Network Working Group
`Request for Comments: 1739
`Category; Informational
`
`G. Kessler
`S. Shepard
`Hill Associates,
`Inc.
`December 1994
`
`A Primer On Internet and TCP/IP Tools
`
`Status of this Memo
`
`This memo provides information for the Internet community. This memo
`does not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of
`this memo is unlimited.
`
`Table of Contents
`
`2
`Introduction ..................................................
`1
`2
`2. A Beginner’s Guide to TCP/IP—based Utilities and Applications .
`3
`2.1. NSLOOKUP ....................................................
`5
`2.2. PING ........................................................
`6
`2.3. FINGER ......................................................
`7
`2.4. TRACEROUTE ..................................................
`2.5. FTP ......................................................... 10
`2.6. TELNET ...................................................... 14
`
`2.7. User Database Lookup Tools .................................. 17
`2.7.1. WHOIS/NICNAME ............................................. 17
`2.7.2. KNOWBOT ................................................... 20
`2.7.3. NETFIND ................................................... 21
`2.8.
`Information Servers ......................................... 24
`2.8.1. ARCHIE .................................................... 24
`2.8.2. GOPHER .................................................... 27
`2.8.3. Other Information Servers ................................. 30
`2.9. Uniform Resource Locator Format ............................. 31
`
`3 Distribution Lists and Mailing Lists .......................... 32
`3.1. Internet Discussion Lists ................................... 33
`3.2. Usenet ...................................................... 33
`
`3 . 3 . BITNET/EARN ................................................. 35
`4
`Internet Documentation ........................................ 36
`
`(RFCs) ................................. 36
`4 1. Request for Comments
`4. 2. Internet Standards .......................................... 38
`4. 3. For Your Information Documents .............................. 39
`
`4. 4 RARE Technical Reports ...................................... 40
`5 Perusing the Internet ......................................... 40
`6 Acronyms and Abbreviations .................................... 42
`7 SeCurity Considerations ....................................... 43
`8 Acknowledgements .............................................. 43
`9. References .................................................... 43
`10. Authors' Addresses ........................................... 46
`
`Kessler & Shepard
`
`[Page 1]
`
`EMCNMware v. PersonaIWeb
`
`IPR2013-00083
`
`EMCVMW 1071
`
`

`

`RFC 1739
`
`Primer on Internet a TCP/IP Tools
`
`December 1994
`
`1. Introduction
`
`This memo is an introductory guide to some of the TCP/IP and Internet
`tools and utilities that allow users to access the wide variety of
`information on the network,
`from determining if a particular host is
`up to viewing a multimedia thesis on foreign policy.
`It also
`describes discussion lists accessible from the Internet, ways to
`obtain Internet documents, and resources that help users weave their
`way through the Internet. This memo may be used as a tutorial for
`individual self-learning, a step-by-step laboratory manual for a
`course, or as the basis for a site's users manual.
`It is intended as
`a basic guide only and will refer to other sources for more detailed
`information.
`
`A Beginner’s Guide to TCP/IP-based Utilities and Applications
`
`This section provides descriptions and detailed examples of several
`TCP/IP utilities and applications,
`including actual sessions using
`these utilities (with some extraneous information removed}. Each
`section below describes a single TCP/IP—based tool, it's application,
`and,
`in some cases, how it works.
`The text description is followed
`by an actual sample session.
`
`The sample dialogues shown below were made using the Multinet TCP/IP
`software for VAX/VMS or DOS versions of FTP Software’s PC/TCP. While
`the examples below can be used as a guide to using and learning about
`the capabilities of these tools,
`the reader should understand that
`not all of these utilities may be found at all TCP/IP hosts nor in
`all commercial software Packages.
`Furthermore,
`the user interface
`for different packages will be different and the actual command line
`may appear differently than shown here;
`this will be particularly
`true for graphical user interfaces running over Windows, X-Windows,
`08/2, or Macintosh systems.
`The Internet has many exciting things to
`offer but standardized interfaces to the protocols is not yet one of
`them! This guide will not provide any detail or motivation about
`the
`Internet Protocol Suite; more information about the TCP/IP protocols
`and related issues may be fOund in RFC 1180 [18]. Comer
`[22], Feit
`[23], and Kessler
`[30].
`
`In the commands shown in the descriptions below, any item appearing
`in square brackets ([1)
`is optional and the vertical—bar
`(I) means
`"or"; parameters appearing with no brackets or within curly brackets
`{{}) are mandatory.
`In the sample dialogues, most user input is in
`capital letters (only where allowed} and lines containing user input
`are designated with a "**" in the far—left margin.
`
`AUTHOR'S NOTE: The sample dialogues are easier to read in the
`secondary, Postscript version of this RFC.
`
`Kessler & Shepard
`
`[Page 2]
`
`

