<- RFC Index (1401..1500)
(also FYI 10)
Obsoletes RFC 1290
Network Working Group J. Martin
Request for Comments: 1402 Ohio State University
FYI: 10 January 1993
Obsoletes: 1290
There's Gold in them thar Networks!
or
Searching for Treasure in all the Wrong Places
Status of this Memo
This RFC provides information for the Internet community. It does
not specify an Internet standard. Distribution of this memo is
unlimited.
Abstract
A wealth of information exists on the network. In fact, there is so
much information that you could spend your entire life browsing. This
paper will present some of the "gold nuggets" of information and file
repositories on the network that could be useful.
The ultimate goal is to make the route to these sources of
information invisible to you. At present, this is not easy to do. I
will explain some of the techniques that can be used to make these
nuggets easier to pick up so that we all can be richer.
Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction................................................ 2
2.0 Lists and Indexes of Network Resources/Bibliographies/
Information Available over the Network...................... 7
3.0 Libraries Available over the Network........................ 14
4.0 Anonymous FTP Sites......................................... 14
5.0 Network Information Centers - NICs.......................... 17
6.0 Network Statistics.......................................... 19
7.0 Campuswide Information Systems - CWISes..................... 20
8.0 Internet Bulletin Board System/Interactive
Databases/Freenet........................................... 28
9.0 WHOIS - E-mail white pages.................................. 32
10.0 Books....................................................... 35
11.0 Free Periodicals/Tabloids/Magazines......................... 36
12.0 Glossary.................................................... 37
Security Considerations.......................................... 39
Author's Address................................................. 39
Martin [Page 1]
RFC 1402 Searching for Treasure January 1993 1.0 Introduction This paper is a list of the essential things, in my view, that a people who are responsible for providing network information should have in their hands as reference material. One of the basic problems with information is making it easily available to those who need the data. Libraries have been performing a cataloging function for many centuries. Information flow is now being provided so fast that it is difficult to keep up with it, even partially. Computer networks have only added to the problem by opening up access to even more information. Attempting to make this wealth of information available to those who would find it useful poses some problems. First, we need to know of its existence. To that end, this paper provides an index to the vast realm of network information. Most of the documents listed here are POINTERS to the final information. Second, even if you know of a document's existence, you may not know if it is important or relevant. Few of us are knowledgeable in more than a limited area. We need to rely on others to make us aware of the importance of databases in a specific discipline. Librarians can be of great assistance here. They are familiar with the research databases that individuals search in law, mathematics, and many other fields. Finally, once existence and importance are known, the information needs to be indexed so that researchers can find it. This is the most difficult task to accomplish. Information available on the network is rarely static. It is always moving, growing, changing, and dying. Computers should be able to assist us in managing this ever-changing environment. Right now, we have to catalog the information as it passes through the network. In my case, I generally save it in a file somewhere and spend far too much time trying to retrieve it again when I need it. 1.5 Access to the Internet A frequently asked question concerns how the average mortal gets access to the Internet. The most common way is via electronic mail. Using e-mail, it is possible to communicate with anyone on the Internet and on any other networks as well, and there are many "gateways" to the Internet from other networks and systems. For instance using CompuServe, a large commercial electronic information and communication service, you can send e-mail to and from individuals on the Internet. Martin [Page 2]
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A direct connection to the Internet provides some additional
capabilities that e-mail cannot. One of these is the ability to
establish a connection to a remote computer connected to the Internet
from your own personal computer or from one connected to the
Internet. The program that establishes this connection is called
Telnet. Many universities and large research companies have Internet
connections. They pay rather large fees to have these high speed
(more than one million bits per second) connections. If you are
associated with a large university or company you already may have
access or can gain access to the Internet using one of their
computers.
A direct connection to the Internet also allows you to transfer a
file from a remote computer. This program is referred to as FTP
(file transfer protocol). Section 4.0 covers the many places that
have files and programs available using FTP.
The following information was taken from a Frequently Asked Question
posting by Aydin Edguer to the alt.bbs newsgroup.
If you do not have access to a service connected to Internet, you can
get access for a fee. The following companies provide Internet
access to individuals or companies at various rates depending on the
time of access, speed of access desired, and several other factors.
The first method to gain access to the Internet is by getting an
account on a public access bulletin board system that is connected to
the Internet. There are a growing number of such systems available.
For information on some of these systems, send electronic mail to:
info@world.std.com
info@netcom.com
info@concert.net
info@panix.com
info@holonet.net
info@msen.com
info@csn.org
sysadmin@ids.com
Any of these systems is open to the public for a monthly access fee.
A second method to gain access to the Internet is by getting an
account with a network service provider who offers a dial-in service.
See the "How do I get connected to the Internet?" section for more
information.
Martin [Page 3]
RFC 1402 Searching for Treasure January 1993 How do I get connected to the Internet? Traditionally, connections to the Internet were dedicated connections. This is still the most common type of connection. Monthly costs for the connection range anywhere from $250 per month [plus line charges] for a dialup 9600-bps connection to $4,000 [plus line charges] for a T1 [1.44-Mbps] connection. There is also an initial one-time startup fee of anywhere from $100 to $8,000 [plus equipment charges]. Some service providers also are offering part-time dialup connections. Customers share a set of phone lines and dialup when needed. This is usually less expensive than dedicated dialup connections for customers who need a connection less than 80 hours per month. Monthly costs range from $40-100 per month [plus line charges] plus an hourly charge of $2-4. Some service providers have begun to offer a new dial-in service. The name for dial-in service varies from vendor to vendor. The dial-in service is usually provided as a way for Internet-connected users to connect back to their home sites from remote locations. But most service providers do not limit their service to this audience, it is open to people not already on the Internet. The dial-in service provides either a terminal server connection [with password] or an account on the service provider's equipment [with password] which permits you to use Telnet to connect to other sites on the Internet. This service differs from the normal dialup IP services because it does not require the user to run any IP software like PPP (Point-to-Point protocol) or SLIP (serial line IP). The cost for this service usually range from $35 to $250 per month [plus line charges]. There is also an initial $35 to $500 connection fee [plus equipment charges]. The following is a list of known Internet service providers, along with the services they offer, an e-mail address to contact for more information, a phone number to contact for more information, or an FTP archive for more information. Martin [Page 4]
