Server File Transfer Under TSS/360 At NASA-Ames Research Center

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                                                                                                           1 2.762

     NETI-lOHK WORK I JG GROU?                                       Hayne Hathaway ( flJ.1ES- 6 7)
     Requ est for Commen t s        ~418                             Novembe r 27 , 197 2
     Nr c if1 276 2
     Ca t e gor i e s D. 7 , G. 3




                            Se r ve r Fi le Tr ansfer Und er TSS/3 60
                                 At NASA-Ame s r esear c h Cen t e r




     r ni s RFC i s a des cr iption o f the i ni t i a l ~mp l eme n t a t i 0 n o f Se r v e r Fi le
     Tr a nsf e r. at N,\ S -I.-Ames r e s e ar ch Cent r , I t a l s o c o n t a ins s ome c cmme n t s
     on t he c u r r e n ~ Fil e Tran s f e r Pro t oco l ( RFC' s 354 -od 385) and some
     s ugge s ti on s f or fut ur.e ex ens i on s . Comme n t s or que s ti on s s ho u ld be
     d i r ect e d t o :


                                           '.Jay ne Ila r haway
                                           Na il St op 233-9
                                           iTASA- ne s Rese a r ch Cent e r
                                           Ho f f e tt Fie l d , C l~ 9l~ 0 3 5
                                            (415 ) 965 - 6033 or
                                            (408 ) 736- 7439

                                                                                RFC 418 Pa ge 2




TI1e k1PA Networ k =ilc t ransf er f acilities p r o v i d e d a t Ames i n t e r f a c e
v e r y cl o s e ly with the st and a rd TSS fi l e mana g ement f a cility; n etwork
u s e r s s h o u l d b e f ara i I ia r wit h TSS in g e n e r a l a nd its f i Le handling
c a p a b i l i t i e s i n part ic u la r . A few o f the ba si c conc epts are me n tione d
h e r e.      Ea ch per son a llowe d t o use TSS i s as si g n ed a use r id en t if icat i o n
( USERI D) , wh i c h i s padded to eight cha r a c te rs ui th a ste r i s k s by the
s y s t eru, At Ame s , t h e u s e r i d is normally f o rme d from a three l.e t t er
o r g a n i z a t i o n cod e a nd the us e r I s Ln i t i a l s , Ea c h us e r i d has its own
catalog ( d i r e ctory ) , wh i c h co n t s ins poi n te r s to a ll da t a s e t s (files)
wh i c h may be acc e s s e d by t he u s e r .          TSS da ta set n ames a re ma de up of
one or more cual i f ic a t ion l e v el s, up to e igh t ch ar a ct er.s each, sep ar ated
by pe r io d s . 1 h c highes t qu a l i f ic a t io n l c ve~ is in fac t the u s er i d , but
t his i s no t En tered whe n s p ec i f y i n g da t as e '; n ame s ; t h e c ur r e n t l y a c t i v e
uBerid i s a pp e nded by t h e s ystem to al l n m: es entered hy the user .
The Leve ln o f. qua l ifi cat i on form a t r e e s t r u c t u r e wh ich may be us ed t o
i d e n t i f y lo g ical gr o u ps of da t a s ets . Only ends o f br -nches a ctually
n am d a t asc t s ; suc h n aine s are t e rrne d " f u l l y qualified " n ames .            Pa r ti al ­
ly qu a li f i e d narne s a re u s e d i n many TSS d a ca s e t management c omma n d s
but a r e no t u s e d in AI{ PA Ne two r k Fi l e Tr ansfer . Host d atase t s u n d e r
TSS are co n t a Lne d o n a pool of un ivers a ll y a vailable disks tenne d
" p ub l i c s to r,ge . " Da t s e t s o n p u blic s to rdgc ar e au t omatica lly c a t a ­
l o g e d at c r e . .,t i o n . Da t a s e t s ma y al so e x is t on pr iva t e d e vi ce s , eit her
d i s k s o r t a pes .        Pri v a t dat as et s may be c 3t a lo g e d or n o t , a s the u ser
d e s Lr-e s , On I y disk datas e t s i n the " v i rt u a l a c c e s s me t h od " ( VAH) are
s up po r t e d by TSS Serv er Fil e Tr a n sfer , but private ViI:'1 datas ets may be
use d .: f c a t a l o g e d . Ampl e TSS commands ex i s t for tra n s ferri n g VJJ:1 d a t a ­
s et s t o t a pe , c a r d s, pri nter , etc .