`

`RFC 1739
`
`Primer on Internet & TCP/IP Tools
`
`December 1994
`
`2.1. NSLOOKUP
`
`NSLOOKUP is the name server lockup program that comes with many
`TCP/IP software packages.
`A user can use NSLOOKUP to examine entries
`in the Domain Name System (DNS) database that pertain to a particular
`host or domain; one common use is to determine a host system’s IP
`address from its name or the host's name from its IP address.
`The
`
`general
`
`form of the command to make a single query is:
`
`NSLOOKUP
`
`[IP_address | host_name]
`
`the user will be
`If the program is started without any parameters,
`prompted for input;
`the user can enter either an IP address or host
`name at that time, and the program will respond with the name and
`address of the default name sever,
`the name server actually used to
`resolve each request, and the IP address and host name that was
`queried.
`"Exit" is used to quit the NSLOOKUP application.
`
`Three simple queries are shOwn in the example below:
`
`1. Requests the address of the host named "emily.uvm.edu", a system at
`the University of Vermont
`(UVM). As it turns out,
`this is not the
`true name of the host, but a shortened version of the name that is
`accepted as an alias by the network.
`The full name of the host and
`the IP address are listed by NSLOOKUP.
`
`2. Requests the address of host "emily.emba.uvm.edu", which is the
`same host as in the first query. Note that NSLOOKUP provides a
`"non—authoritative" answer.
`Since NSLOOKUP just queried this same
`address,
`the information is still in its cache memory. Rather than
`send additional messages to the name server,
`the answer is one that
`it remembers from before;
`the server didn’t look up the information
`again, hcwever, so it is not guaranteed to still be accurate
`(because the information might have changed within the last few
`millisecondsl).
`
`3. Requests the name of the host with the given IP address.
`result points to the Internet gateway to Australia,
`"munnari.oz.au".
`
`The
`
`NSLOOKUP
`One additional query is shOwn in the dialogue below.
`examines information that is stored by the DNS.
`The default NSLOOKUP
`queries examine basic address records (called "A records“)
`to
`reconcile the host name and IP address, although other information is
`also available.
`In the final query below, for example,
`the user
`wants to know where electronic mail addressed to the "uvm.edu" domain
`
`actually gets delivered, since "uvm.edu" is not the name of an actual
`host. This is accomplished by changing the query type to look for
`
`Kessler & Shepard
`
`[Page 3]
`
`

`

`RFC 1739
`
`Primer on Internet & TCP/IP Tools
`
`December 1994
`
`(MK)
`mail exchange
`records by issuing a "set type" command (which
`must be in lower case).
`The query shows that mail addressed to
`"uvm.edu" is handled though a mail server called "moose.uvm.edu". The
`DNS is beyond the scope of this introduction, although more
`information about
`the concepts and structure of the DNS can be found
`in STD 13/RFC 1034 [12] and RFC 1591 [13].
`The "help" command can be
`issued at the program prompt for information about NSLOOKUP’S more
`advanced commands.
`
`TECHNICAL NOTE: There are other tools that might be available on your
`Alternatives to
`system or with your software for examining the DNS.
`NSLOOKUP include HOST and DIG.
`
`**
`
`**
`
`*1!
`
`*1:
`
`*i:
`**
`
`SMCVAX$ NSLOOKUP
`
`LOCALHOST
`Default Server:
`Address:
`127.0.0.1
`
`> EMILY.UVM.EDU
`Server:
`LOCALHOST
`Address:
`127.0.0.1
`
`Name:
`Address:
`
`emily.emba.uvm.edu
`132.198.1.7
`
`Aliases:
`
`emily.uvm.edu
`
`> EMILY.EMBA.UVM.EDU
`Server:
`LOCALHOST
`Address:
`127.0.0.1
`
`Non-authoritative answer:
`
`Name:
`Address:
`
`emily.emba.uvm.edu
`132.198.1.7
`
`> 128.250.1.21
`Server:
`LOCALHOST
`Address:
`127.0.0.1
`
`Name:
`Address:
`
`munnari.OZ.AU
`128.250.1.21
`
`> set type=MX
`> UVM.EDU
`Server:
`Address:
`
`LOCALHOST
`127.0.0.1
`
`uvm.edu preference = 10, mail
`
`exchanger = moose.uvm.edu
`
`Kessler & Shepard
`
`[Page 4]
`
`

