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rfc:rfc55

Network Working Group J. Newkirk Request for Comments: 55 M. Kraley

                                                                Harvard
                                                              J. Postel
                                                             S. Crocker
                                                                   UCLA
                                                           19 June 1970
              A Prototypical Implementation of the NCP
 While involved in attempting to specify the formal protocol, we also
 attempted to formulate a prototypical NCP in an Algol-like language.
 After some weeks of concentrated effort, the project was abandoned as
 we realized that the code was becoming unreadable.  We still,
 however, felt the need to demonstrate our conception of how an NCP
 might be implemented; we felt that this would help suggest solutions
 for problems that might arise in trying to mold the formal
 specifications into an existing system.  This document is that
 attempt to specify in a prose format what an NCP could look like.
 There are obvious limitations on a project of this nature.  We do
 not, and cannot, know all of the quirks of the various systems that
 must write an NCP.  We are forced to make some assumptions about the
 environment, system calls, and the like.  We have tried to be as
 general as possible, but no doubt many sites will have completely
 different ways of conceptualizing the NCP.  There is great difficulty
 involved in conveying our concepts and the mechanisms that deal with
 these concepts to people who have wholly different ways of looking at
 things.  We have, however, benefited greatly by trying to actually
 code this program for our fictitious machine.  Many unforeseen
 problems surfaced during the coding, and we hope that by issuing this
 document we can help to alleviate similar problems which may arise in
 individual cases.
 There is, of course, absolutely no requirement to implement anything
 which is contained in this document.  The only rigid rules which an
 NCP _must_ conform to are stated in NWG/RFC#54.  This description is
 intended only as an example, _not_ as a model.
 In the discussion which follows we first describe the environment to
 be assumed and postulate a set of system calls.  We discuss the
 overall architecture of the NCP and the tables that will be used to
 hold relevant information.  Narratives of network operations follow.
 A state diagram is then presented as a convenient method for
 conceptualizing the cause-effect sequencing of events.  The detailed
 processing of each type of network event (system calls or incoming
 network messages) is then discussed.

Newkirk, et al. [Page 1] RFC 55 Prototypical Implementation of NCP June 1970

II. Environment

 We assume that the host will have a time-sharing operating system in
 which the CPU is shared by processes.
 We envision that each process is tagged with a user number.  There
 may be more than one process with the same user number; if so, they
 should all be cooperating with respect to using the network.
 We envision that each process contains a set of ports which are
 unique to the process.  These ports are used for input to or output
 from the process, from or to files, devices, or other processes.
 We also envision that a process is not put to sleep (i.e., blocked or
 dismissed) when it attempts to LISTEN or CONNECT.  Instead it is
 informed when some action is complete.  Of course, a process may
 dismiss itself so that it wakes up only on some external event.
 To engage in network activity, a process attaches a local socket to
 one of its ports.  Sockets are identified by user number, host and
 AEN; a socket is local to a process if the user numbers of the two
 match and they are in the same host.  Thus, a process need only
 specify an AEN when it is referring to a local socket.
 Each port has a status which is modified by system calls and
 concurrent events outside the process (e.g., a 'close connection'
 command from a foreign host).  The process may look at a port's
 status as any time (via the STATUS system call).
 We assume a one-to-one correspondence between ports and sockets.

III. System Calls

 These are typical system calls which a user process might execute.
       We use the notation
                SYSCALL (ARG1, ARG2....)
       where
                SYSCALL is the name of the system call
       and
                ARGk, etc. are the parameters of the system call.

Newkirk, et al. [Page 2] RFC 55 Prototypical Implementation of NCP June 1970

 CONNECT (P, AEN, FS, CR)
       P        specifies a port of the process
       AEN      specifies a local socket; the user number and host are
                implicit
       FS       specifies a socket with any user number in any hose,
                and with any AEN
       CR       the condition code returned
    CONNECT attempts to attach the local socket specified by AEN to
    the port P and to initiate a connection with a specific foreign
    socket, FS.  Possible values of CR are:
       CR=OK          The CONNECT was legal and the socket FS is being
                      contacted.  When the connection is established
                      or refused the status will be updated.
       CR = BUSY      The local socket is in use (illegal command
                      sequence).
       CR = BADSKT    The socket specification was illegal.
       CR = NOROOM    Local host's resources are exhausted.
       CR = HOMOSEX   Incorrect send/receive pair
       CR = IMP DEAD  Our imp has died
       CR = LINK DEAD The link to the foreign host is dead because:
                      1. the foreign Imp is dead,
                      2. the foreign host is dead, or
                      3. the foreign NCP does not respond.
 LISTEN (P, AEN, CR)
       P             specifies a port of the process
       AEN           specifies a local socket
       CR            the condition code returned
    The local socket specified by AEN is attached to port P.  If there
    is a pending call, it is processed; otherwise, no action is taken.
    When a call comes in, the user will be notified.  After examining
    the call, he may either accept or refuse it.  Possible values of
    CR are:
       CR = OK         Connection begun, listening
       CR = BUSY