The TS S c a t a l o g struc ture a lso a Ll ows ex t e n s i v e sh ar ing of d a t a s e c s
amon g u s ers.       Th i.s 'har in g n:ay he done a t        ny q:.la li fic a tion le ve l   nd
wL th read -onl y , r e ad-wr i t e , o r u al i mi ted ac c e s s ( o n l y unl imited sh aring
a llows e r as I ng ) ,     To share a TSS da .a s e t , r.he owne r must firs t " pe rm i t "
it t o on e or mor e u s e r s , Each u s er must the n e x pl i c i t l y " s h a r e " i t,
wh i ch c a u s e s a n e n t r y for t h e d atase t t o be made i n hi s c at a l o g . This
e n try , which ma y he u nd er a dif f erent n ame t h an the o ri ginal, do e s
n o t poi n t t o the d a t a s et it s e l f , b u t rathe . ~ p o i n t s to t h e appropr i ate
e ntry i n th e own e r IS c a t a l o g , T i s a l l ows t ' e own e r t o c h a n g e o r re ­
move s h a r i n g acc ess a t any im e .

TS S FI LE STRGCTURE

1\ b r i e f discus s ion is al s o i n r d e r ab o u t the d iffere nc e be twe c n un ­
st r u c t u r e d f iles a nd re c o r d - s truc t u re d f il e s . All f i l e s on TSS are
sto r e d 'Io1 i t h some f o rm o f re cord s rue t ure , a I tho u gh each r ecord may be
u p t o one mi l lion bytes i n l e n g t h; the i mp o r t a n t thing i s the mean i ng
a t tribut ed to a record .

For har a c t e r o rie nt ed d a t a s e t s (e. g . , s ou rc e pro gr ams , l i s ti n gs, pr ogr am
d o cum en t a t i on ) a r ec o r d c orr e s p o nd s to a 1 i n c ; t h e r c ar e no end -of ­
r eco r d mark e rs in the da t a it s el f (C R-L?, NL, r:OL) .                 Th e TSS e d i t o r s
require t his , t h e t r r.ns l a t o r s re q uir e thi s and so for t h.            Thi s do es not
p r e c l ud e h av i .ng a n EBCDIC "new- Li n c " cl a rac te r ( NL) in h e c a t a , how­

                                                                        RFC 4 18 Pa ge 3


ever ; it is ju st trea t e d as par t o f the l i n e of dat a . . hus ch a r ac t e r
oriented fi les must be sent to and sto r ed on TSS ,. . ith r e cord s t r uc ­
turing t o c us e f u l :

The u s e o f uns t r uc t ur ed f i l e s on TSS i s us ually rest r i cted t o bin a r y
data and ob j e c t pro gr ams . From t he net'. . ork t h e onl y u s e fo r s uch f i l e s
wou ld be dat a whi c h i s in fa ct a t o t a l ly uns tr ucture d s t r i n g o f b i t s
( us i ng INAGE type). An examp le mi gh t be a n ob j e c t pr o gr am for an IHLAC.

Becau se o f the a bove , ou r s erve r h as imp lement ed t he fol lowi ng c on ­
ve ntions .

Sendin ~   structured dat a ( RETR, STRU R) :

      An end-o f -record      eq ue n ce wi l l b' add e d to e a c h r e c or d read fr om
       t he TSS da t a s t (e i t he r " s t r e am" mode CI - LF o r " t ex t " mode Ea R) .

Sendi ng un st r uc t ur ed dat a (RETR, STRU F):

      The da t a ~ i l l be sent wi t h no end- of - re c ord se qu e nc e a dde d .

Re c ei vi ng s tr uc tur e d d t a ( STa R or   PPE, STRU R) :

      An e d- o f-r e c or d s equ nce i s r e qu i r ed t o def i ne e ac h TSS re c or d
       (wi t h a meximum r ec or d len g t h o f 101 2 by t e s ).

Rec e i v i ng un s t r uctur ed data ( STOR or APP E, STRU F) :

      Every c hara c te r r eceived i s wr i tt en i.n t o a rb i trary s i z e d r e c or d s
      ( ex ce p t fer " text" mode EO F cha r ac t e r ) .

The above Ln p l e.. e n t a t i on does sa ti s fy one c r i t e r i on ( a s state d in t he
t h i r d sentenc e of I I I . C i RFC 35 4) : an y f i l e sent t o TS S may be r e ­
tri sv e d ex a ctly a s sen t . F r ex ample , t hi s me ans t hat i f a charac te r
f ile i s s ent in uns truc t ured form , the CR- LF s e quenc e s wi l l be s t or e d
as p&rt of t he data. \~ l en this dat a s e t i s r c t r i ev ed (a l s o in unstr uc ­
t ur ed fo rm) no new e nd - of - re c or d i nd i c a t or s vri .Ll, be adde d, s o t he re­
t r i eve d fi le wil l have onl y the or igina l CR- LF rec or d i n fo rma t i on .
If the file wer e re t r i eved in reco r d-struc tu r c:.d form , howev e r , th i s
woul d of cour s e no t be t he c a s e ; i t i s impo rt an t that any unstr uc t ure d
f ile be r e t ri eve d i n exactly t he s ame manne r t ha t i t was s en t .