`

`RFC 1739
`
`Primer on Internet & TCP/IP Tools
`
`December 1994
`
`moose.uvm.edu
`
`internet address = 132.198.101.60
`
`** > EXIT
`
`SMCVAX$
`
`.2. PING
`
`Ping is one of the most widely available tools bundled with TCP/IP
`software packages.
`Ping uses a series of Internet Control Message
`Protocol
`(ICMP) Echo messages to determine if a remote host is active
`or inactive, and to determine the round-trip delay in communicating
`with it.
`The Ping command. referred to as the Packet Internetwork
`Groper in some references, has the following general format:
`
`PING [-s] {IP_address | host_name} [size]
`
`[quantity]
`
`In the first test below, we ping the host "thumper.bellcore.com" to
`determine whether it is up and running. This simple use of the
`command contains no optional parameters.
`
`the "-s" parameter tells the system to send an
`In the second test,
`ICMP Echo message every second.
`The optional "size“ parameter
`specifies that each message should be 64 bytes in length (which is
`the default size);
`the optional "quantity" parameter indicates that
`this test will only send 12 messages (the default is to run the test
`continuously until interrupted).
`The results of the second test
`displays the round—trip delay of each Echo message that is returned
`to the sending host; at the end of the test,
`summary statistics are
`displayed.
`
`** SMCVAX$ PING THUMPER.BELLCORE.COM
`thumper.bellcore.com is alive
`
`12
`** SMCVAX$ PING —S THUMPER.BELLCORE.COM 64
`PING THUMPER.BELLCORE.COM (l28.96.41.l}: 56 data bytes
`64 bytes from 128.96.41.1:
`icmp_seq=0 time=150 ms
`64 bytes from 128.96.41.
`icmp_seq=l
`time=110 ms
`64 bytes from 128.96.41.
`icmp_seq=2 time=130 ms
`64 bytes from 128.96.41.
`icmp_seq=3 time=130 ms
`64 bytes from 128.96.41.
`icmp_seq=4 time=320 ms
`64 bytes from 128.96.41.
`icmp_seq=5 time=110 ms
`64 bytes from 128.96.41.
`icmp_seq=6 time=440 ms
`64 bytes from 128.96.41.
`icmp_seq=7 time=90 ms
`64 bytes from 128.96.41.
`icmp_seq=9 time=100 ms
`64 bytes from 128.96.41.
`icmp_seq=10 time=110 ms
`
`HHHHHHHHH
`
`Kessler & Shepard
`
`[Page 5]
`
`

`

`RFC 1739
`
`Primer on Internet & TCP/IP Tools
`
`December 1994
`
`——-—THUMPER.BELLCORE.COM PING Statistics----
`
`12 packets transmitted, 10 packets received,
`round—trip (ms) min/avg/max = 90/169/440
`
`16% packet
`
`loss
`
`SMCVAX$
`
`2.3. FINGER
`
`The Finger program may be used to find out who is logged in on
`another system or to find out detailed information about a specific
`user. This command has also introduced a brand new verb; "fingering"
`someone on the Internet is not necessarily a rude thing to do!
`The
`Finger User Information Protocol is described in RFC 1288 [20].
`The
`most general format of the Finger command is:
`
`FINGER [username]@host_name
`
`The first example below shows the re3ult of fingering an individual
`user at a remote system.
`The first line of the response shows the
`username,
`the user’s real name,
`their process identifier,
`application, and terminal port number. Additional
`information may be
`supplied at the option of the user in “plan" and/or "project" files
`that they supply;
`these files are often named PLAN.TXT or
`PROJECT.TXT, respectively, and reside in a user’s root directory (or
`somewhere in an appropriate search path).
`
`The second example shows the result of fingering a remote system.
`This lists all of the processes currently running at the fingered
`system or other information, depending upon how the remote system’s
`administrator set up the system to respond to the Finger command.
`
`Kessler & Shepard
`
`[Page 6]
`
`

`

`RFC 1739
`
`Primer on Internet & TCP/IP Tools
`
`December 1994
`
`** C:\> FINGER KUMQUAT©SMCVAX.SMCVT.EDU
`[smcvax.smcvt.edu]
`20A02991 MAIL
`KUMQUAT Gary Kessler
`Last
`login Fri 15—Jul—1994 2:59 PM—EDT
`
`TXAB
`
`Plan:
`
`Gary C. Kessler
`Adjunct Faculty Member, Graduate College
`
`Senior Member of Technical Staff
`Hill Associates
`+1 802—655—8633 or 655—0940 (office)
`17 Roosevelt Highway
`+1 802-655-7974 (fax)
`Colchester, VT
`05446
`+1 802—879—5242
`(home)
`INTERNET:
`kumquat©smcvax.smcvt.edu or kumquat®hill.com
`
`** C:\> FINGER @SMCVAX.SMCVT.EDU
`[smcvax.smcvt.edu]
`Up 21 03:41:31
`Friday, July 15, 1994 4:00PM—EDT
`7+0 Jobs on SMCVAX Load ave
`0.24 0.31 0.25
`
`Personal Name
`User
`Denis Stratford
`DENIS
`GOODWIN Dave Goodwin
`JAT
`John Trono
`
`KUMQUAT Gary Kessler
`INFO
`SMC Info Service
`
`SYSTEM
`SMITH
`
`System Manager
`Jim Smith
`
`Subsys
`MAIL
`RTPAD
`EDT
`
`MAIL
`TELNET
`
`*DCL*
`LYNX
`
`C:\>
`
`2.4. TRACEROUTE
`
`this one allowing users to
`Traceroute is another common TCP/IP tool,
`learn about the route that packets take from their local host to a
`remote host. Although used often by network and system managers as a
`simple, yet powerful, debugging aid,
`traceroute can be used by end
`users to learn something about the structure of the Internet.
`
`(where “#"
`The Traceroute command has the following general format
`represents a positive integer value associated with the qualifier):
`
`TRACEROUTE [-m #1
`
`[-q #1
`
`[-w #]
`
`[-p #] {IP_address | host_name}
`
`Kessler & Shepard
`
`[Page T]
`
`