Newkirk, et al. [Page 3] RFC 55 Prototypical Implementation of NCP June 1970

       CR = NOROOM
       CR = IMP DEAD
       CR = LINK DEAD
 ACCEPT (P, CR)
       P       specifies a port of the process
       CR      the condition code returned
    Accept implies that the user process has inspected the foreign
    socket to determine who is calling and will accept the call.
    (Note: an interesting alternative defines ACCEPT as the implicit
    default condition.  Thus any incoming RFC automatically satisfies
    a LISTEN.)  Possible values of CR are:
       CR = BADSKT
       CR = NOROOM
       CR = IMP DEAD
       CR = LINK DEAD
       CR = BADCOMM   Illegal command sequence. (E.g., Accept issued
                      before a LISTEN.
       CR = PREMCLS   Foreign user aborted connection after RFC was
                      locally received but before Accept was executed.
 TRANSMIT (P, BUFF, BITSRQST, BITSACC, CR)
       P        specifies a port of the process
       BUFF     specifies the text buffer for transmission
       BITSRQST specifies the length to be transmitted in bits
       BITSACC  returns the number of bits actually transmitted
       CR       the condition code returned
     Transmission takes place.   Possible values for CR are:
       CR = OK
       CR = IMP DEAD
       CR = LINK DEAD

Newkirk, et al. [Page 4] RFC 55 Prototypical Implementation of NCP June 1970

       CR = NOT OPEN  Connection is not open (illegal command
                      sequence).
       CR = BAD BOUND BITSRQST out of bounds (e.g., for a receive
                      socket BUFF was shorter than BITSRQST
                      indicated).
 INT (P, CR)
       P       specifies the local socket of this process
       CR      the condition code returned
    The process on the other (foreign) side of this port is to be
    interrupted.  Possible values of CR are:
       CR = OK
       CR = BADSKT
       CR = BADCOMM
       CR = IMP DEAD
       CR = LINK DEAD
 STATUS (P, RTAB, CR)
       P       specifies a port of this process
       RTAB    the returned rendezvous table entry
       CR      the condition code returned
    The relevant fields of the rendezvous table entry associated with
    this port are returned in RTAB.  This is the mechanism a user
    process employs for monitoring the state of a connection.
    Possible values of CR are:
       CR = OK
       CR = BADSKT

Newkirk, et al. [Page 5] RFC 55 Prototypical Implementation of NCP June 1970

 CLOSE (P, CR)
       P       specifies a port of this process
       CR      the condition code returned
    Activity on the connection attached to this port stops, the
    connection is broken and the port becomes free for other use.
    Possible values of CR are:
       CR = OK
       CR = BADSKT
       CR = BADCOMM
       CR = IMP DEAD
       CR = LINK DEAD

IV. The NCP - Gross Structure

 We view the NCP as having five component programs, several
 associative tables, and some queues and buffers.
    The Component Programs (see Fig. 4.1)
    1. The Input Handler
       This is an interrupt-driven routine.  It initiates Imp-to-Host
       transmission into a resident buffer and wakes up the input
       interpreter when transmission is complete.
    2. The Output Handler
       This is an interrupt-driven output routine.  It initiates Host-
       to-Imp transmission out of a resident buffer and wakes up the
       output scheduler when transmission is complete.
    3. The Input Interpreter
       This program decides whether the input is a regular message
       intended for a user, a network control message, an Imp-to Host
       message, or an error.  For each class of message this program
       invokes a subroutine to take the appropriate action.