This c r i t e r i on o f retr ievabili ty is no t t he ma i n one o f conc ern t o
TSS us e r B, ho\ ever ; a a re i mpor tan t c ri t eri on is t ha t f i l e s sen t t o
TSS may be of us e on that s ystem ( L e . , may be edi t ed, may be pr in ted ,
e tc . ) . To a ccomplish 'hi s i t i s imperat ive tha t cha r a c t e r data be
sen t wi t h record st ructu r e .

As can be seen f r om the a bove d i scus s ion , th i s should not b . a prob l em
\.;i th rno s t ha s t s , as in d f a ul t t r , ns f e r s (MODE S, TYPE A) t hey are a l ­
ready i n lud i n g e nd-o f- r e c ord info rma i on a t t he e nd o f e a ch ph ysi c a l
1 i.n e ( CR- LF) . Thu s the on l y r e qu i r mont wou l d be t o no t r e j e c t t he
STRU R c omma nd ( a t le a s t in NODE S, TYP E A t r an s f e r s) . Thi s may c a us e

                                                                            RFC 4 18 Pa ge 4


s ome minor pr ob l ems ( s uch · s CR- L -L F- LF- LF f or ve r t i ca l s pa ci n g) but
it i s strong ly re uested that host s whi c h do not us ua lly st ore f il e s
in re c ord - st ructure form at l e as t i mpl eme nt STRU R i n th i s s imp le
c on t ex t.

TSS SERVER FILE TRA..~SF E !( nlPLENENTATIOj:~

The TSS i mpl emen t a tion of each o f t he fi l e t r a ns f e r comma nd s is de s ­
c r i be d be l ow. The maximum length for a c omman d and its paramete r s i s
256 cha r a c t e r s ( no t including t he CR- LF a t t he end ) . All blanks a r e
r emove d from t he parame er st r ing , aId s o b l an "s are ne ver si gni f i cant
e xc e p t t o sep~rate a com~and f rom its pa r ~~e ters.

Onl y he c ommands HAIL and MLFL may be u s ed when the re i s no ac ti ve
u s e r l ogged 0 1. ; al l o t he r co.mnands r e qui r e n pri or USER command .



The USER c ommand de f i ne s t he TSS lls e r i d t o be employe d f or c a t a l og a c ­
c e s s . Thi s must be a va l i d TSS use r id , but it mus t a l s o h av e be e n
s pe c i f i ed as h avi ng a c cess t o ne t wor k fi l e t ransfe r . Th i s is do ne by
i ns t a ll a t i on manageme nt in a anne r s i mi l ar t o e stabli sh ing a v a l i d
TSS us e r i d ; con t a c t Wayne Hathaway t o have exi s t ing TSS user ids jo i ne d
t o ARPA Ne t wor k Fi le Transfe r. The demon st r at i on userids ARPA, ARPA1 ,
a nd ARPA2 do h.::?ve a c c e s s t o f i l e t r a n s f e r .

The USER c Olmna nd also r e s e t s a l l f i l e transfe r paramete r s t o t he i r
de f a u l t va lues , i nc l udi ng HOST a nd SOCK. It is f e l t t h i s s h ou l d have
b e e n spe cif ied in t he pr o to co l .

I f a USE R co . and is e nt e r e d dur i ng a f i le l: r a n s f e r op e r a ti on i t wi l l
be hc: l d unt i 1 the t r a n s f e r i s c om p le e ; he new us e r i d \"i 11 he n be
proc e s s e d , a p a s swo r d may be requested , etc .

P SS

TSS fi le t r an s r e r pas swords are o p t i on al a nd a r e e s t ab li s he d when use r i ds
are gran ed f i:e t r an s f e r acces s . This pa s s ~ord i s not ne cessar ily the
s ame as t he nOl1nal TSS passvord . The demons t r a t i on use r ids ARPA, ARPAl ,
a nd ARPA2 have no pa sswo r ds .

ACCT

The ACCT c omm ~~ d i s no t s u ppor t e d .

The pro to c ol seems somewh t defic ient i n the def init io n of t he ACC T
comman d , pa rti c u l a r l y i the assign i ng of r e p l y codes . I wou l d l ike
t o pr opos e tha t code 33 1 be ass igned t o " -::: N TI~ R ACeT" when t he ACCT
c omma nd i s requ i r ed for "log-on" and code 1~ 3 3 be a s s i gne.d t o " ENTER
ACCT" when the .ecl' c ommand is requ i ted on ly for a part i c ular t r a ns f e r
op e r a t ion . It is fel t that this would a i d us er automata i n s a t i s f y i ng
par t i c u l a r s e r ve r r e qui r emen t s .

                                                                                  RFC 4 1 8 Pag e 5


BYTE

Th e o n ly BYTE size        s ~ppo r te d   is ei ght .

SOCK

The SOCK c on:m a n d is supported i n ac c ord a nc e ' vi t h the p r o t oc o l . The re
i s o n l y one HOST parame te r , how e ve r , wh i c h app l i es t o bo t h s e n d a n d
r e c e i v e s o c k ets.