`

`RFC 1739
`
`Primer on Internet & TCP/IP Tools
`
`December 1994
`
`where
`
`—m
`
`-q
`
`—w
`
`—p
`
`is the maximum allowable TTL value, measured as the
`number of hops allowed before the program terminates
`(default = 30)
`is the number of UDP packets that will be sent with each
`time—to—live setting (default = 3)
`to wait for an answer
`is the amount of time,
`in seconds,
`from a particular router before giving up (default = 5)
`is the invalid port address at the remote host (default =
`33434)
`
`The Traceroute example below shows the route between a host at St.
`Michael's College in Colchester, Vermont {smcvax.smcvt.edu) and a
`host at Bellcore in Red Bank, New Jersey (thumper.bellcore.com).
`output has some interesting points:
`
`The
`
`is a
`the New England Academic and Research Network,
`1. NEARnet,
`regional network serving the northeastern U.S.
`The packets’ route
`runs from St. Mike’s NEARnet gateway (smc-gw)
`to the University of
`Vermont
`(uvm—gw), etc. Note that some intermediate systems (see
`lines 4 and 16) do not have names associated with them.
`
`the packets travel on the National
`2. From NEARnet (lines 1—6),
`The
`Science Foundation Network (NSFNET) T3 backbone (lines 7-11).
`NSFNET backbone nodes are identified as "ans.net“ since the NSFNET
`
`The
`(ANS).
`Inc.
`is operated by Advanced Networks and Services,
`packets travel within ANS' network on their core nodal switching
`subsystems ("cnss") until ready to jump off the backbone;
`line 11
`indicates an ANS exterior nodal switching subsystem ("enss").
`The
`datagrams are then carried on the JvNCnet
`(lines 12—16}, a regional
`network in New Jersey (note the use of SMDS!). Finally,
`the
`datagrams are placed on Bellcore’s internal network (lines 17 and
`18) for final delivery.
`
`In
`3. Note that not all of the datagrams take the same route.
`particular, only two of the datagrams go through the ANS gateway
`referred to at line 10. Note also line 1?; here,
`the first two
`datagrams go through one router at Bellcore, while the third
`datagram goes through a companion router.
`
`TECHNICAL NOTE: Traceroute works by sending a sequence of User
`Datagram Protocol
`(UDP) datagrams to an invalid port address at the
`remote host. Using the default settings,
`three datagrams are sent,
`each with a Time-To-Live (TTL) field value set to one.
`The TTL value
`of 1 causes the datagram to "timeout" as soon as it hits the first
`router in the path; this router will then respond with an ICMP Time
`Exceeded Message (TEM)
`indicating that the datagram has expired.
`Another three UDP messages are now sent, each with the TTL value set
`to 2, which causes the second router to return ICMP TEMs. This
`
`Kessler & Shepard
`
`[Page 8]
`
`

`

`RFC 1739
`
`Primer on Internet & TCP/IP Tools
`
`December 1994
`
`process continues until the packets actually reach the other
`destination.
`Since these datagrams are trying to access an invalid
`port at the destination host,
`ICMP Destination Unreachable Messages
`are returned indicating an unreachable port; this event signals the
`Traceroute program that it is finished!
`The Traceroute program
`displays the round—trip delay associated with each of the attempts.
`
`As an interesting aside, Traceroute did not begin life as a general—
`purpose utility, but as a quick—and—dirty debugging aid used to find
`a routing problem.
`The code (complete with comments!)
`is available
`by anonymous FTP in the file "traceroute.tar.Z“ from the host
`"ftp.ee.1bl.gov".
`(See Section 2.5 for a discussion of anonymous
`FTP.)
`
`*1-
`
`SMCVAX$ TRACEROUTE THUMPER.BELLCORE.COM
`traceroute to THUMPER.BELLCORE.COM {128.96.41.1}, 30 hops max, 38
`byte packets
`10 ms
`20 ms
`(192.80.64.5) 50 ms
`1 smc—gw.near.net
`(131.192.152.1) 160 ms
`50 ms
`30 ms
`2 uvm—gw.near.net
`3 harvard-gw.near.net
`(131.192.65.11 470 ms
`60 ms
`60 ms
`4 131.192.32.3 (131.192.32.3) 50 ms
`50 ms
`40 ms
`5 mit2-gw.near.net
`(131.192.7.1) 50 ms
`40 ms
`40 ms
`6 enss.near.net
`(192.54.222.6} 60 ms
`90 ms
`40 ms
`60 ms
`7 t3—2.Hartford—cnss49.t3.ans.net
`(l40.222.49.3) 70 ms 100 ms
`40 ms
`8 t3-3.Hartford-cnss43.t3.ans.net
`(140.222.48.4} 70 ms
`40 ms
`70 ms
`9 t3-2.New-York-cnss32.t3.ans.net
`(140.222.32.3) 50 ms
`60 ms
`10 * t3—0.New—York—cnss33.t3.ans.net {140.222.33.1) 340 ms
`110 ms
`11 t3—O.ens3137.t3.ans.net {l40.222.l37.l) 90 ms
`420 ms
`190 ms
`12 zaphod-gateway.jvnc.net
`(192.12.211.65) 70 ms
`50 ms
`70 ms
`13 airportl-gateway.jvnc.net
`(130.94.6 250) 390 ms
`110 ms
`50 ms
`14 airport4-gateway.jvnc.net
`(130.94.7.4J 70 ms
`50 ms
`60 ms
`15 coreSMDS—gateway.jvnc.net
`(l30.94.7.106) 80 ms
`130 ms
`100 ms
`16 128.96.58.2 (128.96.58.2) 80 ms
`70 ms
`100 ms
`17 lab214b-cisco.cc.bellcore.com (128.96.34.40) 120 ms
`lab214-cisco.cc.be11core.com (128.96.34.101) 130 ms
`18 thumper.bellcore.com (128.96.41.11 130 ms
`430 ms
`
`120 ms
`
`80 ms
`
`Kessler & Shepard
`
`[Page 9]
`
`