RFC 1402 Searching for Treasure January 1993
ALTERNET
Full time connections
speed 9.6K 14.4K 56K T1 T3
Leased Line y y y y n
Dialup Line y y - - -
note: T1=1.544Mbs T3=45Mbps
Part time connections: no
Dial-in Service: none
Region: national (USA)
Contact: alternet-info@uunet.uu.net
Phone: (800)4UUNET3
FTP: ftp.uu.net:/uunet-info/
PSINet
Full time connections
speed 9.6K 14.4K 56K T1 T3
Leased Line y y y y n
Dialup Line y y - - -
note: T1=1.544Mbs T3=45Mbps
Part time connections: yes
Dial-in Service: Global Dialup Service (GDS)
Region: national (USA)
Contact: info@psi.com
Phone: (800)82PSI82
FTP: ftp.psi.com:/press.releases/
CERFnet
Full time connections
speed 9.6K 14.4K 56K T1 T3
Leased Line n y y y n
Dialup Line y y - - -
note: T1=1.544Mbs T3=45Mbps
Part time connections: yes
Dial-in Service: DIAL'n'CERF (nationwide USA)
Region: California
Contact: help@cerf.net
Phone: (800)876-CERF
FTP: nic.cerf.net:/cerfnet/
Martin [Page 5]
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ANSNET
Full time connections
speed 9.6K 14.4K 56K T1 T3
Leased Line n n y y y
Dialup Line n n - - -
note: T1=1.544Mbs T3=45Mbps
Part time connections: no
Region: national (USA)
Contact: info@ans.net
Phone: (914)789-5300 or (313)663-2482
FTP: nis.ans.net:/pub/info/
MSEN
Full time connections
speed 9.6K 14.4K 56K T1 T3
Leased Line y y n n n
Dialup Line y y - - -
note: T1=1.544Mbs T3=45Mbps
Part time connections: yes
Dial-in Service: yes [*note* it is a local call from any 313 #]
Region: Michigan
Contact: info@msen.com
Phone: (313)741-1120
FTP: ftp.msen.com:/pub/vendor/msen/
OARnet
Full time connections
speed 9.6K 14.4K 56K T1 T3
Leased Line y y y y y
Dialup Line y y - - -
note: T1=1.544Mbs T3=45Mbps
Part time connections: yes
Dial-in Service: none
Region: Ohio
Contact: nic@oar.net
Phone: (614)292-0700
Please note, although this is a Frequently asked Question, this
newsgroup, alt.bbs.internet, is NOT for the discussion of how to get
connected to the Internet. This is the correct newsgroup to discuss
your bulletin board system and what it offers once you are connected
to the Internet.
The above excerpt is from a frequently asked questions Usenet posting
to alt.bbs.internet and crossposted to news.answers. The
news.answers newsgroup is a very good group to subscribe to read the
frequently asked questions sent to many newsgroups. See 12.6 Usenet
entry in the Glossary for more information on newsgroups.
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Further investigation in the above groups yields a great deal of
information about techniques and rates to access the Internet. Of
course one common question is about getting free access. As
mentioned before if you are associated with a university, a large
company, or research group you may very well have access via one of
their computers. If you are a student or faculty member and are away
from your local campus, you may be able to get a guest account from
the local university.
Some campuswide information systems may give limited access to the
network in a read-only mode. Also some communities (such as
Cleveland) operate a FREENET which enables you to read newsgroups and
if you register send mail at no charge. See section 8.0 for more
information.
For example, you can Telnet to Holonet below to get an idea of how it
works. This is not an endorsement of this system but it does give
you a good idea how this type of access to an Internet BBS works.
1.7 Holonet (Commercial access to Internet)
Source:
Telnet holonet.net
Login with userid of guest
2.0 Lists and Indexes of Network Resources/Bibliographies/
Information Available over the Network
2.01 Internet Resource Guide (document)
This is an excellent guide to major resources available on the
network. The table of tontents includes chapters on Computational
Resources, Library Catalogs, Archives, White Pages, Networks,
Network Information Centers, and Miscellaneous.
Source:
Anonymous ftp to NNSC.NSF.NET
cd resource-guide
get resource-guide.ps.tar.Z (PostScript) or
get resource-guide.txt.tar.Z (ASCII text)
Search:
Telnet to pac.carl.org (Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries)
Select terminal type.
Choose Item 3 (Information Databases).
Choose Item 65 (Internet Resource Guide).
You can then browse or do a keyword search.
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To quit type //EXIT
2.02 Anonymous FTP Sites (document)
This document offers a list of all the sites on the Internet that
support anonymous FTP.
Source:
Anonymous ftp to pilot.njin.net
cd pub/ftp-list
get ftp.list
Search:
Telnet to archie.ans.net
Login as user archie
Type help to get a list of commands
Type prog topic - where topic is the keyword for the search of a
program topic.
See section 4.05 for more information about using Archie.
2.03 INDEX - Index of all RFCs - (document)
RFC-1118 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Internet
RFC-1175 - A Bibliography of Internetworking Information
RFC-1173 - Responsibilities of Host and Network Managers
RFC-1325 - Answers to Commonly Asked "New Internet User"
Questions
RFC-1207 - Answers to Commonly Asked "Experienced Internet User"
Questions
RFC-1208 - Networking Glossary of Terms
RFC-1359 - Connecting to the Internet
RFC-1392 - Internet Users' Glossary
RFC-1402 - Gold in the Network (this file)
Source:
Anonymous FTP to nis.nsf.net
cd documents/rfc
get INDEX.rfc
get rfc1118.txt
get rfc1175.txt
get rfc1173.txt
get rfc1206.txt
get rfc1207.txt
get rfc1208.txt
get rfc1359.txt
get rfc1392.txt
get rfc1402.txt
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2.04 Interest Groups List-of-Lists (document)
This is a document that list existing mailing lists and groups. To
get on the list to receive updates, send e-mail to Interest-
groups-request@nisc.sri.com.
Source:
Anonymous ftp to ftp.nisc.sri.com
cd netinfo
get interest-groups
2.05 Regional network policies (documents)
Many regional networks have developed policies on responsible use
of their network. You can retrieve copies of these policies on
line by anonymous FTP.
Source:
Anonymous ftp to ftp.nsic.sri.com
cd netinfo
dir
get ???.policy
where ??? is the name of the regional network. The dir command
will give you a directory of the filenames.
2.06 Campus ethics/policy statements (documents)
Many universities have developed more complete policies based on
the regional network policies. If you want to look at some to use
as guidelines for your own campus, you can get them through
anonymous FTP.
Source:
Anonymous ftp to ariel.unm.edu
cd ethics
dir
get ???.policy
where ??? is the name of the university or college. The dir
command will give you a directory of the filenames.
2.07 VAX Book (document)
Joe St. Sauver of the University of Oregon has developed a
complete guide of information on the network available via
anonymous FTP. The following is a quote from the README file:
"While it is tailored to the University of Oregon's VAX8000
system, the skills it illustrates are general enough to be of
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interest to users at most other VAX sites, and even users at many
non-VAX sites connected to the national networks." A major
section on Network Topics is excellent. It is a large document,
more than 300 pages.
