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RFC 1580

Guide to Network Resource Tools

Pages: 107
FYI 23
Part 2 of 4 – Pages 27 to 53
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ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 27   prevText
5. ARCHIE

5.1. What is ARCHIE

   Archie is an information system. It offers an electronic directory
   service for locating information in the international TCP/IP network
   (the Internet).

   The best known use of archie is for scanning a database of the
   contents of more than 1000 anonymous FTP sites around the world.
   Currently, this database contains more than 2,100,000 file names from
   anonymous FTP sites. This database is known as the archie database.

   The files made available at anonymous FTP sites are software packages
   for various systems (Windows, MS-DOS, Macintosh, Unix, etc.),
   utilities, information or documentation files, mailing list or Usenet
   group discussion archives. At most FTP sites, the resources are
   organized hierarchically in directories and subdirectories. The
   database tracks both the directory path and the file names.

   The archie database is automatically updated, thereby ensuring that
   the information is accurate. Using this database, users can easily
   find the the location of files they need without logging onto several
   machines.

5.2. Who can use ARCHIE

   Users on any network can access the archie database by electronic
   mail.  Other means of access are available to users on the Internet
   (see the section Using ARCHIE below for details).

   You are requested to respect a few basic rules when you request
   information from an archie server:
ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 28
      * avoid connecting during working hours; most of the archie
      servers are
        not dedicated machines, they have local functions as well.

      * make your queries as specific as possible; the response will be
        quicker and shorter.

      * user interfaces installed on your computer contribute to reduce
      the
        load on the server sites, please use them.

      * use the archie server closest to you and, in particularly, don't
        overload the transatlantic lines.

5.3. How to get to ARCHIE

   The archie database is maintained in the following locations:

   +---------------------------------------------------------------+
   |                                                               |
   |  Host                               Country                   |
   |                                                               |
   +---------------------------------------------------------------+
   |  archie.au                          Australia                 |
   |  archie.edvz.uni-linz.ac.at         Austria                   |
   |  archie.univie.ac.at                Austria                   |
   |  archie.uqam.ca                     Canada                    |
   |  archie.funet.fi                    Finland                   |
   |  archie.th-darmstadt.de             Germany                   |
   |  archie.doc.ic.ac.uk                Great-Britain             |
   |  archie.ac.il                       Israel                    |
   |  archie.unipi.it                    Italy                     |
   |  archie.wide.ad.jp                  Japan                     |
   |  archie.kyoto-u.ac.jp               Japan                     |
   |  archie.hana.nm.kr                  Korea                     |
   |  archie.sogang.ac.kr                Korea                     |
   |  archie.nz                          New Zealand               |
   |  archie.rediris.es                  Spain                     |
   |  archie.luth.se                     Sweden                    |
   |  archie.switch.ch                   Switzerland               |
   |  archie.ncu.edu.tw                  Taiwan                    |
   |  archie.ans.net                     USA                       |
   |  archie.internic.net                USA                       |
   |  archie.rutgers.edu                 USA                       |
   |  archie.sura.net                    USA                       |
   |  archie.unl.edu                     USA                       |
   |                                                               |
   +---------------------------------------------------------------+
ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 29
   There are three ways to access the archie database: via a local
   client, interactive Telnet session or electronic mail. Each type of
   access is described below in the Using ARCHIE section.

5.4. Using ARCHIE

   The format of the parameters is given at the end of this section.
   Angle brackets (<>) indicate an optional parameter; a vertical bar
   (|) indicates a choice of parameters.

   Note: A new version of the archie server (3.0) is now available. Some
   of the commands for interactive access and the e-mail interface are
   slightly different from previous versions of the server (2.11 and
   before). Command formats marked with a (+) are valid in version 3.0
   only, those marked with a (*) are acceptable only in previous
   versions.  To find out which version is installed at the server you
   wish to use, issue the version command.

   5.4.1. Using a local client:

      Usage of these clients is encouraged since they provide quick and
      easy non-interactive access to the archie servers, and thus,
      better performance of the servers and better response time for the
      user.

      Public domain clients for accessing archie servers are available
      for: Macintosh, MS-DOS, OS/2, VMS, NeXT, Unix and X-Windows. The
      clients are available for anonymous FTP from the archie sites in
      the directories /pub/archie/clients or /archie/clients. All these
      platforms support a simple command line client. In addition, a
      graphical interface (called xarchie) is available for X-Windows.

      5.4.1.1. Archie client command and parameters

      When using a graphical interface, you access the archie functions
      by pressing mousse buttons. The results are displayed with
      selectable fields for further explorations.

