griffin@nunki.usc.edu (Dennis Griffin) (10/08/89)
how do i find out what machiens are on the net? for example, i want to get in touch via email with somebody in the auburn.edu domain, but I don't know whether their machine is on the net, or if the domain of auburn univ. is actually auburn.edu, or if auburn is actually on the net at all...also, how about companies that would probably be in the uucp or com domains? and if you say RTFM, i have tried, but don't know where to look, so please do me a favor and tell me how if it is possible, or that it is not possible if it isn't. dennis -- dennis griffin griffin@aludra.usc.edu "I like my pizza cold and my beer warm"
epsilon@wet.UUCP (Eric P. Scott) (10/09/89)
In article <5602@merlin.usc.edu> griffin@nunki.usc.edu (Dennis Griffin) writes: > how do i find out what machiens are on the net? Would you like a list? Internet alone has over 150,000! The answer is: you don't. > for example, i want >to get in touch via email with somebody in the auburn.edu domain, but I don't >know whether their machine is on the net, or if the domain of auburn univ. is >actually auburn.edu, or if auburn is actually on the net at all... First of all, if you have Internet access, you have direct access to this information. Your site may have a "whois" program that queries the server at NIC.DDN.MIL. You can also telnet to NIC.DDN.MIL and use the interactive WHOIS program. Another place to check is the CSNET server host, SH.CS.NET, where you can log in as "ns" (no password) or obtain information by anonymous FTP. That's not necessary for Auburn, as we'll see... > also, >how about companies that would probably be in the uucp or com domains? and >if you say RTFM, i have tried, but don't know where to look, so please do me >a favor and tell me how if it is possible, or that it is not possible if it >isn't. COM works the same way, but UUCP is a whole 'nother animal. Let's work on the first problem. *** Those of you who don't have Internet access, aren't getting Internet access, and don't know anyone who does can hit 'n' now-- don't ask me "how can I get this information if I'm not on the Internet" because for the most part it's exceedingly painful-- queries I can do in seconds you'd have to do by mail to SERVICE@NIC.DDN.MIL and/or NSLOOKUP@SH.CS.NET, and that's slow! Often several attempts are necessary. $ tn nic.ddn.mil Trying... Connected to NIC.DDN.MIL. * -- DDN Network Information Center -- * * For TAC news, type: TACNEWS <return> * For user and host information, type: WHOIS <return> * For NIC information, type: NIC <return> * * For user assistance call (800) 235-3155 or (415) 859-3695 * Report system problems to ACTION@NIC.DDN.MIL or call (415) 859-5921 SRI-NIC, TOPS-20 Monitor 7(21240)-4 @term type vt100 @term no pau end @whois SRI-NIC WHOIS 3.5(1090)-1 on Sun, 8 Oct 89 16:18:50 PDT, load 2.25 Enter a handle, name, mailbox, or other field, optionally preceded by a keyword, like "host sri-nic". Type "?" for short, 2-page details, "HELP" for full documentation, or hit RETURN to exit. ---> Do ^E to show search progress, ^G to abort a search or output <--- Whois: whois auburn Auburn University (AUBURN-DOM) AUBURN.EDU Auburn University (NET-AU-NET) AU-NET 131.204.0.0 Whois: dom auburn Auburn University (AUBURN-DOM) 686 Discovery Drive Huntsville, AL 36806 Domain Name: AUBURN.EDU Administrative Contact: Barnes, Ben (BB175) ASCO1!AUDUCVAX.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU (205) 895-7404 Technical Contact, Zone Contact: Shaeffer, James R. (JRS48) ASC02%AUDUCVAX.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU (205) 895-7425 Domain servers in listed order: ASNGAT.ASN.NET 129.66.20.2 ASNUAB.ASN.NET 129.66.20.11 No known hosts under this secondary domain. Whois: net au-net Auburn University (NET-AU-NET) Division of University Computing 144 Parker Hall Auburn University, AL 36849 NetName: AU-NET NetNumber: 131.204.0.0 Coordinator: Owen, Larry (LO28) owen%auducvax.bitnet@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU (205) 826-4813 No hosts found on this network. Whois: dom asn.net Alabama Supercomputer Center (ASN-DOM) 686 Discovery Drive Huntsville, AL 35806 Domain Name: ASN.NET Administrative Contact: Barnes, Ben (BB175) ASCO1!AUDUCVAX.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU (205) 895-7404 Technical Contact, Zone Contact: Shaeffer, James R. (JRS48) ASC02%AUDUCVAX.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU (205) 895-7425 Domain servers in listed order: ASNGAT.ASN.NET 129.66.20.2 ASNUAB.ASN.NET 129.66.20.11 Would you like to see the known hosts under this secondary domain? y There are 2 known hosts: ASNGAT.ASN.NET 129.66.20.2 ASNUAB.ASN.NET 129.66.20.11 Whois: @logo Killed Job 17, TTY 151, at 8-Oct-89 16:21:24 Used 0:00:08 in 0:02:52 Connection closed by Foreign Host Hmm. Seeing all those BITNET addresses leads me to believe that this registration was done before they were actually connected to the Internet. Let's follow the trail some more. $ nslookup Default Server: LOCALHOST Address: 127.0.0.1 > set q=any > auburn.edu. Server: LOCALHOST Address: 127.0.0.1 Non-authoritative answer: auburn.edu nameserver = ASNGAT.ASN.NET auburn.edu nameserver = ASNUAB.ASN.NET Authoritative answers can be found from: ASNGAT.ASN.NET inet address = 129.66.20.2 ASNUAB.ASN.NET inet address = 129.66.20.11 > server asngat.asn.net. Default Server: asngat.asn.net Address: 129.66.20.2 > auburn.edu. Server: asngat.asn.net Address: 129.66.20.2 Non-authoritative answer: auburn.edu origin = asngat.asn.net mail addr = shaeffer.asngat.asn.net serial=10003, refresh=3600, retry=300, expire=3600000, min=28800 auburn.edu nameserver = asngat.asn.net Authoritative answers can be found from: asngat.asn.net inet address = 129.66.20.2 > ls auburn.edu. [asngat.asn.net] Host or domain name Internet address auburn server = asngat.asn.net ducvax 129.66.22.1 > ducvax.auburn.edu. Server: asngat.asn.net Address: 129.66.20.2 Non-authoritative answer: ducvax.auburn.edu inet address = 129.66.22.1 ducvax.auburn.edu preference = 0, mail exchanger = ducvax.auburn.edu ducvax.auburn.edu CPU=VAX-8250 OS=VMS 4.7 ducvax.auburn.edu inet address = 129.66.22.1, protocol = 6 7 21 23 25 37 79 Authoritative answers can be found from: ducvax.auburn.edu inet address = 129.66.22.1 > It's a good bet that ducvax.auburn.edu = AUDUCVAX.BITNET. This is getting long, so I won't show how that's proven, but it is in fact the case. The machine is running MULTINET TCP/IP and JNET. It appears to talk to 12-30 other Auburn machines, but DNS isn't set up properly so 129.66.*.* won't translate into anything useful. I'd try mailing to POSTMASTER@DUCVAX.AUBURN.EDU first. Note that DUCVAX is on ASC's Class B network, not Auburn's. Domains are administrative, networks much more physical. Don't expect 1:1 mappings. -=EPS=-