RFC 1302

Building a Network Information Services Infrastructure ✨

okay bestie, so this is RFC 1302 🎀, and it's an FYI doc (FYI 12 if we're being precise). D. Sitzler and P. Smith are both from Merit, and A. Marine is from SRI. It's dated February 1992, it's informational, and its header doesn't list any RFCs it obsoletes or updates. so it's guidance, not drama 💅

Status of This Memo 🌸

this memo is information for the Internet community 💜 it's not an Internet standard, so nobody's getting in trouble for skipping it lol. distribution is totally unlimited 🦋

Abstract 🧚

this FYI doc is for the existing Internet Network Information Center (NIC) crew, people who want to start a brand-new NIC, Internet Network Operations Centers (NOCs), and funders who want to help pay for user support facilities. it's trying to:

• Define a basic set of essential services that Network Information Centers (NICs) will provide to Internet users, including new mechanisms that will facilitate the timely dissemination of information to the Internet community and encourage cooperation among NICs.
• Describe existing NIC services as an aid to Internet users and as a model for organizations establishing new NICs.

Acknowledgments 🫶

this doc is the work of the Network Information Services Infrastructure (NISI) working group in the User Services area of the IETF. the people in the group are a cross-section of existing Internet NICs, so the opinions here are giving "this is what current info services actually think" energy 🌈

Table of Contents 📋

1. PURPOSE........................................................  2
2. DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES.........................................  3
3. DEFINITION OF A NIC AND A NOC..................................  3
4. HISTORY........................................................  3
5. ESSENTIAL NIC FUNCTIONS........................................  5
5.1 Provide Information Resources.................................  5
5.2 Support End-Users.............................................  6
5.3 Collect and Maintain NIC Referral Information.................  7
5.4 Support the NIC Infrastructure................................  7
6. EXAMPLES OF PRESENT NIC SERVICES...............................  8
6.1 Direct User Support...........................................  8
6.1.1 Referrals...................................................  8
6.1.2 User-to-User Communication..................................  8
6.1.3 Application Support.........................................  9
6.1.4 Technical Support...........................................  9
6.1.5 Emergency Services..........................................  9
6.2 User Training Services........................................  9
6.3 Marketing and Public Relations Services.......................  9
6.3.1 Newsletters.................................................  9
6.3.2 Other Publications..........................................  9
6.3.3 PR Activities...............................................  9
6.4 Information Repository Services...............................  9
6.5 Administrative Services....................................... 10
7. EXAMPLES OF PRESENT INFORMATION DELIVERY MECHANISMS............ 10
8. DATABASE ACCURACY ISSUES....................................... 11
9. SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS........................................ 12
10. AUTHORS' ADDRESSES............................................ 13

1. PURPOSE 💖

the whole point of this doc is to pin down what NICs do for the Internet and set guidelines for new and existing NICs about the user services they offer. it's also a step toward standardizing NIC services, which helps build a bigger information infrastructure where NICs can easily and regularly team up to help users 🫶

NICs for networks that are part of the Internet might get asked to help users of the wider Internet, not just their own networks. that's a lot, but it also means NICs have to coordinate with each other to serve the whole Internet community better 🌍 so this doc also proposes a few easy-to-implement changes that make it simpler for NICs to swap information and services.

2. DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES 🎀

the NISI working group kept a few guidelines in mind while building this FYI RFC 🧠

1. Yes, the new infrastructure should be built on what already exists (services, programs, and tech), but the group didn't want to think only about today. they wanted fresh ideas and a future-focused vibe 🔮 the goal is to head toward an information services infrastructure for the National Research and Education Network (NREN).
2. A user support system has to work for a really wide range of people, from total beginners to network super-experts 🌱➡️🏆
3. Not every NIC wants to serve at the Internet level or serve end users directly 🙈 some NICs have a special focus and only serve a smaller community. lots of campus NICs, for example, only focus on campus computing. so an Internet NIC needs policies, procedures, and delivery mechanisms that let it serve end users, but also help other information providers and user support agencies too 💜

3. DEFINITION OF A NIC AND OF A NOC 🔥

a Network Information Center (NIC) is an organization whose main job is giving informational, administrative, and procedural support, mostly to users of its own network and, on the side, to users of the wider Internet and other service agencies 📚

a Network Operations Center (NOC) is an organization that keeps an eye on a network's daily operations and keeps it running 🖥️ sometimes one organization does both jobs, but this doc treats NIC functions as separate from NOC functions and only covers the NIC side. still, a NIC has to work super closely with its NOC so users get the best service possible 🤝

