Date: Tuesday, 1 July 1980 02:34-PDT From: Feinler at SRI-KL To: [SRI-KL]liaison.txt: cc: bboard, callan, raphael, kunzelman, nielson, jgoldberg, hart, pwok at SRI-KL Re: ARPANET NEWS from DCA Dear Liaison, Maj. Haughney of the Defense Communications Agency (DCA) has asked me to distribute the following ARPANET newsletter to all of you. Will you please pass it on to administrators and systems people who may not otherwise see it. Send questions and replies to DCACODE535@ISI. Thanks. Jake --------------------------------------------------------------------- GENTLEPERSONS: There are several changes forthcoming to the ARPANET over the next couple of years which will have considerable impact upon the ARPANET community. Since you, the liaisons, are the primary point of contact for users, DCA believes that it is a good idea to keep the liaisons better informed of actions that will affect you and your users over the next few years. To achieve this goal, DCA will publish a network newsletter which will provide management and technical information and guidance to you, the liaisons. This net message is DCA's first newsletter. Future newsletters will be provided through the ARPANET on an as needed basis. Widest dissemination of pertinent information contained in this newsletter to ARPANET users by the liaisons is requested. Maj. Joseph Haughney DCA --------------------------------------------------------------------- ANEWS-1 DCA Code 531 1 July 1980 (DCACODE535@ISI) (202) 692-6175 ARPANET NEWSLETTER --------------------------------------------------------------------- Over the past eleven years, the ARPANET has grown considerably and has become the major U. S. Government research and development communications network. The ARPANET liaisons have made significant contributions to the network's success. Your efforts are voluntary, but are critical to successful operation of each Host, IMP, and TIP. Your continued support of the ARPANET is greatly appreciated and will facilitate continued smooth ARPANET operation. To aid you in performance of your duties, DCA will attempt to provide you with the latest information in network improvements. This information is grouped into two major areas: management and technical improvements. However, a brief discussion of where we are going with the ARPANET is in order. The ARPANET is still a rapidly growing network. It provides a service which is both cost and operationally effective. We predict the ARPANET will grow to approximately 100 nodes by 1983, when we will begin transferring some of the subscribers to DOD's AUTODIN II network. While the ARPANET is quite successful, it does have some problems. The basic hardware and software are becoming obsolete. The nodes use minicomputers developed in the 1960s which no longer have sufficient memory and other capabilities to support technical improvements to the network. In addition, the ultimate goal of our planning is to provide for an ARPANET II which will be a virtual network and make use of several different physical networks (e.g. AUTODIN II, residual ARPANET, and commercial networks to provide interconnectivity between users while still maintaining network transparency. This goal is subject, as usual, to cost, schedule and technical constraints. The meshing of our immediate problems with our long term goal has produced the following course of action. The ARPANET will be "modernized" over the next three years to eliminate immediate problems. We will also develop the capability to readily transfer ARPANET nodes and users to AUTODIN II, and possibly commercial networks, when this is financially and operationally feasible. Now that we have stated our goal, we will address the various supporting actions that we are undertaking which will have an impact on you, the liaisons. MANAGEMENT ACTIONS ACCESS POLICY The ARPANET is not meant to compete with commercial networks. Commercial networks should be used whenever there is not any requirement to communicate with ARPANET hosts and/or subscribers. There have been some developments in work being done on gateways between commercial networks and the ARPANET. Some hosts have implemented such gateways. However, such interfaces are proscribed unless specifically authorized by DCA. Access problems with internet gateways, as recently evidenced by the illegal access of a Canadian Firm's computer by someone operating a New York high school's computer system through a TELENET/DATAPAC gateway, show that technical problems must still be resolved. Hence, if you have an unauthorized gateway in your Host computer, DCA should be informed immediately, and the gateway terminated or suspended until DCA can review the access controls for gateways. DCA has recently asked the ARPANET Sponsors for a detailed survey of all ARPANET users. This survey information will be added to the Network Information Center (NIC) Identification Data Base. The reason for the expanded data base is to provide an all encompassing description of who, where, and why a user is on the ARPANET. This information will be used for planning to move users onto AUTODIN II and as a validation mechanism for the TIP Log-in program, which we will discuss later. To reduce workload on the liaisons, we plan to send out quarterly updates of the master file which the host and TIP liaison will be responsible for verifying and updating. This report will, hopefully, be initially published in June of 1981. It will replace the TIP