
LAN Local Area Network
A network that takes advantage of the proximity of computers
to offer relatively efficient, higher speed communications
than long-haul or wide-area networks.
LISP List Processing Language
A high-level computer language invented by Professor John
McCarthy in 1961 to support research into computer based
logic, logical reasoning, and artificial intelligence. It
was the first symbolic (as opposed to numeric) computer
processing language.
MAC Medium Access Control
For broadcast networks, it is the method which devices use
to determine which device has line access at any given
time.
Mac Apple Macintosh computer.
MAN Metropolitan Area Network
MB Megabyte
A unit of data storage size which represents
10^6 (one million) characters of information.
Mb Megabit
10^6 bits of information (usually used to express a
data transfer rate; as in, 1 megabit/second = 1Mbps).
MILNET Military Network
A network used for unclassified military production
applications. It is part of the DDN and the Internet.
MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MTTF Mean Time to Failure
The average time between hardware breakdown or loss of
service. This may be an empirical measurement or a
calculation based on the MTTF of component parts.
MTTR Mean Time to Recovery (or Repair)
The average time it takes to restore service after a
breakdown or loss. This is usually an empirical measurement.
MVS Multiple Virtual Storage
An IBM operating system based on OS/1.
User Services Working Group [Page 36]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NBS National Bureau of Standards
Now called NIST.
network number
The part of an internet address which designates the
network to which the addressed node belongs.
NFS Network File System
A network service that lets a program running on one
computer to use data stored on a different computer on
the same internet as if it were on its own disk.
NIC Network Information Center
An organization which provides network users with
information about services provided by the network.
NOC Network Operations Center
An organization that is responsible for maintaining
a network.
NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology
Formerly NBS.
NSF National Science Foundation
NSFNET National Science Foundation Network
The NSFNET is a highspeed "network of networks" which is
hierarchical in nature. At the highest level is a
backbone network currently comprising 16 nodes connected
to a 45Mbps facility which spans the continental United
States. Attached to that are mid-level networks and
attached to the mid-levels are campus and local
networks. NSFNET also has connections out of the U.S.
to Canada, Mexico, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. The
NSFNET is part of the Internet.
NSFNET Mid-level Level Network
A network connected to the highest level of the NSFNET that
covers a region of the United States. It is to mid-level
networks that local sites connect. The mid-level networks
were once called "regionals".
OSI Open Systems Interconnection
A set of protocols designed to be an international standard
method for connecting unlike computers and networks. Europe
has done most of the work developing OSI and will probably
User Services Working Group [Page 37]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
use it as soon as possible.
OSI Reference Model
An "outline" of OSI which defines its seven layers and
their functions. Sometimes used to help describe other
networks.
OSPF Open Shortest-Path First Interior Gateway Protocol
A proposed replacement for RIP. It addresses some
problems of RIP and is based upon principles that have
been well-tested in non-internet protocols. Originally
acronymed as OSPFIGP.
packet The unit of data sent across a packet switching network.
The term is used loosely. While some Internet
literature uses it to refer specifically to data sent
across a physical network, other literature views
the Internet as a packet switching network
and describes IP datagrams as packets.
PC Personal Computer
PCNFS Personal Computer Network File System
PPP Point-to-Point Protocol
The Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) provides a method for
transmitting datagrams over serial point-to-point links.
protocol
A formal description of message formats and the rules
two computers must follow to exchange those messages.
Protocols can describe low-level details of
machine-to-machine interfaces (e.g., the order in
which bits and bytes are sent across a wire)
or high-level exchanges between allocation
programs (e.g., the way in which two programs
transfer a file across the Internet).
RFC The Internet's Request for Comments documents series
The RFCs are working notes of the Internet research and
development community. A document in this series may be on
essentially any topic related to computer communication, and
may be anything from a meeting report to the specification of
a standard.
User Services Working Group [Page 38]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
RIP Routing Information Protocol
One protocol which may be used on internets simply to pass
routing information between gateways. It is used on many
LANs and on some of the NSFNET intermediate level networks.