Source:
Anonymous ftp to decoy.uoregon.edu
cd pub/vaxbook
get vms.ps (PostScript format)
get vms.mem (lineprinter format)
2.08 Network Tidbits COMPUNET BIBLIO (document)
This is a "Network Bibliography" by Elliott Parker from the
Journalism Department of Central Michigan University. It contains
a bibliography of network related documents that he finds helpful.
Source:
Listserv
Send e-mail to comserve@rpiecs (BITNET)
The message should contain the following one-line request:
SEND COMPUNET BIBLIO
You will receive the file "COMPUNET BIBLIO" via return mail as
well as a "Welcome to Comserve" message and a "Getting Started
with Comserve message." If you are unfamiliar with how the
program Listserv works on BITNET, these documents are a good
start.
2.09 Internet Tour Macintosh HyperCard 2.0 Stack (program)
This is a Macintosh HyperCard 2.0 stack that does a nice job of
describing some of the functions of the Internet. It has a
section that you can modify for your own institution's needs.
Source:
Anonymous ftp to nnsc.nsf.net
cd internet-tour
get Internet-Tour-README
get Internet-Tour.sit.hqx
Note this is a stuffed and binhexed file. You must have the
program Stuffit to convert it to an executable file on the
Macintosh.
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2.10 A Survey of Educational Computer Networks (document)
This is a fact-finding project to examine the current status of
computer networks in K-12 education, including ways in which
networking linkages are impacting educational tasks. This is a
good summary for educators.
Source:
Anonymous ftp to ariel.unm.edu
cd library
get networks survey
2.11 Internet Resource Directory
A group of teachers compiled a Internet Resource Directory that
would be of specific interest to teachers. It is available in
four parts:
Listservers, Telnet sites, FTP sites, and general infusion-ideas.
Source:
Anonymous ftp to ftp.virginia.edu
cd public_access
get IRD-listservs.txt
get IRD-Telnet-sites.txt
get IRD-FTP-sites.txt
get IRD-infusion-ideas.txt
2.12 Network Managers' Reading List (document)
This document is an annotated list of books and other resources
for network managers who are using TCP/IP, UNIX, and Ethernet
technologies.
Source:
Anonymous ftp to ftp.utexas.edu
cd pub/netinfo/docs
get net-read.txt
2.13 Network Resources List (document)
This document lists of many resources available on the network,
including weather, online databases, book reviews, a ham radio
callbook, and many more. Author Scott Yanoff
(yanoff@csd4.csd.uwm.edu) routinely posts lists to newsgroups
alt.bbs.internet, news.lists, alt.bbs.ads, and biz.comp.services.
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Source:
Anonymous ftp to csd4.csd.uwm.edu
cd pub
get inet.services.txt
2.14 Zen and the Art of the Internet (document; version 1)
This document is the first version of what has become a book (see
section 10 for information on version 2) in book format. The
first version has some very good information on the Internet and
is designed for the beginning user.
Source:
Anonymous ftp to ashley.cs.widener.edu
cd pub/zen
get README
get zen-1.0.PS
2.15 Hytelnet (Program)
Hytelnet is a must-have program available for UNIX, Macintoshes,
and PCs. It is designed to help you reach all of the Internet-
accessible libraries, freenets, CWISes, library BBSs, and other
information sites by Telnet. Peter Scott is the developer of this
program, and he also maintains a list if you want to receive the
latest updates on network information.
Contact: scott@sklib.usask.ca
Source:
Anonymous ftp to access.usask.ca
cd pub/hytelnet
get README
Change directory to the computer you want to run hytelnet from:
cd pub/hytelnet/pc
cd pub/hytelnet/amiga
cd pub/hytelnet/mac
cd pub/hytelnet/pc
cd pub/hytelnet/unix
cd pub/hytelnet/vms
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2.16 World Wide Webb
The WWW project merges the techniques of information retrieval and
hypertext to make an easy but powerful global information system.
The project is based on the philosophy that academic information
should be freely available to anyone. Its aim is to permit
information sharing within internationally dispersed teams and
dissemination of information by support groups. Originally aimed
at the High Energy Physics community, it has spread to other areas
and attracted much interest in user support, resource discovery,
and collaborative work areas.
Reader View
The WWW world consists of documents and links. Indexes are
special documents which, rather than being read, can be searched.
The result of such a search is another ("virtual") document
containing links to the documents found. A simple protocol
("HTTP") is used to allow a browser program to request a keyword
search by a remote information server.
The web contains documents in many formats. Those hypertext
documents (real or virtual) contain links to other documents or
places within documents. All documents, whether real, virtual or
indexes, look similar to the reader and are contained within the
same addressing scheme.
To follow a link, you either click with a mouse or type in a
number. To search an index, give keywords or other search
criteria. These are the only operations necessary to access the
entire world of data.
You can try the simple line mode browser by Telnetting to
info.cern.ch (no user or password) From UK JANET, use the gateway.
You also can find out more about WWW in this way. This is the
least sophisticated browser; remember that the window-oriented
ones are much smarter.
It is much more efficient to install a browser on your own
machine. The line mode browser is currently available in source
form by anonymous FTP from node: info.cern.ch [currently
128.141.201.74] as:
/pub/www/src/WWWLineMode_v.vv.tar.Z.
(v.vv is the version number - take the latest.)
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Also available is a hypertext editor for the NeXT
(WWWNeXTStepEditor_v.vv.tar.Z), the ViolaWWW browser for X11, and
a skeleton server daemon (WWWDaemon_v.vv.tar.Z).
Documentation is readable using www. A plain text version of the
installation instructions is included in the tar file. Printable
(PostScript) documentation and articles are in /pub/www/doc
Source:
Telnet to info.cern.ch
No login required.
Telnet to eies2.njit.edu
Login as www
3.0 Libraries Available over the Network
Hundreds of libraries are accessible over the network, far too many
to list here. Several documents listInternet-accessible libraries
including two major ones: Internet-Accessible Library Catalogs and
Databases, coauthored by Dr. Art St. George of the University of New
Mexico (stgeorge@bootes.unm.edu [Internet] or stgeorge@unmb [BITNET])
and Dr. Ron Larsen of the University of Maryland; and UNT's Accessing
On-Line Bibliographic Databases by Billy Barron,
(billy@vaxb.acs.unt.edu [Internet]).
3.1 Internet-Accessible Library Catalogs and Databases (document)
Source:
Anonymous ftp to ariel.unm.edu
cd library
get library.ps (PostScript format)
get internet.library (ASCII text version)
3.2 UNT's Accessing On-Line Bibliographic Databases (document)
Source:
Anonymous ftp to ftp.unt.edu
cd pub/library
get libraries.ps (PostScript format)
get libraries.txt (ASCII text version)
get libraries.wp5 (WordPerfect 5.1 source)
4.0 The Mother Lode of Anonymous FTP Sites
Throughout this document, sites are listed for specific documents.
