Data and File Transfer Workshop Announcement
A workshop to unify data and file transfer protocols.
Bhushan, A.K., "Data and File Transfer Workshop Announcement", RFC 309, DOI 10.17487/RFC0309, March 1972, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc309>.
@misc{rfc309,
series = {Request for Comments},
number = 309,
howpublished = {RFC 309},
publisher = {RFC Editor},
doi = {10.17487/RFC0309},
url = {https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc309},
author = {A.K. Bhushan},
title = {{Data and File Transfer Workshop Announcement}},
pagetotal = 6,
year = 1972,
month = mar,
} RFC text
Network Working Group 17 March 1972
Request For Comments # 309 Abhay Bhushan
NIC # 9260 MIT-MAC
DATA AND FILE TRANSFER WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENT
--------------------------------------------
MIT will host a workshop on Data and File Transfer, Friday,
April 14 and Saturday, April 15, 1972. People have expressed an
interest in revising the existing ARPANET Data and File Transfer
Protocols (RFC # 264 and RFC # 265), to make them more suitable
to fulfill the now better understood ARPANET requirements.
The objective of this workshop is to arrive at a unified
convention for ARPANET data and file transfer. It is important
that we adequately consider the needs of TIP users, DATACOMPUTER
users, remote job entry users, and the major ARPANET service
systems.
In addition to the current members of the data and file
transfer protocol committee, I have invited a number of
interested parties to talk and participate in this workshop. On
the first day's agenda is a list of speakers who have agreed to
discuss their respective interests in data and file transfer. If
your interests have not been represented and you would like to
give a presentation or discuss a specific area, please contact me
(617-864-6900 Ext. 1428).
Participants are encouraged to have written position papers
ready at the time of this meeting. If possible, these papers
should be distributed as NWG/RFCs or informal notes to workshop
invitees, prior to the workshop.
As this meeting is intended to be an intensive workshop,
with the second half devoted to a detailed specification of
protocol, it will be necessary to limit attendance. The
attendance to this meeting is by invitation only. A list of
invitees is attached. If you have not been invited, and would
like to attend the workshop, please contact me.
Hotel reservations may be made at Random House, operated by
MIT's Real Estate office ($5.00 to $7.00/night), by contacting
either me or Sue Pitkin (617-864-6900 Ext. 1450) before March
31st. If you would prefer other hotel accomodations instead, a
convenient hotel is the Fenway motor Hotel (Tel. 617-492-4777).
Please contact either me or Sue Pitkin if you intend to come.
NWG/RFC # 309 Abhay Bhushan
AGENDA
------
FRIDAY April 14th, 1972
-----------------------
8th Floor Conference Room, MIT Project MAC,
545 Technology Square, Cambridge, Mass.
Morning Session -- 9:00 a.m.
----------------------------
LIST OF SPEAKERS
Steve Crocker -- ARPA
Keynote Address and General Discussion
Richard Winter -- CCA
The DATACOMPUTER and ARPANET Protocols
William Crowther -- BBN-NET
Data and File Transfer to Terminal IMPs
Robert T. Braden -- UCLA-CCN
Remote Job Service on ARPANET -- A Server Viewpoint
John Heafner -- RAND
Remote Job Service on ARPANET -- A User Viewpoint
(LUNCH)
Afternoon Session -- 1:30 p.m.
------------------------------
Ray Tomlinson -- BBN-TENEX
The TENEX View and Experience With "CPYNET"
Abhay Bhushan -- MIT-MAC
Current Data and File Transfer Strategies and
Some Measurement Results.
NWG/RFC # 309 Abhay Bhushan
GROUP DISCUSSION OF DATA TRANSFER PROTOCOL
Discuss revision and specific changes to the existing data
transfer protocol (RFC 264). See tentative discussion items for
DTP on page 4. You are expected to have read RFC 264 and be
familiar with it.
GROUP DISCUSSION OF FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL
Discuss revision and specific changes to the existing file
transfer protocol (RFC 265). See tentative list of discussion
items on page 4. You are expected to have read RFC 265 and be
familiar with it.
AGENDA (Cont.)
--------------
SATURDAY April 15, 1972
------------------------
8th Floor Conference Room, MIT Project MAC,
545 Technology Square, Cambridge, Mass.
Morning Session -- 9:00 a.m.
----------------------------
WORKING SESSION ON DATA AND FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOLS
Objective is to come up with revised specifications for data
and file transfer protocols that fulfill current (existing and
anticipated) ARPANET needs. A unified approach is a desirable
goal to strive for.
Continuation of Friday's discussion of data and file
transfer protocols, incorporating specific ideas and changes in
the existing protocols.
Possible formation of a sub-committee whose task is to write
the revised specificaitons for DTP and FTP.
Afternoon Session -- 1:30 p.m.
------------------------------
(TO BE DECIDED)
NWG/RFC # 309 Abhay Bhushan
Tentative List of Items for Discussion
--------------------------------------
Data Transfer Protocol (DTP)
----------------------------
- DTP vs TELNET. Concept of extended TELNET, or
allowing use of ASCII in DTP.
- Error Control and recovery in DTP (use of
error checks, restart, etc.)