TYPE

Ty p _ curren t ly suppo rted are . SCll an d ll'lAGE.                      Th e EBC DI C typ e "7i 11
be a d d e d l at e r . The two " p r i n t f il e " t y pe s a r e n o t y e t sup po r t e d , due
p a r tl y t o lack of t ime and part ly t o a seen ing fa u l t i n t he pr ot o c o l ­
i t appears t l.e only t r a n sf e r mo d e wh i ch a ll ows a " p r i n t fi l e " i s BLOCK.
Th is i s baser. on the d e s c r i p t i on s o f t r a ns :Ee r mod es on pa ge 12 o f RFC
3 51~ : TEXT mod          a Ll ows on ly ASCII t yp e, a n d STRE AH moue a l Lows r e c o r d
st r u c t u r e s (s u r e l y n ec e ss a r y i n p r in t f i les ) o nly in ASCI I type .         I
a s sum e t h i s j.s an over si gh t ; a nd '17(: i n f a c c i n t e n d t o s u pp o r t EBCDI C
typ e i n S TRELM mode Hi th r eco rd st r u c t ure s (si n c e EBCDI C c on t a i n s b o th­
C , and LF ) .         I f n o t , th e i mp l eme n t ati o n o f " p ri n t f il e " t yp e s .wi ll be
d e l a y e d s u b s tan t ia l l y .

STRU

Bot h f i l e a nd rec o r d s tr uc t u r es a r e s u p po r t e d , i n a c co rdanc e Hi th the
pr o t oco l .   Th e EBC DI C typ e ""i ll be s u p po r ted wit h re c o r d st r u c tur e ,
h owe v e r , a s i ndi c a t ed und er the TYPE c omman d .

r-10DE

The STREi\H a nd TEXT modes are c ur r e nt ly s uppo r t e d for t he i ndic at e d t y pe s
( STREAH is r e q u ired fo r HIAGE t yp e ) .            I n S':":'REAJ.'1 mod e "7ith reco r d s tru ­
t u r e s , the CE- LF s eq u e n c e (wi t h o p t i o n al Te l ne t; NOP ' s ) i s r e quir ed a s
EOR.       In TEX1 mode Hi t h no re c o r d s t r u ctu r e any EOR c h ar ac t er s e n c o u n ­
t e re d are dis c ar d e d .     I n TEXT mode wi th r ecord s t r uc t u re a message c o n­
t ai n i n g o nl y a n EOF c h a r ac t e r is as s umed t o be a n e nd-o f - f i l e o nly , n o t
a nu l l r e c o r d ' l7i th a n ami t t e d EOR ( a l t ho u g h we wo u Ld l ike to c on t i.n ue     /'
o u r l o bb yi ng aga ins t " i mp li e d EOR" c o n c e p t s ! ) .

RETR

The RETR c omma n d i s s u p po r t e d i n a c c o r danc e wi t h the pro t o c ol ; . the p a r a ­
me t e r mus t be a fu lly q u a li f i e d n ame o f an e xi s t i n g da ta s e t o n d i re c t
a c c e ss st o ra g e (pub l i c o r pri va t e ) . Fo r s t r u c t u r e d fil es i n ASCI I t y pe
a " CR·· LF" s eq ue nce i s inse r t e d a t th e e n d o f e ach re c o rd .         No EOR cha r ­
a c t er s a re i n s e r t e d f o r u n s t r u c t u r e d f il e s in TEXT mode .

STa R

The STOR c onau a n d is S lip o r t e d in a c c o r danc e wi t h th e p r o t o c o l ; t he pa ra ­
mo t c r mus r be a va lid f u l ly qual if ied d atase t n amc , Hit h u n l i mi t e d o r
r <' nd - wr i t . a c c e s s requ i r ed f o r e x i s t ing sh a re d d a t a s e t s . The c h a r a c ­
t e r i s l ic s o f t he TSS da ta set be ing sto r ed a r e de t er~mi ne d a s f ol l ows .

                                                                             RFC 418 Pa ge 6


For new da t a s e t s , the defau lt ha r a c t e r i s t i c s are VS or gani z a tio n wi t h
a m aximl~ r e cor d s i z e o f 1012 byte s . Thi s nay be ove rri d e n by s pe c i ­
f y i ng an ALLO ( TS " DDEF " ) c omman d ~., i th d i f f e r e n t c ha r a c t e r i s t i cs . A
'ISS " l i ne datas e t" may t hus be c r e a t e d by f i r s t e n t e r i ng an ALLO c om­
mand s pecifying VI organi z a t i on ( line n umbe r wi Ll be i n s e rt e d by t he
s y s t em). Fo r other types of 11 da t a s e t s , ho we ve r , t he us e r must e ns ur e
tha t t h e r e c ord s c on t a i n keys in t he sp ec i f ie d pos i t i on s a nd t ha t they
are sent i n orde r by key ; i t i s a n t i ci pa ted t hat t his f ac i l i ty wi l l
be r a r e l y u sed .