Most are only indexes to more information. A big problem is
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searching through all this information to find what you want. One of
the best search methods is Archie, described below.
Several sites contain large repositories of files and other sites
that are the source for specific programs such as Kermit, the public
domain file transfer program.
4.05 archie
One of the best ways of searching for a program available via
anonymous FTP is with archie (Archive Server Listing Service),
several of these servers scattered throughout the world. The
fastest one I have found is the Advanced Network & Services, Inc.
located in the United States.
Archie goes to every site that offers anonymous FTP files,
collects the file structure from that site, and places it in a
database it can search.
A real-life example. I was reading an article about Windows in
the July 1992 issue of PC World, and it mentioned a shareware
program called ZiPaper on page 212. The name of the program is
zipapr.zip. I can use Archie to locate this program.
Source:
telnet archie.ans.net
login as archie
At the archie prompt type
prog zipapr.zip
The response is
Host wuarchive.wustl.edu (128.252.135.2)
Last updated 17:22 13 July 1992
Location: /mirrors3/archive.umich.edu/msdos/mswindows/desktop
FILE rw-rw-r-- 41984 Jan 30 1991 zipapr.zip
This tells you the file is available via anonymous FTP to
wuarchive.wustl.edu in the directory
mirrors3/archive.umich.edu/msdos/mswindows/desktop and the file is
zipapr.zip.
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4.1 Washington University (anonymous FTP)
Washington University represents perhaps one of the most popular
sites for software on the network. The Mirrors directory contains
a copy of all of the wsmr-simtel20.army.mil files. Wsmr-simtel20-
army.mil is the originator and keeper of major amounts of public
domain software. Their site, however, is often overloaded and
difficult to connect to.
You will find enough software in the Mirrors directory to keep you
busy for the rest of your life. The MS-DOS and Macintosh
subdirectories contain files for those specific machines.
Anonymous FTP to wuarchive.wustl.edu
cd mirrors
cd msdos
For income tax time cd taxes
For unzipping files cd zip, type binary, and get pkz110eu.exe
For education software cd education
For graphics files cd giff, tiff or graphics
cd macintosh
For the Macintosh there are directories for applications, inits,
sounds, reviews, and many more.
4.2 KERMIT (anonymous FTP)
Kermit is a public domain file transfer protocol available for
just about all microcomputers, minicomputers, andmainframes. It
is very popular and has been has been used at computer facilities
everywhere.
Anonymous FTP to watsun.cc.columbia.edu
cd kermit
get read.me
For executable versions of kermit:
cd bin
get READ.ME file and read for specifics of what file to get.
For the IBM PC, I get msvibm.exe after typing binary to activate
the binary transfer mode.
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4.3 NCSA Software for Network Access from PCs
(anonymous FTP)
Source:
Anonymous ftp to ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu
cd NCSA_Telnet
cd PC/Telnet (for IBM PC Software)
get telxxbin.zip where xx is the current version number
(in binary format; I also suggest getting readme files)
cd Mac/Telnet
get telnet.x.sithqx where x is the current version number
(in binary format; I also suggest getting readme files)
4.4 Other Popular Ftp Sites (anonymous FTP)
Name of Site What's there
ftp.apple.com Macintosh system software/technical
notes
ftp.cayman.com Gatorbox archive site
dragonfly.wri.com Mathematica archive site
mac.archive.umich.edu Macintosh software
sumex-aim.stanford.edu Macintosh software
rascal.ics.utexas.edu Macintosh software
ftp.acns.nwu.edu Disinfectant archive site
(virus software)
microlib.cc.utexas.edu GateKeeper archive site
(virus software)
bert.cs.byu.edu NCSA Telnet archive site (BYU version)
ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu NCSA Telnet archive site
beach.gal.utexas.edu F-Prot/Scan & Clean archive site
(virus software)
cert.sei.cmu.edu Virus Documentation
msdos.archive.umich.edu MS-DOS software
ux1.cso.uiuc.edu MS-DOS software (PC-SIG CD)
oak.oakland.edu MS-DOS software
wuarchive.wustl.edu MS-DOS software
cica.cica.indiana.edu MS-DOS software (Windows software)
archive.cis.ohio-state.edu UNIX software
5.0 Network Information Centers - NICs
Contact NICs if you want information on what networking is all about
and how you can connect. They can put you in contact with the
individuals in your area who can help you get a network connection.
They can also provide assistance if you don't know who else to ask
about network topics.
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5.1 Goverment Systems, Inc. (GSI) (Internet NIC)
Government Systems, Inc. (GSI)
Attn: Network Information Center
14200 Park Meadow Drive
Suite 200
Chantilly, VA 22021
(800) 365-3642 or (703) 802-4535
FAX: (703) 802-8373
NIC@NIC.DDN.MIL
The main NIC on the Internet. The source for network numbers,
domain names, and much more.
5.2 NSF Network Service Center (NNSC) (NIC)
NSF Network Service Center
Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc.
10 Moulton St.
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 873-3400
NNSC@NNSC.NSF.NET
Publishes a newsletter called NSF Network News; to subscribe,
contact them at the address above.
5.3 NSFNET Information Services (NIS)
NSFNET Information Services
Merit Network, Inc.
ITI Building
2901 Hubbard, Pod G
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2016
(313) 936-3000 or (800) 66MERIT
NSFNET-INFO@MERIT.EDU
Publishes a newsletter called Linkletter; to subscribe send e-mail
to NSFNET-Linkletter-request@merit.edu.
5.4 SRI International Network Information Systems Center (NISC)
SRI International
Network Information Systems Center
333 Ravenswood Avenue, Room EJ291
Menlo Park, CA 94015
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(415) 859-6387 or (415) 859-3695
Fax: (415) 859-6028
NISC@NISC.SRI.COM
5.5 BITNET (NIC)
BITNET Network Information Center
Corporation for Research and Educational Networking (CREN)
1112 16th Street, N.W.
Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 872-4200
INFO@BITNIC
Lisa Covi, BITNET Support
5.6 NASA Science Internet Network Information Center (NIC-NSI)
NASA NSI
Goddard Space Flight Center
Code 930.4
Greenbelt, MD 20771
Hotline: (303) 286-7251
FAX: (301) 286-5152
help@nic.nsi.nasa.gov
NSI is an international dual-protocol network (TCP/IP and DECnet),
which supports scientists and engineers worldwide. The NSI-NIC
supports a help desk, online services, anonymous FTP, and
interoperability gateways, along with other services.