Newkirk, et al. [Page 6] RFC 55 Prototypical Implementation of NCP June 1970

    4. The Output Scheduler
       Three classes of messages are sent to the Imp
          (a) Host-to-Imp messages
          (b) Control messages
          (c) Regular messages
       We believe that a priority should be imposed among these
       classes.  The priority we suggest is the ordering above.  The
       output scheduler selects the highest priority message and
       passes it to the output handler.
       Host-to-Imp messages are processed first come first served.
       Control messages are processed individually by host, each host
       being taken in turn.  A control message queue for each foreign
       host is provided.  When any particular host is scheduled for
       output, as many control commands for that host as will fit are
       concatenated into a single message.  Regular messages are
       processed in groups by host and link, each unique combination
       being taken in turn.
    5. The System Call Interpreter
       This program interprets requests from the user.  Each system
       call has a corresponding routine which takes the appropriate
       action.
    The two interesting components are the input interpreter and the
    system call interpreter.  These are similar in that the input
    interpreter services foreign requests and the system call
    interpreter services local requests.
    The diagram in Figure 4.1  is our conception of the Network
    Control Program.  Squishy amoeba-like objects represent component
    programs, cylinders represent queues, and the arrows represent
    data paths.  In this simplified diagram tables are not shown.
    ["Amoeba-like" objects in original hand drawing are now firm
    rectangular boxes: Ed.]
    The abbreviated labels in the figure have the following meanings:
          HIQ       -     Host-to-Imp Queue
          OCCQ      -     Output Control Command Queue
          DQ        -     Data Queue
          IHBUF     -     Input Handler Buffer
          OHBUF     -     Output Handler Buffer

Newkirk, et al. [Page 7] RFC 55 Prototypical Implementation of NCP June 1970

           ____________
          |    USER    |    STRUCTURE OF THE NETWORK CONTROL PROGRAM
          |____________|
             ^      |                      Fig. 4.1
        _____|______V____
       |                 |
       |     System      |
       |      Call       |
       |   Interpreter   |
       |_________________|              _____________
          ^  |      |                  |             |
          |  |      |  +---------------|    Input    |
          |  |      |  |         +-----| Interpreter |
          |  |      |  |         |     |             |
          |  V      V  V         V      -------------
        |======| |=========| |=======|     |      ^
        | D Q  | | O C C Q | | H I Q |     |      |
        |======| |=========| |=======|     |      |
          |  ^        |          |         |      |
          |  |        |          |         |      |
          |  +--------)----------)---------+      |
          |           |          |                |
          +-------+   |   +------+                |
                __V___V___V__                     |
               |             |                    |
               |   Output    |                    |
               |  Scheduler  |                    |
               |_____________|                    |
                      |                           |
                      V                           |
                (===========)               (===========)
                ( O H B U F )               ( I H B U F )
                (===========)               (===========)
                      |                           ^
                ______V______               ______|______
               |             |             |             |
               |   Output    |             |    Input    |
               |   Handler   |             |   Handler   |
               |             |             |             |
                -------------               -------------
                      |                           ^
                      |                           |
                      +----------+    +-----------+
                                 |    |
                             ____V____|____
                            |              |
                            |     I M P    |
                            |______________|

Newkirk, et al. [Page 8] RFC 55 Prototypical Implementation of NCP June 1970

V. Tables in the NCP

 We envision that the bulk of the NCP's data base is in associative
 tables.  By "associative" we mean that there is some lookup routine
 which is presented with a key and either returns successfully with a
 pointer to the corresponding entry, or fails if no entry corresponds
 to the key.  The major tables are as follows:
    1. The Rendezvous Table
       This table holds the attributes of a connection.  The table is
       accessed by the local socket, but other tables may have
       pointers to existing entries.
       The components of an entry are:
          (a) Local Socket
          (b) Foreign Socket
          (c) Link
          (d) Connection State
          (e) Flow State
          (f) Data Queue
          (g) Call Queue
          (h) Port Pointer
          (i) Their Buffer Size (only needed on the send side)
          (j) Error State
       An entry is created when either a CONNECT or a LISTEN system
       call is executed or when a request for connection is received.
       Various fields remain unused until after the connection is
       established.
    2. The Input Link Table
       The input interpreter uses the concatenation of the foreign
       host and link as a key into the input table.  The table is used
       in processing a user-destined message on an incoming link by
       providing a pointer into the rendezvous table.
    3. The Output Link Table
       The input interpreter uses the output link table to access the
       flow state as RFNM's return from transmitted messages.  The
       output link table is keyed by host and link and provides a
       pointer into the rendezvous table.

