jc58+@andrew.cmu.edu (Johnny J. Chin) (12/03/90)
I know that SIMTEL20 is has an archive of software and utilities, but are there
any other sites that I can FTP to?
Things that I'm looking for are:
antivirus programs
virus scanning programs
disk utilities (ie. floppy and hard disk diagnostic software)
system diagnostic software
Novell Netware utilities
other network related utilities
Thanks in advance for your replies. Any suggestions and recommendations are
greatly appreciated.
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Carnegie Mellon University
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Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are STRICTLY my own, and not CMU's.ts@uwasa.fi (Timo Salmi) (12/03/90)
In article <wbKQx2y00UhWM2RW9K@andrew.cmu.edu> jc58+@andrew.cmu.edu (Johnny J. Chin) writes: >I know that SIMTEL20 is has an archive of software and utilities, but are there >any other sites that I can FTP to? Perhaps it time to repost this on the news. (As for the general list of ftp sites see the newsgroup comp.misc or get the file /pc/pd2/ftpsites.arc.) ------------------- begin prerecorded message ---------------------- From: Prof. Timo Salmi (Moderating at anon. ftp site 128.214.12.3) School of Business Studies, University of Vaasa, SF-65101, Finland Internet: ts@chyde.uwasa.fi Funet: gado::salmi Bitnet: salmi@finfun There are some frequently asked questions about the programs available from chyde.uwasa.fi, by anonymous ftp, from the /pc/.. directories here at the University of Vaasa, Finland, site 128.214.12.3. Below you will find many of them prerecorded with answers. Please notice that the questions & answers are not in any logical order. The order has more or less been dictated by the arriving questions. And, there is overlapping. If you are well familiar with FTP and mail servers please note the following. Using automated FTP (batchftp) is preferred, since it minimizes the connection time (it is convenient for you, anyway). Furthermore, use mail servers ONLY if you don't have the FTP potential. ................................................................... Anonymous ftp site chyde.uwasa.fi 128.214.12.3 is moderated by Timo Salmi ts@chyde.uwasa.fi PC directories /pc/pd2 and /pc/ts Harri Valkama hv@chyde.uwasa.fi PC and Mac files, and uploads Hannu Hirvonen hh@chyde.uwasa.fi VAX/VMS, Unix, system manager ................................................................... 1) What is this anonymous ftp? 2) Send file(s) to me by email. (Or how to use the mail server?) 3) Why announce programs in c.b.i.p.d when not everybody can ftp? 4) Do you announce all additions to your archives in c.b.i.p.d? 5) How is anonymous ftp used? 6) When I try to unpack the package I received, it is corrupt. 7) Send me a list where on Simtel20 I can find the same programs. 8) What is chyde.wasa.fi guest user-id? 9) The packages won't run on my PC when I type their names. 10) I have made some programs myself. Are you interested? 11) I want a description of the programs to decide what to get. 12) Why don't you reply to my email messages? 13) I get an "unknown packing method" error message. 14) I need a program for such and such purpose. Any directions? 15) What are these peculiar files with a .Z extension? 16) Where does one get the files listed in files-mm.zip? 17) I have this technical problem with anonymous ftp. 18) Is there any way of automating getting the files? 19) Why doesn't your mail server respond to my correct request? ................................................................... 1. ***** Q: I do not understand this getting files with anonymous ftp. What does it mean? A: FTP stands for file transfer program, which is a standard feature in many mainframe Unix and VAX/VMS systems. It also means that you must have a network connection to reach University of Vaasa. Please contact your computer's system manager for more information on the connection. When this is ok, just follow the instructions in the Appendix at the end of this prerecorded message. 2. ***** Q: Many of us users have no ftp access. Would you please send programs to me by email. A1: To get files sent to you by email, please use our mail server. To get more information write a message to hv@chyde.uwasa.fi. The subject line of this message must be chyde-request The message must contain just the following text (at the beginning of the line): send help Do not include a signature because it may confuse the server. If you do not understand, please don't send the mail server request. If you have ftp capability, please use ftp, since it causes less load. A2: Our customary format for the file names when announcing programs for ANONYMOUS FTP is e.g. /pc/pd2/dirmat20.zip IMPORTANT!!! The format for the MAIL SERVER is shorter: send pd2/dirmat20.zip In other words omit /pc/ from the path when using our mail server. 3. ***** Q: Why announce programs in the comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d newsgroup when many users do not have the ftp capability? A: Look at it this way. I know this is a problem. In fact I had an interesting and lengthy email discussion with one user about this dilemma. Let me put forward my own view about c.b.i.p.d. I feel that the primary purpose of a group like this is (or should be) to disseminate and exchange useful information about PC programs. A secondary purpose is to exchange information about getting files. In getting the files there are five major alternatives, that is posting in binaries, ftp, emailing between users, using mail servers, and BBSes. What this amounts to is that even if you do not have the ftp capability, the information may give you usefuls hints what programs to look for via the many alternative methods of getting the files. 