inventory report which TIP liaisons now send us. Host systems which do not have any mechanism for managing backside terminal/user validation and verification, should establish procedural or software control mechanisms to obtain the required information. You may wonder why we are placing such emphasis on knowing who is on the ARPANET. When the network was small, a decentralized management approach was established due to the nature of the network and the small community of users. This promoted flexibility and synergy in network use. Now that the network has grown to over 66 nodes and an estimated four to five thousand users, flexibility must be tempered with management control to prevent waste and misuse. The decentralized management of network access and resources is still our objective. We just want to ensure that we can verify proper resource utilization and prevent unauthorized penetrations. We believe that the data base that we are establishing, can be used as a tool for improving your and our management control. We deal in gross quantities, you deal in the particulars. DCA will be publishing a new Host/TIP Liaison Responsibilities letter in July 1980 which will describe these new reporting requirements. TIP LOG IN ARPA has let a contract to Bolt Beranek and Newman, Inc. (BBN) to study and develop, if feasible, a TIP Log-In program and data base. By mid 1982 this effort should, hopefully, result in a means to directly control access to TIPS. The design will take into account the problems encountered with a previous TIP Log-in effort made on the ARPANET several years ago. The present design suggests an approach where a user would log into a TIP when he wants access to the network. The TIP would transmit the log-in information to a regional data base node, which would verify the user and validate to the TIP that that user is allowed network access. In some cases, this may result in a double log-in, depending upon the host password system design. The regional data bases would be updated on a daily basis from a master data base. This data base would be constructed based on a permission tree structure where permissions are delegated down the tree. For example, a sponsor would grant permission to a contract monitor to connect a certain number of users. The contract monitor would then grant permissions for that number of users to a contractor, who would then delegate these permissions to his program manager. The program manager could delegate permissions down to the project leader or the individual users. When the contract is terminated, the contract monitor revokes his permission, which deletes the contractor personnel's access to the ARPANET. The previously-mentioned ARPANET NIC Data Base will be used initially to cross-check the TIP Log-in data base, and hence it's accuracy is critical to preventing valid users from being temporarily without service when TIP Log-in is implemented. The TIP Log-in data base will be managed by the NIC when it becomes operational. The TIP Log-in data base will eventually replace all or part of the NIC data base, depending upon whether or not we are successful in our development effort to incorporate terminals which access the network through hosts into the TIP Log-in software. BBN is also studying the feasibility of applying TIP Log-in mechanisms to host computer users. Hence, host liaisons should also ensure that their terminals and users are included in the NIC Data Base to preclude problems with service, if TIP Log-in is implemented for the Hosts. TIP INVENTORY For TIP liaisons, we have mentioned that we intend to eliminate the TIP Quarterly Inventory and replace it with a NIC Data Base Update. You should be sure of the accuracy of your inputs, because we intend to structure the TIP buffering mechanism to support only those TIP ports which are reflected in the NIC Data Base. All new TIP users will have to have a complete entry in the NIC Data Base and be approved by DCA before these users will be permitted access to the TIP. NOTE: This procedure includes dial-in users. Guidelines for approval and procedures for requesting new user access will be outlined in the new ARPANET Host/TIP Liaison Responsibilities letter which will be sent to you in July 1980 as mentioned above, and the TIP buffering allocation scheme will be enforced as of 1 February 1981. 96 BIT HEADERS DCA recently announced by net note that only 96-bit headers will be accepted by the network nodes as of 1 January 1981. This date still stands. Users, when reviewing the impact of the header change upon them, should also review their applications software to ensure their compatibility with 96-bit headers. We have received some queries from liaisons who did not realize the possible impacts on their applications software of the 96-bit headers. LIAISON MEETINGS In order to improve information dissemination between DCA and the liaisons, we plan to hold a series of one day meetings for liaisons. These meetings will cover the items discussed in this newsletter plus any topics, problems, etc., that the liaisons wish to discuss. These meetings will occur in the Fall of 1980. Tentative scheduling for the meetings are: GEOGRAPHICAL AREA DATE MEETING SITE New England 21 Nov To be determined Washington D.C. 18 Nov DCA Headquarters West Coast 30 Sept Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA Mid West 3 Dec St Louis Area Proposed agenda items, comments, etc., should be forwarded