Newkirk, et al. [Page 9] RFC 55 Prototypical Implementation of NCP June 1970

    4. The Port Table
       The system call interpreter uses the concatenation of the
       process identification and the port identification as a key to
       obtain a pointer into the rendezvous table.
    5. The Output Control Command Table
       The system call interpreter and the input interpreter use this
       table to make entries in the appropriate output control command
       queues.  Commands are queued in separate table entries
       corresponding to foreign hosts.  Before output the contents of
       the queue are concatenated into a large control message.  The
       components of an entry are:
          (a)  Host
          (b)  Output Control Command Queue
    6. The Output Request Queue
       This queue contains an entry for each connection which has data
       requiring transmission to the net.  There is only one entry per
       connection, which is deleted when the last packet of data is
       transmitted and is entered whenever a user makes a system
       request for data transmission.
       The entry is re-inserted if transmission is not completed
       (message too long) or is prevented by the flow control
       mechanism.  The only component of an entry is a local socket.
    7. The Host Live Table
       This is a simple table listing the hosts which are alive.  This
       table is checked before establishing a connection and before
       sending any data to ensure that the destination host actually
       exists.  At present the protocol does not define the procedure
       to be followed for the Host up/Host down conditions.  See
       NWG/RFC#57.
    8. The Link Assignment Table
       Link numbers are assigned by the receiver.  This table records
       which links are free and can, therefore, be assigned.

Newkirk, et al. [Page 10] RFC 55 Prototypical Implementation of NCP June 1970

VI. Informal Description of Network Operations

 We present here narratives describing the operation conducted during
 the three major phases of network usage: opening, flow control, and
 closing.
 A. Opening
    In order to establish a connection for data transmission, a pair
    of RFC's must be exchanged.  An RTS must go from the receive-side
    to the send-side, and an STR must be issued by the send-side to
    the receive-side.  In addition, the receive-side, in its RTS, must
    specify a link number.  These RFC's (RFC is a generic term
    encompassing RTS and STR) may be issued in any time sequence.  A
    provision must also be made for queuing pending calls (i.e., RFC's
    which have not been dealt with by the user program).  Thus, when a
    user is finished with a connection, he may choose to examine the
    next pending call from another process and decide to either accept
    or refuse the request for connection.  A problem develops because
    the user may not choose to examine his pending calls; thus they
    will merely serve to occupy queue space in the NCP.  Several
    alternative solutions to this problem will be mentioned later.
    Utilizing the framework of the prototype system calls described
    above, we envision at least four temporal sequences for obtaining
    a successfully opened connection:
       1. The user may issue a LISTEN, indicating he is willing to
          consider connecting to anyone who sends him an RFC.  When an
          RFC comes in the user is notified.  The user then decides
          whether he wishes to connect to this socket and issues an
          ACCEPT or a CLOSE on the basis of that decision.  A CLOSE '
          refuses' the connection, as discussed under "Closing."  An
          ACCEPT indicates he is willing to connect; an RFC is issued,
          and the connection becomes fully opened.
       2. Upon processing a user request for a LISTEN, the NCP
          discovers that a pending call exists for that local socket.
          The user is immediately notified, and he may ACCEPT or
          CLOSE, as above.
       3. The user issues a CONNECT, specifying a particular foreign
          socket that he would like to connect to.  An RFC is issued.
          If the foreign process accepts the request, it answers by
          returning an RFC.  When this acknowledging RFC is received,
          the connection is opened.

Newkirk, et al. [Page 11] RFC 55 Prototypical Implementation of NCP June 1970

       4. When presented with a CONNECT, the NCP may discover that a
          pending call exists from the specified foreign socket to the
          local socket in question.  An acknowledging RFC is issued
          and the connection is opened.
    In all of the above cases the user is notified when the connection
    is opened, but data flow cannot begin until buffer space is
    allocated and an ALL command is transmitted.
    Any of these connection scenarios will be interrupted if a CLS
    comes in, as discussed under "Closing."
       1. Pending Call Queues
          It is essential that some form of queuing for pending RFC's
          be implemented.  A simple way to see this is to examine a
          typical LISTEN-CONNECT sequence.  One side issues a LISTEN,
          the other a CONNECT.  If the LISTEN is issued before the RFC
          coming from the remote CONNECT arrives, all is fine.
          However, due to the asynchronous nature of the net, we can
          never guarantee that this sequence of events will occur.  If
          calls are not queued, and the RFC comes in before the LISTEN
          is issued, it will be refused; if it arrives later, it will
          be accepted.  Thus we have an extremely ambiguous situation.
          Unless one has infinite queue space, it is desirable that
          some mechanism for purging the queues of old RFC's which the
          user never bothered to examine.  An obvious but informal
          method is to note the time when each RFC is entered into the
          queue, and then periodically refuse all RFC's which have
          exceeded some arbitrary time limit.  Another thought, which
          probably should be included within the context of any
          scheme, is for the NCP to send a CLS on all outstanding
          connections or pending calls when a user logs out or blows
          up.
          The scheme which is utilized in this description may seem at
          first blush to be non-intuitive; but we feel it is more
          realistic than other proposals.  Basically, when a CONNECT
          is issued, the NCP assumes that this socket wishes to talk
          to the specified foreign socket and to that socket only.  It
          therefore purges from the pending call queue all non-
          matching RFC's by sending back CLS's.  Similarly, when the
          connection is in the RFC-SEND state (a CONNECT has been
          issued), all non-matching RFC's are refused.  If a LISTEN-
          ACCEPT or LISTEN- CLOSE sequence is executed, the remainder