4. ***** Q: Do you announce all your new programs in c.b.i.p.d? A: No, with the exception of the programs in the /pc/ts directory we have only announced programs that we have felt particularly interesting for one reason or another. 5. ***** Q: I have the ftp (file transfer program) capability and a network access that includes your 128.214.12.3 site chyde.uwasa.fi. But how do I transfer the files? What are the commands? A: The information and examples in the appendix of this message should enable you to get the files. 6. ***** Q: I have received the programs but the package is corrupt. When I try to unpak them with my unpacking program (pkxarc, pkunpak, arc, pkunzip, lharc, zoo, etc.) the unpacking fails or produces files that lock my PC. A: This is almost always due to failing to transfer the files correctly from your mainframe to your PC. Please see the latter part of the appendix for more information. 7. ***** Q: I would rather like to get the files from Simtel20 since I have an easier access there. Send me a list telling in which directories the files are in Simtel20. A: We are often asked this (and other) information about Simtel20. We like to cooperate with Simtel20, but nevertheless this is really something you should find out from Simtel20, not us. North American users please note. Maintainer of SIMTEL20 archives Keith Petersen has expressed a wish that you first try one of the many archives in the USA such as SIMTEL20 and wuarchive.wustl.edu instead of overseas sites to cut down the load on the overseas link. Please contact him for further information on SIMTEL20 usage. One of his email addresses is w8sdz@@wsmr-simtel20.army.mil. For the other users the reciprocal seems logical. First take a look at uwasa.fi archives (or some other European site). 8. ***** Q: Do you have a guest user-id? I cannot ftp, but I can reach your site through the net. I type anonymous at the login: and then try to give my email address at the Password:. I am not let in, but get a "Login incorrect" message instead. A: We do not accept guest users. This means that what you tried, is not allowed at our site. The only way you can get connected to our system is using the true ftp system, which is described in the appendix. 9. ***** Q: I now have the files, but they have this .arc (or .lzh, .pak, .zip, .zoo) extension and they won't run then I write their name at my DOS prompt. A: The files are packed (also often called archived) entities. These are special formats of compressing files and packing several files together. This is usually standard knowledge for PC users, and if you are not familiar with the system, just ask a knowledgeable fellow user. What you need is the proper unpacking programs such as ARC, PKXARC, PKUNPAK, PKUNZIP, PAK, LHARC, ZOO and so on. And, you will find all the necessary tools for handling packed files in the /pc/pd2 directory. For example, if the extension is .zip get the self-extracting pkz110eu.exe utility (or whatever is latest version). 10. ***** Q: I have made some programs myself which I think might be of general interest. (Or I have obtained these programs that I think would be of particular interest). Would it be possible to upload them to your system. A: Yes, we are certainly interested in all quality programs. (A proper documentation is one of the prerequisites). There are two alternatives in sending your package to us. You can send your (.arc, .lzh, .zip, or .zoo) package uuencoded to me, or to my fellow moderator Harri Valkama (hv@chyde.uwasa.fi). If it is a multi-part posting it would be convenient (but not absolutely necessary) to use the same begin-end system as comp.binaries.ibm.pc uses for binary postings. If you are sending an update, I would recommend that you make the version number a part of your package name. For example, I use the following format, tsutil30.arc and so on, in my own packages. The second method is using ftp to put your package directly to our /incoming directory. If you use this alternative, contact Harri Valkama hv@chyde.uwasa.fi informing him about your upload. I don't poll the /incoming directory. If you need more information on this second alternative, please ask Harri. Please note that if you are sending someone else's (standard) programs, the latter alternative is strongly preferred, since it causes less work. The use of the former alternative is more relevant if you are submitting your own program for evaluation and potential inclusion. The choice is yours, of course, but these are my preferences. 11. ***** Q: Is there a description of the programs? I would like to have some information on the files before I start transferring them. A: Yes, certainly. This approach is even recommended. There is a a file of general information called HELP, and a file called INDEX which is a list and a general description of the files. Furthermore, directories /pc/pd2 and /pc/ts have contents files of their own. They are called 0dir-pd2 and 0dir-ts, respectively. Both the directories also have a file which has news on updates and such information. They are called 0news-pd2 and 0news-ts, respectively. Finally there is a (/pc/ts/)tsarcxxx.txt (where xxx stands for a changing version number). It contains more detailed information on the contents of each of the packages in the /pc/ts directory. 