For e x is t i ng da t a s e t s , t he new v e r si on wi l l be c r e a t e d wi t h th e s ame
cha r a c t e r i s t i c s a s the ori g i na l ( an d on t he s ame pr i v a te vo l urae) .

APPE

The APPE command i s suppor t ed i n a c c or dance wi t h t he pr o t oc o l ; t he
parame t e r must be a va l i d f u ll y qu ali f ied « a t as e t name, wi th un limi t e d
or r e ad -wr L t e a c c e ss req u ire d f or ex i s t i ng s ha r e d dat a s ets. The c ha r ­
a cte r i s tic s o f c r e a t e d da t as e t s a r e dete r mi.ne d a s fo r th e STaR c omma nd.

RNFR

The RNFR command i s suppor t e d in a c c or'danc e wi t h t h e proto c o l ; t he pa r a ­
meter mus t s pe c i fy t he full y qua lifi ed name of a n e x i s t i ng da t a s e t .

RNTO

The RN TO c omm and i s sup po r ted i n ac c o rd a. i c e wi.t h t he protoc ol ; th e p a r a ­
me t e r must s pe c i f y t he f u l l y qualif i ed name of a none x i s t en t da t a s e t.

DELE

Due t o t he 'ISS fi l e s ha r ing and pri va t e de v i c e fac il i ti e s, the si n g l e
DELE command i s no t re al l y ade quat e . I n 'ISS the r e a re t wo s parate
commands f or t h i s fu nction , ERASE and DELETE. The ERASE c omma nd i s
used t o ac t ua l ly pu r ge a datas et and f r e e it s s pac e ; i t 1 ay be us e d
on l y on dire c t a c cess data s e ts ( publ i c or pr i va te ) wi t h un limi t ed ac c e s s .
The DELETE command s i mply r emov s a c a t a l c g en t r y a nd doe s not t ouch
t he da t a s et i t s e l f ; i t may be us e d on s ha r e d d a t ~s e t s of any type ( t o
e f f e c t i v e l y " un s ha r e " ) o r on da t a se ts on pr i v a te de v ices . To a t t empt
to provide bo t h of t h e s e f un c t i ons , th e DELE c ommand ha s be e n i mp l e ­
me n ted a s fo llows .

Fo r non share d     a tas ct s :

       Pub l i c o r pr i vate d ire ct- ac c ess :
               e ras e ( f r e e t he spa ce ) and de l et e t he c atal og en t r y

       Pr iva t e nond i r e c t- a c c e s s:
              de l et the c a t a l o g entry only

For s hared da t a s e t s :

       ~Ib li c  or priva t e d i r e c t - ~ c c es s , un l i mit e d s ha r i ng :
              e ras e ( f r e e the spac e ) a nd de le te the c a t a l og e n t r y .

                                                                             RFC 418 Pa ge 7


       .1 1 others :
             delete t he sharer 's c a t al o g en try on l y

ALLO

The ALLO c orrman d is se d t o enter a TSS " DDEF 1 1 c orrma n d . Thi s may be
used to sp ci f y non st a ndard d at aset a ttr ibute s , pri vat e de i c es, or
o t he r i t ems . The par ame ter is a omplet TSS " DDEF" c orrunand mi nus t he
wo r d "DDEF" itse lf, wi t h t he mi no r re str ict ion t ha t t he f irs t t hre e
p a r ame t e r s (DD.TANE, DSORG, and DSNANE ) mus t be pr e se n t and mus t no t
be s pecifi ed i n ke )~ord fo rmat .

REST

The REST . comma nd i s not s upported.              It Hill be add e d when BLOC ' mode
i s i mp l eme n t e d .

STAT

There are th ree u s e s o f th e STAT c omma nd .            If used betwe e n f i l e t r a ns f er s
wi t h no prrr ame re r , i t pill pr i nt t he c ur r e nt val ue s f o r a l l f i l e t r an s ­
f e r pa r ame t e r s ( u s e r , by te s i ze , h o s t, r e ce i ve data s o c k e t , s e nd d a t a
socke t, tran sfer type, fi le s r uc t ure , a nd t r a n s f e r mode ) . If us e d du r ­
ing a fi l e t ran sfe r op e ra t i on ( wi t h or wi t hou t a pa r ame t e r ) i t wi l I i nd i ­
c a t e wha t type o f ope r a t i on i s ac tive .

The t h i r d US2 o f STAT is t o ret r i .v s ta t us i. nf on na t i on abou t a f i le or
gr oup o f fil e s (i . e ., any quali f ica t i on Le v e L } , The r e a re t wo fo rms f or
 this f nf o rma t Lon , t e rmed shor t nd l ong . Th e short f orm w i Ll, ind ic a t e
wh t dat as e ts e" i s t wi h the qualificat ion l e v e l s pe c ifi e d , Hith i n f or ­
lna t i on about s 1 a r ing and p ri vate devi ces . I f the p a r ~ne t e r spe c if ierl
 is a f u l l y qual i f i.e d n ame , the e tire da ta se t name i s pr inted . If i t
 i s p a r t i a l Ly q ua Lt f i e d , t he names o f al l d a t as e t s in t ha t gr oup ar e
print ed (Hi t h o n l y t l e m i que por t i on o f the names act ua l l y ap peari ng ) .
 This . hart f orn i s exactly eq ui valent t o the TSS "PC?" c omma nd and i s
 t h e deraul. fOlm fo r STAT.