Bill Yurick, NSI-NIC Staff
6.0 Network Statistics
If you would like to publish statistics in your newsletter about your
institution's network traffic into and out of the NSFNET backbone,
you can obtain information on either the packets or bytes sent. I
prefer bytes which can be translated into an understandable figure.
6.1 Files containing monthly information on NSF Internet
backbone traffic by packets or bytes (document)
Source:
Anonymous FTP to nis.nsf.net
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cd statistics/nsfnet
get INDEX.statistics
cd 19?? where ?? is the year you are interested in.
Files are availble for traffic by ports, country, delay, bytes and
packets for T1 and T3 networks.
7.0 Campuswide Information Systems - CWISes
The information in this section is intended primarily for those who
are providing access methods from their own computing environments.
Although standards have been proposed, there are no "packages" that
give you access to all of the information presented here. What The
Ohio State University and several other universities have done is
provide a menu to the user that accesses these services and databases
behind the scenes. In fact, I had to refer to the shell scripts to
look up the network addresses of these machines, because I rely on
the menu for access as well.
As the name implies, information systems provide access to
information the user knowing exactly how to get to it. In this way,
the network is invisible to end users. All they need to know is what
they want, not the command structure needed to actually get the
information.
At present, the menu system seems to be the easiest way in In the
background is a knowbot, a program that knows how to go out and
locate services on the network using a keyword search.
You can connect to the following sites for a demonstration of their
capabilities.
Many CWIS systems are converting to Gopher (see section 8.96).
Hytelnet (see section 2.15) also has complete listings of CWIS
systems.
7.1 Appalachian State University
conrad.appstate.edu (152.10.1.1)
Login as info
Emulate a VT100.
Hardware/software: DEC/VTX
Contact: Ernest Jones (jonesel@appstate.bitnet)
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7.2 Arizona State University PEGASUS and ASEDD
asuvm.inre.asu.edu
Login as helloasu
Use tn3270.
Hardware/software: Running PNN News Network Software under
VM/CMS (with Profs and FOCUS)
Contact: Joy Kramer (iejxk@asuvm.inre.asu.edu)
Contains two databases: Personal Guide to ASU Stuff (PEGASUS)
and Arizona State Economic Development Database (ASEDD).
7.3 Clemson University
eureka.clemson.edu
Login as public
Emulate a VT100.
Hardware/software: DEC/VTX
Contact: Amy Slankard (amy@clust1.clemson.edu)
System contains information on weather for South Carolina, North
Carolina, and Georgia; economics; plants; animals; engineering;
food; home; health; family; and youth.
7.4 Columbia University
cal.cc.columbia.edu Login as calendar
Contact: David Millman (dsm@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu)
7.5 Cornell CUINFO
cuinfo.cornell.edu Connect to port 300. Use Telnet or tn3270.
Different versions of Telnet or tn3270 have different syntax for
defining the port. The following are the most common:
TELNET cuinfo.cornell.edu 300 TELNET cuinfo.cornell.edu::300
TELNET cuinfo.cornell.edu..300
Hardware/software: VM/CMS; IBM S/370 assembler; locally written
Contact: Steve Worona (slw@cornella.bitnet)
CUINFO of interest to nonCornell community members:
Uncle Ezra The electronic counselor - first program of its
kind; a must read
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Directories Student and staff directories - includes staff
electronic addresses Ski Reports Up-to-the-minute
upstate New York ski reports
(Seasonal) Jobs Listings and descriptions of jobs at
Cornell Computing Extensive online information regarding computing
at
Cornell Patents Descriptions of current patents held
by Cornell Various Newsletters Newsletters from numerous campus
groups Weather Up-to-the-minute local weather forecast
7.6 Lafayette Integrated, Networked Campus - LINC
lafibm.lafayette.edu (139.147.8.4) Use Telnet or tn3270. When you
see the LINC logo, ignore the ALT-L advice and clear the logo by
pressing Enter. On next screen, instead of logging on, type DIAL
MUSIC (case does not matter). On login screen that appears, use
GUEST as ID, and GUEST as password.
Hardware/software: IBM 9375 running MUSIC/SP Contact: Patrick
Ciriello (ciri@lafayacs.bitnet)
7.7 Lehigh
ibm1.cc.lehigh.edu Use tn3270. At the VM prompt, type DIAL MUSIC,
and at the /ID prompt, type LUNA.
Hardware/software: IBM 4381 running MUSIC. Planning to move to
AIX on RS/6000s. Contact: Timothy J. Foley
(tjf0@ns.cc.lehigh.edu)
7.8 Mississippi State University (MSUinfo)
isis.msstate.edu (130.18.164.2) Login as msuinfo Terminal type:
enter yours; most are supported.
Hardware/software: UNIX/TechInfo Contact: Bennet George
(George_Bennet@admin.msstate.edu)
Contains announcements, campus events, community events,
continuing education offerings, jobs, recent press releases,
research funding opportunities, and more.
7.9 MIT TechInfo
Accessible either via Telnet, or via a native Macintosh
application that uses the MacTCP drivers to access the TechInfo
server; requires a MacPlus with one Meg memory or better, System
6.0.3 or better, and licensed MacTCP drivers.
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Source code is freely available to other schools seeking to get
started quickly - contact folks listed below.
For Telnet access:
telnet techinfo.mit.edu (18.72.1.146)
No username/password is required.
Once you're in, you can use upper- or lower-case commands.
To exit the system, use the QUIT command.
For native Macintosh access:
anonymous FTP to net-dist.mit.edu, look in the /pub/techinfo
directory, fetch techinfo.hqx; Binhex (a public domain tool)
is required to decode the binary.
Contact: Tim McGovern (tjm@mit.edu), (617) 253-0505
Bugs: bug-techinfo@mit.edu
Comments: comment-techinfo@mit.edu
Administration: admin-techinfo@mit.edu
7.10 New Mexico State University NMSU/INFO
info.nmsu.edu
Login as info
Emulate a VT100.
Hardware/software: DEC/VTX
Contact: D. Brian Ormand (bormand@nmsuvm1.bitnet) or
(bormand@nmsu.edu)
7.11 North Carolina State University Happenings!
ccvax1.cc.ncsu.edu (128.109.153.4)
Login as info
Emulate a VT100.
Hardware/software: DEC/VTX
Contact: Harry Nicholos (hmn@ncsuvax.bitnet)
7.12 NYU ACF INFO system
info.nyu.edu (information.nyu.edu) (128.122.138.142)
Emulating a VT100 or better enables some additional suboptions.
Contact: Stephen Tihor (tihor@ACFcluster.nyu.edu) or
(tihor@nyuacf.bitnet)
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7.13 Pima Community College
pimacc.pima.edu
Login as pimainfo
Emulate a VT100.