RJE Remote Job Entry
The general protocol for submitting batch jobs and
retrieving the results.
router A special-purpose dedicated computer that attaches to
two or more networks and routes packets from one
network to the other. In particular, an Internet
router forwards IP datagrams among the networks it
connects. Gateways route packets to other
gateways until they can be delivered to the final
destination directly across one physical network.
RPC Remote Procedure Call
An easy and popular paradigm for implementing the
client-server model of distributed computing.
server A computer that shares its resources, such as printers
and files, with other computers on the network. An
example of this is a Network Files System (NFS)
Server which shares its disk space with one or more
workstations that may not have local disk drives of
their own.
SLIP Serial Line Internet Protocol
SLIP is currently a defacto standard, commonly used for
point-to-point serial connections running TCP/IP. It is
not an Internet standard but is defined in RFC 1055.
SMTP Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
The Internet standard protocol for transferring
electronic mail messages from one computer to another.
SMTP specifies how two mail systems interact and the
format of control messages they exchange to transfer mail.
SNA System Network Architecture
IBM's data communications protocol.
SNMP Simple Network Management Protocol
The Simple Network Management Protocol (RFC 1157) is the
Internet's standard for remote monitoring and management
of hosts, routers and other nodes and devices on a network.
User Services Working Group [Page 39]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
subnet A portion of a network, which may be a physically independent
network, which shares a network address with other portions
of the network and is distinguished by a subnet number. A
subnet is to a network what a network is to an internet.
subnet number
A part of the internet address which designates a subnet.
It is ignored for the purposes internet routing, but is
used for intranet routing.
T1 A term for a digital carrier facility used to transmit a
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 Protocol
A transport layer protocol for the Internet. It is a
connection oriented, stream protocol defined by RFC 793.
TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
This is a common shorthand which refers to the suite
of application and transport protocols which run over IP.
These include FTP, TELNET, SMTP, and UDP (a transport
layer protocol).
Telenet A public packet-switching network operated by US Sprint.
Also known as "SprintNet".
TELNET The Internet standard protocol for remote terminal
connection service. TELNET allows a user at one site
to interact with a remote timesharing system at
another site as if the user's terminal was connected
directly to the remote computer.
Token Ring
A type of LAN. Examples are IEEE 802.5, ProNET-10/80 and
FDDI. The term "token ring" is often used to denote 802.5
Tymnet A public character-switching/packet-switching network
operated by British Telecom.
UDP User Datagram Protocol
A transport layer protocol for the Internet. It is a
datagram protocol which adds a level of reliability and
multiplexing to IP datagrams. It is defined in RFC 768.
User Services Working Group [Page 40]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
ULTRIX UNIX-based operating system for Digital Equipment Corporation
computers.
UNIX An operating system developed by Bell Laboratories that
supports multiuser and multitasking operations.
UUCP UNIX-to-UNIX Copy Program
A protocol used for communication between consenting
UNIX systems.
VMS Virtual Memory System
A Digital Equipment Corporation operating system.
WAN Wide Area Network
WHOIS An Internet program which allows users to query a database of
people and other Internet entities, such as domains,
networks, and hosts, kept at the DDN NIC. The information for
people shows a person's company name, address, phone number
and email address.
XNS Xerox Network System
A data communications protocol suite developed by Xerox. It
uses Ethernet to move the data between computers.
X.25 A data communications interface specification developed to
describe how data passes into and out of public data
communications networks. The public networks such as
Sprintnet and Tymnet use X.25 to interface to customer
computers.
User Services Working Group [Page 41]RFC 1325 FYI Q/A - for New Internet Users May 1992
14. Security Considerations
Security issues are not discussed in this memo.
15. Authors' Addresses
Gary Scott Malkin
Xylogics, Inc.
53 Third Avenue
Burlington, MA 01803
Phone: (617) 272-8140
EMail: gmalkin@Xylogics.COM
April N. Marine
SRI International
Network Information Systems Center
333 Ravenswood Avenue, EJ294
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Phone: (415) 859-5318
EMail: april@nisc.sri.com
User Services Working Group [Page 42]
