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rfc:rfc811

Ken Harrenstien RFC-811 Vic White 1 March 1982 Elizabeth Feinler Network Information Center SRI International

                      HOSTNAMES SERVER

INTRODUCTION

 The NIC Internet Hostnames Server is an NCP/TCP-based host
 information program and protocol running on the SRI-NIC
 machine.  It is one of a series of ARPANET/Internet name
 services maintained by the Network Information Center (NIC) at
 SRI International on behalf of the Defense Communications
 Agency (DCA).  The function of this particular server is to
 deliver machine-readable name/address information describing
 networks, gateways, hosts, and eventually domains, within the
 internet environment.  As currently implemented, the server
 provides the information outlined in the DoD Internet Host
 Table Specification (RFC 810).

QUERY/RESPONSE FORMAT

 The name server accepts simple text query requests of the form
    <command key> <argument(s)> [<options>]
 where square brackets ("[]") indicate an optional field.  The
 command key is a keyword indicating the nature of the request.
 The defined keys are explained below.
 The response, on the other hand, is of the form
    <response key> : <rest of response>
 where <response key> is a keyword indicating the nature of the
 response, and the rest of the response is interpreted in the
 context of the key.

COMMAND/RESPONSE KEYS

 The currently defined keywords are:
    Command Keys:
       HNAME   (find entry with given name)
       HADDR   (find entry with given address)
       ALL     (return entire host table)
       
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RFC 811 Hostnames Server

                                                                      
                                                                      
    Response Keys:
       ERR     (entry not found, nature of error follows)
       NET     (entry found, rest of entry follows)
       GATEWAY (entry found, rest of entry follows)
       HOST    (entry found, rest of entry follows)
       BEGIN   (followed by multiple entries)
       END     (done with BEGIN block of entries)
 More keywords will be added as new needs are recognized.  A
 more detailed description of the allowed requests/responses
 will follow.

PROTOCOL

 To access this server from a program, connect to service host
 (SRI-NIC)
    TCP: port 101 decimal
    NCP: socket 101 decimal for ICP
 send the information query, and await the response.
 Note:  Care should be taken to interpret the nature of the
 reply (e.g, single record or multiple record), so that no
 confusion about the state of the reply results.  An "ALL"
 request will likely return several hundred or more records of
 all types (see RFC 810), whereas "HNAME" or "HADDR" will
 usually return one HOST record, or "BEGIN:", list of host
 records, "END:", if there is more than one match.

QUERY/RESPONSE EXAMPLES

 1. HNAME Query - Given a name, find the entry or entries that
 match
    the name.  For example:
       HNAME SRI-NIC <CRLF>   ;where <CRLF> is a carriage
    return/
                               linefeed, and 'SRI-NIC' is a
    host name
    The likely response is:
       HOST : 10.0.0.73 : SRI-NIC,NIC : FOONLY-F3 : TENEX : NCP :
    A response may stretch across more than one line.
    Continuation lines always begin with at least one space.
    For example:
    HOST : 10.0.0.73 : SRI-NIC,NIC : FOONLY-F3 : TENEX : NCP :

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1 March 1982 Hostnames Server RFC 811

                                                                      
                                                                      
                                                                      
 2. HADDR Query - Given an internet address (as specified in
 RFC
    796) find the entry or entries that match that address.
    For example:
       HADDR 10.0.0.73 <CRLF>   ;where <CRLF> is a carriage
    return/
                                 linefeed, and '10.0.0.73' is a
    host
                                 address
    The likely response is the same as for the HNAME request:
       HOST : 10.0.0.73 : SRI-NIC,NIC : FOONLY-F3 : TENEX : NCP :
 3. ALL Query - Deliver the entire internet host table in a
    machine-readable form.  For example:
       ALL <CRLF>   ;where <CRLF> is a carriage return/linefeed
    The likely response is the keyword 'BEGIN' followed by a
    colon ':', followed by the entire internet host table in
    the format specified in RFC 810, followed by 'END:'.  For
    example:
       BEGIN:
       NET : 10.0.0.0 : ARPANET :
       NET : 18.0.0.0 : LCSNET :
       GATEWAY : 10.0.0.77, 18.8.0.4 : MIT-GW :: MOS : IP/GW :
       HOST : 10.0.0.73 : SRI-NIC,NIC : TENEX : FOONLY-F3
          NCP/TELNET, NCP/FTP, TCP :
       HOST : 10.2.0.11 : SU-TIP, FELT-TIP ::
       END:

ERROR HANDLING

 1. ERR Reply - may occur on any query, and should be permitted
 in
    any access program using the name server.  Errors are of
 the form
    ERR : <code> : <string> :
       as in
    ERR : NAMNFD : Name not found :
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                                                         1 March 1982

RFC 811 Hostnames Server

                                                                      
                                                                      
 The error code is a unique descriptor, limited to 8 characters
 in length for any given error.  It may be used by the access
 program to identify the error and, in some cases, to handle it
 automatically.  The string is an accompanying message for a
 given error for that case where the access program simply logs
 the error message.  Current codes and their associated
 interpretations are
    NAMNFD        --     Name not found; name not in table
    ADRNFD        --     Address not found; address not in
    table
    ILLCOM        --     Illegal command; command key not
    recognized
    TMPSYS        --     Temporary system failure, try again
    later

REMARKS

 The host name server described above runs over a single global
 internet host name/address data base.  This data base is an
 extension of the old ARPANET Hosts.txt file, and is being
 maintained by the NIC to provide continuity during the
 transition and expansion to the internet environment.  We view
 the central administration of a global host name data base,
 along with this simple name server, as an interim solution on
 the way to a decentralized, distributed name/address
 translation service.  The NIC welcomes your comments and
 suggestions for such an expanded service.  Send comments to
 NIC@SRI-NIC.

REFERENCES

 1. Feinler, E., Harrenstien, K., Su, Z. and White, V.
 Official
    DoD Internet Host Table Specification, RFC 810, Network
    Information Center, SRI International, March 1, 1982.
 2. Postel, J.  Address Mappings, RFC 796, Information Sciences
    Inst., Univ. of Southern Calif., Marina Del Rey, Sept.
 1981.
 3. Pickens, J., Feinler, E., and Mathis, J.  The NIC Name
 Server,
    A Datagram-based Information Utility, Network Information
    Center, SRI International, July 1979.

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