The Internet Professor/The Internet Professor.iso/knowodys/document/misc/internic.txt

Text File | 1995-05-03 | 28KB | 709 lines

[General Atomics makes no warranty or guarantee, express or implied,
concerning the content or accuracy of the information stored and
maintained by General Atomics for the InterNIC Information Services and
made available to INTERNET users, and General Atomics expressly disclaims any
implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular
purpose.]

                             The InterNIC
                            ----------------

In cooperation with the Internet community, the National Science
Foundation developed and released in the Spring of 1992 a solicitation for
one or more Network Information Services Managers (NIS Manager(s)) to
provide and/or coordinate services for the NSFNET community. As a result
of this solicitation, three separate organizations were competitively
selected to receive cooperative agreements in the three areas of
Registration Services, Directory and Database Services, and Information
Services.

Together these three awards constitute the InterNIC.  Network Solutions,
Inc. (NSI) provides REGISTRATION services, AT&T provides DIRECTORY and
DATABASE services, and General Atomics/CERFnet provides INFORMATION
services.

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         INTERNIC REGISTRATION SERVICES

The InterNIC Registration Services is located at Network Solutions,
Inc., Herndon, VA, and is funded by a cooperative agreement from the
National Science to provide assistance in registering networks, domains,
asn's, and other entities to the Internet community  via telephone,
electronic mail, and U.S. postal mail.

Registration Services will work closely with domain administrators,
network coordinators, internet service providers, and other various
users to register Internet domains, asn's, networks.

Databases and information servers of interest to network users are
provided, including the WHOIS registry of domains, networks, asn's and
their associated poc's.  Gopher and Wais interfaces are also available
for retrieving information and accessing whois.  Online documents
maintained at registration services include registration related rfc's,
registration templates, and various netinfo files.   Many of the online
files are available through our automatic mail service,
[e-mail].

Registration Services will assign asn's, register domains assigns IP
network numbers and Autonomous System Numbers, and produce the domain
zone files for the community.  Registration Services will also provide
assistance to user's concerning policy and the status of their existing
registration request.


I.   USER ASSISTANCE SERVICE

Toll-free telephone service is available Monday through Friday, 7 am
to 7 pm, Eastern Standard time.  Users who require assistance concerning
policy or registration status questions are encouraged to make use
of these services:

     Phone Number:             1-703-742-4777


II.  NIC ONLINE MAILBOXES

To contact Registration Services via electronic mail 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week, use these mailboxes:

     [e-mail]  Host, domain, network changes and updates
     [e-mail]      Computer Operations
     [e-mail]    Automatic mail service


III. InterNIC Registration Services Postal Address

Send U.S. postal mail correspondence to:


     Network Solutions
     AttN: InterNIC Registration Services
     505 Huntmar Park Drive
     Herndon, VA 22070


IV.  REGISTRATION COMPUTER SERVICES

The host computer is a SUN SparcServer, running the SUN operating
system, and its hostname is RS.INTERNIC.NET. Its network address is
198.41.0.5.

The network address of Registration Services domain root server is
198.41.0.4.

Online services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.


V.   DOCUMENTS DISTRIBUTED BY REGISTRATION SERVICES

Registration Services distributes the following documents which are available
online.

Title                                           Online Filename

 master.index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .policy/master.index


 NOTE: In the filenames, the "nn" or the "nnn" should be replaced by the
       number of the newsletter, bulletin or RFC.

To retrieve a document whose filename is listed above, open an FTP
connection to the RS.INTERNIC.NET host, login as user ANONYMOUS and provide
the password GUEST. Retrieve the desired file.


VI.  ONLINE INFORMATION SERVERS


a.     WHOIS

WHOIS is a program that provides an electronic "white pages"
of Internet network entities such as domains, network numbers, asn's,
and their associated poc's.

     Accessing WHOIS

>From a host, use the TELNET program to connect to host RS.INTERNIC.NET.
When greeted by the Registration host, type "WHOIS" and press RETURN.


c.   QUERY CAPABILITIES

Registration Services has implemented Gopher and Wais interfaces to
query for information.  Using the Gopher Interface, one can obtain
information on registration, information and directory services for the
InterNIC team.  Using gopher one can also access archive data, netinfo
files, and policy related documents.  The Wais interface enables a user
to access the whois database and search for data using a specific
search string.