`

`RFC 1739
`
`Primer on Internet & TCP/IP Tools
`
`December 1994
`
`2.5. FTP
`
`is one of the most useful and
`[16]
`(FTP)
`The File Transfer Protocol
`powerful TCP/IP utilities for the general user.
`FTP allows users to
`upload and dOwnload files between local and remote hosts. Anonymous
`FTP,
`in particular,
`is commonly available at file archive sites to
`allow users to access files without having to pre-establish an
`account at the remote host.
`The general form of the FTP command is:
`
`FTP [IP_address I host_name}
`
`In the example shown
`As shown, FTP can be initiated in several ways.
`below, an FTP control connection is initiated to a host by supplying
`a host name with the FTP command; optionally,
`the host's IP address
`in dotted decimal form could be used.
`If neither host name nor IP
`
`address are supplied in the command line, a connection to a host can
`be initiated by typing "OPEN host_name“ or "OPEN IP_address“ once the
`FTP application has been started.
`
`If a
`The remote host will new ask for a username and password.
`legitimate, registered user of this host supplies a valid username
`and password,
`then the user will have access to any files and
`directories to which this username has privilege.
`For anonymous FTP
`access,
`the username "anonymous" is used and the password (not shown
`in actual use)
`is "guest" (although an increasing number of systems
`ask that anonymous FTP users supply their Internet address as the
`password}.
`
`The first command issued in the example below is "help ?“, used to
`obtain a list of available FTP commands and help topics. Although
`not always shown, nearly all TCP/IP applications have a help command.
`
`An example of the help for FTP's "type" command is shown in the
`sample dialogue. This command is very important one, by the way; if
`transferring a binary or executable file, be sure to set the type to
`"image“ (or "binary" on some systems}.
`
`The “dirn command provides a directory listing of the files in the
`current directory at the remote host;
`the UNIX I'ls" command may also
`usually be used. Note that an FTP data transfer connection is
`established for the transfer of the directory information to the
`local host.
`The output from the "dir" command will show a file
`listing that is consistent with the native operating system of the
`remote host. Although the TCP/IP suite is often associated with
`UNIX, it can (and does)
`run with nearly all common operating systems.
`
`The directory information shown in the sample dialogue happens to be
`in UNIX format and includes the following information:
`
`Kessler & Shepard
`
`[Page 10]
`
`

`

`RFC 1739
`
`Primer on Internet & TCP/IP Tools
`
`December 1994
`
`0 File attributes.
`
`The first character identifies this as a
`
`The next nine
`link (1), or individual file (-).
`directory (d),
`characters list the access permissions for three groups, namely,
`the owner,
`the owner’s group, and all other users. Three access
`privileges may be assigned to each file for each of these groups:
`read (I), write (w), execute (x), and/or search (5).
`
`0 File owner and owner's group.
`
`0 File size,
`
`in bytes.
`
`If the date is follOwed by a timestamp,
`0 Date of last modification.
`then the date is from the current year.
`
`0 File name.
`
`After the directory information has been transferred, FTP closes the
`data transfer connection.
`
`in this case
`The command "cd" is used to change to another directory,
`the “Gov" directory (note that file and directory names may be case-
`sensitive). As in DOS,
`"cd .." will change to the parent of the
`current directory.
`The "CWD command successful“ is the only
`the
`indication that the user's "cd" command was correctly executed;
`"show—directory"
`(may be truncated to fewer characters, as shown)
`command,
`if available, may be used to see which directory you are in.
`
`Another "dir" command is used to find all files ending with the
`characters ".act"; note the use of the "*" wildcard character. We
`can now copy (download)
`the file of choice (The Fair Credit Reporting
`Act, 1992) by using the "get" (or ”receive") command, which has the
`following general format:
`
`GET
`
`remote_file_name
`
`local_file_name
`
`FTP opens another data transfer connection for this file transfer
`purpose; note that the effective data transfer rate is 39.98 kbps.
`
`FTP's "put“ (or "send") command allows uploading from the local host
`to the remote.
`“Put" is often not available when using anonymous
`FTP .
`
`Finally, we terminate the FTP connection by using the "close“
`command.
`The user can initiate another FTP connection using the
`“open" command or can leave FTP by issuing a "quit" command.
`“Quit"
`can also be used to close a connection and terminate a session.
`
`Kessler & Shepard
`
`[Page 11]
`
`

