[news.config] Bogus map entry for machine "jplpro"

stevo@elroy.UUCP (10/14/87)

Hello there. I am the co-SA for machine "elroy" at JPL in Pasadena,
CA.  This posting concerns a bad UUCP map entry for a machine here at
JPL that has caused many people/mailers to attempt to route mail over a
non-existent UUCP link.  I am not sure that the news groups I am
posting to are the most appropriate ones, so if you aren't interested
in this type of problem, accept my apologies and hit 'n' now.

Anyway, here is the scoop. Here at JPL there is a machine called
"devvax." The problem stems from the fact that there is a machine at
Cornell that goes by the same name. When another JPL machine, "jplpro",
published its UUCP map entry, it advertised a LOCAL connection to
devvax. Since JPL's devvax has not published a map entry but there is
already one for Cornell's devvax, pathalias etc. think that jplpro has
a very cheap link to Cornell.  So, if you are closer to JPL than you
are to Cornell, you may find that the pathalias-generated route to
Cornell attempts to use the non-existent link.

A fix for the problem is in the works, and consists mostly of fixing
jplpro's map entry (probably by renaming devvax to jpl-devvax or
something).  In the meantime, this posting is intended to inform SA's
that may have experienced this problem or who know users that have.

I should say here that I have no affiliation with any machine in this
discussion other than elroy.  The problem came to light because the
path to jplpro usually goes through elroy.  After I started seeing a
lot of bounced mail coming back from JPL's devvax, I investigated.  The
SA's of jplpro and (JPL's) devvax have been informed, and have told me
that they are "working on it."

-steve
/* Steve Groom, Image Analysis Systems Group, M/S 168-522 
 * Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA 91109
 * ARPA: stevo@elroy.jpl.nasa.gov     UUCP: ...!cit-vax!elroy!stevo
 * "Whaddaya want for nothin'?!?!"
 */