     Accessing Gopher and Wais


>From a host, use the TELNET program to connect to host RS.INTERNIC.NET.
Type "Gopher" or "Wais" and press RETURN.


e.     ROOT DOMAIN NAME SERVER

Registation Services  is responsible for generating and installing the DNS files
into the NS.INTERNIC.NET root server and the six alternate root servers
three times a weekly (Monday, Wednesday, Friday).


VII. ONLINE FILES

Registration Services  maintains a number of online files which are available to
network subscribers via the file transfer program (FTP) or Kermit.
These files contain information about protocols, site personnel,
hosts, and other subjects relevant to network users.  See the file
netinfo/00netinfo-index.txt for an index to the files in the "netinfo"
directory.  See also the file master.index in the policy directory
which lists the rfc's available.

a. How to Retrieve files Using FTP

To retrieve any of the public files via your local FTP program,
connect to the RS.INTERNIC.NET host, and log in as ANONYMOUS with password
GUEST.  FTP program use varies slightly from host to host, so please
consult your Host Administrator for instructions, if needed.


b. How to Use the Automated Mail Service

[e-mail] is an automated service provided by InterNIC
Registration Services.  It allows access to documents and
information via ordinary electronic mail.  This is especially useful
for users who do not have access to the NIC via a direct Internet
link, such as users of BITNET, CSNET and UUCP sites.

   To use the mail service, send a mail message to [e-mail].
In the SUBJECT field, request the type of service you wish followed by
any needed arguments.  The message body is normally ignored.  Large files
will be broken into smaller separate messages.  The information you
request will be sent back to you as soon as possible.

The following services are currently available:

HELP            This message; a list of current services.
INDEX        Returns the master list of available index files.
NETINFO xxx     xxx is a file name or the word INDEX.
RFC nnn         nnn is the RFC number or the word INDEX.
SEND xxx        xxx is a fully specified file name.
WHOIS xxx       Returns information about xxx from the WHOIS service.
                Use "WHOIS HELP" for information on how to use WHOIS.

Example SUBJECT lines:

    HELP
    RFC 822
    NETINFO DOMAIN-TEMPLATE.TXT
    SEND RFC: RFC1009.TXT
    WHOIS NEOU, VIVIAN

Send comments or suggestions to [e-mail].

IX. HOST, DOMAIN, NETWORK NUMBER, IN-ADDR, AND ASN REGISTRATION

Registration is responsible for the registration of domains, IP
networks, and autonomous systems numbers (ASNs) used by various
organizations connected to the Internet.

Domains are registered via the domain template found in
templates/domain-template.txt.  New domain information is installed into
the seven DNS root servers three times a week.    Information
regarding the root servers is kept in netinfo/root-servers.txt.
Additionally, a listing of the domains registered with Registration
Services can be found in netinfo/domain-info.txt.  A listing of the
netaddresses of the domain servers for individual top-level domains can
be found in netinfo/domains.txt.

Network number assignments are made when a network POC completes the
template in templates/internet-number-template.txt and returns the
template to Hostmaster.  A complete listing of government sponsored
networks is found in netinfo/networks.txt.

To provide address to hostname reverse resolution, IN-ADDR domains are
registered within the domain root servers via an IN-ADDR template sent
to the HOSTMASTER mailbox.  This template can be found in
templates/in-addr-template.txt.

Registration Services assign autonomous system numbers (ASNs) when the template
found in netinfo/asn-template.txt is sent to [e-mail].
A complete listing of assigned ASNs is found in netinfo/asn.txt.

>From the domain, network number, and ASN templates, POC information is
extracted and individuals that are not already registered are given
records in the WHOIS database.







----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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                 InterNIC Directory and Database Services


Directory and Database Services, provided by AT&T, includes a Directory of
Directories, containing lists of FTP sites, servers, white and yellow page
directories, library catalogs and data archives.  AT&T also provides white
and yellow pages type Directory Services.  Access to these services is
initially provided through several currently popular in-use interface
methods while migrating to the use of X.500 technology, the current standard
specification for distributed information storage and retrieval.