12. ***** Q: I sent you a message a couple of weeks ago. Did you receive it? Why don't you reply? A: I try to reply to all queries I have received. But getting the reply to you successfully is not always technically possible. The reason for this is, that the reply address which the mail program gives, is sometimes not adequate. My reply bounces back to me as a consequence. Therefore you should include your InterNet and/or BitNet address in your message. Using proper signatures in email is customary, anyway. This does not guarantee a successful reply, but it definitely increases the possibility of getting an eventual reply. 13. ***** Q: When I try to unpack the package I get something like an "unknown packing method" error message. What is wrong? A: First check that you are using the correct unpacking program by looking at the extension of the file name, and select the unpacking program accordingly. If this does not help, you are most likely using an outdated version of the relevant unpacking program. Get the latest version. The /pc/pd2 directory has a good collection of these tools. 14. ***** Q: I am interested to know if there exists a program for such and such purpose. Would you point me in the right direction. (This question also often occurs in the news postings.) A1: Most often the best answer is to look through file lists. We have several such lists which should together have quite a good coverage of the PD programs in circulation. These lists are /pc/INDEX, /pc/pd2/0dir-pd2, /pc/ts/0dir-ts plus /pc/ts/tsarc100.txt or later (there are lists for our site, chyde.uwasa.fi), /pc/pd2/files-mm.zip (a good English speaking Finnish BBS), and /pc/pd2/simibm.zip (Simtel20 list). A2: How to find files on chyde.uwasa.fi: If you are looking for a particular program at chyde.uwasa.fi you should start by getting the following files: /pc/INDEX /pc/pd2/0dir-pd2 /pc/ts/0dir-ts /pc/ts/tsarc100.txt (or whatever version number is latest) For seeing what is new in the /pc/pd2 and /pc/ts directories, get /pc/pd2/0news-pd2 /pc/ts/0news-ts A3: To save you the trouble of downloading all of those files if all you want is to search for one or two programs, you can use an index server maintained by Raymond Chen (rjc@math.princeton.edu). To obtain instructions, send email with any subject and containing the single word "help" to the above address. 15. ***** Q: I have noticed that some directories at chyde.uwasa.fi include files that have a .Z extension. What are they? A: They are Unix files. Chyde.uwasa.fi is a Unix system, and many these files are related to handling the PC files without having first to transfer them to from the Unix mainframe to the PC. Please see /unix/ts/0news-u for more details. 16. ***** Q: Exactly where does one obtain the files listed in files-mm.zip? There didn't seem to be any indication to that effect in the FILES.TXT file, and I'm almost certain you don't keep them at chyde... A: They are available at FidoNet node 2:515/1, Micro Maniacs Opus, Finland, phone 358-0-425966. The reason for having files-mm.zip is to have a file list of one good BBS so that the users can look what kind of files are available in one good bulletin board, even if Simtel20 or chyde.uwasa.fi do not have all these files. 17. ***** Q: (This question comes in various formats, but the point of all the queries is that the user's host does not know chyde.uwasa.fi.) I received your message last week on how to use FTP. However, after judicious perusal of your text, I still cannot access the files. Here is an exact transcription of the error message I get: $ FTP FTP>con "chyde.uwasa.fi" %UCX-E-FTP_HSTINF, Failed to get host information for chyde.uwasa.fi from database -RMS-E-RNF, record not found. Can you please help? I even tried using 128.214.12.3 in the CONNECT command. A: This may depend on the version of the ftp program, but ours uses open instead of connect, but I doubt that this is your real problem. The most probable problem is that your site does not include the information on our domain and/or site. To my knowledge there is nothing that we can do about that here at chyde.uwasa.fi. It is up to your own system manager. I do not know the technical details, but if there are any that your system manager needs from us, tell him/her contact ours. He is Hannu Hirvonen, hh@chyde.uwasa.fi. But first of all check that your syntax in our ftp usage is correct. Is using the quotes valid, etc. When you could not reach chyde.uwasa.fi by using its name, you did the right thing in then trying to use the site IP number 128.214.12.3 before giving up. Users sometimes fail to notice that using the site number occasionally is sufficient to solve the problem. Incidentally, your query begins to belong to frequently asked questions and I shall include an edited copy of this message to the Q&A. 18. ***** Q: The ftp session is repetitive and tedious, and the connection is not always available. Is there any way to automate getting files from chyde.uwasa.fi by anonymous ftp. A: Yes, there is a useful facility called batchftp by Shawn Cooper, which achieves this if you have a BSD Unix system. You can get it by downloading /unix/ts/batchftp10.zoo (or whatever version is the latest). The package contains documentation, and also see /unix/ts/0news-u for brief instructions. This system has the added advantage of cutting down the unnecessary idle time inherent in "manual" ftp connections. 