Newkirk, et al. [Page 12] RFC 55 Prototypical Implementation of NCP June 1970

          of the pending calls are not removed from the queue, in the
          expectation that the user may wish to accept these requests
          in the future.
          Although the latter method may seem to be arbitrary and/or
          unnecessarily restrictive, we have not yet concocted a
          scenario which would be prohibited by this method, assuming
          that we are dealing with a competent programmer (i.e., one
          who is wary of race conditions and the asynchronous nature
          of the net).  Of course whatever scheme or schemes a
          particular site chooses is highly implementation dependent;
          we suggest that some provision for the queuing of RFC's be
          provided for a period of time at least of the order of
          magnitude that they are retained in the CONNECT-clear scheme
          mentioned above.
 B. Flow Control
    Meaningful data can only flow on a connection when it is fully
    opened (i.e., two RFC's have been exchanged and closing has not
    begun).  We assume that the NCP's have a buffer for receiving
    incoming data and that there is some meaningful quantity which
    they can advertise (on a per connection basis) indicating the size
    message they can handle.  We further assume that the sending side
    regulates its transmission according to the advertisements of that
    size.
    When a connection is opened, a cell (called 'Their Size') is set
    to zero.  The receive-side will decide how much space it can
    allocate and send an ALL message specifying that space.  The
    send-side will increment 'Their Size' by the allocated space and
    will then be able to send messages of length less than or equal to
    'Their Size' When messages are transmitted, the length of the
    message is subtracted from 'Their Size'.  When the receive-side
    allocates more buffer space (e.g. when a message is taken by the
    user, thus freeing some system buffer space), the number of bits
    released is sent to the send-side via an ALL message.
    Thus, 'Their Size' is never allowed to become negative and no
    transmission can take place if 'Their Size' equals zero.
    Notice that the lengths specified in ALL messages are increments
    not the absolute size of the receiving buffer.  This is
    necessitated  by the full duplex nature of the flow control
    protocol.  The length field of the ALL message can be 32 bits long
    (note: this is an unsigned integer), thus providing the facility
    for essentially an infinite "bit sink", if that may ever be
    desired.

Newkirk, et al. [Page 13] RFC 55 Prototypical Implementation of NCP June 1970

 C. Closing
    Just as two RFC's are required to open a connection, two CLS's are
    required to close a connection.  Closing occurs under various
    circumstances and serves several purposes.  To simplify the
    analysis of race conditions, we distinguish four cases: aborting,
    refusing, termination by receiver, termination by sender.
    A user "aborts" a connection when he issues a CONNECT and then a
    CLOSE before the CONNECT is acknowledged.  Typically a user will
    abort following an extended wait for the acknowledgment; his
    system may also abort for him if he blows up.
    A user "refuses" a connection when he issues a LISTEN and, after
    being notified of a prospective caller, issues a CLOSE.  Any
    requests for connection to a socket which is expecting a call from
    a particular socket are also refused.
    After a connection is established, either side may terminate.  The
    required sequence of events suggests that attempts to CLOSE by the
    receive-side should be viewed as "requests" which are always
    honored as soon as possible by the send-side.  Any data which has
    not yet been passed to the user, or which continues over the
    network, is discarded.  Requests to CLOSE by the send-side are
    honored as soon as all data transmission is complete.
       1. Aborting
          We may distinguish three cases:
          a) In the simplest case, we send an RFC followed later by a
             CLS.  The other side responds with a CLS and the attempt
             to connect ends.
          b) The foreign process may accept the connection
             concurrently with the local process aborting it.  In this
             case, the foreign process will believe the local process
             is terminating an open connection.
          c) The foreign process may refuse the connection
             concurrently with the local process aborting it.  In this
             case, the foreign process will believe the local process
             is acknowledging its refusal.