      The basic archie client is a command with parameters that you
      enter on your local machine. With most versions of the archie
      client, if you type archie with no parameters, you will get a list
      of the possible parameters and a short description of each. The
      format of the command is:
ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 30
      +---------------------------------------------------------------+
      |                                                               |
      |  archie    <-options> string | pattern                        |
      |                                                               |
      +---------------------------------------------------------------+

      where the options are:

      o
         specifies an output file name to store the results (not
         available with all clients).

      l
         lists the result one match per line. This form is suitable for
         parsing by programs.

      t
         sorts the result inverted by date

      m#
         specifies maximum number of matches to return (# within the
         range 0 to 1000). The default value is 95.

      h archie-server
         specifies an archie server to send the query to; if this
         parameter is not given, then the query will be sent to the
         default archie server, if one is defined.

      L
         lists known servers and current default server.

      The following group of options determines the kind of search
      performed on the database. They are mutually exclusive.

      s
         a match occurs if the file/directory name contains string. The
         search is case insensitive.

      c
         as above, but the search is case sensitive.

      e
         string must EXACTLY match (including case) the file/directory
         name in the database. This is the DEFAULT search method.

      r
         searches the database using pattern. It contains special
         characters which must be interpreted before performing the
ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 31
         search.

      There may be some slight differences in the options available with
      different clients on different platforms.

      The result is a list of FTP site addresses with files or
      directories matching the argument, the size of the file, its last
      modification date and its directory. By default, the list is
      sorted by host address. See the Examples section below for an
      example of archie output.

   5.4.2. Using Telnet:

      To access an archie server interactively, telnet to one of the
      existing servers (see the list of servers in the section How to
      get to ARCHIE above). At the login: prompt enter archie, the login
      procedure ends leaving the user at a archie> prompt. The server is
      ready for user requests. The following commands are available:

      exit, quit, bye
         exits archie.

      help  <command-name>
         invokes the on-line help. If issued with commandname, the help
         request is restricted to the specified topic. Pressing the
         RETURN key exits from the on-line help.

      list  <pattern>
         provides a list of the sites in the database and the time at
         which they were last updated. The optional parameter limits the
         list to sites matching pattern. The result is a list of site
         names, sites IP address and date of the last update in the
         database. The command list with no pattern will list all sites
         in the database (more than 1000 sites!). E.g.,

              list \.de$

         will list all German sites

      site(*)  site-name
         lists the directories and, recursively, the subdirectories, of
         site-name in the database. The result may be very long.

      whatis  string
         searches the database of software package descriptions for
         string. The search is case-insensitive.
ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 32
      prog  string  |  pattern
      find(+)  string  |  pattern
         searches the database for string or pattern which represents
         the name of the resource to be found in the database. Searches
         may be performed in a number of different ways specified in the
         variable search (set command) which also decides the
         interpretation of the parameter as string or pattern. The
         result is a list of FTP site addresses with matching entries,
         the size of the resource, its last modification date and the
         directory to find it. The number of hits is limited by the
         maxhits variable (set command). The result of prog can be
         sorted in different ways, depending on the value of the sortby
         variable (set command). By default, the variables search,
         maxhits and sortby are set to, respectively, exact match search
         on string, 1000 hits and unsorted resulting list. Typing the
         keyboard interrupt character during a search will abort it. The
         results up to that time are displayed. See the Examples section
         below for an example of the prog command and its results.

      mail  <email>  <,email2...>
         sends the result of the last command in a mail message to the
         specified e-mail address(es). If issued with no argument, the
         result is sent to the address specified in the variable mailto
         (set command).

      show  <variable>
         displays the value of the given variable name. If issued with
         no argument, it displays all variables. See the set command
         below for the possible variables.

      set  variable  value
         sets one of the archie's variables. Values of these variables
         affect how archie interacts with the user.

      Variables and values are:

      compress(+)  compress-method
         specifies the compression method (none or compress) to be used
         before mailing a result with the mail command. The default is
         none.

      encode(+)  encode-method
         specifies the encoding method (none or uuencode) to be used
         before mailing a result with the mail command. This variable is
         ignored if compress is not set. The default is none.
ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 33
      mailto  email  <,email2 ...>
         specifies the e-mail address(es) to mail the result of the last
         command when mail is issued with no arguments.

      maxhits  number
         specifies the maximum number of matches prog will generate
         (within the range 0 to 1000). The default value is 1000.

      search  search-value
         determines the kind of search performed on the database by the
         command: prog string | pattern. search-values are:

         sub
            a parttial and case insensitive search is performed with
            string on the database, e.g.:

                 "is" will match "islington" and "this" and "poison"

         subcase
            as above but the search is case sensitive, e.g.:

                 "TeX" will match "LaTeX" but not "Latex"

         exact
            the parameter of prog (string) must EXACTLY match (including
            case) the string in the database. The fastest search method
            of all, and the default.

         regex
            pattern is interpreted before performing a search on the
            database.

