mike@yenta.alb.nm.us (Mike Werner) (03/27/91)
Help,
Can anyone explain to me what an anonomous ftp site is and how do
you access one once you have the correct address?
-Mike-
--
"In my lifetime I hope to develop arms that are strong, hands that are
gentle, ears that will listen, eyes that are kind, a tongue that will
speak softly, a mind full of wisdom, a heart that understands."
jik@athena.mit.edu (Jonathan I. Kamens) (04/03/91)
FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. It is a protocol for transferring
files over TCP networks. It is most often used on the Internet, but can be
used on local-area TCP networks as well.
Internet Request For Comment (RFC) 1206, "Answers to Commonly asked 'New
Internet User' Questions," has the following to say about anonymous FTP (on
page 15):
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".
The [3] reference in this paragraph is:
[3] Postel, J., and J. Reynolds, "File Transfer Protocol (FTP), RFC
959, USC/Information Sciences Institute, October 1985.
The introduction to RFC 959 says:
The objectives of FTP are 1) to promote sharing of files (computer
programs and/or data), 2) to encourage indirect or implicit (via
programs) use of remote computers, 3) to shield a user from
variations in file storage systems among hosts, and 4) to transfer
data reliably and efficiently. FTP, though usable directly by a user
at a terminal, is designed mainly for use by programs.
The attempt in this specification is to satisfy the diverse needs of
users of maxi-hosts, mini-hosts, personal workstations, and TACs,
with a simple, and easily implemented protocol design.
This paper assumes knowledge of the Transmission Control Protocol
(TCP) [2] and the Telnet Protocol [3]. These documents are contained
in the ARPA-Internet protocol handbook [1].
I have included instructions at the end of this message for getting copies
of RFCs in case you want to read more from either of these.
Two questions remain -- how to find out what anonymous ftp sites there are,
and how to access them.
There are several ways to find anonymous ftp sites.
1) Read the list of anonymous ftp sites posted monthly by Jon Granrose in
comp.misc, comp.sources.wanted, and alt.sources.wanted. If you missed it
and/or want to make sure that your copy is up-to-date, and you don't want to
wait for it to be posted again, you can follow the directions at the end of
this message for getting a copy of it. Since his list is a periodic
informational posting which appears in the list of periodic informational
postings in news.announce.newusers, you can also get it from my FAQ archive;
I've included directions for that as well.
2) Read comp.archives.
3) Use archie, which keeps a database of many anonymous ftp sites and their
contents. To use archie interactively, telnet to quiche.cs.mcgill.ca
(132.206.2.3 or 132.206.51.1) and log in as "archie" with no password; type
"help" to get help. To use it via E-mail, send a message to
"archie@quiche.cs.mcgill.ca"; send a message with contents "help" to get an
introductory message.
There are two main methods of accessing anonymous ftp sites. If you are on
the Internet, you access it directly, usually using the "ftp" command. If you
are directly on the Internet and "ftp anonymous-ftp-site-name" doesn't open up
a connection to the site, you should talk to your admin and find out what the
story is. If ftp does work for you, it would be useful to read the man page
for it. (All this assumes Unix; I don't know what the story is on non-Unix
machines, e.g. VM/CMS or VMS, directly on the Internet. Furthermore, things
Macs and PCs on the Internet often have ftp software.)
If you aren't on the Internet, you can use a mail<->ftp gateway to retrieve
files from anonymous ftp sites. You should only do this if you're sure that
the stuff you're trying to get via anonymous ftp isn't also available from a
mail server somewhere, since the mail<->ftp gateways are usually overloaded.
The most well-known gateway is bitftp@pucc.princeton.edu. To find out how to
use it, send a mail message to that site with contents "help".
--
Jonathan Kamens USnail:
MIT Project Athena 11 Ashford Terrace
jik@Athena.MIT.EDU Allston, MA 02134
Office: 617-253-8085 Home: 617-782-0710
--
Getting RFCs
Many RFCs are available online; if not, this is indicated by (Not online).
Paper copies of all RFCs are available from the NIC, either individually
or on a subscription basis (for more information contact NIC@NIC.DDN.MIL).
Online copies are available via FTP or Kermit from NIC.DDN.MIL as
RFC:RFC####.TXT or RFC:RFC####.PS (#### is the RFC number without leading
zeroes).
Additionally, RFCs may be requested through electronic mail from the
automated NIC mail server by sending a message to SERVICE@NIC.DDN.MIL
with a subject line of "RFC ####" for text versions or a subject line
of "RFC ####.PS" for PostScript versions. To obtain the RFC index,
the subject line of your message should read "RFC index".
--
Getting Jon Granrose's anonymous ftp list
This list is posted to comp.misc, and comp.sources.wanted, on Usenet and
is distributed via anonymous FTP from pilot.njin.net (128.6.7.38) as well as
being available from several other FTP sites (see list). I am also running a
simple mail-server from my account on pilot. For more information about the
server, mail odin@pilot.njin.net with a subject of "listserv-request" and a
message body of "send help". Rather than requesting the latest list from me
by mail, simply send the request to the listserv. If you send me a request
for the latest list, I will send you the help file for the listserv.
--
Getting the anonymous ftp list from my FAQ archive
Subject: Anonymous FTP list
Newsgroups: comp.misc,comp.sources.wanted,alt.sources.wanted
Available via anonymous ftp from pit-manager.mit.edu (18.72.1.58)
in the files
/pub/usenet/comp.misc/Anonymous_FTP_list.part1
/pub/usenet/comp.misc/Anonymous_FTP_list.part2
/pub/usenet/comp.misc/Anonymous_FTP_list.part3
Available from mail-server@pit-manager.mit.edu by sending a message
containing
send usenet/comp.misc/Anonymous_FTP_list.part1
send usenet/comp.misc/Anonymous_FTP_list.part2
send usenet/comp.misc/Anonymous_FTP_list.part3