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RFC 552 UNKNOWN ARCHITECTURE · SERVICES

Single access to standard protocols

A proposal for one access protocol that could direct users to several network services.

On rfc-editor.org ↗
PUBLISHED
July 1973
AUTHORS
A.D. Owen
STREAM
Legacy
PROPOSED ACCESS POINT
A reserved socket
SUGGESTED SERVICES
MAIL, FTP, RJS, and possibly DRS
DOI
10.17487/RFC0552

RFC text

Original text · RFC Editor View on rfc-editor.org ↗ 
Network Working Group                                           Buz Owen
RFC # 552                                                       SDAC-TIP
NIC # 17809                                                13 July, 1973


                  Single access to Standard Protocols


Isn't the idea of a single access protocol simple enough that one could
be specified, and a socket reserved for it, before the proposed mail
protocol becomes official?  The result would be that MP could be the
first protocol implemented under UULP (or whatever it is to be called),
and the other protocols could be "moved" as soon as any problems in the
official specifications could be worked out, and at the convenience of
implementors.

The single access protocol might have the following commands:

    USER
    PASS
    ACCT
    MAIL
    FTP
    RJS
    DRS (?)
    HELP (?)
    BYE

following Jim White's idea of nested command and reply spaces.

This doesn't address the question of "what is free", or of the
interrelationships between the various protocols, but it doesn't make
those problem any worse, only a little different.










       [ This RFC was put into machine readable form for entry ]
       [ into the online RFC archives by Alex McKenzie with    ]
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ISO Plain Language

On this page
PROBLEMThe author asks whether standard network protocols could be reached through a single access protocol before the proposed mail protocol became official.
MECHANISMThe suggested protocol would use a reserved socket and commands such as USER, PASS, ACCT, MAIL, FTP, RJS and BYE, with nested command and reply spaces.
THE IDEAThe note proposes that the mail protocol could be the first protocol implemented under the shared access scheme. It does not settle what is free or how the protocols relate.

§1One Access Point for Protocols

Buz Owen asks whether a single access protocol could be specified and assigned a reserved socket before the proposed mail protocol became official. Under this plan, the mail protocol might be the first to use the access protocol.

Other protocols could later be moved to it when implementors found convenient and after problems in the official specifications were addressed.

The proposal is to make one network entry point available before the mail protocol is finalized. Other services could use it later as their specifications and implementations permit.

§2Suggested Commands

The suggested command set includes USER, PASS and ACCT; service commands MAIL, FTP, RJS and possibly DRS; and possibly HELP, followed by BYE. The author says the design would follow Jim White's idea of nested command and reply spaces.

The question marks after DRS and HELP show that these were tentative entries in the list, not a finalized command set.

The list combines identity commands, commands for choosing services, and a command to leave. The author marks some possible commands as uncertain.

§3Questions Left Open

The author explicitly says the single-access proposal does not answer what “free” means. It also leaves open how the different protocols relate to one another.

Owen says the proposal would not make those problems worse, though it would make them somewhat different. The RFC is a short question and proposal, not a complete specification.

The proposal leaves important design questions unanswered, including what free service means and how protocols fit together. It offers a starting idea rather than a complete protocol.