         sortby  sort-value
            describes how to sort the result of prog. sort-values are:

            hostname
               on the FTP site address in lexical order.

            time
               by the modification date, most recent first.

            size
               by the size of the found files or directories, largest
               first.

            filename
               on file or directory name in lexical order.
ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 34
            none
               unsorted (default)

            The reverse sorting orders from those described here are
            obtained by prepending r to the sortby value given. (e.g.,
            reverse hostname order hostname is rhostname).

         term  terminal-type   <number-of-rows  <number-of-columns>>
            tells  the archie  server what  type of  terminal  you are
            using, and optionally its size in rows and columns, e.g.:

                 set term xterm 24 100

   5.4.3. Using electronic mail:

      Users limited to electronic mail connectivity can access the
      archie servers by sending mail to the domain address of one of the
      servers listed in the section How to get to ARCHIE (e.g.,
      archie@archie.ac.il).  The commands are sent in the body part of
      the mail.

      The electronic mail interface to an archie server recognizes a
      subset of the commands described in Using Telnet. Most useful
      commands and particularities to the e-mail interface are described
      below. If an empty message, or a message containing no valid
      requests is received, it will be considered to be a help request.

      Command lines begin in the first column. All lines that do not
      match a valid command are ignored. The Subject: line is processed
      as if it were part of the message body.

      help
         sends you the help file. The help command is exclusive, ie,
         other commands in the same message are ignored.

      path  return-address
         set mailto(+)  return-address
         specifies a return e-mail address different from that which is
         extracted from the message header. If you do not receive a
         reply from the archie server within several hours, you might
         need to add a path command to your message request.

      list  pattern  <pattern2 ...>
         provides a list of the sites in the database that match pattern
         and the time at which they were last updated. The result is a
         list with site names, sites IP address and date of the last
         update in the database.
ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 35
      site(*)  site-name
         lists the directories and, recursively, the subdirectories, of
         site-name in the database.

      whatis  string  <string2 ...>
         searches the database of software packages descriptions for
         each string.  The search is case insensitive.

      prog  pattern  <pattern2 ...>
         find(+)  pattern  <pattern2>
         searches the database for each interpretation of pattern which
         represents the name of a resource to be found in the database.
         If multiple patterns are placed on one line, in that case, the
         results will be mailed back in one message. If multiple prog
         lines appear, then multiple messages will be returned, one for
         each prog line. Results are sorted by FTP site address in
         lexical order. If pattern contains spaces, it must be quoted
         with single (') or double (") quotes. The search is case
         insensitive.

      compress(*)
         causes the result of the current request to be compressed and
         uuencoded. When you receive the reply, you should run it
         through uudecode. This will produce a .Z file. You can then run
         uncompress on this file and get the result of your request

      set compress(+)  compress-method
         specifies the compression method (none or compress) to be used
         before mailing the result of the current request. The default
         is none.

      set encode(+)  encode-method
         specifies the encoding method (none or uuencode) to be used
         before mailing the result of the current request. This variable
         is ignored if compress is not set. The default is none.

         Note: set compress compress and set encode uuencode would
         produce the same result as the former compress command.

      quit
         nothing past this point is interpreted. Useful when a signature
         is automatically appended at the end of your mail messages.

      Description of pattern

      A pattern describes a character string including characters which
      take a special meaning. The special meaning is lost when "\" is
      put before the character. The special characters are:
ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 36
       .
         (period) this is the wildcard character that replaces any other
         character, e.g., "...." will match any 4 character string.

      ^
         (caret) if "^" appears at the beginning of the pattern, then
         the searched string must start with the substring following the
         "^". If it occurs anywhere else in the pattern it is regarded
         as non-special, e.g.:

              "^efghi" will match "efghi" or "efghijlk" but not
              "abcefghi"

      $
         (dollar) if "$" appears at the end of the pattern, then the
         searched string must end with the substring preceding the "$".
         If occurring anywhere else in the pattern, it is regarded as
         non-special, e.g.:

              "efghi$" will match "efghi" or "abcdefghi" but not
              "efghijkl"

5.5. Examples

   If you are using an archie client, and enter the command:

        archie -s eudora

   or if you send, by e-mail or during a Telnet session, the command:

        prog eudora

   or

        find eudora

   then archie will send you the following results:

   Host ftp.ascii.co.jp    (133.152.1.1)
   Last updated 03:38  8 Aug 1993

    Location: /pub/MAC
      DIRECTORY  drwxrwxr-x 2048 bytes 00:00  6 May 1992  eudora

   Host ftp.ascii.co.jp    (133.152.1.1)
   Last updated 03:38  8 Aug 1993
ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 37
    Location: /pub/MAC/eudora
     FILE  -r--r--r-- 281139 bytes 00:00 21 Oct 1991 eudora1.2.2.sit.hqx

   Host ftp.ci.ua.pt    (192.80.21.201)
   Last updated 04:53  9 Aug 1993

    Location: /pub/NetNews/comp.binaries.mac
      FILE  -rw-r--r-- 438 bytes 12:04 10 Jul 1993  Eudora1.3.readme

   Host ftp.ci.ua.pt    (192.80.21.201)
   Last updated 04:53  9 Aug 1993

    Location: /pub/NetNews/comp.binaries.mac
      FILE  -rw-r--r-- 278912 bytes 12:04 10 Jul 1993  Eudora1.3.sit.bin

   etc.