The p a r ame t e r f or t h e:: l ong form ' s t h e s ame as f or t h e shor t fo rm , bu t
all avail ~ ble i n f orma t i on is pr inted f o r e a c h data se t (a t leas t f i ve
l ines p e r data set). '1'0 get the lon g form , t he charac ter s " , LONG" mus t
be app e ld ed to t he pa r a~eter . The lon g fo rm i s exac t l y eqUivalen t t o
t he TSS " DSS?" c omma nd .

Tt,e TAT c ommand does not c ur rentl send a rep l y code 200 at al l . I t
is elt t his sholld be a dde d to the pr otoc ol t o be t ter d efine the e n d
o f STAT informa t ion ; the r e pl y code 200 wil l be a dd e d at t h a t t ime .

LIST

The LIST c omma nd produc e s ou tpu t i de nt ic a l to the s ho r t and long fo rm
ST,\T c ommand ( pa r ame t c r e qu i r ed ) e xc e p t t h a t th e lo ng form is t he de­
fault ; to ge t t he short f orm , the chnr a c t er s " , HORT" must be a ppe nded
to th e p~r am ete r .

                                                                             RFC 418 Page 8


ABOR

 Th e ABOR c ommand may be en te red a t any time dur ing a f i. Le tr ansfer o pe r­
 ation . I t vri Ll c au s e an i mme di at e t c rmi na t i on o r the t r a n s f r and c l o s ­
 in g of th e d~ ta c o n n e c t i o n.   Fo r RETR o perat io n s , the TSS d~ t as e t will
b e un affect e d.       Fo r STOR or APPE 0 a new da t a s e t , ther e will b e no th ing
 c re a t ed ( e xc e p t poss ib ly n Ln t c rme d i. t e f ile wh i ch should be i g no r e d ) .
 For STOR of 81 exist ing d ataset , the datase t wi l l be u n c h a n ge d. For
 APPE t o an ex i s t Lu g d a t a s c t , a l l tr a n sferred i n f o rm a t io n vi. Ll have been
 wr i . t e n in t o the d a ta s e t.

BYE

Th e BYE c ommar d i s su p po r cd in ac co r dance ~'li h the pro t o c o l.      I f a ·BYE
c omm a n d is entered du r i n g a t ran sf e r operat i on · t he nex t comma n d en te rcd
(wh i c h mu s t b e a USER cornman d ) wi Ll n ot b e p r oce s s cd a t all u n il t h e
t ran sfer is c( .mplet e . Note t h e t th is p r ec l udes a bo r t i n g the t r a n s f er
after a BYE c o~mand i s e n t ered (wh i ch s e ems t o f i t the s p iri t of BYE ) .

HAIL

The l lAI L c onm a n d ,.,ill acc e pt a TSS us e r Ld , a known NI C i d e n t (L e . , o n e
f o r \..hi ch a m.rpp i n g 0 TSS u ser i d exists ) , o r ~ nu ll p ar-ame rc r ( i n
wh i.c h c ase t h c ma i l will be sen t to t h e TSS s y s tems pxo gr ammi.n g grou p ) .
Unl nO\·;'11 iden t s \.,i 11 c a u s e the NAI L corrnn n d t o b i gn ore d .

The 101 TL c omm. nd may be ente r e d pri o . to t h e f ir t USER c omma n d , to i n­
c r as e the i.c L Li, t y o f the ne two r k mai 1 syo em. Th is i s no t c u rre n t l y
mentio ned in t he protocol; it i s f elt tha t t hi s imp lementation s h o ul d
be r ee omrnendc I .

HLFL

The p a r amet er L s t he same as for t he HAI L c omma n d ,

The NLFL c ornm s.n d may als o be enter d pr io r t o a US ER command , f o r t he
s ame re asons i n d icat e d und er ~L~IL.

c m r-1EN'IS ON 'IE..:. PRO TOCOL

Some po s sib le a dd i t ions t o th e Fi l e Tr a n s f er Comma n d Set         re as f o l l ows ,

NOP

I t s e e ms stra n ge t o f ind any pr ot oco l ' '''i tho u t a no - ope rat i on c omman d ,
a n d th e re ar e severa l possibl e us e s for s uc h a command . As s tnning
t h e r e is a s p e c i a l reply c od e as s i gn e d to " NOP C O~'l l'W; ACC EPTED, "
t h e n NOP could se r ve .he s ~ne fun ct ion as th e l e vel 2 EC O (fo r user
v e r i f i c a t i o n of s erve r e x is te n ce , fo r e xam p l e ) . Anothe r ex amp le co u ld
b e in a ll owing he us e r t o d iscard term i n a l o u t p u t , as f r om a to o­
l e n gh t y STAT c ornman d , Th e problem "' ith j us t disc ardin g ever ythin g is
th a t th e lIs e r process do e s n ot k n m'" ""he n a l l o u :pu t has be en r eceive d .
If a NOP comma 1u we re c1 -f i ne d , t h e tls er proc ess c o u ld s e nd a NOP upo n
r ec ei pt of t h e dis ca r d r e qu e~t , and t hen di s ca rd un t il t he unique NO P
  espo n s e i s rec e i v ed .

