Conceptually, a computer network is simply an interconnection of machines and their peripherals. For example, a user on one computer should be able to somehow utilize a disk drive on another computer. A considerate user will recognize that a physical connection is necessary for this sharing and will therefore minimize unwarranted use of the network. The concept of a physical connection implies a compatibility of some kind among computers at both the hardware and the software levels. Practically speaking, there must exist a well defined system in order for computers to communicate with one another and to share resources effectively.
Many computer networks are based on a model called the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Reference Model developed by the International Standards Organization (ISO). This theoretical model, referred to as the ISO/OSI model, consists of several 'layers' reflecting hardware or software or a combination of hardware and software.
In this model, a protocol is associated with each layer so that communication is possible. The book Unix System Administration Handbook by Nemeth, Snyder, and Seebas illustrates the levels and their functions as follows:
At a basic level, items to be transmitted consist only of data. As higher levels in the network are approached, additional information must be added so that network software can direct data to the proper destination. The format of this additional information should conform to a standard set of protocols, a protocol suite, relating to the layers in the network model.
Ideally, if all computer systems conformed to the same protocol suite, then intercomputer communication would be possible among networks world-wide. In reality, network implementations vary in the type of protocol suites employed, although the ISO/OSI model may be used as a basis of implementation. However, there is a large collection of networks called Internet that conform to a common protocol suite named TCP/IP. This suite relates to the ISO/OSI model in the following manner.
The physical layer of the TCP/IP protocol is based on ethernet technology which was designed for high speed local area networking. The IEEE Standards Board enforces unique ethernet hardware addresses. It also defines specifications for cables, transceivers, and interface boards. The following diagram illustrates a connection to ethernet.
The IP (Internet Protocol) software address for a networked computer should be unique. For example, the address for the Department of Computer Science's Unix system, Mercury, is 142.3.200.53. All IP addresses registered with the Stanford Research Institute are unique.
FTP, File Transfer Protocol, is used to copy files to and from a remote site. "Anonymous" FTP is used by Internet sites to distribute documents and software. A user can connect to a remote site then logon under the name "anonymous". The password is established by the target site. Usage of FTP is illustrated further on in this division.
Telnet and rlogin are used to login to remote sites. Telnet is used to connect to any machine using the telnet protocol. rlogin expects that the target machine will be running the Unix operating system. Usage of telnet and rlogin is illustrated further on in this division.
A software package called YTERM was developed by Yale University to facilitate communications between computers by making a microcompter behave like a VT100 terminal. To use this software to connect from a microcomputer to the mainframe Meena, enter:
YTMEENA [RETURN]
Hit the[Return]key a few times to get the attention of the Dataswitch and then logon as you normally would.
The keyboard on an Eazy PC is not the same as a VT100 terminal as the keys must be 'mapped' so that there is a correspondence. The primary difference between the two keyboards is related to the numeric keypad on the right side of the keyboard. On a VT100 terminal, this keypad is used for screen editing functions.
Corresponding keys:
Corresponding functions:
* Functions accomplished by the four 'PF' keys at the top of a VT100 keypad are accessed from an Eazy PC by keys F1 to F4 on the left side of the keyboard.
* The function for the comma key on the VT100 keypad is accessed by the Eazy PC [Scroll Lck] key.
* The VT100 [Enter] key function is called by the Eazy PC [+] numeric keypad key.
* The VT100 [delete] key is accessed by the Eazy [Back Space] key.
* The arrow keys on the Eazy PC numeric keypad cannot be used for cursor movement when the Eazy PC is being used to emulate a VT100 terminal. To perform cursor movement, use function keys [F7] to [F10] on the left side of the Eazy PC keyboard.
The following figures illustrate this mapping:
Before using YTERM, you should read the help file available on the YTERM distribution diskette. This file contains information on installation, keyboard mapping, setting the baud rate, and logging on manually, setting a username, keyboard functions, and file transfers. To read this file, insert the distribution diskette in Drive A (or Drive B) and type:
A> readme [RETURN]
If you have a printer connected to your computer, you can print the help file by typing:
A> print readme.doc [RETURN]
Insert the distribution diskette in Drive A (or Drive B) and type:
A> setup [RETURN]
The setup program will ask the following:
- usage (within-the-university use, modem use, or both)
- the name of the subdirectory in which to install YTERM
- the type of keyboard (101 or 84)
- the COM port being used
Reboot your system (hold down [[CTRL][ALT][DEL]] simultaneously) to complete the installation.
YTERM can run with an automatic or manual logon procedure to the campus computers. If for some reason the automatic procedure fails to work, YTERM will automatically go to manual-mode where you could get the DevelSWITCH by pressing[Return]a few times.
Your PC has been set to a default baud rate depending on what 'usage' you selected in the SETUP program: 9600 baud (if you selected 'within-the-university-use'), 2400 baud (if you selected 'modem-use'), or 9600 baud (if you selected 'both'). If you will only use the modem it is best to select 'modem use' only.
There are two ways to modify the default baud rate:
1. setting the baud rate at DOS prompt
This setting is temporary and will not be kept after a reboot or power off.
At the DOS prompt, type:
set baud=baudrate [RETURN]
where: baudrate could either be 300, 1200, or 2400 depending on your modem
2. altering the baud rate in the 'autoexec.bat' file
This setting will remain permanent until you change it again in the 'autoexec.bat' file
NOTE: If using the 'automatic logon procedure', you should also edit the 'login.bat' file to the baud rate you have chosen above. In this file there is a line that either says:
'if baud = "" set baud 2400'
or
'if baud = "" set baud 9600'
Change 2400 or 9600 to the rate that you wish to use. The baud rate will now automatically be set every time the 'automatic logon procedure' is used.
YTERM has also been customized so that it will automatically enter a specific userid into the computer. In order to have the userid automatically put in, at DOS prompt type:
set username=yourusername [RETURN]
Before executing the login command. You can also put this line in your 'autoexec.bat' file which would set the 'username' automatically every time the computer is turned on.
If you then want to logon using a different 'username' on any of the systems, use one of the preceding login commands followed by the 'username' you wish to be entered. For example, to logon to Max using SMITH's account, at DOS prompt type:
login max smith [RETURN]
When using the Automatic Logon procedure, only one command needs to be entered in order to logon to a particular system.
YTERM has been customized so that the automatic logon will work for the systems at the U of R using a modem. To logon using a modem, type:
login maxmod [RETURN] (to connect to Max)
login meenamod [RETURN] (to connect to Meena)
login murlinmod [RETURN] (to connect to Murlin)
login switchmod [RETURN] (to connect to systems other than the above)
There are two ways to manually logon to a computer (we suggest that you use the tailored batch files if at all possible):
1. Using tailored batch files:
You could use these batch files to get the modem connected. At the DOS prompt, type:
ytmax [RETURN] (for Max)
ytmeena [RETURN] (for Meena)
ytmurlin [RETURN] (if desiring MURLIN system in Max)
2. Using the YTERM command:
Set the Keyboard table before issuing the YTERM command. At the DOS prompt, type either of the following:
set ytermkey=ibm-pc.tbl [RETURN] (for Max)
set ytermkey=vt100.tbl [RETURN] (for Meena)
The general form is:
YTERM [speed] [mode] [parity] [a] [/switch]
The square brackets indicate only that the parameter is optional, you do not type in the square brackets. The parameters may be entered in any order, in either upper or lower case, but they must be separated by spaces.
speed Is the baud rate. Valid values are 300, 1200, and 2400.
mode Can be set to H, F, B, or X.
H Half Duplex; for connections to systems that requires a local echo.
F Full Duplex; use only if instructed to do so.
B Buffered Full Duplex; use when connecting to Max or other systems using the IBM 7171 protocol converter.
X XON/XOFF Full Duplex; use for connecting to Meena, or other systems that employ transparent flow control, and other DEC systems.
parity May be set to E(ven), O(dd), M(ark) or S(pace). The default is E.
A Use when you want to log your session on a disk file. You will later be asked for the name of the file into which you wish the session to be written. Note also that any logging will not actually begin until you turn it on (see the following section on Keyboard Functions)
switches Are denoted by a preceding slash character (/) and cannot include spaces.
/cN Specifies the COM port number (1 or 2) The default is COM1.
/e Causes YTERM to erase the screen when it starts up.
/i Instructs YTERM to ignore the current state of the modem leads and to transmit data even if no device is attached to the PC.
/x Initializes the COM port, and then exits without beginning terminal emulation. The YTERM keyboard is not left installed.
/m[-][filespec] Host session monitoring will be directed to a file during terminal emulation. If you precede the filename with a dash ("-"), the logging session will not be written to the screen but ONLY to the log file. In either case, the monitor session will not actually begin until you turn it on (see the following section on Keyboard Functions).
Examples of recommended parameters:
YTERM 2400 B S /c1/i [RETURN] (for Max)
YTERM 2400 X S /c1/i [RETURN] (for Meena)
The YALE copyright notice will appear momentarily. When using a modem, you could keyboard-dial a number below this copyright notice. If using a HAYES AT-Command Set compatible modem, you could check if the modem is responding to your PC by typing:
ate1 [RETURN]
The MODEM should give you back an OK prompt. To keyboard-dial the U of R DevelSWITCH, enter the following:
ATDT 586-5550 [RETURN]
If the connection is successful, the modem will give back a CONNECT message. Otherwise, a NO CARRIER or BUSY message is echoed back.