Newkirk, et al. [Page 14] RFC 55 Prototypical Implementation of NCP June 1970

       2. Refusing
          After an RFC is received, the local host may respond with an
          RFC or a CLS, or it may fail to respond.  (The local host
          may have already sent its own RFC, etc.)  If the local host
          sends a CLS, the local host is said to be "refusing" the
          request for connection.
          We require that CLS commands be exchanged to close a
          connection, so it is necessary for the local host to
          maintain the rendezvous table entry until an acknowledging
          CLS is returned.
       3. Terminating by the Sender
          When the user on the send side issues a CLOSE system call,
          his NCP must accept it immediately, but may not send out a
          CLS command until all the data in the local buffers has been
          passed to the foreign host.  It is thus necessary to test
          for both 'buffer-empty' and
          'RFNM-received' before sending the CLS command.  As usual,
          the CLS must be acknowledged before the entry may be
          deleted.
       4. Terminating by the Receiver
          When the user on the receive side issues a CLOSE system
          call, his NCP accepts and sends the CLS command immediately.
          Data may still arrive, however, and this data should be
          discarded.  The send side, upon receiving the CLS, should
          immediately terminate the data flow.

VII. Connection Status

 An excellent mechanism for describing the sequence of events required
 to establish and terminate a connection involves a state diagram.  We
 may assume that each socket can be associated with a state machine,
 and that this state machine may, at any time, be in one of ten
 possible states.  In any state, certain network events cause the
 connection status to enter another state; other events are ignored;
 still others are error.  A transition may also involve the local NCP
 performing some action.  Figure 7.1 depicts the state machine.
 Circles [now boxes: Ed] represent states (described below); arrows
 show legal transitions between states.  The labels on the arrows
 identify the event which caused them (note that CLOSE is a system
 call, CLS is a control command).  Phrases after slashes denote the
 action which should  be performed while traveling over that arrow.
 The arrow labeled '[E]RFC' (found between states 0 and 1) represents

Newkirk, et al. [Page 15] RFC 55 Prototypical Implementation of NCP June 1970

 the condition that whenever a connection enters the CLOSED state, the
 pending call queue for that connection is checked [Original was
 backwards "E": Ed.]
 If any pending calls exist in the queue, the connection moves to the
 PENDING state.  If an RFC is received for a socket in the CLOSED
 state, it is also moved along this path to the PENDING state.  Events
 and the actions they cause are described in sections VIII and IX
 below.  Descriptions of the ten states follow:
    (0) CLOSED
        The local socket is not attached to any port and no user has
        requested a connection with it.  (The table entry is non-
        existent).
    (1) PENDING CALL
        The socket is not attached to any port but one or more
        requests for connection have been received.  A LISTEN system
        call will be satisfied immediately by the first entry in the
        pending call queue for a matching request; all other pending
        calls are deleted.
    (2) LISTENING
        The socket is attached to a port.  We are waiting for a user
        to request connection with this socket.
    (3) RFC-RCVD
        We are listening and an RFC was received.  The local user has
        been informed of the pending call.  He must respond with
        either a CLOSE or an ACCEPT.
    (4) ABORT
        We have notified the user that his LISTEN has been satisfied
        but he has not yet responded; if during this time the foreign
        user aborts the connection by sending a CLS, we send a CLS to
        acknowledge the abort and mark the fact with this state.  When
        the user accepts or refuses the call, we can inform him the
        connection has been prematurely terminated.

Newkirk, et al. [Page 16] RFC 55 Prototypical Implementation of NCP June 1970

    (5) RFC-SENT
        This state is entered when:
        a)  The local user has attached this socket to a port by
            issuing a CONNECT.
        b)  An RFC has been sent, and
        c)  No reply has been received.
        When the user issues a CONNECT the pending call queue is
        searched.
        If a matching RFC is not found, the queue is deleted and this
        state is entered.  As new RFC's arrive they are compared with
        our user's request.  If they do not match, the RFC is
        immediately refused.  If the RFC matches, it completes the
        initialization process and the connection enters the OPEN
        state.
    (6) OPEN
        RFC's have been exchanged and the connection is securely
        established.  Transmission may begin following receipt of an
        ALL command from the receive side, and will then proceed
        subject to flow control.
    (7) CLS-WAIT
        After the local user has executed a CLOSE, and we have issued
        a CLS, we must wait for an acknowledging CLS before the
        connection can be completely closed.   If the appropriate CLS
        has not already been received, this state is entered.
    (8) DATA-WAIT
        If we are on the send side and the local user executes a CLOSE
        system call, a CLS cannot be issued if our data buffer is not
        empty or if a RFNM for the last data message is outstanding.
        The connection enters this state to wait for these conditions
        to be fulfilled.  Upon completion and acknowledgement of
        output a CLS may be issued and the connection enters the CLS-
        WAIT state, waiting for the acknowledging CLS.   If a CLS
        arrives while in the DATA-WAIT state we clear our buffer (the
        CLS came from a receive socket, indicating it is no longer
        interested in our data) and enter the RFNM-WAIT state to wait
        for the network to clear.

