Update on SMFS Login and Logout
Two commands that let a user identify themselves and an account to UCSB's Simple Minded File System.
Krilanovich, M., "Update on SMFS Login and Logout", RFC 431, DOI 10.17487/RFC0431, December 1972, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc431>.
@misc{rfc431,
series = {Request for Comments},
number = 431,
howpublished = {RFC 431},
publisher = {RFC Editor},
doi = {10.17487/RFC0431},
url = {https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc431},
author = {M. Krilanovich},
title = {{Update on SMFS Login and Logout}},
pagetotal = 3,
year = 1972,
month = dec,
} RFC text
RFC #431 Mark Krilanovich
NIC #13300 UCSB
Updates: 122 Dec. 15, 1972
Obsoletes: 399
Update on SMFS Login and Logout
This document replaces RFC 399, which introduced the Login
and Logout commands for UCSB's SMFS, but was incomplete. RFC 399
is restated here, followed by a description of the nature of the
response elicted by these commands
Two new commands have been added to UCSB's Simple Minded
File System (SMFS). They are described below.
Login (LGI)
The Login command is the means whereby the user identifies
himself and specifies the account number to which his use of SMFS
is to be billed. The user should issue a LGI command directly
after completing the ICP and before any command referencing a
file. The user name and account number specified remain in
effect until another LGI command is issued, a LGO command is
issued, or the connection is close.
At present, the use of SMFS is not billed, and therefore
use of the accounting command is optional. It is requested,
however, that users and user processes begin to use this command
as soon as possible, since we would like to collect statistics on
SMFS utilization before implementing billing. Therefore, at
present the user name can be any name that identifies the user,
and the account number is completely arbitrary.
The format of the LGI command is given below. Note that
the lengths of the fixed-length fields are given in bits. The op
code for LGI is decimal 13.
8
<op code><user name><account number>
The <user name> and <account number> fields are further divided
NWG/RFC #431 MCK 15-DEC-72 12:39 13300
Update on SMFS Login and Logout
as follows:
8 8*length
<length><user name>
Where <length> gives the length in 8-bit characters of the <user
name> or <account number> subfield. The maximum length of <user
name> is eight characters and of <account number> is four
characters. The <user name> and <account number> fields must
consist of characters chosen from the same character set as
filenames.
Logout (LGO)
The logout command terminates the association between the
user and the accounting information specified in the last LGI
command issued, if any; it does not cause SMFS to close the
connection. The user should then issue another LGI command
before attempting any operation referencing a file. It is not
necessary to issue a LGO command before issuing another LGI
command, or before closing the connection.
Again, at the present time the LGO command is optional,
and does not affect the user's ability to reference files.
The format of the LGO command is as follows:
8
<op code>
The op code for LGO is decimal 14.
Login and logout each elicit, as their only response, an
eight-bit completion code. Like the other SMFS commands, the
completion code is equal to the command's op code if the command
was successful. The following error completion codes, given in
decimal, are currently defined:
47 The length of <user name> is zero.
48 <user name> is too long.
49 <user name> contains invalid characters.
50 The length of <account number> is zero.
NWG/RFC# 431 MCK 15-DEC-72 12:39 13300
Update on SMFS Login and Logout
51 <account number> is too long.
52 <account number> contains invalid characters.
53 <user name) specifies an invalid user.
54 <account number> specifies an invalid account.
[ This RFC was put into machine readable form for entry ]
[ into the online RFC archives by BBN Corp. under the ]
[ direction of Alex McKenzie. 1/97 ]
AI ELI5
On this page
§1What This Note Replaces
This document replaces RFC 399, which introduced the Login and Logout commands for UCSB's SMFS but was incomplete. RFC 399 is restated, followed by a description of the responses the commands produce. It also updates RFC 122.
This is a fuller version of an earlier note that left out what the computer says back.
§2Login (LGI)
Login is how the user identifies themselves and names the account number to be billed. It should be issued right after the ICP and before any command referencing a file. The name and account stay in effect until another LGI, an LGO, or the connection closing.
At present SMFS use is not billed, so the command is optional, the user name can be any name that identifies the user, and the account number is arbitrary. Users are asked to start using it so statistics can be collected first.
The command is an 8-bit op code (decimal 13) followed by a user name and an account number. Each is an 8-bit length followed by characters. The user name is at most eight characters, the account number at most four, both from the same character set as filenames.
You say your name and a short number when you arrive. Right now the number can be anything, because nobody is being charged yet.
§3Logout (LGO) and Responses
Logout ends the association between the user and the accounting information from the last LGI. It does not close the connection. It is not necessary before another LGI or before closing. It is currently optional and does not affect file access. Its format is just the op code, decimal 14.
Each command gets as its only response an eight-bit completion code, equal to the command's op code on success. Error codes in decimal are: 47 user name length zero, 48 user name too long, 49 user name has invalid characters, 50 account number length zero, 51 account number too long, 52 account number has invalid characters, 53 invalid user, 54 invalid account.
Signing out just ends your name tag. The computer answers each command with a number: the command's own number means it worked, and other numbers say what went wrong.
- 13LGI — Login op code.
- 14LGO — Logout op code.
- 47Error — User name length is zero.
- 48Error — User name is too long.
- 49Error — User name has invalid characters.
- 50Error — Account number length is zero.
- 51Error — Account number is too long.
- 52Error — Account number has invalid characters.
- 53Error — User name specifies an invalid user.
- 54Error — Account number specifies an invalid account.