   If you send the command list \.de$ by e-mail or in a Telnet session,
   then you will get the following results:

   alice.fmi.uni-passau.de          132.231.1.180  12:31  8 Aug 1993
   askhp.ask.uni-karlsruhe.de       129.13.200.33  12:25  8 Aug 1993
   athene.uni-paderborn.de           131.234.2.32  15:21  6 Aug 1993
   bseis.eis.cs.tu-bs.de             134.169.33.1  00:18 31 Jul 1993
   clio.rz.uni-duesseldorf.de        134.99.128.3  12:10  8 Aug 1993
   cns.wtza-berlin.de                141.16.244.4  16:08 31 Jul 1993

   etc.

   If you send the command whatis compression by e-mail or in a Telnet
   session, then you will get the following results:

   RFC 468      Braden, R.T. FTP data compression 1973 March 8; 5p.
   arc          PC compression program
   deltac       Image compression using delta modulation
   spl          Splay tree compression routines
   squeeze      A file compression program
   uncrunch     Uncompression program
   unsqueeze    Uncompression programs

5.6. Learning more about ARCHIE

   However you communicate with the archie server, on-line help is
   available.

   If you have any questions about archie, write to the Archie Group,
   Bunyip Information Systems Inc. at info@bunyip.com.
ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 38
   Bug reports, comments, suggestions, etc. should be mailed to
   archie-group@bunyip.com. In addition, the database administrator at a
   particular archie server can be contacted at
   archie-admin@address.of.archie.server, e.g.:
   archie-admin@archie.ac.il.

   Mailing list: archie-people@bunyip.com
   To subscribe send a mail to: archie-people-request@bunyip.com

   Archie was developed by Alan Emtage, Peter Deutsch, and Bill Heelan
   from the McGill University Computing Center, Canada. Now archie is
   supported by Bunyip Information System Inc., Canada.

6. WHOIS

6.1. What is WHOIS

   WHOIS provides directory service to network users. This service is a
   way of finding e-mail addresses, postal addresses and telephone
   numbers. It may also deliver information about networks, networking
   organizations, domains and sites.

   The main database of networking-related names (organizations, sites,
   networks, people, etc.) is maintained by the Internet Registration
   Service (InterNIC). Actually, the names of the administrative and
   technical contacts for registered domains are automatically entered
   into the database when domain or IP number applications are processed
   by the Internet coordination authority. Each entry of the database
   has a handle (a unique identifier), a name, a record type, and
   various other fields depending on the type of record. This database
   will be used as an example in the descriptions below.

   Before April 1, 1993, the Network Information Center (NIC) of the
   Defense Data Network (DDN) was the Internet coordination authority
   and, therefore, maintained the database (known as the NIC database).
   The NIC database is now restricted to information about the .mil
   domain. Many documents still refer to these names.

   Many academic sites maintain their own database to offer information
   about their staff members and students.

   In its current implementation, WHOIS has some limitations which
   prevent it from becoming an efficient directory service for a large
   volume of information and numerous requests: the various WHOIS
   servers have no knowledge of each other, a database is maintained at
   each server site, and, finally, new functionalities have been
   implemented locally at various sites and not propagated. A new
   extended protocol, WHOIS++, is being specified to improve the current
ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 39
   service. WHOIS++ will include local enhancements to the WHOIS
   service, an improved query syntax and its architecture will allow a
   real distributed directory service for the entire Internet.

   This new protocol for directory services will be made available
   shortly.

6.2. Who can use WHOIS

   WHOIS is available to users on the international TCP/IP network (the
   Internet).

   A WHOIS server is accessible across the network from a user program
   running on local machines or via an interactive Telnet session to the
   site which hosts the server.

   In addition, the InterNIC offers an electronic mail interface to the
   database it maintains, allowing users not on the Internet or users
   with electronic mail only to access this information. This type of
   access is described below in the Using WHOIS section.

   In general, WHOIS servers should only be used for isolated queries
   about specific information. Typically, it is not acceptable to make
   an extended series of queries to obtain large sections of the
   directory.  Such a strategy is unfair both because of excessive
   consumption of server resources, and because the directory
   information belongs to individuals. In particular, extracting lists
   of people for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited.