Proceed with the following:
Press[Return]until you get a Request prompt
Enter the Mainframe/System name you wish to logon and proceed as usual.
To get back to DOS without disconnecting your current session, press [[ALT][F3]]. You may run any DOS applications that do not use the same COM port that YTERM is using. To resume your mainframe session, just type:
YTERM [RETURN]
Key functions depend on the keyboard table and the mainframe selected.
FUNCTION KEY Erase the Yterm message line [[CTRL][BKSP]] Read the Keyboard Help File [[ALT][F1]] Prints screen contents on LPT1 [[ALT][F2]] Return to DOS [[ALT][F3]] YTERM monitor utility toggle (On/Off) [[ALT][F4]] YTERM session logging toggle (On/Off) [[ALT][F9]] Abort YTERM file transfer without terminating [[CTRL][F5]] Generate a Telecommunication Line break (send long [[CTRL][F7]] space) Spawn a DOS Shell [[CTRL][F8]] Enter TEK4013 mode [[CTRL][F9]] Leave TEK4013 mode [[CTRL][F10]]
To see the specific mappings for a table, press [[ALT][F1]], when logged onto a system.
PCTRANS is YTERM's transfer program used to upload/download files between the mainframe and a PC.
More information on PCTRANS is available in the file PCTRANS.HLP. To look at this file, at DOS prompt, type:
pctrans [RETURN]
or to send this file to your printer, type:
print pctrans.hlp [RETURN]
PLEASE NOTE:
The following Section shows you how to connect your home
computer to the University mainframe computers. THIS IS NOT REQUIRED IN ANY
CLASS, NOR DO WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU PURCHASE ANY OF THE EQUIPMENT BELOW. This
modem guide is simply for your reference. If you wish to purchase a modem or a
computer, you may,
BUT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BUY ONE FOR THE
CLASS!
ALSO:
The campus-wide computer network is constantly changing
and improving. This means that future changes to the network may outdate the
information in this Section. It is your responsibility to make sure that the
information you use in this Section is up to date.
This Section requires you to be somewhat familiar with DOS and your computer in general. If you are having trouble with particular sections of this Section, talk your lab instructor, or to someone you know who is familiar with computers. Remember that the use of modems is not a necessity, nor will this section be on any test or on the final exam.
Do not interpret any recommendation by a lab instructor, or by any faculty member, regarding the use of modems to imply that you must purchase these devices. The choice is yours.
Students who are familiar with modems can refer to "Quick Reference for Experienced Modem Users" at the end of this Section.
A MOdulator/DEModulator (MODEM) is a device that allows one computer to "talk" to another computer. Modems convert digital data from a computer into analog data that can be transmitted over phone lines. On the receiving end another modem converts the analog data back into digital data that the receiving computer can understand. Modems are available for all makes and models of computers, and some computers have them built in.
You can connect to any of the mainframe computers on campus using a Modem.
You need the following things:
1. a Hayes AT-Command Set Compatible Modem
2. a computer
3. a communications software (terminal emulation) package
4. the U of R dial-in number (586-5550) and the settings are: No Parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit (this is usually abbreviated as N81).
Modems come in many styles and speeds. When purchasing a modem, make sure you get one that will work with your computer. Your local computer store, or the University Bookstore Computer Counter can help you in selecting a modem. The only thing you need to tell them is that you need a Hayes AT-Command Set compatible Modem that will support anywhere from 300 baud and up (1200, 2400, 9600 baud, etc), and the type of computer you own.
The word "baud" refers to the speed the modem sends data through the phone line. A higher baud number (called a baud rate) means that the data is sent through the telephone faster, and your wait time (for the screen to respond when you press keys) is shorter.
Computing Services at the U of R currently supports from 300 to 2400 baud on their dial-in line (this is subject to change). Most modems allow you to use the slower baud rates, including 300, 1200, and 2400 baud. A slower modem tends to become tedious to use since the response time is quite long. For this reason, it is recommended that you use a modem with a higher baud rate. Currently the maximum speed that you may work with when dialing in to the U of R is 2400 baud.
A communications software package (also called a terminal emulation package) is the "intelligence" that allows your home computer to use your modem properly. A communications package does all the work to enable you to talk to the modem, and to get responses from the modem that make sense.
There are several packages out on the market, as well as several public domain packages. One package available to U of R faculty, staff, and students is YTERM. This package can be acquired from Computing Services (LY 139). Other packages that are known to work well include:
Term 3.4 (Amiga)
Handshake (Amiga)
Procomm (DOS & MS Windows)
Telix (DOS)
Y-Term (DOS)
Mac Term (Macintosh)
TE/2 (OS/2)
LiveWire (OS/2)
Kermit (Amiga, DOS, Linux, OS/2)
If you get a busy signal when dialing into the university, then all the lines to the university are presently being used by other people. There is a limited number of lines. Try again at a later time.
If there is a problem with the computers the DevelSWITCH may not accept any calls (no answer when you are dialing into the university), or will lock the lines (a busy signal). Computing Services provides a recorded status messages by calling 584-1610 that will tell you if there are problems with any systems.
If you have unrecognizable characters being printed on the screen when you are not typing any keys, then chances are you have a bad connection. Hang up and try again.
If you have unrecognizable characters being printed on the screen while you are typing keys, then you may have the modem settings incorrectly configured. The settings for "No Parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop" bit (referred to in shorthand as N81) are guaranteed to work with any computer on campus. The terminal software user's manual will tell you how to set these options.
If you get unrecognizable characters immediately after you press return after connecting to the university, then you may not have a problem. What you might be seeing is something along the lines of:
DevelNET V6.0.0
Date: JUN 23 10:08:27 1994
SUB: 0/3/11/007
BAUD: 2400 bps
Request:
but in a scrambled form. Some modems do this when first connecting to the university (it is actually caused by data incompatibility). If you continue pressing return the DevelSWITCH will hang up on you and you may see NO CONNECT on the screen. This tells you that the connection was broken.
If this happens consistently try this: as soon as you connect to the university, press return once. Then type the name of the computer you wish to connect to (Meena, Max, etc.). You may or may not see the characters garbled as you are typing them. After you have typed in the name of the computer, press return and wait for a beep. If you receive a beep then the DevelSWITCH has connected you to the proper machine. Keep pressing return after that until you get the login prompt (or on Max, the prompt asking you for the proper terminal type, usually VT100). At this point the garbled characters should disappear and understandable text should appear on the screen. If it doesn't, hang up and try again.
One of the common problems with modems is not that anything is particularly wrong, but that the cables are not connected properly, or aren't there at all! Check your modem manual. It will tell you how to connect the cables to the computer and to the phone line. They must all be connected properly so that the modem will work properly. If you have an external modem with a plug in power supply: is the modem turned on?
Most modems come with the correct cable to connect to the phone line, but you may not be able to plug the cable into the wall because there's no place to put it! Phone jacks (where you plug the phone into the wall) come in several types, with the newest one called RJ11. Most modems require a RJ11 phone jack. If you do not have one, or aren't sure, contact the phone company. You may need to get one installed.
Your terminal emulation software must be set up properly so that it can communicate with the modem. Some general settings that are required: No Parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit (referred to in shorthand as N81). You must also set the data rate (also called the baud rate) to either 300, 1200, 2400, or 9600 baud, depending on the maximum speed of your modem (pick the highest number whenever possible). The terminal software user's manual will tell you how to set these options. If you can not connect at the desired speed, the modem will attempt to connect at the next highest possible speed.
Other possible setting problems:
1. The COMmunication port is not set to the modem (see COM ports, below).
2. The Interrupt Request Line (IRQ) is not setup properly. Traditionally, COM1 is set to IRQ4 and COM2 is set to IRQ3. IRQ's do not usually cause you problems as long as you leave them set to the default setting when you get your terminal software. Don't change these settings in your terminal software unless you're sure that this is the problem. You should contact your computer dealer if you are not sure is IRQ's are causing the problem (chances are that they aren't).
Call Waiting is a service provided by the telephone company that notifies you during a call, that another caller is trying to reach you. Call waiting notifies you by briefly cutting off the connection and placing a high beep on the line. A modem prefers uninterrupted service; when it is interrupted (as with call waiting) chances are your modem will hang up.
The phone company may allow you to temporarily disable call waiting with a sequence of numbers that you dial before you place the call. Call waiting is then disabled for the next call only. Check with the phone company to see if you have this capability.
You may also be able to solve the problem by setting up your modem to be a little more tolerant of phone line disturbances. Try typing ATS10=100. This setting tells your modem to ignore the brief cut-off of call waiting, and prevents the modem from hanging up immediately. This may or may not work depending on how tolerant your modem is. Another option is type *70 before dialing the number you wish to connect to. So, to connect to the U of R, you would issue the following string: ATDT *70,586-5550.
The final solution is to have the call waiting service removed from the phone line that you regularly use to connect to the university.