Hardware/software: DEC/VTX
Contact: Terry Loftus (tloftus@pimacc.pima.edu) or Al Camberos
(acamberos@pimacc.pima.edu)
7.14 Princeton News Network PNN
pucc.princeton.edu
Use Telnet or tn3270. When you see the VM 370 logo, clear it,
and instead of logging on, enter pnn (case does not matter).
Clear the information screen that appears.
Hardware/software: VM/CMS; locally written. A UNIX version and
a Mac HyperCard version are up, running, and available. All
versions (CMS, UNIX, and HyperCard) are available to universities
at no cost.
Contact: Rita Saltz (rita@pucc.bitnet)
System and Development: Howard Strauss (howard@pucc.bitnet)
7.15 Rutgers University
info.rutgers.edu 98
No password required.
Can be accessed from any microcomputer or terminal.
Hardware/software: written in lush (a public domain program);
runs on any SUN workstation.
Contact: Leny Struminger (struming@zodiac.rutgers.edu)
INFO contains universitywide activities, graduate course catalogs,
faculty/taff phone directory, computer services, library online
catalog, weather, news, bus schedules, and more.
7.16 San Diego State University
wintermute.sdsu.edu
Login as sdsuinfo
Emulate a VT100.
Hardware/software: pnn & nmm
Contact: Richard Caasi (caasi@sdsu.edu)
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7.17 University of Arkansas
uafsysb.uark.edu
Login as info
Hardware/software: IBM 4381-14, VM/HPO 6.0, Cornell's CUINFO
module
Contact: Susan Adkins (sa06037@uafsysb.bitnet) or
(sa06037@uafsysb.uark.edu)
System contains information on calendar of events, campus e-mail
directory, and hours and services.
7.18 University of Colorado at Boulder
culine.colorado.edu 852 (128.138.129.2 852)
Login as CULINE
Contact: Donna Pattee (pattee@spot.colorado.edu)
7.19 University of Denver
du.edu
Login as atdu
Contact: Bob Stocker (bstocker@ducair.bitnet)
7.20 University of Minnesota at Duluth
ub.d.umn.edu
Login as info
Emulate a vt100.
Contact: Frank Simmons (fsimmons@ub.d.umn.edu)
This system contains more than 700 documents ranging from athletic
schedules to microcomputer prices to art gallery showing
schedules. All commands are displayed at the bottom of each
screen, and separate online help is available. Keyword searching
is available, although at this time only words in the titles of
documents are used.
7.21 University of New Brunswick, Canada, INFO
unbmvs1.csd.unb.ca (131.202.1.2)
Login with application id INFO
No password is required.
INFO is a full-screen CICS application running under MVS.
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tn3270 emulation.
Contact: Bonita Mockler (bgm@unb.ca)
System contains university calendar; class timetable; phone/fax
numbers for faculty, staff, and students, faculty and staff e-mail
IDs; seminar schedules; minutes; newsletter; and more.
7.22 University of New Hampshire VideoTex
unhvtx.unh.edu (132.177.128.58)
USERNAME: student (no password required).
Control-z to log off.
VT100/VT200 terminal emulation.
Hardware/software: DEC/VTX
Contact: Robin Tuttle (r_tuttle1@unhh.unh.edu)
System includes phone directories, campus calendar, job listings,
off-campus housing list, undergraduate catalog, class schedules,
newsletters, services and programs, rights and rules of conduct,
athletics and recreation information, activities, and workshops.
7.23 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill INFO
info.oit.unc.edu (128.109.157.1)
Login as info
Emulate a VT100.
Hardware/software: DEC/VTX
Contact: Judy Hallman (hallman@unc.bitnet)
System contains campus directory; job openings; "TheIndependent
Study" catalog (correspondence courses); undergraduate catalog;
continuing education classes; and several campus newsletters,
including "Newsbrief," the weekly campus computing newsletter.
7.24 University of North Carolina at Greensboro MINERVA
steffi.acc.uncg.edu
Login as info or MINERVA
Emulate a VT100.
Hardware/software: DEC/VTX
Contact: Norman Hill (hillnr@uncg.bitnet)
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7.25 University of North Carolina at Wilmington SEABOARD
vxc.uncwil.edu (128.109.221.3)
Log in as info
Emulate a VT100.
Hardware/software: DEC/VTX
Contact: Eddy Cavenaugh (cavenaughd@uncwil.bitnet) or
(cavenaughd@vxc.uncwil.edu)
System includes class schedule listings, institutional statistics,
library services, faculty and staff publications, current
university news releases, phone directories, and facilities
schedules.
7.26 University of Northern Iowa
infosys.uni.edu
Log in as public
Prefers a vtxxx terminal, but works with unknown terminal types.
Hardware/software: The program uses UNIX tput clear, tput mc4,
and tput mc5 (for printing).
Contact: Mike Yohe (yohe@iscsvax.uni.edu)
7.27 University of Pennsylvania PennInfo
penninfo.upenn.edu
(no login id is needed.)
Emulate a VT100.
Hardware/software: MIT's Techinfo; type HELP for directions
Contact: Valerie Glauser (glauser@dccs.upenn.edu)
Comments: penninfo-comments@dccs.upenn.edu
Bugs: penninfo-bugs@dccs.upenn.edu
Contact: Valerie Glauser (glauser@dccs.upenn.edu)
PennInfo can be accessed via MIT's TechInfo Mac client program as
well. We've modified the MAC client slightly because we have
different contact information at Penn than MIT does.
7.28 Ohio State University
oasis.acs.ohio-state.edu
Login as oasis
Emulate a VT100.
Hardware/software: DEC 5500 using Ultrix, shell scripts and
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modified Gopher code to allow Gopher access.
Contact: Clifford Collins (collins+@osu.edu)
Comments: oasis@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu
Bugs: oasis@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu
8.0 Internet Bulletin Board System/Interactive
Databases/Freenet
These are systems that you connect to through an
anonymous Telnet session to access a variety of services/information.
In some respects they resemble campuswide information systems; in others,
they are more like bulletin boards or interactive databases.
A file containing the most frequently asked questions about
bulletin board systems is available via anonymous FTP.
Source:
Anonymous FTP to polyslo.calpoly.edu
cd pub
get alt.bbs.faq
Listed below are some of these types of systems.
8.1 Cleveland Freenet - Case Western Reserve University
Telnet to freenet-in-a.cwru.edu
Follow the menu driven instructions.
8.2 Heartland Freenet
heartland.bradley.edu (136.176.10.10)
Login as fnguest
8.3 Youngstown Freenet - Youngstown State University
Telnet yfn.ysu.edu
Type visitor at userid prompt and follow menu driven
instructions.