`

`RFC 1739
`
`Primer on Internet & TCP/IP Tools
`
`December 1994
`
`TECHNICAL NOTE: It is important to note that different FTP packages
`have different commands available and even those with similar names
`
`In the example shown here (using MultiNet for
`may act differently.
`VMS),
`the "Show" command will display the current directory;
`in
`FTP Software's PC/TCP}.
`another package (e.g.,
`"shew" will display a
`file from the remote host at the local host.
`Some packages have
`nothing equivalent to either of these commands!
`
`** SMCVAX$ FTP FTP.SPIES.COM
`SMCVAX.SMCVT.EDU MultiNet FTP user process 3.2(106)
`Connection opened (Assuming 8—bit connections)
`** Username: ANONYMOUS
`** PaSSWord: GUEST
`
`** WIRETAP.SPIES.COM> HELP ?
`
`Commands may be one of the following:
`ACCOUNT
`AGET
`APPEND
`APUT
`ASCII
`ATTACH
`EELL
`BINARY
`BYE
`BYTE
`CD
`CDUP
`CLOSE
`CONFIRM
`CPATH
`CREATE—DIRECTORY
`CWD
`DELETE
`DIRECTORY
`DISCONNECT
`EXIT
`EXIT—ON—ERROR
`GET
`HASH
`HELP
`LCD
`LDIR
`LOCAL-CD
`LOCAL-DIRECTORY
`LOCAL-FWD
`LPWD
`LOGIN
`LS
`MDELETE
`MGET
`MKDIR
`MODE
`MPUT
`MULTIPLE
`PASSWORD
`PORT
`PROMPT-FOR-MISSING-ARGUMENTS
`PROMPT—ON—CONNECT
`PUSH
`PUT
`PwD
`QUIT
`QUOTE
`RECEIVE
`REMOTE-HELP
`REMOVE-DIRECTORY
`RENAME
`RETAIN
`RM
`RMDIR
`SEND
`SHOW-DIRECTORY
`SITE
`SPAWN
`STATISTICS
`STATUS
`STREAM
`
`Kessler & Shepard
`
`[Page 12]
`
`

`

`RFC 1739
`
`Primer on Internet & TCP/IP Tools
`
`December 1994
`
`STRUCTURE
`TENEX
`USER
`VERSION
`
`TAKE
`TYPE
`VERBOSE
`
`**
`
`ii
`
`WIRETAP.SPIES.COM> HELP TYPE
`
`The possible
`The TYPE command changes the FTP transfer type.
`arguments to the TYPE command are ASCII,
`IMAGE, BACKUP, and
`LOGICAL—BYTE ASCII
`type is used for transferring ASCII
`text files.
`IMAGE type is used for transferring binary files.
`BACKUP type is
`used for transferring VAX/VMS backup savesets with 2048 byte block
`Size.
`
`WIRETAP.SPIES.COM> DIR
`
`<0pening ASCII mode data connection for /bin/ls.
`total 25
`
`2 9013
`drwxr—xr—x
`drwxr-xr-x 4 9013
`
`—rw—r——r—— 1 9013
`drwxr—xr—x
`3 9013
`drwxr-xr-x 13 9013
`
`1 root
`lrwxrwxrwx
`-> Gov/Economic
`drwxr—xr—x
`4 9013
`
`1 root
`lrwxrwxrwx
`Gov/GAO-Trans
`drwxr-xr-x 29 9013
`
`drwxr—xr—x 16 9013
`lrwxrwxrwx
`1 root
`Gov/NAFTA
`drwxr-xr-x 2 9013
`
`drwxr-xr-x 3 9013
`drwxr-xr—x
`8 root
`dr—xr—xr—x
`2 bin
`drwxr-xr-x 2 root
`drwxr-xr-x 3 root
`
`drwxr-xr—x 11 9038
`drwx-wx-wx
`3 root
`drwxr—xr—x
`3 root
`drwxr-xr-x 2 root
`drwxr-xr—x
`3 root
`drwxr-xr-x 3 9013
`
`daemon
`daemon
`
`daemon
`daemon
`daemon
`
`daemon
`
`daemon
`
`daemon
`
`daemon
`
`daemon
`daemon
`
`daemon
`
`daemon
`42
`wheel
`daemon
`wheel
`
`daemon
`daemon
`ftp
`daemon
`daemon
`42
`
`
`
`512 Jul
`512 Jul
`
`1
`1
`
`1993 .cap
`1993 About
`
`6
`791 Apr
`512 Jul 12
`512 Jul
`1
`
`1993 About_Gopher
`1993 Books
`1993 Clinton
`
`12 Feb 26 02:02 Economic_P1an
`
`512 Jul
`
`1
`
`1993 Etext
`
`13 Feb 26 07:01 GAO_Reports —>
`
`1024 Feb
`
`3 00:15 Gov
`
`
`
`1993 Library
`1
`512 Jul
`9 Feb 26 06:56 NAFTA —>
`
`512 Jul
`
`1
`
`1993 Other
`
`7 20:59 alt.etext
`3072 Apr
`1
`1993 ba.internet
`512 Jul
`1
`1993 bin
`512 Jul
`512 Feb 15 06:14 dev
`512 Jul
`1
`1993 etc
`
`512 Dec 17 05:37 game_archive
`1024 Apr 18 02:09 incoming
`512 Oct 29 02:35 pub
`512 Jul
`1
`1992 tmp
`512 Jul
`1
`1993 usr
`1024 Jul
`1
`1993 waffle
`
`<Transfer complete.
`1490 bytes transferred at 4966 bps.
`Run time = 10. ms, Elapsed time = 2400. ms.
`
`**
`
`WIRETAP.SPIES.COM> CD GOV
`<CWD command successful.
`
`Kessler & Shepard
`
`[Page 13]
`
`