There are several potential problems with COM ports:
1. Your software is not connecting to the COM port that your modem is on.
2. Your Modem is on a different COM port than what you think it should be on.
3. Two or more devices are on the same COM port.
All devices can be configured to use different COM ports. You must refer to the manual for each of them to find out how to set the COM ports for each device. If you have problems setting the COM port, or you suspect that you may have a COM port problem, talk to your computer dealer.
For information regarding your modem, your computer, or a terminal software package that you have purchased, refer to your dealer.
A copy of the YTERM User's Manual is available in LY139.
Further information on University related questions can be found in the Computing Services User's Manual. This manual is available in the University Bookstore and is updated on a yearly basis.
Computing services staff provides help with supported hardware and software to faculty, staff, and graduate students at the U of R. Computing Services does not provide help directly to undergraduate students or to the general public. All references to help and assistance in [the Computing Services User's] Manual, therefore, refers to help provided to U of R faculty, staff, and graduate students only.
Undergraduate students should request assistance from lab instructors assigned to the classes in which they are registered.[2]
The university data line is 586-5550, which will connect you directly to the DevelSWITCH. Use N81 (No Parity, 8 Data Bits, and 1 Stop Bit) for all campus computers, and either 300, 1200, or 2400 baud. If you have a faster modem (9600 or 14,400 baud, for example) it will likely step-down to the fastest speed of the modem it is connecting to, which is 2400 baud.
ASCII terminal emulation is acceptable for most line driven computers (Meena, Hercules, and so on) but you will need special terminal emulation if you wish to use the screen editors on these systems, or to use Max. Any software that emulates supported terminals is acceptable. The most common terminal emulators are those for a VT100 terminal.
All data transfers between systems are completed through KERMIT, so your terminal program must support that as well. Some systems allow XMODEM and/or ZMODEM protocols. Max and Meena use KERMIT or PCTRANS.
A terminal program called YTERM supports both VT100 terminals and PCTRANS. Copies of YTERM are available from Computing Services (LY 139), since the U of R has a site license from Yale University, the creators of YTERM. Users must supply their own low-density disks.
Sends a message to one or more users. You use the MAIL command to send messages.
To send a letter to someone, type:
MAIL userid
For example, to send a mail message to userid JASON on MAX, type:
MAIL JASON [RETURN]
or to send a message to someone on another system (for example: jason@cs.uregina.ca) type:
MAIL jason@cs.uregina.ca [RETURN]
You will then see:
Your name (optional):
where you can type in your full name if you wish, or press[Return]for no name. Your userid is automatically placed in the message in either case.
MAX will then prompt you for a subject:
Subject (optional):
It is a good idea to enter the subject of the message you are sending, since many other mail systems show the subject as a means for identifying the message. Type in a short subject, or press[Return]if you do not want to use a subject.
You will then enter a full screen session that is similar to XEDIT. Type in your message below the line with equal signs (=======). Do not change any information above the line. The screen will look similar to:
You can page through your message with [PF7) and [PF8). You can add and delete lines from the message with [PF2) and [PF9). You can obtain more help with [PF1).
When you are finished typing in your message you can use [PF5) to send the message (MAIL will ask you to type [PF5) twice to ensure that you really want to send the message). You can abort the message and forget about the contents with [PF3), and you will be returned to the READY prompt.
You can send files to other users on MAX with the SENDFILE command. The simple way is to enter:
SENDFILE filename filetype [filemode] username [RETURN]
The filemode is optional.
You could also send a file using the send screen by typing:
SENDFILE [RETURN]
The following will be displayed:
Enter the filename and filetype, and use a zero (0) for "YES" or a one (1) for "NO" to answer the questions on the screen. When you are done type [PF5) to send file.
To send a file to a user on another system (for example, send file TEST EXEC to user jason@cs.uregina.ca) you can type:
MAIL jason@cs.uregina.ca (FILE TEST EXEC [RETURN]
Frequently users on other systems have long addresses. Instead of typing in this address every time you wish to send a note you can assign an alias, or nickname, to a user, and then send to that alias. MAX will insert the appropriate address and other information.
To access the alias database, type:
NAME [RETURN]
You will see the following menu appear on the screen:
Type in the relevant information. For example, to set an nickname for Buckaroo Banzai (his userid is banzai@r&d.binstitute.ca). You can fill in the following information:
The "Notebook" field above indicates where to store incoming mail. In this case mail is stored to the file BUCKAROO NOTEBOOK. See the section on the CMS READER for information on receiving mail.
When you are done filling in the information, use [PF2] to add the information to your names database, or use [PF6] to change existing information in the database using the same nickname.
You can search for information using the Find command by pressing [PF5]. You can delete a record in the database using [PF10]. You can obtain more help using [PF1]. [PF4) will clear the screen and allow you to enter a new record.
You can send to a group of people with one nickname. Simply fill out the screen in a similar manner with a nickname. Instead of completing the upper information, use the "List of Names:" section in the lower part of the screen. In this area place all the userids you want to send to with one nickname. You can use other nicknames here, or the full address. You can put more than one userid on the same line if you wish.
You can read messages and files sent to you in your READER. A message is given a filetype of "NOTE". To see what you have been sent, type:
RL [RETURN]
(this is a short from for Reader List). If there are no messages or files in your reader then the system will tell you, otherwise the screen clears and the following reader list is displayed:
This reader list shows that BANZAI and YOYODYNE have each sent you a note and that BANZAI has sent you a copy of the files HELLO EXEC, RM MODULE, and ANOMALY LOG.
To see a note or file move the cursor to the left of the filename and press [PF11) to "peek" the filename. When you have finished peeking, you get back to the reader list by using quit, [PF3).
If you have looked at a note and want to get rid of it, type
DISCARD [RETURN]
in the command area adjacent to the filename.
When you receive a note ([PF9]) it is added to a file called ALL NOTEBOOK, unless you specify a notebook in the NAME database. If, for example, you specified a save notebook of BANZAI, then the note will be added to a file called BANZAI NOTEBOOK.
When you receive a file it is saved under the same filename and filetype as it was sent as (as it appeared in the reader list).
You can sort the reader list in different ways, using [PF4], [PF5], and [PF6] to sort by filetype, date, and userid, respectively.
Once out of the reader list, you can XEDIT the NOTEBOOK files. Peeked notes remain in the reader until they are received or discarded. If you leave messages and files in your reader for too long (longer than a month) then they are automatically deleted by the system.
Do not save your files in your Reader List!
Sends a message to one or more users. The MAIL command works like the SEND command.
MAIL prompts you first for the name of the user(s) to receive the message. You reply with the user name(s) or with the file name of a distribution list file(s), in the following format:
[username,...] [,] [@listname[,...]]
Next, MAIL prompts you for the subject of the mail. You can include a file specification with the MAIL command. If you specify a file with the MAIL command, the text in that file is sent to the specified user(s). If you do not specify a file, MAIL prompts you for the text of your message.
Enter the message that you want to send; then press [[CTRL]Z]. Note that once you have typed a line and pressed [RETURN], there is no way to edit it. If you decide not to send a message you are typing but want to stay within the Mail Utility, press [[CTRL]C] to abort the message. You then receive the MAIL> prompt. [[CTRL]Z] exits you from MAIL.
Format:
MAIL [file-spec]
To become familiar with the Mail Utility, use the MAIL commands discussed in this and the following sections of the manual. These commands enable you to move around within the Mail Utility. For more detailed information about the Mail Utility, see the VAX/VMS Mail Utility Reference Manual.
These are the MAIL commands discussed in this section:
SEND DIRECTORY EXTRACT
READ[/NEW] DELETE PRINT/QUEUE
FORWARD MOVE HELP
REPLY SELECT EXIT
The first command to try is the SEND command. Try sending a message to yourself. Enter the SEND command and press [RETURN]. Enter your own user name at the prompt and press [RETURN]. Enter a subject at the prompt and press[Return]again. The following example shows how to use the SEND command:
MAIL> SEND
To: PIERCE
Subj: Sailing
Enter your message below. Press CTRL/Z when complete, or CTRL/C to quit:
When you finish entering the text of your message, press [[CTRL]Z]. Because you are sending the message to yourself, MAIL signals that you have just received a new message by displaying the following message:
New mail from PIERCE
MAIL>
Now, you are ready to use the READ command. To read the message you just sent to yourself, enter the READ command with the /NEW qualifier and press[Return]as follows:
MAIL> READ/NEW
You must specify the /NEW qualifier with the READ command when you want to read new mail that arrives while you are in the Mail Utility. When you are not in the Mail Utility and you receive new mail, invoke MAIL to read the new message, you can enter the READ command without the /NEW qualifier. Or, if you wish to read mail that you have already read, you can enter the READ command.
You can forward a copy of a mail message to another user by entering the FORWARD command. MAIL prompts you for the name of the user to receive the message. Try forwarding a copy of the message you just received back to yourself. Enter your own user name and press [RETURN]. Supply a subject when prompted and press [RETURN]. MAIL signals that you have just received a new message. Enter the READ/NEW command to read the forwarded message.
