11-Mar-85 08:49:59-PST,13073;000000000001 Return-Path: Received: FROM SRI-NIC.ARPA BY USC-ISIF.ARPA WITH TCP ; 8 Mar 85 18:07:30 PST Date: Fri 8 Mar 85 14:56:12-PST From: DDN Reference Subject: DDN Newsletter # 38 To: DDN-NEWS: ; cc: nic@SRI-NIC.ARPA ====================================================================== DDN NEWS 38 DCA DDN Program Mgt Office 8 Mar 85 Published by: Network Info Center (NIC@SRI-NIC.ARPA) 1-800-235-3155 DEFENSE DATA NETWORK NEWSLETTER Maximum Distribution Requested. The DDN NEWSLETTER is distributed by the Network Information Center under DCA contract. For addition to the online mailing list, contact NIC@SRI-NIC.ARPA. Back issues may be obtained by FTP from the directory DDN-NEWS: at SRI-NIC [26.0.0.73 and 10.0.0.51] using the filename format DDN-NEWS:DDN-NEWS-xx.TXT (where "xx" is the newsletter number.) ====================================================================== Topic: NETWORK PROTOCOLS - WHAT THEY ARE AND HOW TO FIND THEM 1. 2ND EDITION TCP/IP IMPLEMENTATIONS AND VENDORS GUIDE AVAILABLE 2. X.25 COMPATIBLE INTERFACE PRODUCTS ON THE WAY FOR POPULAR MAINFRAMES 3. DDN X.25 PROTOCOL ONLINE AT THE NIC 4. RFCS--A FORUM FOR PROTOCOL DISCUSSION 5. OFFICIAL LIST OF ARPANET PROTOCOLS AVAILABLE AS RFC 924 6. IENS MERGED WITH RFCS 7. OFFICIAL DOD STANDARDS AVAILABLE FROM NAV PUBS 8. IEEE SPECIAL ISSUE ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS STANDARDS JUST ISSUED 9. CCITT X.400 MESSAGE HANDLING PROTOCOL NOW IN PRINT 10. QUESTIONS FROM THE DDN "HOTLINE" AT THE NIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Introduction Most of you are aware that protocols are rules used to control data transfer in a computer communications system. Some of you may not be aware of the process by which proposal ideas develop into network protocols. We hope that this newsletter gives you an overview of this process and indicates how to find copies of network protocols. The NIC welcomes comments and suggestions for this and future newsletter topics. ******************************* 1. 2ND EDITION TCP/IP IMPLEMENTATIONS AND VENDORS GUIDE AVAILABLE The TCP/IP IMPLEMENTATIONS AND VENDORS GUIDE has just been updated and is available from the NIC. This document lists hardware and software products which implement or are compatible with the TCP and IP protocols in use on the DDN. Each entry describes the operating system with which the product or implementation is compatible, the language in which it is written and the features provided. Contacts are listed for further information about obtaining public-domain software or purchasing a product. The document has been reorganized into two major divisions, hardware products and software products. Within each division, the material is arranged in alpha order by manufacturer. Some new additions to the list are Spartacus products, including the KNET PC which implements the network standard protocols for certain microcomputers, and the IBM PC. Six products contained in the guide indicate that they are DDN X.25 compatible, as well as compatible with TCP and IP. This reflects the January 1984 decision by DDN that all new systems must be compatible with DDN X.25. Inclusion of a vendor's product in this guide does not mean that a vendor has obtained this code; nor does it imply endorsement by the NIC or the DDN PMO. The guide is for information purposes only. It is available online on the SRI-NIC machine in the file named NETINFO:TCP-IP-IMPLEMENTATIONS.TXT and may be FTP'd by online users. A hardcopy is also available from the NIC. Call 1-800-235-3155 to obtain a copy or send an online request to NIC@SRI-NIC.ARPA. ********************************** 2. X.25 COMPATIBLE INTERFACE PRODUCTS ON THE WAY FOR POPULAR MAINFRAMES DDN has contracted with 5 major companies to produce TCP/IP interfaces. These are the companies and products: Company Hardware Operating System ******* ******** **************** CDC Cyber 170/xxx NOS Gould Software VAX 11/xxx VAX/VMS Honeywell LEVEL 6, DPS 6 GCOS 6 MOD 400 Network Solutions IBM370,303x,43xx,308x MVS Internet Systems Sperry 1100/xx OSD/1100 Contracts are being processed as well for the Honeywell DPS8 GCOS8 operating system, the IBM 370 VM system and for the DEC PDP 11 RSX-11M system. The RFP included the following requirements: 1) Each product must include the DoD standard for TCP and IP and the ARPANET application tools of TELNET, FTP and SMTP; 2) the TELNET application is required to support asynchronous terminals; 3) the product must implement the ARPANET network access protocols or DDN X.25. ********************************** 3. DDN X.25 PROTOCOL ONLINE AT THE NIC The NIC has the DDN X.25 Specification online in the file NETINFO:X25.DOC This document describes the specific options and features of CCITT Recommendation X.25 (1980) and the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 100/Federal Standard (Fed. Std.) 1041 (July 1983) required of a host X.25 implementation to enable that host to communicate with a DDN X.25 Interface Message Processor ("IMP"). The document describes the X.25 interface as it pertains to the DDN. In several areas where X.25 allows a choice, a single choice appropriate for DDN is specified; in areas which X.25 leaves unspecified, (addressing in particular), conventions are specified that are consistent with the overall architecture of DDN and its interoperability goals. A copy of the FIPS 100/Fed. Std. 1041 is attached as Appendix C in this online document. ****************************** 4. RFCs--A FORUM FOR PROTOCOL DISCUSSION A proposal for a new protocol often begins as an RFC (Request For Comments), a document submitted to the network community for the purpose of wide dissemination and discussion. RFCs are maintained online on the SRI-NIC machine, in the directory RFC: with pathnames RFC:RFCnnn.txt, where "nnn" equals the RFC number. An RFC may eventually become an official ARPANET standard, and, after appropriate review, a DoD standard to be implemented netwide on the DDN. On the other hand, it may remain just an idea or a suggestion which may or may not develop into a full blown protocol. If you are interested in the development of protocols you may wish to be on distribution for announcements of new RFCs. To be added to the online distribution list, send a message to NIC@SRI-NIC.ARPA. If an RFC is not very long, we can also send it to you in a mail message. 