8.4 Ocean Network Information Center
Telnet delocn.udel.edu
When the Userid: prompt appears, type INFO and press Enter/Return
key.
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8.5 Geographic Name Server
Telnet martini.eecs.umich.edu 3000
For informatin on a place, type the name of the city and state as
you would on the last line of a postal address. Example:
Zanesville, OH
8.6 ISAAC
ISAAC, the Information System for Advanced Academic Computing,
serves as a clearinghouse for information about the use of IBM-
compatible hardware and software as aids to instruction and
research in higher education. Membership is free to all students,
faculty, and staff at institutions of higher education.
For more information call (206) 543-5604.
ISAAC requires that you register before you can access the system.
To register, type register for the userid and password and fill in
the information using the tab key to go from field to field. Once
registered, you will be assigned a userid and password; then you
must reconnect, this time typing your assigned userid and
password.
To access ISAAC, you need to establish a Telnet connection over
the network. If you do not have network access, you also can call
over phone lines. Call (800) 237-5551 in the United States or,
within the local Seattle area or outside the United States, call
(206) 543-3761.
telnet isaac.engr.washington.edu or 128.95.32.61
8.7 FEDIX
FEDIX is an online information service that links the higher
education community and the federal government to facilitate
research, education, and services. The system provides accurate
and timely federal agency information to colleges, universities,
and other research organizations. There are no registration fees
and no access charges for using FEDIX. The only cost is for the
phone call.
FEDIX provides daily information updates on:
Federal education and research programs (including descriptions,
eligibility, funding, and deadlines).
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Scholarships, fellowships, and grants.
Used government research equipment available.
New funding for specific research and education activities from
the Commerce Business Daily, Federal Register, and other sources.
Minority assistance research and education programs.
News and current events within participating agencies.
General information such as agency history, budget, organizational
structure, and mission statement.
For more information, contact the HELPLINE at (301) 975-0103
Monday-Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm EST, except on federal holidays.
telnet 192.111.228.1
At the login: prompt type fedix
8.8 STIS
STIS is the Science and Technology Information System at the
National Science Foundation.
Information includes the NSF Bulletin, guide to programs, grants
booklet (including forms), program announcements, press releases,
NSF telephone book, reports of the National Science Board,
descriptions of research projects funded by NSF (with abstracts),
and analytical reports and news from the International Programs
Division.
Publications may be searched by using a keyword, such as japan or
volcano; using a phrase, such as exchange of scientists and soviet
union; or by selecting a broad topic like biosciences.
For more information, contact the National Science Foundation,
Pone (202) 357-7555, FAX (202) 357-7745, TDD (202) 357-7492 or via
e-mail to stis@nsf.gov (Internet), or stis@nsf (BITNET).
telnet stis.nsf.gov
At the login: prompt type public
At the terminal type prompt, type vt100nkp
Enter your terminal type [blank=vt100]: vt100nkp
You are asked for a userid of up to eight characters. If you are
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a new user, you will be asked to supply your name and address for
record keeping. You can search the NSF publications for
information and have the information sent to your e-mail address
if you wish. STIS provides a menu system. To get back to the
main menu, press the esc key until you have the main menu on the
screen. Press the arrow key until Exit is highlighted, and press
enter to exit STIS.
8.9 Weather
Source:
Telnet madlab.sprl.umich.edu 3000
8.93 NASA Spacelink
A space-related information database provided by the NASA
Educational Affairs Division.
Source:
Telnet spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov
Login with userid newuser
and password newuser
8.95 WAIS
Wide Area Information Server; this system uses a standard query
system for access to information databases on the Internet. It is
a client server model with clients available for Macintoshes,
NeXTs, UNIX and PCs.
Source:
Telnet quake.think.com
Login as wais
Files avaialable via anonymous FTP to quake.com
cd wais
8.96 Gopher
Gopher is a client server system that accesses information on the
Internet. Clients exist for Macintoshes, PCs, NeXTs, X Windows,
and UNIX terminals. The use of Gopher as Campus Wide Information
Systems has been exploding in the past year. If you have not
tried Gopher I would highly recommend giving it a try. It is
truly a golden Gopher.
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Source:
Telnet to consultant.micro.umn.edu
Login as gopher
Files available via anonymous FTP to boombox.micro.umn.edu
cd pub/gopher
9.0 WHOIS - E-mail white pages
WHOIS is a program available on many workstation/mini/mainframe
computers that can connect to another computer. By supplying a
persons name, it will respond with information it has on the person.
A similar program called finger does the same type of thing, except
it only supplies information on individuals with an account on that
specific computer. A WHOIS database generally is contains
information on most of the individuals at a university, not just on
the machine you connect to.
In a larger sense WHOIS is a technique for finding a person's e-mail
address. There is no master list of e-mail addresses on the network.
Standards have been established for supplying e-mail addresses, but
it will take some time for it to be globally implemented. In the
meantime, the easiest way to find out is to call and ask!
I can just hear the gasps of horror, using the phone for anything but
talking to your mom, sacrilege. There are, of course, many ways of
finding a person's e-mail address. But what you don't know is if the
person even reads his/her e-mail, and in the case of multiple e-mail
addresses, which one is correct. A simple phone call the first time
will answer those unknowns quickly.
The following documents and resources will assist in finding a
person's e-mail address.
9.03 College E-mail Address
Mark Kantrowitz (mkant@cs.cmu.edu) of Caregie-Mellon University
has compiled an extensive list of techniques for locating e-mail
addresses for many universities. This document contains an
alphabetic listing of universities and searching techniques unique
to each.
Source:
Anonymous ftp to a.gp.cs.cmu.edu
Note: for password you must use your e-mail address in the
form of name@computer.
cd /afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/mkant/Public/Email
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Note: you must cd to this directory as above, because
intermediate directories are protected.
get college-email.-#.text.##
Note: the files are separated into several sections and you
need to specify the sections you want by replacing the #
shown above with a number 1, 2, 3 etc.
You also can send mail to mail-server@pit-manager.mit.edu with
no subject and the body of the text message (with no signature)
send usenet/soc.college/FAQ:_College_Email_Addresses
_1_2_[Monthly_posting]
send usenet/soc.college/FAQ:_College_Email_Addresses
_2_2_[Monthly_posting]
Note the above commands should be all on one line.
9.05 Netfind
Netfind is a program that goes out and queries the network
in an organized way to find e-mail addresses.
Source:
Telnet bruno.cs.colorado.edu
Login is netfind
9.07 Inter-Network Guide
When mailing from one network to another you need to know what
address to use to access the gateway. For instance, if you want
to send a message from the Internet to someone on CompuServe, you
address it to 12345.1234@compuserve.com, where the 12345.1234 is
the person's CompuServe ID in the form 12345,1234.