6.3. How to get to WHOIS

   There are many WHOIS servers throughout the network and a
   comprehensive list would be too long to be included here. A WHOIS
   server offers information about the organization to which it belongs:
   it doesn't share a common directory with other WHOIS servers and
   doesn't know either where to find information about other
   institutions.

6.4. Using WHOIS

   WHOIS has become the familiar name of the user program for accessing
   a WHOIS database, although NICNAME is the original name.

   In the following, angle brackets (<>) indicate an optional parameter.
ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 40
   6.4.1. Using a local client:

      Unix computers have a native whois command. On non-Unix machines,
      ask your system administrator whether your computer has it or not.
      This command searches the database on the specified site for entry
      which contains identifier. The format is:

      +---------------------------------------------------------------+
      |                                                               |
      |  whois     <-h site-name> identifier                          |
      |                                                               |
      +---------------------------------------------------------------+

      where:

      site-name
         is the domain address of the site which hosts the database you
         want to query (e.g., whois.internic.net). On some
         installations, the default value is still set to the old NIC
         database site (nic.ddn.mil).

      identifier
         is a name (person, host, domain or network), an IP number or a
         handle.

      Special characters may be used in identifier to specify the
      search:

       .
         before identifier will cause a name-only search.

      !
         before identifier will cause a handle-only search.

       ... or .
         after identifier will cause a partial search: everything
         starting with identifier will match.

      @
         in identifier will cause a search on the e-mail addresses.

      *
         before identifier will return the entire membership list of the
         entry that matches identifier (e.g., a site and its registered
         users).
ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 41
      %
         before identifier will return only the membership list of the
         entry that matches identifier (e.g., the registered users of a
         site).

      The special characters may be used together.

      The results are displayed in one of 2 ways:

         * a full detailed display for a single match,
         * a list of summary lines for multiple matches.

      In both cases, the handle is shown in parentheses after the name.

   6.4.2. Using Telnet:

      To access the InterNIC database interactively, telnet to the
      InterNIC site (whois.internic.net). No login is required.

      Other WHOIS databases may have a Telnet access and offer most of
      the functions below (e.g., whois.ripe.net which hosts the WHOIS
      database of the European IP Networks).

      In the following, CAPITAL letters indicate acceptable
      abbreviation; angle brackets (<>) indicate an optional parameter.

      WHOIS
         invokes the information retrieval program.

      ?
         displays a short on-line help.

      HElp
         accesses the full on-line help.

      Q, QUIT, RETURN key
         exits WHOIS

      <keyword> identifier
         searches the database for an entry which contains identifier.
         The default action is to do a broad search, looking for matches
         in many fields: handle, name, nicknames, hostname, IP number,
         etc, and finding all record types. keyword may be used to
         narrow the search to a specific record type.

      keyword may be one of:
ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 42
      PErson
         limits the search to persons.

      DOmain
         limits the search to domains (e.g., DO EARN.NET).

      HOst
         limits the search to hosts (e.g., HO PRINCETON).

      NEtwork
         limits the search to networks (e.g., NE EBONE).

      Organization
         limits the search to organizations (e.g., O CREN).

      NAme
         same as leading '.' in identifier.

      HAndle
         same as '!' in identifier.

      PArtial
         same as trailing '.' in identifier.

      Mailbox
         same as '@' in identifier.

      EXPand
         same as '*' in identifier.

      SUBdisplay
         same as '%' in identifier.

      Full or '='
         shows detailed display for each match.

      SUMmary or '$'
         shows summary always, even if just one match.

      Special characters may be used in identifier to specify the
      search:

       .
         before identifier will cause a name-only search.

      !
         before identifier will cause a handle-only search.
ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 43
       ... or .
         after identifier will cause a partial search: everything
         starting with identifier will match.

      @
         in identifier will cause a search on the e-mail addresses.

      *
         before identifier will return the entire membership list of the
         entry that match identifier (e.g., a site and its registered
         users).

      %
         before identifier will return only the membership list of the
         entry that matches identifier (e.g., the registered users of a
         site).

      ~
         before identifier will return the entry that matches identifier
         only, no membership list.

      The special characters may be used together.

      Except if  Full or SUMmary are  specified, the results are
      displayed in one of 2 ways:

         * a full detailed display for a single match,
         * a list of summary lines for multiple matches.

      In all cases, the handle is shown in parenthesis after the name.

   6.4.3. Using electronic mail:

      Users limited to electronic mail connectivity can send requests to
      the database maintained at the InterNIC by sending mail to
      mailserv@internic.net. The commands are sent in the Subject:
      field. The body part of the mail is ignored except if the Subject:
      line is empty.  In that case, only the first line is interpreted.