Newkirk, et al. [Page 17] RFC 55 Prototypical Implementation of NCP June 1970

    (9) RFNM-WAIT
        If we are on the send side and a CLS command arrives, we
        cannot issue an acknowledging CLS if we have not received the
        RFNM for our last data message.  We enter this state to await
        the RFNM, and cease all further data transmission.  When the
        RFNM comes in, a CLS may then be issued, and the connection
        will be closed.

Newkirk, et al. [Page 18] RFC 55 Prototypical Implementation of NCP June 1970

                    ______________
                   |              |       CLOSE
    CONN/          |    CLOSED    |<---------------------------+
    send RFC       |     (0)      |       LISTEN               |
  +----------------|              |-----------------------+    |
  |                |______________|                       |    |
  |                     |    ^                            |    |
  |              [E]RFC |    |  CLS/send CLS              |    |
  |                  ___V____|____                     ___V____|____
  |  non-matching   |             |                   |             |
  |  CONN/send RFC  |   PENDING   | LISTEN        RFC |  LISTENING  |
  |   +-------------|    (1)      |----------+   +----|     (2)     |
  |   |             |_____________|          |   |    |_____________|
  |   |       matching     |                 |   |

_V_V_ CONN/send RFC| V_V | | | ACCEPT/ | | CLS/ | RFC-SENT | RFC | send RFC | RFC-RECD | send CLS | (5) |———-+ | +———-| (3) |———+ |_| | | | |_| | | | | | | | | | | _V_V_V_ SND&CLOSE | | | | RCV&CLS/ | |———–)→| | | | | send CLS | OPEN | SND&CLS | | DATA-WAIT | | | | +———| (6) |——–+ | | (8) | | | | | |_| | | || |

 |   |   |      RCV&CLOSE/ |                |  |   |              |
 |   |   |       send CLS  |                |  |   |              |
 |   |   |                 |                |  |   | CLS          |
 |   |   |           ______V______          |  |   |              |
 |   |   |   CLOSE/ |             |CLOSE/   |  |   |              |
 |   |   |  send CLS|   CLS-WAIT  |send CLS |  |   |              |
 |   +---)--------->|     (8)     |<--------)--+   |              |
 |       |          |_____________|         |      |              |
 |       |                 |             ___V______V_       ______V___
 |       |                 |            |            |     |          |
 |       |                 |            |  RFNM-WAIT |     |   ABORT  |
 |       |             CLS |            |     (9)    |     |    (4)   |
 |       |                 |            |____________|     |__________|
 |       |                 |                   |                 |
 |       |           ______V_______  RFNM/     |                 |
 |       |          |              | send CLS  |                 |
 |  CLS/ +--------->|    CLOSED    |<----------+                 |
 | send CLS         |     (0)      |                ACCEPT|CLOSE |
 +----------------->|              |<----------------------------+
                    |______________|
                       Figure 7.1
                Connection State Diagram

Newkirk, et al. [Page 19] RFC 55 Prototypical Implementation of NCP June 1970

VIII. Algorithms for the Input Interpreter

 The following is a concise description of the NCP's responses to
 incoming network commands.  CS always indicates Connection State.
 Note, CLOSE is a system call executed by the local user process, and
 CLS is a network command.
 NOP
    Discard.
 RFC (RTS or STR)
    If no entry exists, create one with status = PENDING CALL, and
    queue the message.
    If CS = LISTENING, then queue the entry, enter the RFC-RCVD state,
    and inform the user of the request.
    If CS = RFC-SENT but the new RFC does not match the request,
    refuse the RFC.
    In all other cases, check the RFC for a match.  If none exists,
    queue the RFC.  If the RFC matches, then if:
       CS = RFC-SENT, we enter the OPEN state.
       CS = CLOSE-WAIT, the RFC is ignored.
       otherwise, the request is illegal in all states which indicate
       it has already been received (these states are 1,3,4,6,8,9).
    In any case, if processing the RFC causes an overflow condition
    (resources are exhausted), refuse the connection (send a CLS).
 CLS
    The pending call queue is searched.  If the CLS doesn't match the
    current request, but does match some other request, then delete
    that request and issue a CLS.  If there is no match, the CLS is
    ignored.
    If the CLS matches the current request, and CS =
       PENDING, then delete the current request.  If the request queue
          is empty, delete the entry; otherwise, leave the entry
          alone.