`

`RFC 1739
`
`Primer on Internet a TCP/IP Tools
`
`December 1994
`
`** WIRETAP.SPIES.COM> SHOW
`
`<“/Gov" is current directory.
`
`** WIRETAP.SPIES.COM> DIR *.act
`
`<Opening ASCII mode data connection for /bin/ls.
`—rw—r——r—— 1 9013
`42
`32695 Dec 10 21:37 brady.act
`-r--r--r--
`1 9013
`42
`168649 Mar 26
`1993 disable.act
`
`1 9013
`—r——r——r——
`1 9013
`—r——r——r——
`1 9013
`-r--r--r--
`1 9013
`-r--r--r--
`<Transfer complete.
`401 bytes transferred at 7638 bps.
`Run time = 0. ms, Elapsed time = 420. ms.
`
`62602 Mar 30
`29519 Mar 30
`57206 Mar 30
`16261 Mar 26
`
`42
`42
`42
`42
`
`1993 ecpa.act
`1993 faircredit.act
`1993 privacy.act
`1993 warpower.act
`
`H WIRETAP.SPIES.COM> GET faircredit.act FAIRCRDT.TXT
`«Opening ASCII mode data connection for faircredit.act
`bytes).
`<Transfer complete.
`30132 bytes transferred at 39976 bps.
`Run time = 40. ms, Elapsed time = 6030. ms.
`
`(29519
`
`** WIRETAP.SPIES.COM> QUIT
`<Goodbye.
`SMCVAX$
`
`2.6. TELNET
`
`is TCP/IP‘s virtual terminal protocol. Using TELNET, a
`TELNET [17]
`user connected to one host can login to another host, appearing like
`a directly-attached terminal at the remote system; this is TCP/IP’s
`definition of a "virtual terminal."
`The general form of the TELNET
`command is:
`
`TELNET
`
`[IP_address | host_name]
`
`[port]
`
`As shown, a TELNET connection is initiated when the user enters the
`"TELNET" command and supplies either a "host_name" or "IP_address";
`if neither are given, TELNET will ask for one once the application
`begins.
`
`In the example below, a user logged onto a PC on a LAN will use
`TELNET to attach to the remote host "smcvax.smcvt.edu".
`Once logged
`in via TELNET,
`the user can do anything on the remote host that they
`could do if they were on a directly-connected terminal or had dialed-
`up by modem.
`The commands that are used are those available on the
`remote system to which the user is attached.
`In the sample dialogue
`
`Kessler & Shepard
`
`[Page 14]
`
`