The database services which AT&T provides include the establishment of
Database Services to extend and supplement the resources of the NSFNET,
such as databases of contributed materials of common interest to the user
community.  AT&T also offers database design, management, and maintenance
to institutions and groups for inclusion in the Internet.

Detailed contact information for accessing Directory and Database Services
electronically is listed below.  For general information about InterNIC
Directory and Database Services, call or write:

Phone: [phone] or 1-908-668-6587
Fax:   [phone]
Mail:  [e-mail]




                InterNIC Directory and Database Services
                              Server Access

The InterNIC Directory and Database server is available to all end users on
the Internet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  The server is a SUN 690 computer
running SunOS 4.1.3 with the host name of ds.internic.net.  It contains the
files and databases which make up the Directory of Directories, Directory
"White Pages" Services and Database Services.  Several different interfaces
are available to allow easy access to these services for both sophisticated
and novice users.

WAIS
----
The Wide Area Information Server (WAIS) client/server application (developed
by Thinking Machines, Inc. and others) is implemented to allow WAIS searching
of indexed text files stored on the server.  The server is registered at the
central WAIS server maintained by Thinking Machines, Inc. at quake.think.com.
Our WAIS server may be accessed by remote WAIS clients or through a local WAIS
client available through telnet.  Just telnet to ds.internic.net and login as
user "wais".  No password is required.  This client contains an on-line
tutorial and help information for all commands.

archie
------
The archie system, developed by Bunyip Information Systems, Inc., is also
implemented to allow searches of the archie Internet FTP archive  directory
structure.  Archie is accessible through telnet (login as user "archie", no
password required) or electronic mail (send mail to [e-mail] and
include the command HELP in the body of the message for instructions).
Archie's on-line help facilities are available for the new user.

X.500 DUA and NETFIND
---------------------
We run X.500 Directory System Agents (DSA) and X.500 Directory User Agents
(DUA) to allow searching for white pages listings of persons or organizations
currently participating in Internet X.500 pilot projects.  The DUA may be
accessed via telnet by logging in as user "x500".  No password is required and
online help is provided.  The DSA may also be accessed from any remote DUA.
A Netfind client is also available to get information about individuals.
Telnet to ds.internic.net and login as user "netfind".  Again, no password is
required.

Tutorial Telnet Client
----------------------
A special tutorial login is available to allow users to access any of the
online services on the Directory and Database server without the specific
login id.  Just telnet to ds.internic.net and login as "guest" (no password
required).  The tutorial will guide the user through the various services and
connect them to the clients they request.

Anonymous FTP
-------------
All publically-accessible files are available via anonymous FTP.  Please
use the word "anonymous" as the login and your email address as the
password.

Electronic Mail
---------------
An electronic mail application, developed by AT&T, is available which provides
batch access to our services.  To obtain user information, send mail to
[e-mail] and include the command HELP in the body of the
message.

Gopher
------
The InterNIC Directory and Database Services collection of Directory of
Directories Listings, Internet Documents such as RFCs, FYIs, STDs and Internet
Drafts, and Publically Accessible Databases are available via Gopher.  All
our collections are waisindexed and can be searched from the Gopher menu.  To
access the InterNIC Gopher Server from a remote gopher client, connect to
"internic.net" port 70.  A gopher client is also available on ds.internic.net.
via telnet with the login of "gopher".  No password is required.


WHOIS
-----
A WHOIS server, developed by AT&T, is available which provides a unified access
point to the three official Internet WHOIS servers for person and organization
queries.  The server, which accepts queries on the standard WHOIS port,
searches the InterNIC Directory and Database Services (DS) server for non-MIL
domain and non-Point-Of-Contact (nonPOC) data, the DISA NIC server for MIL
domain data and the InterNIC Registration Services (RS) server for POC data.
The results from all three searches are returned to the user.

The DS WHOIS server is accessed via the "whois" command using the
"-h <host name>" option as follows:

    whois -h ds.internic.net ".smith, john"

For detailed information regarding the query syntax, as well as general server
information, use the following command:

    whois -h ds.internic.net help

Additional access interfaces will be added in the future.  If you are
interested in more information about access to Directory and Database
Services, contact the Directory and Database Administrator on 1-800-862-0677
or 1-908-668-6587 or send electronic mail to [e-mail].