      This electronic mail interface recognizes all commands described
      in Using Telnet. Requests should be prefixed with the word WHOIS.
      Requests are processed automatically once a day.
ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 44
6.5. Examples

   If you are using a local client, and enter the command:

        whois \!EARN...       (remark: "\" is an escape character)

   or if you send by e-mail the command:

        whois !EARN...

   then you will get the following results:

        EARN (EARN-HST)   SEINE.EARN.NET                193.52.216.1
        European Academic Research Network (EARN-DOM)       EARN.NET

        To obtain detailed information on the second item, enter or send
        the command:

             whois EARN-DOM

        then you will get the following result:

             European Academic Research Network (EARN-DOM)
                EARN Office
                PSI - Batiment 211
                91405 Orsay CEDEX
                FRANCE

                Domain Name: EARN.NET

                Administrative Contact:
                   Bovio, Daniele  (DB355)  hi@EARNCC.EARN.NET
                   +33 1 6941 2426 (FAX) +33 1 6941 6683
                Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
                   Grange, Nadine  (NG4)  grange@EARNCC.EARN.NET
                   +33 1 6941 2426 (FAX) +33 1 6941 6683

                Record last updated on 15-Dec-93.

                Domain servers in listed order:

                SEINE.EARN.NET               193.52.216.1
                DNS.NIS.GARR.IT              192.12.192.5,131.114.2.5
                LUMIERE.CIRCE.FR             130.84.8.14

        For a partial search, enter:

             whois hi@ear...
ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 45
        then you will get the following result:

             Bovio, Daniele (DB355)          hi@EARNCC.EARN.NET
                EARN
                EARN Office
                PSI - BP Batiment 211
                91405 ORSAY CEDEX, France
                FR
                +33 1 6941 2426 (FAX) +33 1 6941 6683

6.6. Learning more about WHOIS

   The WHOIS service is documented in an Internet Request For Comments
   (RFC 1400).

   If you have any questions about WHOIS write to action@internic.net.

   Bug reports, comments, suggestions, etc. should be mailed to
   action@internic.net.

7. X.500

7.1. What is X.500

   X.500 is an OSI (Open System Information) based directory services
   protocol designed by the CCITT (International Telegraph and Telephone
   Consultative Committee).

   X.500 provides distributed directory services to network users. The
   X.500 directory specifies a model for connecting directory services
   to form one distributed global directory. Each directory service
   holds a part of the global database and the directory information is
   made available via a server (called a Directory System Agent - DSA).
   The database is maintained locally. From the user point of view, the
   entire directory is accessible from the local server.

   While most of the information available today via X.500 is about
   people and organizations, the design of the X.500 directory is also
   suitable for storing information about other entities (or objects),
   such as network resources, applications or hardware. Several projects
   are underway which utilize these directory capabilities (e.g., the
   Internet RFCs (Request For Comments) are listed in the global
   directory).

   Each item (entry) in the X.500 directory describes one object (e.g.,
   a person, a network resource, an organization) and has a
   Distinguished Name - DN (a unique identifier). It consists of a
   collection of attributes (e.g., last name, organization name, e-
ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 46
   mail,...- for a person).  The information held in the X.500 directory
   (or Directory Information Base - DIB) is arranged hierarchically.
   This organization is called the Directory Information Tree (DIT). At
   the top-level is the root entry (the World), then the country level,
   then the organization level, and, eventually, the people, the
   resources, etc., at the bottom-level of the hierarchy.

7.2. Who can use X.500

   Although X.500 is part of the OSI standard definition, OSI access is
   not necessary to use the directory services. Many X.500 services are
   available on the Internet. In addition, users on any network can
   access the X.500 directory by electronic mail. See the section Using
   X.500 below for details.

7.3. How to get to X.500

   There are three ways to access the X.500 services: via a local
   client, interactive session (Telnet or X.25 access) or electronic
   mail. Each type of access is described below in the Using X.500
   section.

   In addition, other network tools (e.g., WWW and Gopher) provide
   access to X.500 directory services through gateways.

   Accessing a remote client is an easy way to start querying the X.500
   directory. Some sites allow public access via Telnet or X.25 to a
   client. Public access user interfaces are available at:
ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 47
   +---------------------------------------------------------------+
   |                                                               |
   |  Telnet (login)               Public X.25 (login)  Country    |
   |                                                               |
   +---------------------------------------------------------------+
   |  jethro.ucc.su.oz.au (fred)                        Australia  |
   |  elem4.vub.ac.be (dua)          222100611          Belgium    |
   |  login.dkuug.dk (ds)                               Denmark    |
   |  nic.funet.fi (dua)                                Finland    |
   |                                 20800603053201     France     |
   |                    (login: dua, password: ucom.x)  France     |
   |                                 26245050230303     Germany    |
   |  ashe.cs.tcd.ie (de)                               Ireland    |
   |  jolly.nis.garr.it (de or fred) 22225010083212     Italy      |
   |  zoek.nic.surfnet.nl (zoek)                        Netherlands|
   |  elc1.mat.torun.edu.pl (de or dish)                Poland     |
   |  chico.rediris.es (directorio)  2142160234013      Spain      |
   |  hypatia.umdc.umu.se (de)       240374810306       Sweden     |
   |  nic.switch.ch (dua)            22847971014540     Switzerland|
   |  paradise.ulcc.ac.uk (dua)      23421920014853     Paradise   |
   |                                                               |
   +---------------------------------------------------------------+

   Paradise is a European project to encourage the use of X.500 in
   European countries.