38 RFCs have been issued since June of last year. Those of you without FTP capability may request hardcopies from NIC@SRI-NIC.ARPA. ******************************** 5. OFFICIAL LIST OF ARPANET PROTOCOLS NOW AVAILABLE AS RFC 924 RFC 924 contains the most recent review of RFCs that have been adopted by the Internet community as official ARPANET protocols. This file may be FTP'd from the NIC machine, SRI-NIC, with the filename RFC:RFC924.TXT Entitled "Official ARPA-Internet Protocols", this RFC was released in October of 1984 by Jon Postel. It updates the last status report which was RFC 901 and contains the official ARPANET Protocols organized by level of network function, e.g., network, host or application level. ************************************ 6. IENS MERGED WITH RFCS The Internet Experimental Notes, IENs, are no longer being issued as a separate technical note series. Instead, items which used to be issued as IENs will now be issued as RFCs. This consolidation will bring the technical notes into one place, thus making them easier for users to find. All IENs are still available from SRI-NIC. They cover a time span from 1977 to 1982, during which time, 209 IENs were issued. ************************************ 7. OFFICIAL DOD STANDARDS AVAILABLE FROM NAV PUBS Protocols that have been adopted as official DoD standards are issued as MIL STDs. Below is a list of network protocols now available as official MIL STDs. We have included a table of corresponding RFCs. Please note that the MIL STDs are the official DoD versions and are the ones that should be used for implementation on the DDN. The RFC versions may differ slightly and are more descriptive in nature. MILSTD/RFC NUMBER CHART ----------------------- Protocol Name MILSTD. No. RFC No. ------------- ----------- ------- Internet Protocol (IP) MIL-STD-1777 791, 814-817 Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) MIL-STD-1778 813-814, 816-17 879, 889, 896 File Transfer Protocol (FTP) MIL-STD-1780 678, 765 Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) MIL-STD-1781 821, 822 Telnet Protocol and Options (TELNET) MIL-STD-1782 854 Military standards may be ordered from Naval Publication and Forms Center, Code 3015 5801 Tabor Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19120 215-697-3321 ************************************ 8. IEEE SPECIAL ISSUE ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS STANDARDS JUST PUBLISHED To learn more about the review process for protocols and military standards, we recommend the article "The Development of Communication Standards in the DoD" written by Philip S. Selvaggi of the Defense Communications Engineering Center (DCEC). This article appears in IEEE Communications Magazine, Vol. 23 No. 1, (Jan. 1985). The article gives a detailed overview of procedures in the military standards- making process. Also included in the issue are articles on CCITT, ISO, IEC, and other standards bodies. It is an excellent review of the U.S. and international protocol standardization process. ******************************** 9. CCITT X.400 MESSAGE HANDLING PROTOCOL NOW IN PRINT Many of you will be interested to know that the CCITT X.400 Message Handling Systems protocol is now available in print. Copies of this standard, which includes eight parts, may be ordered as Data Communication Networks X.400-X.430, ISBN 92-61-02361-4. It is Vol. VIII.7 of the CCITT RED BOOK, Malaga-Torre Molinos 1984, is 270 pages, and costs $36.00. Please note that this is NOT an official DoD protocol; however, many people are interested in its functionality. To order from the source, send your request to: International Telecommunication Union General Secretariat - Sales Section Place des Nations / CH - 1211 GENEVA 20 SWITZERLAND Alternately, it is available from Omnicom, Incorporated 501 Church St., NE. Suite 206 Vienna, VA 22180 USA TEL: 703-281-1135 TELEX: 904059 WSH ********************************* 10. QUESTIONS FROM THE DDN "HOTLINE" AT THE NIC How do I get a list of all the RFCs? All protocols are listed in a file entitled RFC:RFC-INDEX.TXT by date, author, number and title. If you FTP the file to your site, you could do a search on the term 'gateways' to find which RFCs apply to this subject and then FTP those specific RFCs to your facility. Or you could choose to order them in hardcopy from the NIC by sending your request to NIC@SRI-NIC.ARPA or calling the NIC hotline number, 1-800-235-3155. How do I get on the RFC distribution list? To receive online announcements of new RFCs as they become available send a message to NIC@SRI-NIC.ARPA. User mailbox addresses are added to the distribution list as requests are received. Announcements of new RFCs are mailed to the distribution list and include a brief summary of the topic. How do I get on an online distribution list for the discussion of TCP and IP protocol standards and products? To join an online exchange among TCP developers and maintainers, send requests to be added to the TCP-IP mailing list to TCP-IP-REQUEST@SRI-NIC.ARPA. TCP-IP is an unmoderated, unedited mailing list and you will receive all messages at the time contributors mail them. How do I find RFCs on gateways? The latest protocols issued on the gateway implementation are RFC904 and RFC911. Check the RFC Index for other related protocols. *************************** ************************* ********************** ******************** -------