When you receive a message and want to respond to it, enter the REPLY command and press [RETURN]. MAIL displays the header information as follows:
MAIL> REPLY
To: PIERCE
Subj: RE: Using the REPLY command
Enter your message below. Press CTRL/Z when complete, or CTRL/C to quit:
When you finish typing your response, press [[CTRL]Z] . Again, MAIL signals that you have just received a new message. To read the message, enter the READ/NEW command.
When you want to see a list of all the mail messages you have collected, enter the DIRECTORY command and press [RETURN]. MAIL displays a list like the following:
# From Date Subject
1 FORBES 1-JUN-1988 How to Write a Memo
2 BERT 2-JUN-1988 Using the Printer
3 BASTIEN 4-JUN-1988 Chicken Kiev
When you want to remove a message, use the DELETE command. You can either enter the DELETE command while you are reading the message or you can enter the DELETE command followed by the number of the message you want to remove. To remove the second message in the list, enter the following command line:
MAIL> DELETE 2
If you enter the DIRECTORY command after you have deleted a message (or messages), you see the messages marked for deletion, as follows:
# From Date Subject
1 FORBES 1-JUN-1988 How to Write a Memo
2 (Deleted)
3 BASTIEN 4-JUN-1988 Chicken Kiev
When you exit from MAIL, the messages marked for deletion disappear.
The Mail Utility allows you to organize your messages by moving them into folders. To move a message to a folder, enter the MOVE command (while you are reading the message) and press [RETURN]. MAIL prompts you for a folder name. Type any name, for example, REVIEWS or JOKES or STATUS_REPORTS. MAIL also prompts you for a file name. You can specify the default mail file by pressing [RETURN]. A sample session demonstrating the MOVE command follows:
MAIL> 2
MAIL> MOVE
_Folder: WINNERS
_File: [RETURN]
Folder WINNERS does not exist.
Do you want to create it (Y/N, default is N)? Y
%MAIL-I-NEWFOLDER, folder WINNERS created
In this example, the folder name is WINNERS and the default mail file is specified. If the folder you name does not exist, MAIL asks you if you want to create it.
Once you have created folders, you may want to move between them. To move from one folder to another, use the SELECT command. If you want to move to the WINNERS folder, enter the SELECT command as follows:
MAIL> SELECT WINNERS
%MAIL-I-SELECTED, 1 message selected
In this example, MAIL displays a message indicating the number of messages in the folder.
To move to a folder named JOKES, enter the following command line:
MAIL> SELECT JOKES
%MAIL-I-SELECTED, 32 messages selected
You can enter the DIRECTORY command to see a list of the messages in the folder you just selected.
When you want to move a mail message from your mail file to a sequential file that you can access from the DCL command level, use the EXTRACT command. Enter the EXTRACT command (while you are reading the message) and press [RETURN]. MAIL prompts you for the name of a file. Then, when you exit from MAIL, the file is listed in your directory. The following example shows how to use the EXTRACT command to move a mail message to a file named COOKING.DAT.
MAIL> EXTRACT
_File: COOKING.DAT
%MAIL-I-CREATED, DISK:[BERGMAN]COOKING.DAT;1 created
MAIL>
To print a hard copy of a mail message, enter the PRINT command while you are reading the message and press [RETURN]. (When you exit from MAIL, the message enters the print queue.) The following example shows how to make a hard copy of message #4 by using the PRINT command:
MAIL> 4
#4 4-AUG-1988 09:39:20 MAIL
From: FELLINI
To: MARSTON
Subj: Rydell's Reasons
In reference to the meeting of July 26, I would like to
explain Rydell's opinion more fully...
MAIL> PRINT/QUEUE=C135LPQ (to print in CL135) or
MAIL> PRINT/QUEUE=C115LPQ (to print in CL115)
You have already started using the MAIL HELP command. The next HELP topic to look at is "Folders". "Folders" discusses the organization of the Mail Utility in detail. For more information about each MAIL command, you can keep using the HELP facility provided in MAIL or you can see the VAX/VMS Mail Utility Reference Manual.
When you are ready to leave MAIL, enter the EXIT command and press [RETURN]. Any messages marked for deletion disappear. Any messages marked for printing enter the print queue and the following message is displayed:
MAIL> EXIT
Job MAIL (queue C135LPQ, entry 43) started on C135LPQ
Sends a message to the sender of the message you are currently reading or the one you last read. If you do not specify the name of a file to be sent as your reply, you are prompted for the text of your reply.
You can use the ANSWER command and the REPLY command interchangeably because they work the same way.
You must be reading a message in order to reply to it.
Format:
ANSWER [file-spec]
Deletes either the message you are currently reading or the message you just read and moves it to the WASTEBASKET folder. You may also delete several messages by using a range or list of messages.
When you enter the EXIT or PURGE commands, your WASTEBASKET folder empties automatically.
To recover a message accidentally deleted (while it is still in the WASTEBASKET folder), SELECT the WASTEBASKET folder, READ the desired message, and MOVE it to another folder.
Format:
DELETE [message-list]
Displays a list of the messages in the current mail file, including message number, sender's name, date, and subject.
If "folder-name" is omitted, MAIL displays a directory of the currently selected folder. If there is no currently selected folder, MAIL displays a directory of the NEWMAIL folder (if unread messages exist) or the MAIL folder. (See the SELECT command for information about selecting messages.) You create a new set of selected messages everytime you use any directory qualifier except the /EDIT qualifier.
Format:
DIRECTORY [folder-name]
Allows you to exit from MAIL. You can also exit from MAIL by pressing [[CTRL]Z). When you enter the EXIT command, any messages in the WASTEBASKET folder are deleted unless you have entered the SET NOAUTO_PURGE command.
Format:
EXIT
Places a copy of the current message into a sequential file.
Format:
EXTRACT file-spec
Sends a copy of the message you are currently reading (or have just read) to a user or users. MAIL prompts you for the name of the user or users to whom you want to forward the message.
Format:
FORWARD
Allows you to obtain information about the Mail Utility.
To obtain information about all of the MAIL commands, enter the following command:
MAIL> HELP *
To obtain information about individual commands or topics, enter HELP followed by the command or topic name.
Format:
HELP [topic]
Queues a copy of the message you are currently reading (or have just read) for printing. The file(s) created by the PRINT command are not released to the print queue until you exit from MAIL. Multiple messages are concatenated into one print job.
Queue-name is name of the queue which the message is to be printed. If the /QUEUE qualifier is not specified, the message is queued to the SYS$PRINT printer, which is located in the Computing Services.
Format:
PRINT/QUEUE=C135LPQ (to print in CL135)
PRINT/QUEUE=C115LPQ (to print in CL115)
Exits you from MAIL without emptying the WASTEBASKET folder. Thus, if you enter the DELETE command to delete a message and enter the QUIT command to leave MAIL, the message is still in your wastebasket folder when you return to MAIL. ([[CTRL]Y) performs the same function as QUIT.)
Format:
QUIT
Sends a message to the sender of the message you are currently reading or the one you last read. If you do not specify the name of a file to be sent as your reply, you are prompted for the text of your reply. You can use the REPLY command and the ANSWER command interchangeably because they work the same way.
You must be reading a message in order to reply to it.
Format:
REPLY [file-spec]
Sends a message to another user(s). Use the SEND command and the MAIL command interchangeably because they work the same way.
MAIL prompts you first for the name of the user(s) to receive the message. You reply with the user name(s) or with the file name of a distribution list file(s), in the following format:
[username,...] [,] [@listname[,...]]
If you have entered the SET CC_PROMPT command or used the /CC_PROMPT qualifier, you can then specify names of users to receive carbon copies of the message at the CC: prompt.
Next, MAIL prompts you for the subject of the mail. To avoid the "Subj:" prompt, specify the /SUBJECT qualifier with the SEND command.
You can include a file specification with the SEND command. If you specify a file with the SEND command, the text in that file is sent to the specified user(s). If you do not specify a file, MAIL prompts you for the text of your message.
Enter the message that you want to send; then press [[CTRL]Z]. Note that once you have typed a line and pressed [RETURN], there is no way to edit it. If you decide not to send a message you are typing but want to stay within the Mail Utility, press [[CTRL]C] to abort the message. You then receive the MAIL> prompt. [[CTRL]Z] exits you from MAIL.
Format:
SEND [file-spec]
The following command can be used to send a mail to other nodes.
Format:
MAIL> mail
TO> IN%"username@remote_node_name"
Examples:
MAIL> mail
TO? IN%"forbes@hercules.cs.uregina.ca"
SUBJ?...
The preceding example sends a mail message to user "forbes" on Hercules.
MAIL> mail
TO? IN%"forbes@max.cc.uregina.ca"
SUBJ? ...
The preceding example sends a mail message to user "forbes" on MAX.
Enables you to append a field to the end of the "From:" field of mail messages you send. You can fill this field with your full name and mailing address, or any other information.
The SET NOPERSONAL_NAME command clears any name you previously specified with the SET PERSONAL_NAME command.
The SHOW PERSONAL_NAME command displays your personal name.
Format:
SET PERSONAL_NAME "text-string"
SET NOPERSONAL_NAME
SHOW PERSONAL_NAME
Examples:
MAIL> SET PERSONAL_NAME "Catherine the Great"
.
