Jo_Ann_Ward@um.cc.umich.edu (03/17/90)
Archive-name: nis.nsf.net/16-Mar-90
Original-posting-by: Jo_Ann_Ward@um.cc.umich.edu
Archive-site: nis.nsf.net [35.1.1.48]
Archive-directory: anonymous
Reposted-by: emv@math.lsa.umich.edu (Edward Vielmetti)
Craig, et al.,
The Merit/NSFNET Information Services group maintains several directories
on the host 35.1.1.48 (NIS.NSF.NET) that are public, the contents
of which may be ftp'd and/or queried by electronic mail. At this
time, NETINFO documents are not included (however with additional
information we would be willing to at least explore this possibility)
and we are currently in the midst of arrangements regarding
Internet-Drafts. The RFCs are actively maintained, as are
several policy documents regarding the management of the backbone
and government reports relevant to networking as forwarded to us
by the National Science Foundation. A summary of available
information follows.
Please let us know of any other questions or concerns you might
have.
Regards,
Jo Ann Ward
Merit/NSFNET Information Services
NSFNET-info@merit.edu
Merit/NSFNET Information Services
NIS.NSF.NET (35.1.1.48)
Welcome to the Merit/NSFNET Information Services machine. Information
files are available on this machine under the following directories:
ANONYMOUS -- List of public directories from which files may
be retrieved by FTP or electronic mail
CISE -- Documents regarding the announcement for
Coordination Theory and Collaboration Technology
initiative issued by the NSF.
IEN -- The SRI-NIC collection of internet engineering
notes
IMR -- The Internet Monthly Reports communicating the
accomplishments, milestones reached, or
problems discovered by participating organizations.
LINKLTTR -- Text-only editions of the Link Letter, a monthly
newsletter published by Merit/NSFNET. File
names contain the publication date for easy
retrieval.
MAPS -- PostScript versions of regional network maps
(available only by FTP)
MCN-NEWS -- Issues of the Merit Network News, the Merit
Computer Network general newsletter, beginning
with March 1990 (Vol. 5, No. 1). Pre-1990
newsletters are available in hard-copy by
request to info@merit.edu or INFO@MERIT.BITNET.
MERIT -- Merit Computer Network information files which
include descriptions of the network, its
command language, host attachment policies,
and how to access Merit from across the
country and overseas
NDOC -- Documents on networking resulting from
research but not published as RFCs
NSFCONFG -- Configuration files for nodes on the NSFNET
backbone (available only by FTP)
NSFNET -- Merit/NSFNET administrative information,
policies regarding management of the
backbone, and government reports relevant
to networking
NSFSITES -- A catalog of hosts registered on the NSFNET
backbone (available only by FTP)
RESOURCE -- Basic references on TCP/IP and internetworking
RFC -- All Requests for Comments currently available
from the SRI-NIC
STATS -- Inpacket totals for each node on the NSFNET
backbone (INPKTS), one-way delay times (PING)
and network traffic traversing the NSFNET
backbone (TRAFFIC) are available for each
monthly reporting period (available only by
FTP).
Directories:
The directory layout on the Information Services machine is a flat file
system, rather than a hierarchical or tree structure. To move from one
directory to another, issue the command:
cd <directoryname>
From any directory, the command, "cd anonymous" will return you to
the default directory.
File names:
FTP on the Information Services machine is running under VM on an
IBM 4381 mainframe. In the VM/CMS context, filenames starting with
a '$' are legal (and force a file to show up at the top of a DIR
listing where alpha collation is the default). On some systems,
a '$' at the start of a filename may not be legal, or may have a
different interpretation. Because of this, you may need to use the
following form of the FTP 'get' command to assign a name compatible
with your local system when transferring a file:
get <remote.file> <localfile>
where "<remote.file>" is the name of the file on the Information
Services machine, and "<localfile>" is the name you are transferring
the file to on your host.
FTP "TYPE":
People who FTP to/from IBM mainframe systems need to remember that
these machines are EBCDIC-based, and you should NOT do binary
transfers of text files, otherwise you will end up with an unreadable
file on your ASCII system. Do not type BINARY in FTP unless you are
transferring executables or other non-text files.
Electronic mail query:
Based on the Remote SPIRES product developed at Stanford, this system
enables users to send a message to a server, which will respond with
information from its databases. The server can be queried by sending
a message to:
nis-info@nis.nsf.net or
nis-info@merit (Bitnet)
Commands for the server should be the first text line of the message;
additional lines will be ignored. A list of the directory indices
that are available on the NSFNET-IS machine may be obtained by issuing
the command:
index
A specific index can be retrieved with the command:
index <directoryname>
To retrieve documents from any of the directories, issue the command:
send <file.name>
Some files due to their length or content (binary data), will not be
returned by the server. In such cases the requester will receive
a message to that effect, and information on anonymous FTP.
A list of other available mail query commands may be obtained with
the command:
help
If assistance is needed in using the server, a message should be sent
to the Information Services staff at
UserHelp@nis.nsf.net or
UserHelp@merit (Bitnet)