Newkirk, et al. [Page 20] RFC 55 Prototypical Implementation of NCP June 1970

       RFC-RCVD, Issue a CLS and enter the ABORT state.
       ABORT, ignore.
       RFC-SENT, issue a CLS.  If the pending call queue is empty
          delete the entry, else enter the PENDING state.
       OPEN, If we are on the receive side, response is identical to
          the response for RFC-SENT.  If we are on the send side,
          clear the data queue, and if a RFNM is still pending enter
          the RFNM-WAIT state.  Otherwise response is identical to the
          response for RFC-SENT.
       CLS-WAIT, Issue a CLS and if the pending call queue is empty,
          delete the entry, otherwise CS = PENDING.
       DATA-WAIT, clear the data queue and enter the RFNM-WAIT state.
          A matching CLS cannot occur in the CLOSED or LISTENING
          states.
 ERR
    Errors are queued for later attention by system programmers, and
    are considered to be a system error in the host that originated
    the exchange.  (Not associated with any state).
 ECO
    The op code is changed to ERP and retransmitted (Not associated
    with any state).
 ERP
    Upon receipt of an ERP, the system passes the text of the command
    back to the process which issued the ECO.
 INR, INS
    These commands are enabled only in the OPEN state.  Upon receiving
    an INTERRUPT, the system causes an event to be sent to the
    associated process.  An INTERRUPT is ignored in the CLS-WAIT,
    DATA-WAIT, and RFNM-WAIT states.  In any other state it is an
    error.

Newkirk, et al. [Page 21] RFC 55 Prototypical Implementation of NCP June 1970

 ALL
    ALLOCATE is valid only in the OPEN state, and may be sent only to
    a send socket.  The NCP increments the 'Their Size' field in the
    associated rendezvous table entry by the size specified in the
    ALLOCATE command.
    In the CLS-WAIT and DATA-WAIT states this command is ignored; in
    any other state it is an error.
 Data-RFNM
    If in the OPEN state, mark the Flow Control Status field in the
       appropriate rendezvous table entry as RFNM-RECVD, and send more
       data if required.
    If in the DATA-WAIT state, maintenance the Flow Control Status.
       If the data queue is empty issue a CLS and enter the CLS-WAIT
       state; otherwise, transmit the next message.
    If in the RFNM-WAIT state, maintenance the Flow Control Status and
       issue a CLS.  If the Pending Call queue is empty delete the
       rendezvous table entry, otherwise CS = PENDING.
    A Data-RFNM is an error in all other states.

IX. Algorithms for the System Call Interpreter

 Each System Call is discussed, giving the state changes it may
 effect:
 CONNECT
    If there is no entry, create one, issue an RFC, and enter the
       RFC-SENT state.
    If CS = PENDING, search the queue and reject all non-matching
       requests.  If no match is found issue an RFC and enter the
       RFC-SENT state.  If a match is found, issue an RFC and enter
       the OPEN state.  Transmission can commence as soon as buffer
       space has been allocated.
    In any other state this command is illegal.
 LISTEN
    If an entry doesn't exist, create one, and enter the LISTENING
       state.

Newkirk, et al. [Page 22] RFC 55 Prototypical Implementation of NCP June 1970

    If CS = PENDING, inform the user and enter the RFC-RCVD state.
    In any other state this command is illegal.
 ACCEPT
    If CS = RFC-RCVD, then issue an RFC and enter the OPEN state.
       Data transmission can occur as soon as buffer space is
       allocated.
    If CS = ABORT, inform the user of the premature termination of the
       connection.  If the pending call queue is empty, delete the
       entry; otherwise, enter the PENDING state.
    This command cannot be legally executed in any other state.
 CLOSE
       If CS =
    LISTENING, then delete the entry.
    RFC-RCVD, then issue a CLS and enter the CLS-WAIT state.
    ABORT, inform the user of the premature termination of the
       connection.  If the pending call queue is empty, delete the
       entry; otherwise, enter the PENDING state.
    RFC-SENT, then issue a CLS and enter the CLS-WAIT state.
    OPEN, if we are on the send side, and the data queue is not empty,
       or if a Data-RFNM is still outstanding, enter the DATA-WAIT
       state; otherwise, issue a CLS and enter the CLS-WAIT state.
    CLS-WAIT, issuing a CLOSE in this state is a USER ERROR.
    DATA-WAIT, issuing a CLOSE in this state is also an illegal
       sequence.
    RFNM-WAIT, ignore the CLOSE.
    A valid CLOSE cannot be issued if an entry does not exist, or if a
       socket is in the PENDING state.
         [ This RFC was put into machine readable form for entry   ]
         [ into the online RFC archives by Anthony Anderberg 5/00 ]

Newkirk, et al. [Page 23]

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