.
.
MAIL> SEND
.
.
.
New mail on node MEENA from BELLINI "Catherine the Great"
.
.
.
From: BELLINI "Catherine the Great" 19-APR-1988 15:34
To: STARCK
This example shows how a user named Bellini sets her personal name to Catherine the Great.
All mail files are subdivided into folders. By default, your mail file (MAIL.MAI) contains a folder named MAIL. The MAIL folder contains messages that you have already read. When you receive new mail messages, they automatically enter into a folder named NEWMAIL. After you read the messages in the NEWMAIL folder, they automatically move into the MAIL folder and the NEWMAIL folder disappears.
When you delete a message it automatically moves into the WASTEBASKET folder. Deleted messages collect in the WASTEBASKET folder until you empty it. To empty the WASTEBASKET folder, enter one of the following commands:
* EXIT
* PURGE
You can create as many folders as you want. You always know which folder you are currently in because the name of the folder is displayed at the top right corner of the screen when you enter the READ or DIRECTORY command. You can enter the DIRECTORY/FOLDER command to see a display of the existing folders in the current mail file. You can remove a folder by deleting all the messages it contains.
MAIL contains the following hierarchy:
Personal Mail Utility (MAIL)
mail file { [+++++] [+++++] [+++++] }
folder [+++++]
message +
As the previous diagram shows, you can have one or more mail files. A mail file contains folders. A folder contains mail messages.
CAUTION: It is important that you only manipulate the MAIL.MAI file through the MAIL program since it is an ISAM file. Editing it will convert it from Indexed-Sequential to Sequential, making it unusable. The only way to recover from this is to erase the MAIL.MAI file.
To invoke the standard Unix mail utility, simply enter: mail [RETURN]
The following commands are available within this utility.
? print a summary of all mail message
# read the numbered message
d # delete the numbered message
h print message headers
pre # preserve the numbered message to the next session
r # reply to the numbered message
u # 'un-delete' the numbered message
q quit, and update your mailbox
x quit, but ignore commands just entered
* To send a message to another user enter: mail username [RETURN]
* When you have finished typing your message enter [[Ctrl] d] to signify end of input.
* To send a file to another user enter: mail username < filename [RETURN]
* If you wish to be prompted for a subject header at the beginning of your mail messages you should enter this line in your ".mailrc" file: set ask [RETURN]
* To have the mail utility recognize a nickname or the name of a distribution list, you should add to your .mailrc file a line like: alias name username(s) [RETURN]
For example 1: alias tom jefferson [RETURN]
For example 2: If you wanted to create a distribution list so that you could send messages to your friends with usernames 'tom', 'dick', and 'harry' you might include this line in your .mailrc:
alias pals tom dick harry [RETURN]
After this has been defined you can use the name 'pals' when you wish to send mail to the usernames thus defined.
You may modify your .mailrc file at any time and the next time you logon your changes will be acted upon. To have changes recognized in the current logon session, enter this command: source .mailrc [RETURN]
The first line on screen always displays the name of the current folder, the
number of messages in the folder and the current Elm version number.
The inverse video bar usually indicates which is the current message. (This
can be changed in the .elm/elmrc file).
About the message line:
* The first field is the status field. This can be blank or can have any combination of the following:
The first character signifies temporary status:
E for an expired message
N for a new message
O for an old (i.e.. not new but not read) message
D for a deleted message
The second character signifies permanent status:
U for urgent mail
A for message that have an action associated with them
F for a form letter
The third character can be a "+" to indicate that the message is tagged.
* The second field is the message number. You can quickly move to a specific message by specifying the message number.
* The third field is the date the person actually sent the message.
* The fourth field is the full name of the person who sent the message, or the return address
* The fifth field is the total number of lines in the message.
* The last field is the subject of the message.
A maximum of ten messages are displayed at one time. If there are more than
ten messages in the folder, the [-] key, or the left arrow key is used
to move one page backward and the [+] key or the right arrow key is
used to move one page forward.
The three line Menu display always indicates the relevant commands. The menu
shown in the example is for beginners. If you want to change to a different
menu, go to the option screen and change the user level.
At the last line of the main screen, the @ character indicates where the cursor
would be, awaiting your input.
The following is a list commands you can enter at this point.
Command Action
[RETURN] or [space] Read current message.
| Pipe current message or tagged message to specified system command.
! Shell escape.
$ Resynchronize folder.
? Help mode -- any key pressed will be explained.
[+] or [->] Display next page of headers.
[-] or [<-] Display previous page of headers.
= Set current message to 1.
* Set current message to last message
<number>[RETURN] Set current message to number number.
/ Search for pattern in subject/from lines.
// Search for pattern in entire folder.
< Scan message for calendar entries.
> A synonym for 's' -- save message(s)
a Alias, change to "alias" mode.
b Bounce -- remail message [see f -- forward too].
C Copy current message or tagged messages to folder.
c Change to another folder.
d Delete current message.
[[CTRL] d] Delete all messages matching specified pattern.
e Edit current folder, resynchronizing upon reentry.
f Forward message to specified user.
g Group reply -- reply to everyone who received the current message.
h Display message with headers.
J Set current message to next message.
j or down arrow Set current message to next message not marked deleted.
K Set current message to previous message.
k or up arrow Set current message to previous message not marked deleted.
l Limit displayed messages based on the specified criteria.
[[CTRL] l] Rewrite screen.
m mail to arbitrary user(s).
n read current message, then increment to next message not marked deleted.
o Alter current system options.
p Print current message or tagged messages.
q Quit -- maybe prompting for messages to delete, store, or keep.
Q Quick quit -- like quit but without prompting.
r Reply to the author of the current message.
s Save current message or tagged messages to folder.
t Tag current message.
[[CTRL] t] Tag all messages matching specified pattern.
u Undelete current message.
[[CTRL] u] Undelete all messages matching specified pattern.
x Exit -- prompt if mailbox changed, don't record as read, don't save...
X Exit immediately -- don't record as read, don't save...
"send-only"
To send a message to someone without any of the associated overhead of reading in a mail folder, you can invoke the mailer with the name(s) of people to send to. For example:
elm walter [RETURN]
The mail will then prompt for Subject, Copies, and then drop you in your editor to compose the message. When composition is completed, the program verifies transmission then terminates.
Send files (batchmail)
To send file(s) already existing without prompting for Subject and Copies.
For example:
elm walter < phone.book [RETURN]
A subject may be specified with "-s subject" as an option.
For example:
elm -s "CS dept. phone book" walter < phone.book [RETURN]
answer An answering-machine transcript program.
autoreply This program enables users to automatically reply to incoming mail when they are not directly available.
checkalias A script for checking aliases.
messages A script that lists the number of messages in the specified folder.
newmail This program monitors a mailbox or set of mailboxes and can output notification of new mail.
wnewmail This is the same program as newmail but it has different defaults if invoked this way.
readmsg This program can be used to easily read a specific message in the incoming mailbox.
frm This will give you a "table of contents" of either the current mailbox or a mailbox of your choice. If `-n' option is used, the message number will be displayed.
newalias This is used to install new user/group aliases.
fastmail If you have a large mailing list for a newsletter, fastmail is designed just for that purpose. It avoids the lengthy startup time of Elm.
Please see the manual entry for more information. e.g.
man fastmail [RETURN]
The following are some of the entries:
receivedmail This is the folder the incoming mail is saved. When you answer yes('y') to "store read message in your received folder?" prompt. (default is "=received")
sentmail This is the folder to which a copy of outgoing mail is automatically saved if copy flag is turned on. (default is "=sent")
sortby You can have your folder sorted by any of the following ways:
from This will sort according to whom each message is from.
lines This will sort shortest to longest by message.
mailbox This will leave the messages in the order found in the folder.
received This will sort least recently received to most recently received.
sent This will sort least recently sent to most recently sent.
status This will sort by priority, action, new, tagged, then deleted.
subject This will sort according to the subject of each message.
To get a reverse order of the sort, preceded the sequence with "reverse-". (default is mailbox order )
userlevel This is the program used to determine the relative level of sophistication of user -- 0 for beginners(default), 1 for intermediate users, 2 for experts.
copy This, in combination with sentmail folder, will allow you to have silent copies of all outgoing mail. (default is OFF)
forcename See savename below.
movepage If turned on, the current message pointer will point to the top of the page when moving through folder by pages. Otherwise, the message pointer won't change. (default is OFF)
noheader This flag tells the mailer not to include the headers of message when copying a message into a file buffer for replying or forwarding. (default is ON)
pointnew If turned on, the mailer will automatically point to the first new message in your folder when started. (default is ON)
savename If turned on, the default mailbox to save or copy the incoming mail is the mailbox named as the login name of the person who sent you the message. Similarly, when sending mail out, the message will be saved to the folder using the login name of the person who will receive the mail. (default is ON)
If forcename is off (see above), the copy will be saved to that folder only if the folder exists. (default is OFF)
If you want to put an entry in .elm/elmrc file, the following format must be used:
variable = value
Example: userlevel = 2
-a This allows you to have the "->" arrow displayed rather than the inverse bar.