------------------------------------------------------------------------
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                    InterNIC Information Services

InterNIC Information Services provides services to the NSFNET community
under the National Science Foundation supported InterNIC project. A
wide range of services are offered to midlevel and campus NIC
organizations and to the networking community at large. Included is
information about how to get connected to the Internet, pointers to
network tools and resources, and seminars on varied topics held in
locations around the country.

For a more detailed description of the project, refer to the document
"Information Services Project Summary", located in the directory "About
Information Services" in the InterNIC Info Source. For a complete listing
of Information Services offerings, see the same directory. Access to the
Info Source via various methods is described below.

InterNIC Information Services can be contacted by phone, fax, hardcopy
mail, and electronically via several access methods. The primary
interfaces used by the InterNIC to exchange information with the
community are the Referral Desk, the Info Source, and electronic and
hardcopy mailing lists. Complete contact information is listed below.
Please use any or all of these methods to request information, submit
contributions, or make suggestions.


1. The Referral Desk
----------------------

The InterNIC Information Services Referral Desk responds to requests
for information about the Internet via telephone, e-mail, FAX, and
hardcopy mailings. The Referral Desk can provide listings of Internet
Network Providers in the U.S. and abroad; books and documents to assist
organizations and individuals in getting connected; and pointers to
network tools and resources. When appropriate, contact information for
local NIC and NOC organizations will be offered.

The Referral Desk is in operation Monday through Friday, from 5:00 A.M.
to 7:00 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time.


Telephone:  [phone] Option #1 619-455-4600
FAX:        [phone]

E-mail:    [e-mail]

Mail:

InterNIC Information Services
General Atomics
P.O. Box 85608
San Diego, California



2. InterNIC Information Services Mailboxes and Mailing Lists
----------------------------------------------------------------

* mailbox: [e-mail]

The place to send general questions about getting connected to the
Internet and how to locate and access information for using the network
more effectively. Also for any questions concerning Information
Services offerings. Queries sent to this mail-box are answered by the
Referral Desk staff.


* mailing list: [e-mail]

An announcements-only mailing list for anyone interested in getting
up-to-date information about the InterNIC and the services it provides.
Everyone is welcome to subscribe, and network administrators and NIC
staff are encouraged to establish local exploders at their institutions
for re-distribution of this list. This will be a moderated,
announcement-only mailing list, and volume will be low.

send mail to [e-mail]

in the body of the message type:

subscribe announce your name


* mailing list: [e-mail]

Intended for staff at midlevel, campus, and discipline-specific NICs.
Content will include InterNIC services aimed specifically at NICs, and
mail sent to this list will be oriented towards providing services to
end users, including new training resources and documentation. All NIC
staff are encouraged to subscribe. This will be a moderated list, and
volume will be low.


send mail to [e-mail]

in the body of the message type:

subscribe nics your name


* [e-mail]

Formerly [e-mail], this list aims to serve network information
service providers and end users. This list is a group effort of people
all over the Internet to concentrate announcements of new resources
onto one list. It is moderated, and contains only announcements of new
tools and resources available over the Internet. The goal is to keep
the volume low, therefore this is not a discussion list.

If you would like to stay current on network services without having to
read every mailing list, join the nis-list. If you would like more
information about participating in the nis-list by becoming a monitor,
send a note to [e-mail].


send mail to [e-mail]

in the body of the message type:

subscribe nis your name


* mailbox: [e-mail]

The place to send information about any new tools or resources on the
network for possible distribution on the nis mailing list or inclusion
in the Info Source. Also the place to send for information regarding
participating in the nis-list by becoming a list monitor.


* hardcopy or electronic mailing list: The InterNIC InterActive

InterNIC Information Services publishes a bi-monthly newsletter, the
InterNIC InterActive, covers network information services issues of
interest to the entire community, such as tools, resources, training
opportunities, and networking organizations. InterNIC InterActive also
details existing and new services provided by all three areas of the
InterNIC: Information Services, Directory and Database Services, and
Registration Services.

To subscribe to the InterNIC InterActive, send a message to
[e-mail]. Please indicate in your message if
you would like to receive the newsletter in harcopy format, electronic
format, or both.


3. The Info Source
----------------------

The Info Source is a collection of information designed to make finding
out about the Internet easier. There are sections for getting started,
for NICs, and for general information which may be of interest to
everyone. Also included is info on all the services offered by InterNIC
Information Services. Browsing the "Info Source Table of Contents" file
will provide details on what is available.