19. ***** Q: I sent a mail server request to chyde.uwasa.fi but I get no response at all. And I am sure that I did everything as instructed. A: In that case your, or your system's, email address is probably badly configured. Please contact your own system manager. DON'T send a repeat request until your email address problem has been resolved!!! What happens is this. We get your request, but when chyde tries to honor your request to send you the file(s) by email, the email bounces back to us because of the problems in your email address. If you send repeat requests, it will just clog our post-master with the bounced email. Try using a corrected mail address to return the requests. You can do this by adding the following command to (the body of) your message to our mail server. path <path to your machine> e.g. path youruserid@yourmachine.yourdomain.yourcountry send WhateverYouWant You should contact your system manager to asses an optimized path especially if you are using UUCP or BANG paths to get your mail delivered to us. Our mail server checks the mail queue every 15 minutes so if you don't get response in a reasonable time you'd better check this one out with a little help from your friends. You can use this command with or without the <> characters. ***** APPENDIX: Obtaining the Programs by FTP ======================================= You can obtain the file(s) from chyde.uwasa.fi (128.214.12.3) using the InterNet ftp (file transfer program) with username "anonymous". For a login password use your electronic mail address. If you are using ftp from a VAX/VMS system, set case lower before proceeding. Consider as an example the programs of Timo Salmi. The files are in directory /pc/ts. At the ftp> prompt first type binary (for binary files). To go to the relevant directory apply cd /pc/ts. To see its contents apply ls or dir. To download a file, use get filename or mget filenames. The files have been packed with PKPAK so you will need PKUNPAK from PKWARE to unpack them in your PC. The following contains the same information by giving the commands needed for transferring vaasa.inf (contains text on Finland, Vaasa, and University of Vaasa) and tspfon29.arc as an example. In the example its is assumed that you are calling from a Unix system. The usage for a VAX/VMS system is quite similar. It is recommended that you first get the file 0dir-pd2 for more information. ftp #Invoke the file transfer program open 128.214.12.3 #Connect to chyde.uwasa.fi at the University #of Vaasa anonymous #Use this name to get temporary privileges Give your email address as your password cd /pc/ts #Go to the relevant directory dir #Directory of available files ascii #vaasa.inf is an ordinary text file get vaasa.inf #Copy the file to your default directory binary #tspfon29.arc is a binary file mget tspfon*.arc #mget allows wildcards close #Terminate the connection quit #Quit the file transfer program Transferring the Programs to PC =============================== After you have received the files to your host, there still remains the task of transferring the programs to your PC. This is familiar to most users, but occasionally there are problems. It impossible to give advice that would cover resolving all the difficulties, but the most common can be described. The most usual file transfer method between the host Kermit and the user's PC is MsKermit. (Z-modem and others may be used as well, but I would guess that most often persons using these alternatives are advanced users, and can resolve any problems by themselves.) The most common problem is probably that after getting a packed file to one's PC, the file appears damaged. Almost always this is due to failing to set correctly the Kermit parameters at ONE or BOTH ends of the transfer. What you have to do is the following. In your host Kermit set file type binary, set parity even (or none or whatever), and in your PC MsKermit you must have the SAME parity you set for your host (select host Kermit parity on the basis of your PC's). If you fail to get these compatible, the transfer will not result in what you want. Transferring text files does not lead to problems so often. The trick is set file type text (or ascii depending on your Kermit version). Finally, if nothing else, absolutely nothing else(!), seems to resolve the problem, please let us know, and we will check that the file at our site is good and proper. -------------------- end prerecorded message -----------------------
martin@dell.co.uk (Martin Jackson) (03/12/91)
Can anyone tell me of an easy way to get to anonymous ftp sites from the U.K. All help welcome. Thanks, Martin. -- [ ** The views express above are my =OWN= and not of my employer ** ] Martin Jackson, Dell Computer Corp. (UK) | Email address Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 1RW | Domain: martin@dell.co.uk Tel: +44-344-860456 | Uucp: ...!ukc!delluk!martin