4. HISTORY 🍓

so when the original Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was formed, SRI got the important admin job of registering every host on the network and maintaining the Official Host Table. that table was needed to connect the hosts into one network 🌐 SRI also became the home for the RFCs, which were mostly only available on paper because a file transfer protocol hadn't been specified yet 📄 since SRI was the central place for information in all those ways, it became the natural spot for users to call with questions, and the first NIC was born 👑

in 1984 the original network split into two networks, the ARPANET and the MILNET. the ARPANET was laid to rest in 1990, and the original NIC became the Defense Data Network NIC (DDN-NIC). people sometimes called it the "SRI-NIC" or just "the NIC" 💀 today that NIC is maintained by Government Systems, Inc., and it serves the MILNET part of the DDN, plus does several admin jobs that help the whole Internet community. SRI still provides general Internet information services and maintains an FTP repository ✨

the days of having just one or two networks are long gone 😭 today the Internet is an international collection of thousands of networks linked together with the TCP/IP protocols. users on any one of these networks can use the network services provided by TCP/IP to reach any of the other networks 🦋

there are other big wide area networks, like the BITNET and DECnet networks, that aren't based on TCP/IP and so aren't considered part of the Internet itself. still, users can talk between those networks and the Internet through electronic mail, so Internet NICs often answer questions about those networks too 💌

NICs exist for lots of the networks that make up today's Internet 🌈 for example, in the United States there's the MILNET, plus the National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET), the Energy Science Network (ESnet), and the NASA Science Internet (NSI). all of these networks have NICs 🙌

BITNET is a non-TCP/IP network that you can reach from the Internet by electronic mail. its admin organization, the Corporation for Research and Educational Networking (CREN), supports NIC services for BITNET users 🎓

plenty of networks outside the United States have NIC services too 🌍 for example, NORDUnet, which connects national networks in the Nordic countries, and JANet, the Joint Academic Network in the United Kingdom, both have them. the BITNET counterparts in Europe and Canada are the European Academic and Research Network (EARN) and NetNorth, respectively 🇪🇺🇨🇦

5. ESSENTIAL NIC FUNCTIONS 💅

Network Information Centers exist to provide services that make the network easier and more fun for users ✨

four essential NIC functions have been picked as the ones every Internet NIC should perform. they're the basic functions that set the minimum level of Internet information service. each Internet NIC should:

• Provide information resources.
• Support end-users through direct contact.
• Collect and maintain NIC referral information.
• Support the NIC infrastructure.

how much of each service you give, and the exact mechanisms you use, depend on the needs of the particular network's user community 🎯 funding, staffing, and implementation questions for these functions are left to each NIC organization to figure out 🧾

right now, only the first two functions, providing information resources and directly supporting end-users, are routinely done by Internet NICs. the many ways those services get delivered are covered in more detail in the section on "Examples of Present NIC Services" 🙌

the last two functions, collecting info about other NICs and supporting the NIC infrastructure, are newer roles that grew up as the Internet community and the number of NICs got bigger 📈

each of these four essential functions gets a proper deep dive in this section 🫧

next up: section 5.1, Provide Information Resources 🦋

5.1 Provide Information Resources ✨

Okay bestie, so information resources means both online AND hard-copy stuff 📚, like online files, marketing info, and newsletters. NICs help users get access to relevant info in a few different ways 💅

• Obtain information online from other sites and store it at the local NIC where users may access it.
• Refer users to information stored at other locations around the Internet. This option requires that each NIC maintain up-to-date information regarding such Internet resources.
• Create information, such as newsletters, marketing information, tutorial files or documents, and make it available to users. In this case, the "creating NIC" is solely responsible for the content and accuracy of the information provided.

In all of the cases above, users need a way to verify the authenticity and currentness of the information 🔍 So each NIC should provide the following information for everything it makes available to its users and the Internet community: 1) a time stamp, 2) a revision number, and 3) the name of the NIC that produced the document. The NIC should also maintain contact information regarding the source of a file, but does not necessarily have to include such a contact in the online file. ✨

5.2 Support End-Users 🫶

A NIC serves as the principle source of network information for its end users, so it's basically the main character of user support 👑 NICs field a variety of user inquiries, such as requests for how to get connected to the Internet, how to locate and access a particular application on the network, how to determine an e-mail address, and how to solve operational problems. Each NIC must take a best effort approach to responding to these inquiries and take responsibility for a user inquiry until it is resolved in some way. Resolution may be answering the question, referring the user to the appropriate information source, or coordinating with a NOC to resolve a user connectivity problem.