- Modes available -- handshake, only one mode, or use
of default.
- Information separator, Aborts, and the Use
of Close (NCP-CLS) to Separate Information.
- Use of DTP with TIPs
- Use of DTP with DATACOMPUTER
File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
----------------------------
- Use of ICP, inter-mixing data and control,
transferring files to third connections
(possibly to different sites)
- The command language ASCII or codes
- Handling of data types and physical storage.
- Handling of descriptors and logical structure
- Error control and error recovery
- Use of FTP with TIPs
- Use of FTP with DATACOMPUTER
- Uniform Pathnames and the ARPANET virtual file system.
NWG/RFC # 309 Abhay Bhushan
List of Invitees
----------------
R. T. Braden -- UCLA-CCN , A. Chan -- MIT-DMCG , S. D. Crocker --
ARPA , W. Crowther -- BBN-TIP , E. Harslem -- Rand , J. Heafner
-- Rand , A. McKenzie -- BBN-NET , J. Melvin -- SRI-ARC (NIC) ,
E. Meyer -- MIT-MULTICS , J. Postel -- UCLA-NMC , N. Ryan --
MIT-MULTICS , M. Seriff -- MIT-DMCG , R. Sundberg -- Harvard , R.
Tomlinson -- BBN-TENEX , R. Watson -- SRI-ARC (NIC) , J. White --
UCSB , R. Winter -- CCA
Suggested Reading
-----------------
It is recommended that prior to the workshop, attendees read
the following papers. This will greatly enhance the success of
the workshop.
1. The Data Trnasfer Protocol, NWG/RFC # 264
2. The File Transfer Protocol, NWG/RFC # 265
3. The Use of "Set Data Type" Transaction in File
Transfer Protocol, A. Bhushan, NWG/RFC # 294
4. Using ARPANET Remote Job Entry, E. Harslem, NWG/RFC # 307
5. NETRJT -- Remote Job Service Protocol for TIPs,
R. T. Braden, NWG/RFC # 283
6. Interim NETRJS Specifications, R. T. Braden, NWG/RFC # 189
7. User's View of the DATACOMPUTER, R. Winter, NWG/RFC # 219
8. Data Language, CCA, NIC # 8208
9. A Suggested Addition to File Transfer Protocol,
A. McKenzie, NWG/RFC # 281
10. Revision of the Mail Box Protocol, NWG/RFC # 278
11. Some Experience with File Transfer, H. Brodie,
NWG/RFC # 269
12. ARPANET Specifications for UCSB's Simple-Minded
File System, J. White, NWG/RFC # 122
(In addition please also read any of the position papers
distributed prior to the workshop.)
NWG/RFC # 309 Abhay Bhushan
[ 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
§1The Workshop
On April 14-15, 1972, MIT's Project MAC hosted an intensive workshop on data and file transfer protocols. The ARPANET community recognized that the existing Data Transfer Protocol (RFC 264) and File Transfer Protocol (RFC 265) needed revision to better serve the network's growing and diverse user base, including TIP users, remote job entry systems, and datacomputer services.
The workshop brought together key protocol designers and implementers from across the network, including Steve Crocker from ARPA, representatives from BBN, UCLA, RAND, and other major sites. The goal was to develop unified conventions that could serve all these different needs rather than maintaining separate, incompatible protocols.
Computer scientists from around the early internet met at MIT to fix problems with how files were sent between computers.
§2Agenda and Speakers
Friday's morning session featured speakers discussing current approaches. Richard Winter from CCA discussed the DATACOMPUTER and its protocol needs. Robert Braden from UCLA presented the remote job service from a server perspective, while John Heafner from RAND described it from the user side. Ray Tomlinson from BBN-TENEX described experience with file copying programs, and Abhay Bhushan presented MIT's data transfer strategies and measurement results.
Friday afternoon and Saturday morning were devoted to group discussions and working sessions. Participants examined the technical details of DTP and FTP, discussing issues like error control, information separators, data types, and file system handling.
Different computer centers shared what problems they had, and then everyone worked together to find solutions.
§3Key Issues Addressed
The workshop tackled specific problems identified in the existing protocols. For the Data Transfer Protocol, discussions covered error handling and recovery, the relationship between DTP and TELNET, different transfer modes, and how to handle information separators and aborts.
For the File Transfer Protocol, the group discussed the use of the Initial Connection Protocol (ICP) and interconnection patterns, command language design, handling of different data types and file storage formats, error recovery, and the concept of a virtual file system with uniform pathnames across the ARPANET.
A particular concern was ensuring that both simple TIP users and sophisticated datacomputer systems could use the same unified protocols effectively.
They listed tough problems to solve, like how to make sure files didn't get scrambled and how to use the same rules on very different computers.
§4Community Engagement
The workshop was invitation-only, with a curated list of invitees from major network sites. However, anyone interested could request to attend. Participants were encouraged to prepare position papers in advance, which were distributed as RFCs or informal notes to help focus the discussions.
The RFC references suggested reading, including earlier work on data transfer, remote job entry, and file system design, helping participants prepare for the technical discussions ahead.
The organizers sent an invitation list but welcomed people who wanted to join the conversation, and asked everyone to write down their ideas beforehand.