`

`RFC 1739
`
`Primer on Internet & TCP/IP Tools
`
`December 1994
`
`below,
`
`the user attached to SMCVAX will use basic VAX/VMS commands:
`
`o The "dir" command lists the files having a "COM" file extension.
`0 The "mail" command enters the MAIL system (there are no messages).
`0
`"Pinging" the home host shows that it is alive!
`
`When finished, "logout" logs the user off the remote host; TELNET
`automatically closes the connection to the remote host and returns
`control to the local system.
`
`It is important to note that TELNET is a very powerful tool, one that
`may pr0vide users with access to many Internet utilities and services
`that might not be otherwise available. Many of these features are
`accessed by specifying a port number with the TELNET command,
`in
`addition to a host’s address, and knowledge of port numbers provides
`another mechanism for users to access information with Telnet.
`
`This guide discusses several TCP/IP and Internet utilities that
`require local client software, such as Finger, Whois, Archie, and
`Gopher. But what if your software does not
`include a needed client?
`In some cases, Telnet may be used to access a remote client and
`provide the same functionality.
`
`This is done by specifying a port number with the TELNET command.
`Just as TCP/IP hosts have a unique IP address, applications on the
`host are associated with an address, called a "port“. Finger,
`for
`example,
`is associated with the well-known port number 79.
`In the
`absence of a Finger client, TELNETing to port 79 at a remote host may
`provide the same information.
`You can "finger" another host with
`TELNET by using a command like:
`
`TELNET host_name 79
`
`Other well—knOwn TCP/IP port numbers include 20 (FTP data transfer),
`21 (FTP control), 25 (SMTP), 43 (whois), 70 (Gopher), and 185
`( ICNOWBDT) .
`
`Some services are available on the Internet using TELNET and special
`port numbers.
`A geographical information database, for example, may
`be accessed by TELNETing to port 3000 at host
`"martini.eecs.umich.edu"; current weather information is available at
`port 3000 at hosts "downwind.sprl.umich.edu" and
`"wind.atmos.uah.edu".
`
`Kessler & Shepard
`
`[Page 15]
`
`

`

`RFC 1739
`
`Primer on Internet & TCP/IP Tools
`
`December 1994
`
`** C:\> TELNET SMCVAX.SMCVT.EDU
`FTP Software PC/TCP tn 2.31 01/07/94 12:38
`Copyright
`(c) 1986-1993 by FTP Software,
`Inc. All rights reserved
`
`— Connected to St. Michael's College —
`
`** Username: KUMQUAT
`** PasSword:
`
`St. Michael’s College VAX/VMS System.
`Node SMCVAX.
`
`9—JUN—1994 11:55
`Last interactive login on Thursday,
`Last non-interactive login on Thursday,
`9-JUN-1994 08:20
`
`Good Afternoon User KUMQUAT.
`
`Logged in on lZ—JUN—1994 at 3:2? PM.
`
`[GUEST,KUMQUATJ has 4292 blocks used, 5708 available,
`User
`of 10000 authorized and permitted overdraft of 100 blocks on $1$DIA2
`
`** SMCVAX$ DIR *.COM
`Directory $1$DIA2:[GUEST.KUMQUAT}
`
`BACKUP.COM;24
`DELTREE.COM;17
`EXPANDZ.COM;7
`FTSLOGBLD.COM;3
`FTSRRR.COM;2
`LOGIN.COM;116
`SNOOPY.COM;6
`SYLOGIN.COM;83
`SYSHUTDWN.COM;1
`SYSTARTUP.COM;88
`WATCH_MAIL.COM;1
`
`24
`3
`2
`1
`1
`5
`l
`8
`0
`15
`173
`
`
`
`16-JUL—199U 16:22:46.68
`lG-JUL-1990 16:22:47.58
`22-FEB-1993 10:00:04.35
`16-JUL—1990 16:22:48.5?
`16-JUL—1990 16:22:48.73
`l-DEC-1993 09:33:21.61
`lé-JUL-1990 16:22:52.06
`lG-JUL-1990 16:22:52.88
`16-JUL—1990 16:22:53.04
`
`l6—JUL—1990 16:22:53.21
`lO-MAY-1994 09:59:52.65
`
`(RWED,RWED,RE,)
`(RWED,RWED,RE,)
`(RWED,RWED,RE,)
`(RWED,RWED,RE,)
`(RWED,RWED,RE,)
`(RWED,RWED,RE,)
`(RWED,RWED,RE,)
`(RWED,RWED,RE,RE}
`(RWED,RWED,RE,)
`
`(RWED,RWED,RE,)
`(RWED,RWED,RE,)
`
`Total of 11 files, 233 blocks.
`
`** SMCVAXS MAIL
`** MAIL> EXIT
`
`** SMCVAX$ PING HILL.COM /N=5
`PING HILL.COM (199.182.20.4): 56 data bytes
`64 bytes from 199.182.20.
`:
`icmp_seq=0 time=290 ms
`64 bytes from 199.182.20.
`icmp_seq=1 time=260 ms
`64 bytes from 199.182.20.
`iomp_seq=2 time=260 ms
`64 bytes from 199.182.20.
`icmp_seq=3 time=260 ms
`64 bytes from 199.182.20.
`icmp_seq=4 time=260 ms
`
`vbrbvbrhbrb
`
`Kessler & Shepard
`
`[Page 16]
`
`

`

`RFC 1739
`
`Primer on Internet & TCP/IP Tools
`
`December 1994
`
`—-——HILL.COM PING Statistics----
`
`5 packets received,
`5 packets transmitted,
`round—trip (ms) min/avg/max = 260/266/290
`
`0% packet loss
`
`H smcvnxs LOGOUT
`KUMQUAT
`
`logged out at 12—Jun-1994 15:37:04.29
`
`Connection #0 closed
`
`2.7. User Database Lookup Tools
`
`2.7.1. WHOIS/NICNAME
`
`WHOIS and NICNAM