   To connect to one of these sites, select an access method (Telnet or
   X.25) and at the login: prompt type the specified login, if required.

7.4. Using X.500

   X.500 supports data management functions (addition, modification and
   deletion of entries) and powerful lookup capabilities. The use of
   X.500 is primarily for its lookup capabilities, ie, querying a
   database for information on a person (postal address, telephone
   number, e-mail address, etc.). The basic fields for searching are the
   person's name, the name of the person's organization (and department
   within the organization) and the country.

   In the following, angle brackets (<>) indicate an optional parameter;
   a vertical (|) indicates a choice of parameters.

   7.4.1. Using a local client:

      In the X.500 world, a local client is called a Directory User
      Agent (DUA) Public domain and commercial DUAs are available for
      numerous platforms ranging from mainframes to personal computers.
      For a comprehensive list of DUAs, their description and where to
ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 48
      find them, consult the Internet document RFC 1292 - A Catalog of
      Available X.500 Implementations.

      Available DUAs range from simple line commands to sophisticated
      graphical user interfaces which require a pointing device.

   7.4.2. Using Telnet or X.25:

      3 categories of user interfaces might be available at the remote
      site:

         * line-oriented: de, dish, fred
         * menu-driven: sd (formerly known as widget)
         * X-Windows-based: Xdi, Xlookup (or xlu), pod

      Capabilities of these DUAs range from basic search facilities to
      full X.500 functionality.

      de (directory enquiries) is recommended for novice users since it
      is a very simple user-interface. It has been designed to run as a
      public access DUA and is accessible from any kind of terminal. It
      supports the basic X.500 functions: read, search, list. The Simple
      query mode is suitable for those who are new to querying the X.500
      directory.

      de
         invokes the X.500 interrogation user-interface.

      q
         exits de.
ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 49
      ?<topic>
         displays the on-line help on the specified topic or general
         help.

      ^C
         (Ctrl-C) is the interrupt character. It aborts a search in
         progress or resets the current query specification.

      *
         (asterisk) will list all entries of the specified field. It is
         also the wildcard character and can replace any other character
         in a name. It can appears anywhere in the name, e.g.: smit* or
         *smit* are valid string formats.

      -
         resets the default value to a blank string.

      When de is invoked, the user is requested to fill in 4 fields to
      specify a request. In all fields, the value from the previous
      request is the default value. Press the RETURN key to accept it,
      or enter a new value.  All searches are case insensitive.

      The four fields to be filled in are:

      Person's name
         Wildcard characters may be used anywhere in the name. All
         matching names will be listed. Typing only "*" will match all
         people of the specified department or organization. If this
         field is blank, the search will be on department or
         organization only.

      Department name
         the name (or an acronym) of the department in the organization
         where the person works. Wildcard characters may be used
         anywhere in the name.  Typing only "*" will match all
         departments. If no person's name has been entered, details on
         the department are displayed, otherwise, the search is carried
         out with the selected name. If no department name is given, all
         departments will be searched. This field could be omitted in
         small organizations.

      Organization name
         the name  (or an acronym)  of the  organization where the
         person works.  Wildcard characters  may be used anywhere  in
         the name. Typing  only "*" will match all organizations. If no
         person's name or department name has been entered, details on
         the organization are displayed, otherwise, the search is
         carried out with the selected name.
ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 50
      Country name
         the name of the country where the person works. Typing "*" will
         list all countries. The country name could be the 2-letter
         country code (e.g., DK stands for Denmark), the name or a part
         of it without wildcards (e.g., nether instead of The
         Netherlands).

      If a large number of matching entries are found, they are listed
      so that the user can select one entry to get further details.

   7.4.3. Using electronic mail:

      The Norwegian networking organization (UNINETT) offers an e-mail
      interface to X.500. To use it, send a mail message to:
      Directory@UNINETT.NO with the word find in the Subject: field. The
      body part contains the search request, one per message.

      The format of the search request is:

      +---------------------------------------------------------------+
      |                                                               |
      |  find      <person-name>  <: org-name  <;  country-name>>  |  |
      |            <; country-name>                                   |
      |                                                               |
      +---------------------------------------------------------------+

      If org-name and country-name are omitted, the sender's
      organization name and country name are used as default values. The
      mail interface guesses these values from the From: field of your
      mail, so the results can be surprising if your address ends with
      .bitnet!