by net mail to DCACODE535@ISI no later than 15 September 80. SPONSOR RELATIONS The ARPANET has Sponsors who represent the various communities of interest found on the network. These Sponsors handle funding and management of community resources. DCA Code 535 attempts to assist the liaisons whenever possible with problem areas and questions that are not resolved by the NCC or the NIC. However, your first point of contact in such situations, should be your ARPANET Sponsor. In some cases, the Sponsor may still refer the liaison to DCA. However, the Sponsor can sometimes handle the situation within his own resources. Such contacts can also keep the Sponsor better aware of the services being provided to his users and enable him to more effectively represent them. In other words, it pays to know your Sponsor and work with him. CIRCUIT FORECASTING AT&T has stated a twelve to eighteen month lead time to provide wideband 50/56KB service. This lead time may be even longer in California. To provide timely service, they have asked us to forecast our requirements as much as possible. These forecasts are not firm orders, but are used by AT&T for planning purposes to estimate such things as modem production requirements and transmisssion overbuilds. If you have, or know of, any new node or high speed VDH requirements which are being contemplated or discussed, please let DCA know immediately. These requirements may just be in the discussion stage and unfunded. However, by including such possible requirements in our forecast, we hope to reduce circuit, and hence node/VDH installation lead times, to a more reasonable time frame. TECHNICAL NEW ARPANET PROTOCOLS The Office of the Secretary of Defense has directed that a set of DOD Standard Protocols be used on all Department of Defense communications networks. This directive applies to the ARPANET. The ARPANET Host protocols will be replaced over the next three years with the new DOD Standard Protocol set. This has a direct impact on host operating systems and some applications programs that use the ARPANET. The ARPANET Network Control Program (NCP) will be replaced by two DOD protocols, the DOD Standard Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP). ARPANET FTP and TELNET protocols will also be updated and standardized. Planning for this transition is still under development. The NIC plans to publish for DCA a new Protocol Handbook by the end of this year, which will provide details on the new protocol specifications. DCA also intends to provide an ARPANET online protocol clearinghouse which will provide a repository for already developed implementations of these protocols and act as a clearinghouse to resolve problem areas and coordinate new protocol implementation development. As soon as the planning is finished, we will publish the details. In the meantime, unless you have already begun development of the protocols, you may want to start budgeting for the protocol software development for your host. NOTE: H316 TIP protocol development is being addressed by an ARPA contract with BBN, and involves a hardware addition to the TIP which will be discussed later. DOD Standard Protocol Development for the PLURIBUS TIP is still being studied as to the most cost and operationally effective way to implement the protocols. C/30 PROCURMENT The new BBN C/30 IMP and TIP can now be ordered. These computers are direct replacements for the Honeywell 316 hardware, and run the existing IMP and TIP software in an emulation mode. The C/30 costs from $20,000 to $35,000 depending upon configuration. These new systems will begin to be installed as new nodes in late fall of 1980. We hope to eventually replace all Honeywell equipment with the C/30s depending, of course, on funding availability. Unless there is a need for a node which requires a large amount of processing power, the BBN C/30 or equivalent will be the only type of node hardware procurred in the future. The C/30 will also be used to support the DOD Standard TCP and Internet Protocol implementation in the TIP. This will be accomplished by removing the IMP software from the H316 TIP and placing it in a C/30. The removal of the IMP software will make room in the TIP for the installation of the programs to support the new and existing protocols in the TIP. All H316 TIPs will require installation of the C/30 IMP to support the DOD protocols by late 1983. DCA will contact the Sponsors when an installation schedule is known. Sponsor's will approve C/30 procurement. However, for those sites which must fund for hardware node procurement, approximately $20,000 should be budgeted in Fy 1981 or 1982, to support procurement of the C/30 Protocol TIP expansion hardware. SUMMARY We have attempted to address items which will have a direct impact on liaisons and their users for the next few years. If you have any questions on these subjects, drop DCA and your Sponsor a net note. Due to the fact that some of our actions are still in the planning and development stage, some of the information that we provided you is nebulous. However, at least, you have an approximate idea of what is planned for the network. We will try to provide the specifics as they develop and incorporate them in our next newsletter. If you have any items that you wish addressed in the next newsletter, please let us know. We will attempt to address them wherever possible. ----------------------------------------------------------------------