The Inter-Network Mail Guide by John Chew provides this
information.
Source: Send a mail message to listserv@unmvm.unm.edu No subject
Message body of: GET NETWORK GUIDE
9.09 WHOIS List
The following is a list of universities that have a WHOIS service
working. A more complete list has been collected by Matt Power of
MIT (mhpower@athena.mit.edu).
Source:
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Anonymous ftp to sipb.mit.edu
cd pub/whois
get whois-servers.list
The following is a short list of WHOIS servers.
9.1 The Ohio State University
Telnet to osu.edu
Use WHOIS command whois -h osu.edu
Enter firstname.lastname
Example: whois -h osu.edu jerry.smith
9.2 University of Oregon
Use WHOIS command whois -h oregon.uoregon.edu
Enter firstname.lastname
Example: whois -h oregon.uoregon.edu Rose.Smith
9.3 University of Virginia
Use WHOIS command whois -h whois.virginia.edu
Enter lastname, firstname middlename
Example: whois -h whois.virginia.edu Smith, John James
9.4 University of Pennsylvania
Use WHOIS command whois -h whois.upenn.edu
Enter lastname, firstname
Example: whois -h whois.upenn.edu Smith, Judy
9.5 University of Wisconsin
Use WHOIS command whois -h wisc.edu
Enter firstname lastname
Example: whois -h wisc.edu Jane Smith
9.6 MIT
Use WHOIS command whois -h mit.edu
Enter firstname_lastname
Example: whois -h mit.edu Robert_Smith
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9.7 Indiana University
Use WHOIS command whois -h iugate.ucs.indiana.edu
Enter firstname_lastname
Example: whois -h iugate.ucs.indiana.edu Gerald_Smith
9.8 Stanford University
Use WHOIS command whois -h stanford.edu
Enter firstname lastname
Example: whois -h stanford.edu "shirley smith"
9.9 University of California at Davis
Use WHOIS command whois -h ucdavis.edu
Enter lastname,firstname
Example: whois -h ucdavis.edu smith,sandra
9.95 Directory of ERNET users in India
Use WHOIS command whois -h sangam.ernet.in help
(will give the help screen with examples)
Enter city name
Example: whois -h sangam.ernet.in bombay
(will list all computer names at bombay)
Enter name@computer
Example: whois -h sangam.ernet.in joshi@shakti
(will match all users on shakti matching the pattern "johsi")
10.0 Books
For a more complete listing, see sections 2.08 and 2.11.
Internetworking with TCP/IP Principles, Protocols, and
Architecture by Douglas Comer, Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-470154-2.
The Matrix, Computer Networks and Conferencing Systems Worldwide
by John S. Quarterman, Digital Press, ISBN 0-13-565607-9.
!%@:: A Directory of Electronic Mail Addressing and Networks, by
Donnalyn Frey and Rick Adams, O'Reilly & Associates, Inc., ISBN
0-937175-39-0.
The User's Directory of Computer Networks, Edited by Tracy L.
LaQuey, Digital Press, ISBN 0-13-950262-9.
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Zen and the art of the Internet: A Beginner's Guide, Second
Editon, by Brendan Kehoe, Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-010778-6.
11.0 Free Periodicals/Tabloids/Magazines
Below are just a few of the periodicals available to qualified
subscribers.
The first four, PCWeek, MacWeek, Info World, and Network World, are
the ones I try to glance over routinely. Others are dedicated to
specific network, LAN, or UNIX topics that are useful if you need
that information.
PC Week
P.O. Box 1767
Riverton, NJ 08077-9767
MacWEEK
P.O. Box 1764
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12.0 Glossary
I use some terms here that may not be familiar to all. The
following is a brief explanation.
12.1 BITNET:
A network of mainframes or minicomputers. BITNET
connects many universities and colleges. It provides
e-mail and file transfer capabilities, but does not have the
ability to do remote login (Telnet session capability).
12.2 Internet:
A very large network that connects just about any types of
computers. It supports e-mail, file transfer (FTP), and
remote login (Telnet).
12.3 Anonymous FTP:
The ability to transfer a file from a remote computer connected
to the Internet without having an account on the remote computer.
The program that performs the file transfer is normal FTP. To
connect to a remote computer offering anonymous FTP, you can use
the following commands from a computer connected to the Internet.
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FTP Internet computer name
When prompted for a userid, type anonymous
When prompted for a password, type your e-mail address
To get a listing of files type dir
To change directory, type cd directory name
To get a file, type get filename
To get a binary file, type binary then get filename
To end session, type quit
Example:
FTP pilot.njin.net
Username: anonymous
Password: yourname@computer.edu
cd pub/ftp-list
get ftp.list
quit
12.4 Telnet:
The ability to establish a connection to a remote computer
connected to the Internet network. Two types of programs are used
to do this. One, usually called Telnet, establishes a VT100-type
terminal emulation to the remote computer. The second, TN3270,
establishes a full-screen IBM 3270-type terminal connection.
12.5 Listserv:
A program available on many BITNET connected computers that can
act as a mail forwarding system and as a file repository. BITNET
is another network that links many colleges and universities It
does not normally link to military or government institutions as
does the Internet. To subscribe to a listserv, you usually send
mail to the machine that has the mailing list with the command to
subscribe. As an example, to subscribe to a list for discussion
of topics pertinent to mechanical engineering, send e-mail to
listserv@utarlvml with a message containing the one-line command
to subscribe:
SUB MECH-1 John Doe (Where John Doe would be your full name)
12.6 Usenet/Read News
Newsgroups are like public bulletin boards that you can post and
read messages from other individuals world wide. More than 1500
groups cover topics ranging from arts and recreation to more
research oriented topics such as physics, philosohy, microbiology
and many many others. Normally you gain access through a computer
that has lots of disk space and is connected directly to the
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Internet. You can read many of the newgroups from the Cleveland
Freenet (section 8.1) or from commercial providors of Intenet
access; for example, Holonet (section 1.7).
Disclaimer
The information provided in the previous sections has been put
together from multiple sources acquired from the network. Much of it
came from reading newsgroups and trying things out to see how they
worked. The information is as accurate as I have been able to
determine, as of July 17, 1992.
I used a DEC5500 system running Ultrix to check most of these
sources. Most of the information is oriented toward Internet, since
it has remote login (Telnet) and file transfer (FTP).
Security Considerations
Security issues are not discussed in this memo.
Author's Address
Jerry Martin
Leader, Network Information Center
Ohio State University
Academic Computing Services
1971 Neil Ave.
Columbus, OH 43210-1210
Phone: (614) 292-4843
EMail: nic@osu.edu (Internet)
nic@ohstmail (BITNET)
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