                                                                               RFC 418 Pa ge 9




SRVR                                                                                                        r

The S VR CO l. , a nd wou Ld be used t o pa s s a parame t e r whi ch ha s ' s i gn i f i ­
c a nc e only t o the part i cular s erve r s y s t em. Th i s p ar ame t e r mi gh t
s pe cify printing a newl y c r e a t e d fi le , .ov i ng a fi Le , or any n umbe r of
s erver - de f i ned functions . One ossi bl e i mp lemen t a t ion wou l d be f o r t he
pa r ame t e r to be a v a li d s e r ver s yst em c omma nd , whi c h w u l d t hen be
It ob ey ed " by the s erv er .

To s implify i mpl emen t ation o f bo t h SRVR a nd STAT c omman ds , the f o L l ow­
i n g ch a nge t o th e proto c o l is req ue s t e d . Be t ween t he re ce i pt o f a
STAT or SRVR r.mrnna nd a nd t he s end ing o f a rn c ogn izabl e r e ply co de (i. e.,
any mess a ge H.Lt h n umbe r s i.n t he fi rs t t h r e e po si t i ons ) , a s erve r i s
a l l owed to send mess a ges wh i c h do no t h ave va l i d r e p ly c ode s . Thus t he
se r ve r 8Y t ern r e s pon s e mes s age s cou l d be sen t with no mod i f i c a t i on ( e x­
ce p t to Ln s ur e t h a t the f i rst tree po s i t i o s are no t nume r i c ) . The se
me s s age s wou l d be assume d t o h a ve co de 000 a nd s hou l d be pr i n te d by
a ny us e r pr oce s s e s . Thi s t.e c hn i qu e c ou l d po s s i b l y be e x t e nd e d t o o t he r
cOlum and s wi t h good r e s u l t s .

CLSE

Dur i ng i mp emcn t a t i on o f t he Fi l e Tra n s fer J erv e r th e f ol lowi ng ope r a t ­
i ng mode was c ons i d e r e d , t ha t of t he s o - ca l l ed It ho t c a r d r e a de r . 1t I n
t h i s mode a c onne c t i on wou l d be es t a bl i s hed between t H O s y s tems onc e
t o be l e f t ~ ~e n for an ex te nde d pe r i od . I nd i v i dua l us e s wou l d en te r
USER c omma nd s , t rans fer fi l es , and then en te r BYE c omma nd s t o s a f e ­
guard their f i Le.s , For t his mode t he BYE c ommand sho ul d no t c l o s e t he
TELNET c o n n ec ~ i o n . In fa c t , this i s he de f ini t i on of t he BYE co m­
man d i f ente r 2d dur i ng a tr ans f er and i f a ne w USER c omma nd c ome s be ­
f or e t he r an.s fe r is iom p l e t e .

To e H rn f. nat e : he t i mi ng un c e rta i n t i t i e s of t he BYE comma nd , and a l so
to a I Low th e "ho t c ar d reade r " mode , it is re commended tha t t he BYE
c omma nd be r e de fin e d to mean " t e rmi na t e t he c ur r e n tl y a c t i ve us e r and
req uire a ne w USER c omma nd be fo r e ad d i t i ona l. t r a n s fe rs . " The TELNET
c onne c t i on s c )u l d f cour s e be c l o s e d by t h ~ t s e r" pr o ce s s a s s oon a s
t he BYE command i s acknow l.e dg ed . For sc r pro c e s s e s t ha t c a nno t or                            \
do no t choo s e to do this, a new comma nd CLSE shou l d be a dde d , t o ha ve
t he me a ni ng o f "c l o s e the TEUiliT c onne c t ion when po s s i b le ( Le. , aft er                     \
a ny acti ve t r a ns f e r i s comp le t e ). "

Thus BYE wou l d h a ve on l y the mean i ng i t c ur r e n t l y do es if e n t e r ed d ur ing
? n a c t ive t r an s f er , and CLSE wou ld ha ve th e cur r e n t meani ng of BYE i n
o t he r c i r c ums t a n ce s . Further sugge s t i o .s wou Ld be t ha t CLSE i mp l i e s a
BYE and t ha - a e LSE d ur ing a n aC l.ive t r a ns f e r " l og i c a ll y " clo s e s the
conne c t i on i mmed i a t e l y (L e. , r:.o comma nd s may be c t e r e d wh i l e wa i t i n g
fo r the transf e t o c omple te ) .