To facilitate this role of information provider, the following delivery mechanisms are used 🌸

• Telephone "hotline" support. All NICs need to be available to answer phone inquiries during the business day. 📞
• Electronic mail. An electronic mail address acts as an electronic help desk 💌 For consistency, the electronic mail address should be of the form NIC@domain (e.g., NIC@DDN.MIL). Such a common addressing convention will move toward standardization of these "electronic help desks" and will increase the chance that users will know where to ask for help. In addition, a user inquiry to a NIC e-mail address should either produce a human response or an up-to-date machine response that performs a triage function by advising the user where to go for particular categories of problems. For example, a message to NIC@NSF.NET could return a message alerting the user to the NNSC@NNSC.NSF.NET and the NSFNET-INFO@MERIT.EDU mailboxes, both of which provide information for NSFNET. 🧚
• Electronic information transfer. NICs should provide information in electronic form, and make it available across the Internet through mechanisms such as anonymous file transfer, electronic mail, and remote databases. 🦋

5.3 Collect and Maintain NIC Referral Information 🎀

With the recent dramatic increase in the number of networks, users, and applications accessible via the Internet, it is impossible for any one NIC to maintain comprehensive, up-to-date information of all the services and information available 😭 Because such information is distributed among many NICs, it is essential for each NIC to be aware of other NICs and their areas of expertise. Such shared information among NICs ensures that Internet users will be referred promptly to the correct information resource.

In an effort to gather data about NICs and their resources, information will be solicited from each NIC and placed in a database called "nic-profiles". This database will be available to all NICs. Such shared information among NICs ensures that Internet users will be referred promptly to the correct information resource. For information regarding joining or using the nic-profiles database, send a message to nic-forum-request@merit.edu. 💜

5.4 Support the NIC Infrastructure 🌈

It is essential that each NIC take an active part in supporting the NIC/Internet infrastructure. Two means of providing such support are suggested here.

• Attend the IETF User Services Working Group (USWG). NICs are encouraged to participate in the USWG, an ongoing working group of the IETF, which is chartered to identify, discuss, and recommend solutions to user service issues. The group meets regularly at the IETF meetings. (Information about IETF meeting schedules, etc., is available for anonymous FTP from nnsc.nsf.net. The directory is ietf.) The USWG has spawned a variety of working groups dealing with specific user service topics. To join the USWG mailing list send an e-mail request to uswg-request@nnsc.nsf.net. 🤓
• Participate in nic-forum. An electronic mailing list, "nic-forum", will provide NIC personnel with a means of soliciting information from other NICs, offering solutions to common problems, and posting information of general interest. A NIC can register in the nic-forum, as well as provide information for the nic-profiles database, by sending a message to nic-forum-request@nsf.net. 🔥

6. EXAMPLES OF PRESENT NIC SERVICES ✨

There are a variety of ways through which existing NICs fulfill the basic requirements previously indicated under "Essential NIC Functions". 💅

Today's Internet NICs provide network users with a wide array of value-added services 🎀 The types and levels of services vary for any particular NIC depending on a number of issues such as funding, audience served, available resources, and mission of the network organization.

An overview of some of the services offered today by Internet NICs is listed below. This overview provides examples of the essential services recommended earlier, and also gives a flavor of the many avenues through which value-added user services are provided. This section provides examples, not recommendations. 🌸

6.1 Direct User Support 🫶

The main objective of a Network Information Center is to provide support for network users. Most NICs provide both telephone and electronic mail hotlines for convenient user access. Existing NICs also often serve as intermediaries between users and the technical experts who provide specific information. Because NICs interact directly with end-users, they can frequently evaluate their services, and modify them to accommodate changing user needs. 💖

6.1.1 Referrals.

Today's NICs are aware of other Internet resources and keep such referral information as up-to-date as possible. 🧚

6.1.2 User-to-User Communication.

NICs can facilitate interactions between network users. Often this is done through conferencing or electronic mail. For example, a NIC can set up a computer conference dealing with a specific discipline or perhaps a specific topic so that users can share ideas and information with each other. Some NICs establish special interest groups and hold in-person meetings to promote the exchange of information between their users. 🦋

6.1.3 Application Support.

NICs often provide user support for specific host applications in addition to providing information and support about the network to which the host is attached. 💻

6.1.4 Technical Support.

Technical experts are available at NIC locations or elsewhere to trouble shoot user problems. The range and variety of technical expertise varies with the organization. 🛠️

6.1.5 Emergency Services.

Most NICs provide immediate notification to users of impending events that may affect their network usage. This is often done through electronic mail bulletins which state the particular event, its impact, and its duration. 🚨

6.2 User Training Services 🎓

NICs sponsor seminars, classes, and training workshops intended to assist users in understanding the network environment. These training events range from general "what is the Internet" to workshops on specific topics such as how to use a super-computer application. 🍓

6.3 Marketing and Public Relations Services 📣

6.3.1 Newsletters.

Some Internet NICs publish newsletters which are used to inform subscribers about network developments and tools, and as marketing documents to try to get more organizations to attach to the network. 🌈

6.3.2 Other Publications.

Many NICs also produce a variety of general purpose brochures and "how-to" documents which are distributed to potential network users. 📄