      "*" (asterisk) is the wildcard character and can replace any other
      characters in any name. It can appear anywhere in the name.

      The result of the query is sent back in a mail message. The search
      is case insensitive.

      Note: To avoid overloading the directory service, users are not
      allowed to search for a person without selecting an organization.
      To receive a help file, send the word help instead of a find
      command.

7.5. Examples

   Using de, you can search for the Anthropoloy department of the
   University College of London in United Kingdom, with the following
   request:
ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 51
        Person's name, q to quit, * to browse, ? for help
        :-
        Department name, * to browse, ? for help
        :- a*
        Organisation name, * to browse, ? for help
        :- ucl
        Country name, * to browse, ? for help
        :- uk

   A few entries match the selected department, all are listed for
   further selection:

        United Kingdom
          University College London

        Got the following matches.  Please select one from the list
        by typing the number corresponding to the entry you want.

        United Kingdom
          University College London
              1 A.U.T. Office
              2 American Institute for Foreign Study
              3 Anatomy and Developmental Biology
              4 Anthropology
              5 Audio Visual Centre
        Department name, * to browse, ? for help
        :- 4
        United Kingdom
          University College London
            Anthropology
                Telephone Number      +44 71-387-7050 x2455
                fax                   +44 71 380 7728

   If you are looking for Erik Lawaetz from UNI-C in Denmark, you can
   enter the following request (default values come from a previous
   request):

        Person's name, q to quit, * to browse, ? for help
        :- law*
        Department name, * to browse, <CR> to search all depts, ?
        for help
        :-
        Organisation name, * to browse, ? for help
        :- uni-c
        Country name, * to browse, ? for help
        :- dk

   One entry matches the selected criteria, details are displayed:
ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 52
        Denmark
          UNI-C
              Erik Lawaetz
                postalAddress         UNI-C
                                      DTH
                                      Bygning 305
                                      DK-2800 Lyngby
                Telephone Number      +45 45 93 83 55
                                      +45 42 88 39 99 x2018
                fax                   +45 45 93 02 20
                electronic mail       Erik.Lawaetz@uni-c.dk

   If you send mail to   Directory@UNINETT.NO   with the request:
        find geir ped* : *oslo ; no

   you'll get the following result:

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

   This message is in response to your request to the directory to
   find

                            geir ped* : *oslo ; no

   This is  interpreted as a  request to find  a person with  a name
   matching  "geir  ped*"  in  an organisation  with  name  matching
   "*oslo" in a country with a name matching "no".

   There   were   8  organisations   with   a   name  matching   the
   organizational  name you  specified.  Within those  organisations
   there were 7  persons that had a name matching  the personal name
   you specified.  Directory information for the  located persons is
   shown below.

   Geir Pedersen : Universitetet i Oslo ; Norway

     Alternate        Geir Kenneth Pedersen
     Alternate        Geir K. Pedersen
     E-Mail (RFC)     Geir.Pedersen@usit.uio.no
     E-Mail (X.400)   /G=geir/S=pedersen/OU=usit/O=uio/PRMD=uninett/
                      ADMD= /C=no/
     Postal Address   Postboks 1059 - Blindern
                      0316 Oslo 3
                      NORWAY
     Phone            +47-22-852478
     Phone            +47-22-852470 (front-office)
     Fax-phone        +47-22-852730
     Description      Project leader for UNINETTs X.500 projects
ToP   noToC   RFC1580 - Page 53
     User ID          geirp
     Favorite Drink   Farris
     Street Address   Gaustadalleen 23
     Home Address     Gaustadveien 17A
                      0372 Oslo 3
                      NORWAY
     See also         Geir Pedersen : UNINETT ; Norway
     Entry updated    Tue Jun 15 11:51:31 1993

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

   and 6 other entries.

7.6. Learning more about X.500

   Several Internet RFC documents deal with X.500:

      RFC 1292  A Catalog of Available X.500 Implementations.

      RFC 1308  Executive Introduction to Directory  Services Using the
                X.500 Protocol,

      RFC 1309  Technical  Overview  of Directory  Services  Using  the
                X.500 Protocol,

   The official source of information on X.500 is the X.500
   recommendation published by the CCITT (Blue Book, Volume VIII -
   Fascicle VIII.8, Data Communication Networks Directory,
   Recommendations X.500-X.521, CCITT, 1988, ISBN 92-61-03731-3). This
   document is also available electronically: send the command GET
   ITU-5233 to itudoc@itu.ch or consult the ITU document store via
   Gopher to gopher.itu.ch. This is not intended for the casual user!



(page 53 continued on part 3)

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