-f folder Read specified folder rather than the default incoming mailbox.
-h Gives a short list of all the command line options and exits.
-m Inhibit display of the 3-line menu when using mailer.
-s subject In send-only and batch mode, this is how to indicate the subject of the resulting message.
-z This causes the mailer not to start if you don't have any mail.
To indicate the end of the section that should be saved in the archive, you merely need to have the line
[nosave]
or
[no save]
appear by itself on a line. This will be removed from the outgoing mail, and will indicate the last line of the message in the saved mail. Other than this, the saved mail is identical to the outgoing mail.
Entering aliases interactively is useful if the alias description won't be longer than about 80 characters. If you enter command a at the main screen command line, you will get an alias screen. At this screen you can enter one of the following commands:
a Alias current message. This allows the user to create an alias that has the return address of the current message as the address field of the alias.
d Delete an existing alias. This allows the user to delete an alias the user has previously made.
l List all existing aliases. This simply lists all the aliases you have previously made.
m Make user alias. This will prompt for a unique alias name and then for an address.
p Check personal alias. This is a simple way of checking what is in the alias database.
r Return to the main level of the elm program.
s Check system alias. This command is not useful with the current network configuration
Aliases longer than one line should not be created interactively. The alias should be added directly to the alias.text file in the .elm directory(create this file if it doesn't exist). The format is documented in the man page for the newalias command.The following should be noted:
* aliases can be continued onto the next line but the first character on the next line must be a blank.
* the maximum length of an alias is limited to 256 characters. Break the group into two separate aliases if it is too long.
After the aliases.text file has been updated run the program newalias to update the elm aliases.
The following example illustrates a connection from the Unix system Mercury to the VMS mainframe Meena using the telnet program.
NOTE: Restrictions to telnet apply, on Meena, during daytime working hours.
Rlogin can be used instead of telnet to connect from one Unix system to another. When invoked, if rlogin finds the host machine in the target machines /etc/.rhosts file it assumes that the username on the target machine is identical to the one you initially logged on with and therefore does not ask you for a username or password. The following example illustrates connection from the Unix system Mercury to the Unix system Hercules:
Telnet can also be used to connect from the DEC PC's to any of the U of R computers. Because of the way in which the PC's are connected to the network, it is sometimes required that the complete id of the target machine be specified on the command line. For example, when connecting from a PC in CL 115 to Meena, you might use the following command (from DOS):
C:\> telnet meena.cc.uregina.ca [RETURN]
and when connecting from a PC to Hercules, you might type:
C:\> telnet hercules.cs.uregina.ca [RETURN]
The specification after the name of the computer depends on who owns that particular computer. If the computer belongs to the Computer Science department, the specification is allways "cs.uregina.ca". If the computer belongs to Computing Services, the specifcation will be "cc.uregina.ca". To connect to any machine other than a Computer Science machine, you must specify the complete host name.
Ftp, which stands for "file transfer protocol", is a tool that allows a user to transfer files between any two computers. Originally it was developed for use in the Unix environment, but it now runs on a wide variety of computers and OS's, including all those at the U of R.
Like the telnet command, ftp requires the complete host id of the target computer to connect to it. On Computer Science machines, this information is automatically looked up, but on Computing Services machines, the complete id must be specified.
To transfer a file from one machine to another, log on to a system and then enter the following command to connect to the desired target:
% ftp machine-name [RETURN]
When the connection is established enter the following command to send a file:
ftp> put file-name [RETURN]
If you wish to receive a file from the target, enter the following command:
ftp> get file-name [RETURN]
To change from one directory to another, use the following command:
ftp> cd dir-name [RETURN]
To see a list of ftp commands, enter the following command:
ftp> help [RETURN]
To terminate the connection enter:
ftp> quit [RETURN]
Ftp will work transfer both binary and ASCII files. By default, the transfer mode is ASCII. To properly receive binary files (compressed .ZIP files or executable files, for example), you must enter the following command before issuing get or put commands:
ftp> binary [RETURN]
The following example illustrates: connection from the Unix system Mercury to the the user account 'pvh' on the VMS mainframe Meena; usage of the FTP Help facility; sending a file called '.login' from Mercury to Meena; and exiting from FTP.
mercury [8]% ftp meena [RETURN]
Connected to MEENA.CC.UREGINA.CA.
220 Meena.CC.URegina.CA MultiNet FTP Server Process 2.2(11) at Mon 24-Jul-94 2:41PM-CDT
Name (meena:pvh): pvh [RETURN]
331 User name (pvh) ok. Password, please.
Password: . . . [RETURN]
230 User PVH logged into M2:[COMPSCI.PVH] at Mon 24-Jul-94 14:42, job 2140aea2.
ftp> help [RETURN]
Commands may be abbreviated. Commands are:
! debug mget pwd status
$ dir mkdir quit struct
account disconnect mls quote system
append form mode recv sunique
ascii get modtime reget tenex
bell glob mput rstatus trace
binary hash newer rhelp type
bye help nmap rename user
case idle nlist reset umask
cd image ntrans restart verbose
cdup lcd open rmdir ?
chmod ls prompt runique
close macdef proxy send
cr mdelete sendport site
delete mdir put size
ftp> put .login [RETURN]
200 Port 10.15 at Host 142.3.200.53 accepted.
150 ASCII Store of M2:[COMPSCI.PVH].LOGIN;1 started.
226 Transfer completed. 687 (8) bytes transferred.
local: .login remote: .login
687 bytes sent in 0.028 seconds (24 Kbytes/s)
ftp> quit [RETURN]
221 QUIT command received. Goodbye.
mercury [9]%
The following example illustrates: connection from the VMS mainframe Meena to the user account 'pvh' on the Unix system Mercury; sending a file called 'login.com' from Meena to Mercury; and exiting from FTP.
$ ftp mercury.cs.uregina.ca [RETURN]
Meena.CC.URegina.CA MultiNet FTP user process 3.3(109)
Connection opened (Assuming 8-bit connections)
MERCURY.CS.UREGINA.CA> user [RETURN]
Foreign username: pvh [RETURN]
<Password required for pvh.
Password: . . . [RETURN]
<User pvh logged in.
MERCURY.CS.UREGINA.CA> put login.com [RETURN]
To remote file: login.com [RETURN]
<Opening data connection for login.com (142.3.200.6,4322).
<Transfer complete.
MERCURY.CS.UREGINA.CA> quit [RETURN]
<Goodbye.
$
On Max it is necessary to enter a password for the 'mini-disk' allocated to your account. If you cannot remember what your password is, logon to your Max account and enter:
dirm mdpw [RETURN]
To set or change a mini-disk password while you are logged on to Max, enter:
dirm md [RETURN]
and follow the directions. For more information about 'dirm' commands enter:
dirm help [RETURN]
The standard delimiter between a filename and a filetype on Max is a space character. e.g. "profile exec" However, during an FTP file transfer you must use a period as the delimiter. e.g. "profile.exec"
The following example illustrates: connection from the Unix system Mercury to the mainframe Max; getting the file "profile exec" from a user account called 'pvh' on Max; and exiting from FTP.
mercury [2]% ftp max [RETURN]
Connected to max.cc.uregina.ca.
220-FTP_SRV at MAX.CC.UREGINA.CA, 17:36:42 CST WEDNESDAY 08/07/91
220 Connection will close if idle for more than 5 minutes.
Name (max:pvh): pvh [RETURN]
331 Send password please.
Password: . . . [Return][userid login password on MAX)
332-PVH logged in; no working directory defined
332 to access PVH 191, send 'ACCOUNT minidisk-password'
Account: . . . [Return][minidisk password)
230 Working directory is PVH 191 (ReadOnly)
ftp> get profile.exec [RETURN]
200 Port request OK.
150 Sending file 'profile.exec'
250 Transfer completed successfully.
local: profile.exec remote: profile.exec
202 bytes received in 0.039 seconds (5.1 Kbytes/s)
ftp> quit [RETURN]
221 Quit command received. Goodbye.
mercury [3]%
The following example illustrates: connection from the mainframe Max to the user account 'pvh' on the Unix system Mercury; getting the file ".login"; and exiting from FTP.
ftp mercury.cs.uregina.ca [RETURN]
VM TCP/IP FTP V2R1
Cannot load KANJI translate table STANDARD TCPKJBIN : TCPKJBIN
Connecting to MERCURY 142.3.200.53, port 21
USER (identify yourself to the host):
pvh [RETURN]
>>>USER pvh
331 Password required for pvh.
Password:
. . . [RETURN]
>>>PASS ********
230 User pvh logged in.
Command:
get .login [RETURN]
>>>PORT 142,3,100,1,38,12
200 PORT command successful.
>>>RETR .login
150 Opening data connection for .login (142.3.100.1,9740) (655 bytes).
226 Transfer complete.
687 bytes transferred. Transfer rate 7.47 Kbytes/sec.
Command:
quit [RETURN]
>>>QUIT
221 Goodbye.
Ready; T=0.17/0.28 10:02:26
Use the mouse to select the NCSA File menu and click on "FTP Enable".