6.3.3 PR Activities.

NICs may be involved in a variety of public relations activities from writing and distributing press releases about new network developments to holding press conferences to announce significant technological events. 🎤

6.4 Information Repository Services 🗂️

An important activity of NICs is producing and/or collecting information of interest to their users. Most NICs provide hardware to store such information online and distribute the information to their users both electronically and in hard-copy form. 💜

6.5 Administrative Services 🗃️

Many NICs perform registration services, such as registering user information in a white pages database, keeping a record of hosts on their networks, or keeping a record of contacts for hosts, networks, or domains. ✨

7. EXAMPLES OF PRESENT INFORMATION DELIVERY MECHANISMS 🦋

Information is delivered to network users via a wide variety of mechanisms. The most common methods are electronic mail and file transfer protocol (FTP); however, information is also relayed via the telephone, FAX machines, U.S. mail, and in-person seminars, as well as via electronic bulletin boards and remote database access. NICs are always looking for ways of making information broadly accessible so that the maximum number of network users can use it effectively. 🌸

The following table lists the various information delivery methods used in the Internet today, and notes the kind of information distributed using each method. 💖

okay bestie, here's the whole cheat sheet 🧚 every delivery method and what it's actually good for, no cap

  Delivery Mechanism               Type of Information Available
  ------------------------------------------------------------------

  FTP                              Network maps, functional specs,
                                   draft RFCs, newsletters,
                                   protocols, any information in
                                   a file: ASCII, binary, etc.

  electronic mail                  General information, newsletters,
                                   announcements, security alerts,
                                   network status information

  bulletin board                   General information, announcements,
                                   source code

  hard copy                        Newsletters, user guides, resource
                                   guides, press releases, promotional
                                   information

  presentations/seminars           Network applications, technology
                                   trends, technical overviews,
                                   general information about Internet
                                   environment, TCP/IP overviews

  Telnet                           Remote systems, applications

  person-to-person                 Answers to specific questions,
                                   contact information, referrals

  electronic conference            Other users, discipline-specific
                                   information

  information services             General information, promotional
                                   information, local interest
                                   information

  directory services               Phone book information (white
                                   pages, and eventually yellow pages)

  library services                 Bibliographies, full text,
                                   references

  phone                            Specific requests, contacts,
                                   referrals, connecting assistance

  U.S. mail                        Newsletters, user guides

  FAX                              Variety of printed material

  Finger, whois                    User data

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8. DATABASE ACCURACY ISSUES 💖

okay so like I said earlier in this paper 🙈, NICs are often where databases live, full of all kinds of info, kept for all kinds of reasons. It's recommended that NICs really push how important it is to keep that data as accurate as possible 💅. And it's also important to give people some say over their personal info sitting in a NIC database, especially if it's going to be public 🫶

So when a NIC is collecting info for a database, it's recommended that the NIC should spill the following to whoever's handing over the data 📝:

• why the info is being collected and how it'll be used
• what happens if you don't give the asked-for data, or if you pull your data back out of a database
• which asks are mandatory and which are optional
• which info is going public
• how the data can be updated and who's allowed to send updates
• how and how often the NIC will ask for data updates

A NIC should actively go hunting for updates to its data at least once a year 🔍. The date public data was last updated should be part of the public info about that data too. Generally, users should know when their personal info is showing up in a public database, and get a chance to change it or revoke it 💜

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9. SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS 🚨

Okay this section is SERIOUS bestie, so read it carefully 😭

Because NICs interact directly with network users, they will have to deal with network and host security issues at times. NICs should be aware of those agencies and groups on the Internet that have the responsibility of handling security incidents, so users can be properly referred when needed and so the NICs themselves have resources to call on if a major incident happens 🛡️. NICs should be aware of security issues and security information resources, like network mailing lists and the Site Security Handbook (FYI 8, RFC 1244), and advocate for the importance of security considerations to their users 📣. NICs should have explicit procedures in place to follow when a security incident happens. Those procedures will probably include how to interact with both response centers and NOCs, as well as with users 🔥

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10. AUTHORS' ADDRESSES 👑

Meet the squad 🌸

   Dana D. Sitzler
   Merit Network, Inc
   1075 Beal Avenue
   Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2112

   Phone:  (313) 936-2648
   EMail: dds@merit.edu


   Patricia G. Smith
   Merit Network, Inc
   1075 Beal Avenue
   Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2112

   Phone:  (313) 936-3000
   EMail:  psmith@merit.edu


   April N. Marine
   SRI International
   Network Information Systems Center
   333 Ravenswood Avenue, EJ294
   Menlo Park, CA 94025-3493

   Phone:  (415) 859-5318
   EMail: april@nisc.sri.com