Some small i t ems missing fr om t he p r o t o c o l a r e 11m·1 me n t i one d .

                                                                            RFC 41 8 Pa ge 10


DEFAULT PARANETER VALUES

I t shou l d be more empha t i c ally s t a t ed t hat serv e r s mus t a ss ume de f a ult
value f o r a ll unspe c i fi e d par ' e t er s (Ha DE, TYPE, e t c.). Hi tho u t th i s,
a ll us e r pr oc e s s e s mu st a l wa y s send 11 c mp l.e t e se t o f pa r ame ter spe c i ­
f i c a ti on c omma nd s, s i nc e sone s e rver s omeHhe r e ma y no t ma ke t he cor r ect
def a ul t a s sump t i ons . This is obv i ou sly unde s i r a b l e .

SY CH ON THE TElN ET           CONNECTI ON

The pr o t oc ol s t tes t ha t t he ABO. c om:na n d s hould be pr e ce de d by t he
Te lne t SYNCII cond i t i on , for reas ons o f e ff i c i e nc y ( so t ha t s e rve r s do
no t need t o be con tinua lly che cki ng t he Tel ne t co nnect i on during a t r a ns­
f e r) . Thi s should be ex t e n ded t o o t he r c onmands wh i ch may be u s e d dur­
i ng a t r ns f er ( BYE , USER, STAT, e t c . ) .

BREAK a   1   THE '.i.' El NET C Ol~rE C T ON

The qu es t io n o f vha t a BREfX c ha r a ct e r m e a ~ s ov er the Te l ne t co n nect ion
is no t to uched . Eve n i f t he BREAK i s t o h 2ve no fu nc t i on th i s shou l d
be s pe c i fi e d . I n the TSS i plemen t a t i on , t he onl y t i me a BREAK is re­
c o gn i ze d i s dur i ng a HAI L c ommand ; the BREAK will a bor t t he c omma nd and
c a nce 1 t he ma i l ,

CATCH- ALL REPLY CODES

It i s fe l t t ha t on e re p ly c ode of e a ch t ype should be a s s i gne d t he me a n­
i n g of "ot r." r " s o th a t s y s t em- de pend e n t c" en t s co ul d be pro pe r l y id e n­
ti fi ed. For e x amp l e , if a n i.nd e xed f i l e i s bein g s e n t to TSS a nd r e cor d u
a r e re ceived lIt o f or der , t he rep l y cod e c u r r en t ly use d i s 453 , al t hou gh
t h i s i.s s u ppo s e d to mean " i n s uf f i ci e n t s pac e . II If a c atch- a l l c o de we r c
de f i ned , t he me ss age t e x t coul d be us e d t o f u r t he r s e c i fy th e e x a c t
me an i ng .

PARAMETER VAL LDATI ON

Cer t - i n s e r ve r pr oc e s se s ( no t a b l y TENEX ) have a ppar en t l y d ivi ded t he fi l e
 t r a ns f e r c omma nd s i nto t HO lo gica l gr oups : pa r ame t e r s e tti ng c omma nd s
and fi le man i l' ulation c omma nd s . The pa r amete r se tt i ng c omma nd s are TYPE,
}10 DE, STRU, a nd BYTE . The parame e r va l ue s spe c if i e d on these c omma nd s                    \
a r e no t va l id a t ed Hhen re ce ive d ; th e y are s i mply st or e d an d a r ep ly c ode
200 i r e t u r ne d . The pa raI:leters are va li da t e d on t he ne x t f i l e ma n ipu ­             \
l a tion c ommand , hOHever , with e rr or s r e s u l ti ng in c a nc e l la t i on o f th e
f i l.e man ip u l a t ion c ommand i t s e If ,.;r i t h r e p l y c ode 50 3 .

I am aware o f th e pr ob l ems wi.t h va l i da t in g pa r am t.e r s whe n r e c eive d ( L e . ,
o f t empor a r i l y pr oduc i ng i nva li d c omb i nat i on s whe n ch a ng i ng f r om one val i d
s et to anothe r ) but i t i s felt th a t some s t a nda r d c ou l d be se t up t o a ll oH
t hi s . As an a hs o l u t e mi n imum, t o t a l l y i nv al i d or unsuppor t e d parame t e r
va l ue s s hou ld be d iagnose d Lntmcd i.a t e l y ( e . g . , Ha DE 13 if BLOCK mod e i s no t
i mp l eme nt e d) .

This prob lem i s a nu i s anc e wit l: a human us e r , but it be c ome s quit e s e r ious
wi t h a u s e r a u t oma t on: t he amoun t of wo rk ne c e ss a ry f or an a ut omat on t o
empir i ca lly de t e rmine a vali d se t o f parame t e r s i s in t o l e r ab le .