Select the File Menu again and click on "Set Transfer Directory"
When the following dialogue box appears on the screen, select the desired directory and then click on "Set Directory".
Now select the Network menu and click on "Send FTP Command".
When the FTP command prompt is displayed, type " put filename [RETURN]"
When the transfer is complete, type " quit [Return]".
e.g.
mercury [13]% ftp -n (the IP address of the Macintosh appears here)
Connected to 142.3.200.68.
220 Macintosh Resident FTP server, ready
ftp> put .login [RETURN]
200 This space intentionally left blank < >
150 Opening connection
226 Transfer complete
local: master remote: .login
3720 bytes sent in 0.029 seconds (1.2e+02 Kbytes/s)
ftp> quit [Return]
221 Goodbye
mercury [14]%
If you do not wish to transfer any more files, select the File menu and click on "FTP Enable" . You turned this feature on at the beginning of the file transfer process; selecting it again toggles the feature off.
If you wish to transfer a file from the Macintosh to a Mercury account, repeat the preceeding sequence but type " get filename [Return]" at the FTP prompt rather than " put filename[Return]".
mercury[10]% ftp ftp.cdrom.com [RETURN]
Connected to wcarchive.cdrom.com.
220 wcarchive.cdrom.com FTP server (Version wu-2.4(1) Sun Apr 17 09:04:59 PDT 19
94) ready.
Name (ftp.cdrom.com:skagos): anonymous [RETURN]
Password: .......[Return][type "username@cs.uregina.ca" as password.)
Anonymous ftp works just like regular ftp. It is a great way to gain access to vast amounts of information and programs.
The CS department provides an anonymous ftp service. Technical reports, programs, and other miscellaneous information are available from this site, but its primary use is to make information and assignments available to students in Computer Science.
To connect to the CS anonymous ftp service, issue the following command from any Computer Science machine, include PC's and workstations:
ftp ftp [RETURN]
or
ftp cs.uregina.ca [RETURN]
This will connect you to the ftp server on Mercury. Anonymous ftp usually requires that you enter your complete user id as your password, however, since this is a local connection it is all right to simply press [RETURN]. If all goes well, your connection will resemble the following:
borealis[skagos]=22=>> ftp ftp [RETURN]
Connected to mercury.cs.uregina.ca.
220-
Access to this system is provided to U of R Computer Science users who require access in support of teaching or research.
Unauthorized access is prohibited.
220 mercury.cs.uregina.ca FTP server ready.
Name (cs.uregina.ca:skagos): anonymous [RETURN]
331 Guest login ok, type your name as password.
Password: [RETURN]
230 Guest login ok, access restrictions apply.
Remote system type is UNIX.
Using binary mode to transfer files.
ftp> dir
200 PORT command successful.
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for '/bin/ls'.
total 4
drwxrwxr-x 4 root archive 512 Jun 21 10:20 .adm
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 512 Jan 5 10:13 bin
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 512 Jan 5 10:13 etc
drwxrwxr-x 31 root archive 512 May 31 08:54 pub
226 Transfer complete.
ftp> quit [RETURN]
221 Goodbye.
borealis[skagos]=23=>>
There are a number of directories underneath the "pub/" directory that contain information for a variety of classes as well as information files and programs of general interest.
There are a number of currently operating global Archie servers serving different user communities. The server command of the Interactive and E-mail interfaces will list the most up to date information on archie hosts. Following is a list of the most common and reliable Archie servers:
archie.au 139.130.4.6 Australia
archie.edvz.uni-linz.ac.at 140.78.3.8 Austria
archie.univie.ac.at 131.130.1.23 Austria
archie.uqam.ca 132.208.250.10 Canada
archie.funet.fi 128.214.6.100 Finland
archie.th-darmstadt.de 130.83.22.60 Germany
archie.ac.il 132.65.6.15 Israel
archie.unipi.it 131.114.21.10 Italy
archie.wide.ad.jp 133.4.3.6 Japan
archie.kr 128.134.1.1 Korea
archie.sogang.ac.kr 163.239.1.11 Korea
archie.rediris.es 130.206.1.2 Spain
archie.luth.se 130.240.18.4 Sweden
archie.switch.ch 130.59.1.40 Switzerland
archie.ncu.edu.tw 140.115.19.24 Taiwan
archie.doc.ic.ac.uk 146.169.11.3 United Kingdom
archie.unl.edu 129.93.1.14 USA (NE)
archie.internic.net 198.48.45.10 USA (NJ)
archie.rutgers.edu 128.6.18.15 USA (NJ)
archie.ans.net 147.225.1.10 USA (NY)
archie.sura.net 128.167.254.179 USA (MD)
It is a good idea to use an Archie server that is geographically close by. This can cut down on network traffic and dramatically increase the response time. Also remember that Archie servers can go down for a number of reasons, so the above list may not be accurate. It is a good idea to connect to an Archie server and issue the server command to receive an up to date list of sites.
Archie can be used a number of ways. Follow are some examples:
1. Archie can be used interactively by telneting or rloging into the Archie server. To use Archie interatively you must log on with the username "archie". You do not need a password to use the archie interactive service.
For example, the following command begins a telnet session with an Archie server. When the login prompt appears, you should simply type "archie":
telnet archie.internic.net [RETURN]
Another way to use archie is to issue, for example, the following rlogin command:
rlogin archie.internic.net -l archie [RETURN]
2. You can use an Archie server through the mail. By default, the results of the Archie search will be mailed back to you. To use Archie in this way, all you have to do is send a mail message to username "archie" at some Archie location. For example, you might send mail to "archie@archie.internic.net". The subject of the message as well as the body can contain any Archie commands. So, for example, you might issue the command "server" in the message body to list all the servers, or "prog windows" to search the database for "windows".
3. Archie can also be used through interactive programs or interfaces from Gopher or Mosaic.
The use of Archie can also be greatly simplified through the use of UNIX aliases. For example, the following alias can be used to simplify the use of the Archie e-mail interface:
alias marchie 'echo "prog \!*" |mail archie@archie.internic.net'
This takes any command line arguments you enter, appends them to the Archie "prog" command, and pipes everything to the Archie site. The "prog" command is used to specify the term, or terms, you want to search for. Put the command in your .cshrc if you like.
To use this alias, enter "marchie" followed by the terms you want Archie to search for. For example, if you wanted information about World Wide Web (www), you would enter:
marchie www
list [pattern [pattern [...]]]
List the sites currently stored in the database, and the time at which they were last updated. The optional pattern argument can be used to limit the list to specific sites. The pattern argument is a Unix-like regular expression.
Example:
list lists all sites in the database, while
list \.de$ lists all German sites.
prog [pattern [pattern [...]]]
Finds all occurrences of programs with names matching pattern. The output lists the names of hosts with matching entries, the size of the matching program, its last modification date, and its path. The pattern argument is a Unix-like regular expression.
servers
Display a list of all publicly accessible archie servers worldwide. The names of the hosts, their IP addresses and geographical locations are listed.
site site_name or IP address
Produce a full table of contents for a specified ftp site in the archie database. The output format is similar to that of the UNIX command: ls -lR
Example:
site col.hp.com
whatis substring [substring]
Search the Software Description Database for the given substring, ignoring case. This database consists of names and short descriptions of many software packages, documents, and data files stored on the Internet.
Example:
whatis uucp in part gives as a result:
findpath.sh UUCP Pathfinder
logfile-stats UUCP LOGFILE analyzer
mapstats UUCP map statistics program
compress
(mail interface only) Process the mail message with the compress and uuencode programs. Upon receiving the reply, the recipient should remove the mail header and run the rest of the file through uudecode, producing a file with a name of the form: file.Z Process this file with uncompress to obtain the results of the request.
Gopher is a menu based client-server system for accessing the Internet. It allows one to access information in a structured and hierarchical manner.
Gopher works much like any other client-server program. The user interacts with the Gopher client. This program displays menus for the user and carries out the requests initiated by the user. The Gopher client communicates with the Gopher server to fulfill the requests of the user. If it is required to set up a telnet session or to view a picture, the Gopher client will take care of all that as well.
There are several thousand Gopher servers around the world, each providing its own service. The amount of information available via Gopher is incredible, but the highly structured menu system attempts to organize the information into a usable form.
Each Gopher server contains information that is of interest to the local community of users. It is not uncommon for different departments in a university to have their own servers set up to provide information to faculty and students. For the most part all Gopher servers are publicly accessible, and each Gopher server can communicate with any other Gopher server anywhere on the Internet.
Even though most Gopher servers are set up for a particular purpose, you will find that many contain information of general interest, and pointers to other Gopher servers. Each Gopher server is like a stepping stone to another server.
Gopher can provide more information than a single person can possibly use, or comprehend. The sum total of all information available via gopher is referred to as "gopherspace". Gopherspace consists of the files (data, pictures, reports, etc) available on the Internet, all the connections between Gopher servers, and the interface between the user and the Gopher client.