In many cases the Info Source contains actual documents on a given topic,
and in other cases pointers are given to alternate archives of
information. The Info Source contents will be maintained regularly to keep
it current, and new information will be added as it becomes available. If
you have a document or resource you'd like to submit for inclusion, or a
suggestion for a topic which should be included, let us know by sending
mail to: [e-mail].

There are several ways to access the Info Source, which include FTP,
Gopher, e-mail, and telnet.


Accessing the Info Source
---------------------------

The Info Source can be accessed electronically using FTP, telnet, Gopher,
WAIS, and e-mail. Below are instructions for each access method. Included
under each access method are instructions for retrieving a file which
lists the documents available. An overview of each of these tools and how
to use them is available under the directory "Learning to Use the
Network".

If you have any questions or problems, send mail to [e-mail]
or call 1-800-862-0677 or 1-908-668-6587.


1. FTP Access
----------------

To retrieve documents from the Info Source using anonymous FTP:

ftp is.internic.net

login: anonymous

password: your e-mail address

cd infosource

get INDEX

The INDEX file contains a complete listing of what's
contained in the Info Source so that you can browse for the things you
may find useful. After you have identified a document you wish to
retrieve, standard FTP commands can be used to retrieve the file, such
as change directory (cd), directory listing (dir), and send file (get
filename).



2. Gopher Access
----------------


If you have a gopher client, point it at:  is.internic.net


If you don't have a Gopher client, telnet to:

is.internic.net

login:  gopher

This command will allow you to use the Gopher client on the
is.internic.net machine.*


Once in gopherspace you can move up and down the menu system to see
what's available. Browsing the "Info Source Table of Contents"  on the
main menu will let you see the entire heirarchy at a glance. The Table
of Contents also indicates where direct links have been established to
other Gopher servers.

Copies of documents contained in the Gopher server can be sent to you
electronically via e-mail. To receive a copy of a document you are
reading:

quit out of the file

type "m" as indicated

type your e-mail address in the space provided

hit enter

continue browsing in gopherspace



* We encourage the installation of a Gopher client on your local host if
possible, since this will provide faster and more efficient access to the
Info Source and many other archives. To learn more about Gopher and how to
acquire the freely accessible Gopher client software, go to "Learning to
Use the Network" under the "Getting Started" menu, and look under "CNIDR".



3. Telnet Access
------------------

For individuals without access to a Gopher client, several telnet ports on
the is.internic.net machine are configured for direct access to a Gopher
client located on that machine. By using this local Gopher client it is
possible to browse the menus and documents in the Info Source before
moving them to your local host.

To access the Gopher server via the local client:

telnet is.internic.net

login: gopher

Follow the instructions listed above under "Gopher Access".  Please also
note the footnote at the end of that section regarding acquiring Gopher
client software.

4. WAIS
---------

The Info Source is registered in the Directory of Servers and can
therefore be accessed through a public WAIS client, or directly by using a
WAIS client located on your own host.

source name: internic-infosource

server name: is.internic.net

Another option is to use WAIS through the Gopher Server on the Info
Source. To use this option, select "Search the Info Source by Keyword"
located on the top level Gopher menu.


5. E-mail Access
------------------

The documents archived in the InterNIC Info Source can be retrieved via
electronic mail using a mail-server program running on the is.internic.net
machine. The purpose of a mail-server program is to read an e-mail message
sent as reqests to the server, decipher the commands located in the body
of the message, and execute those commands - which usually entails sending
particular files back to the requester in another e-mail message.

To receive complete instructions for using all the commands available from
the Info Source mail-server, send mail to:

[e-mail]

in the body of the message, type:

send help


To receive a file with the filenames of all documents available from the
Info Source mail-server, send to the same address, and in the body of the
message type:

INDEX

Note that both upper and lower case syntax will be  accepted by the
mail-server program for commands. However, when typing filenames, be
careful to use the exact case syntax used for the filename.

------------------

As noted above, if you have any questions, problems, or suggestions
concerning access to the Info Source, contact the InterNIC Information
Services Staff at [e-mail] or 1-800-862-0677 or 1-908-668-6587.