Index Journeys
RFC 218 UNKNOWN INFRASTRUCTURE · ARPANET

Changing the IMP status reporting facility

Notification of changes to IMP status reporting to the Network Control Center

On rfc-editor.org ↗
PUBLISHED
September 1971
AUTHORS
B. Cosell
STREAM
Legacy
REPORTS REMOVED
Text status reports
REPORTS KEPT
Binary version to NCC
STATISTICS PROGRAM
Fake host 3
TIMELINE
Within one month
DOI
10.17487/RFC0218

RFC text

Original text · RFC Editor View on rfc-editor.org ↗ 
Network Working Group                           B. Cosell
Request for Comments #218                       BBN
NIC #7548                                       8 September 1971
Categories:  B.1
Updates:  none
Obsoletes: none

     To help us expand our role as NCC, we will be changing the
status reporting facility of the IMP.  The change will take place
within the next month and should be transparent to the hosts.

     The text status reports will be removed.  They have already
been completely superseded by a binary version sent directly to
the NCC and are now just excess baggage.

     The status reports will remain with the statistics program
on fake host 3, but will no longer be affected by any of the
PARAMETER CHANGE parameters.  This will prevent the Hosts from
inadvertently interfering with the operation of the NCC.


BC/jm

   [ This RFC was put into machine readable form for entry ]
   [ into the online RFC archives by BBN Corp. under the   ]
   [ direction of Alex McKenzie.                   12/96   ]

AI ELI5

On this page
PROBLEMThe IMP system had two forms of status reporting: text-based messages that were generated per-host and a binary format sent directly to the Network Control Center. The text reports had become redundant since the binary version superseded them.
MECHANISMBBN removes the text status reports entirely, keeping only the binary version that goes to the NCC. The remaining statistics program on fake host 3 is modified to no longer respond to host parameter-change settings, preventing hosts from accidentally interfering with NCC monitoring.
WHY IT MATTERSThe IMP reporting system becomes simpler, with less excess data, and the NCC's monitoring is protected from unintended host interference.

§1Status Reporting Change

To help BBN expand its role as the Network Control Center, changes were made to the IMP's status reporting facility. The primary change was removing text-based status reports that had become redundant.

The text reports had already been completely superseded by a binary version sent directly to the NCC. The text reports were now excess baggage consuming unnecessary bandwidth and resources, so BBN removed them from the system within one month of this announcement.

The network managers decide to stop sending old-fashioned text reports because they already have a better computer-readable version.

§2Statistics Program Protection

The status reports through the statistics program on fake host 3 are retained, but a key change is made: these reports will no longer be affected by any PARAMETER CHANGE directives issued by hosts. This isolation prevents hosts from inadvertently or intentionally interfering with the Network Control Center's monitoring operations.

By decoupling the statistics program from host parameter changes, the NCC gains reliable visibility into network status without risk that host software might alter monitoring behavior.

The monitoring stays where it is, but host computers cannot change its settings by accident.

§3Impact

These changes are expected to be transparent to hosts, requiring no host software modifications. The removal of redundant text reports simplifies the IMP implementation and reduces network traffic. The isolation of monitoring from host parameter changes increases the reliability and security of NCC operations.

Host computers will not notice the change, but the network monitoring becomes simpler and safer.