On any computer owned by the Computer Science department, all you need to do to access the Gopher is to issue the gopher command. The simplest format of the gopher command is as follows:
gopher [ server ]
The server can be the name of any Gopher server. By default the Gopher will attempt to connect to a pre-defined Gopher server, which usually is the local one. The Gopher client is a full-screen program, which displays information in a highly structured menu format. When the gopher command is first issued, the screen is cleared and then the Gopher client takes over the screen. For example, the following shows a user connecting to the CS Gopher:
To connect to another Gopher server, you can either specify the server name on the command line or you can use the Gopher menus to get to whatever site it is that you wish to connect to. Menu 11 -- "Other Gopher Servers/", on the CS Gopher server, will provide you with a very long list of Canadian and American Gopher servers.
Alternatively, for example, to connect to the Computing Services Gopher server from a Computer Science machine, you might type:
gopher meena.cc.uregina.ca
From Meena itself, all you need to type is be "gopher".
The standard Gopher client is used by both Computer Science and Computing services, so the interface will be very similar.
If your terminal does not support the cursor keys, you can use the [j] key to move down and the [k] key to move up. The [h] key will bring you up one menu level and the [l] key will take choose the menu line you have selected. In case you didn't noticed, these are the standard vi cursor positioning keys.
By pressing the [?] key you can call up a number of Gopher help screens. Gopher can do a number of things such as download files, display images, save files to your local directory, etc. Following is a list of most Gopher commands taken directly from the Gopher help system:
Quick Gopher Help
-----------------
Moving around Gopherspace
-------------------------
Use the arrow keys or vi/emacs equivalent to move around.
Right, Return .......: "Enter"/Display current item.
Left, u .............: "Exit" current item/Go up a level.
Down ................: Move to next line.
Up ..................: Move to previous line.
>, +, Pgdwn, Space ..: View next page.
<, -, Pgup, b .......: View previous page.
0-9 .................: Go to a specific line.
m ...................: Go back to the main menu.
Bookmarks
---------
a : Add current item to the bookmark list.
A : Add current directory/search to bookmark list.
v : View bookmark list.
d : Delete a bookmark/directory entry.
Other commands
--------------
q : Quit with prompt.
Q : Quit unconditionally.
s : Save current item to a file.
S : Save current menu listing to a file.
D : Download a file.
r : goto root menu of current item.
R : goto root menu of current menu.
= : Display technical information about current item.
^ : Display technical information about current directory.
o : Open a new gopher server.
O : Change options.
/ : Search for an item in the menu.
n : Find next search item.
g : "Gripe" via email to administrator of current item.
!, $ : Shell Escape (Unix) or Spawn subprocess (VMS).
Two facilities exist which allow a user to search through Gopherspace. These are Veronica and Jughead.
Veronica is a Gopher based resource that you can use to search Gopherspace for all the menu items that contain specific keywords. You will find Veronica on a Gopher server either listed as a Search Menu or in a list of Other Gopher Servers
When Veronica is selected, you are presented with an information entry prompt. You can type whatever keywords it is you wish to search for. You can use the words "and", "or", and "not" to qualify your search. You can also use parentheses "( )" to structure your keyword search better. You can also use the "*" character as a wild-card character to search for partial word matches.
For example, to search for information on particle physics you might type the following at the search prompt:
particle physics
It is important to note that Veronica will search for the combination of keywords "particle" and "physics", not the individual words. By default, Veronica assumes that you mean "and" whenever you specify more than one keyword. So the following 2 search requests are equivalent:
particle physics
particle and physics
While the following search request will search for any documents that contain either the word "particle" or "physics", or both:
particle or physics
To search for particles physics information that does not relate to gravity, you may enter the something like the following search:
particle physics not gravity
To expand the exclusion criteria, you can use wild cards. For example, to exclude all information about gravity, gravitons, gravitational waves, etc, you might type the following search:
particle physics not gravit*
Jughead is a searching tool just like Veronica, except that it is limited in scope to only searching a sub-set of Gopherspace. Usually, Jughead only searches the local Gopherspace, or the Gopherspace at a specified location. Otherwise, Jughead behaves exactly like Veronica.
World Wide Web (WWW) is a hypertext based interface to the Internet, much in the same way that Gopher is a menu based interface to the Internet. One navigates through the WWW by selecting hypertext pointers. These pointers can start up picture viewers, telnet sessions, file transfers, etc.
Hypertext is inherently an interactive medium. Through the use of a client program, most often Mosaic, the user navigates through the WWW in search of information. Because of its nature, most WWW client programs will be graphically oriented although there does exist a text-mode interface called Lynx.
The Computer Science department runs a local WWW server that is only accessible from inside the U of R. This WWW server contains information about the department as well as other miscellaneous information. It also provides users with links to WWW servers outside of the university.
To access the WWW you may use one of a number of client programs. The most common of these programs is called Mosaic. It is available on a number of platforms, including UNIX machines and Macintoshes owned by Computer Science. Alternatively, if a graphical environment is not available, the program text-based Lynx can be used.
Before going on, some terminology needs to be defined.
A URL, or Uniform Resource Locator, is the location of a WWW server. The first part of a URL specifies what type of resource is being described, the second part is the address of the resource. For example, the U of R CS department URL is:
http://www.cs.uregina.ca/
The "http" is the resource type, and is standard for all WWW servers. the next part is the address of the WWW server, "cs.uregina.ca".
HTML is the HyperText Markup Language used by WWW for displaying documents, creating hypertext links, etc. It is a very basic set of commands, but quite powerful and easy to use. Information on HTML is available through the U of R homepage.
A homepage is the very first page a user sees when connected to a URL. By default, the U of R homepage appears when Mosaic or Lynx is used from a UNIX workstation. Users can define what their default homepage will be, or they can create their own.
Mosaic must be used from a graphics capable terminal, such as an X terminal or workstation, or from a Mac. Both versions of the program are similar, so only the X Windows version is discussed in detail here.
To start up Mosaic on a Mac, double click on the Mosaic icon:
To start up the X Windows version, simply type the following:
prompt> mosaic
After starting Mosaic, a window will appear to display the documents provided by the WWW server. The Mosaic window is capable of displaying both text and graphics, but it can also call up other programs for whatever reason, such as to enter information, view a picture, play a sound file, etc.
The U of R CS homepage will appear when you run Mosaic. This homepage provides some information about the department, faculty, staff, and resources. It also provides links to other URL's and miscellaneous other information. The best way to learn how to use it is to actually use it.
prompt> lynx
Lynx will list all documents, since they are in plain ASCII, but anywhere there is supposed to be an image, the anchor [IMAGE] will appear. You can move through Lynx with the cursor keys to select highlighted hypertext anchors or image anchors for viewing or downloading. It is very similar to Mosaic in concept, but the interface modified for the text-only environment of terminals.
Following is a list of selected Lynx commands:
MOVEMENT: Down arrow - Highlight next topic
Up arrow - Highlight previous topic
Right arrow, - Jump to highlighted topic
Return, Enter
Left arrow - Return to previous topic
SCROLLING: + (or space) - Scroll down to next page
- (or b) - Scroll up to previous page
OTHER: ? (or H) - Help (this screen)
a - Add the current link to your bookmark file
c - Send a comment to the document owner
d - Download the current link
e - Edit the current file
g - Goto a user specified URL or file.
i - Show an index of documents
m - Return to main screen
o - Set your options
p - Print to a file, mail, printers, or other
q - Quit (Capital 'Q' for quick quit)
/ - Search for a string within the document
s - Enter search string for an external search
n - Go to the next search string
v - View your bookmark file
z - Cancel transfer in progress
[backspace] - Go to the history page
= - Show file and link info
\ - Toggle document source/rendered view
! - Spawn your default shell
CTRL-R - Reload current file and refresh the screen
CTRL-W - Refresh the screen
CTRL-U - Erase input line
CTRL-G - Cancel input or transfer
Following is a list of some interesting URL's that you might wish to connect to. Remember that network resources are limited, and each URL can contain hundreds of megabytes of information. The overall speed of the system varies depending on how many users there are and how fast the server and the network are. It is more likely that a better connection will be achieved during evening hours, when fewer people are on the network.
Local:
http://www.cs.uregina.ca/ U of R CS Dept. WWW Server
GNN Sites:
http://nearnet.gnn.com/gnn/GNNhome.html GNN Homepage
http://nearnet.gnn.com/wic/newrescat.toc.html The Whole Internet Catalog
Misc. Sites:
http://www.cts.com/ CTS Network Services
http://www.research.att.com/biblio.html Bibliographic Information
NASA Langley Research Center sites:
http://mosaic.larc.nasa.gov/larc.html NASA Home Page
http://mosaic.larc.nasa.gov/nasaonline/nasaonline.html NASA Online
WAIS Sites: (Wide Area Information Service)
http://galaxy.einet.net/galaxy.html EINet Galaxy
Special Interest Sites:
http://http2.brunel.ac.uk:8080 Red Dwarf
http://thule.mt.cs.cmu.edu:8001/sf-clearing-house/zines/omphalos/ Omphalos 'Zine
http://www.echo.com/ Echo Music Stuff
http://www.cs.ubc.ca/spock A Quote from Mr. Spock
http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~mmoore/aikido.html Aikido at Penn. State
http://www.ii.uib.no/~kjartan/aikido.html Aikido FAQ