RFC 295

Protocol Workshop Report ✨

Okay bestie, welcome to the RFC that started it all! 🌸 This is NWG/RFC #295, written by Jon Postel (his stamp says JBP 2-JAN-72 15:35 8355, so it was finalised on 2 January 1972 💅). The workshop it reports on happened on 12 October 1971. The original doesn't give a category or status, and it doesn't obsolete or update any other RFC 🦋.

Introduction

Okay so this is a report on what the protocol workshop decided 🎀. It was held alongside the Network Working Group meeting in Cambridge, from 10 to 14 October 1971 ✨.

The workshop covered four types of protocol: IMP-Host, Host-Host, Initial Connection, and Process-Process 💜.

IMP-Host Protocol

The idea was that IMP status reports could be sent using new IMP-Host protocol messages 🤔. The group talked about it and then said nope 🙅‍♀️. They felt the amount of state info that could be reported wasn't enough to be worth the hassle of building it 💀.

Host-Host Protocol

The Host-Host Protocol got a good look, and a few problems came up 🔥. Here they are, along with what the group recommended:

• The GVB - RET mechanism might be useful someday, so it's staying 🧚, even though nobody seems to be using it right now. Spontaneous RET commands are explicitly prohibited 🙅‍♀️.
• The ECO - ERP commands are useful and should be supported 💖. Spontaneous ERP commands are explicitly prohibited. There's also a rule that a second ECO won't be sent until the first ECO has been answered. Any of these can answer an ECO: ERP, RST, "Destination dead", or "Incomplete Transmission" 🌈.
• The RST - RRP commands are useful, but how to use them to figure out the status of host software is still open for discussion 🌸. If you have comments, send them to Jon Postel 📮. Spontaneous RRP commands are explicitly prohibited too 🚫.

The group also looked at the problem of unmatched CLS commands and came up with four "solutions" 🤷‍♀️:

• Hold forever
• Send a RST and clear the entry
• Clear the entry and possibly mess up a future connection
• Assign socket numbers in a sequential fashion to reduce the possibility of confusion, and clear the entry

Note that the first two suggestions follow the protocol, while the last two don't 🙈.

Flow control on the control link was also suggested 🦋. A Request for Comments is going to be written to explore this idea more fully ✨.

The ERR command is less useful if the receiver merely throws it out 😭. So ERRs should be logged, if at all possible, and checked with the sending site 🫶.

Finally, the NCP document should make clear what happens if STR and RTS commands are queued or not queued 💅.

Initial Connection Protocol

The Initial Connection Protocol (ICP) was discussed and found to be satisfactory 👑. The group did stress a couple of points though:

• The socket number sent by the logger (S) must be in agreement with the socket numbers used in the STR and RTS sent by the logger 🎀.
• The implications of queueing or not queueing RTS and STR commands should be made clear in the ICP document 🍓. This matters a lot if the user chooses the "listen" option 😳.

Telnet Protocol

The Telnet committee has been reactivated to look at these problems 🌈:

• Clarifying the terminology: half duplex, full duplex, character mode, line mode, ASCII, and echoing 💜.
• Clarifying the end of line convention, especially to answer the question "Should there be a special end-of-line character?" 🤔
• Clarifying the conditions for leaving Hide-your-input mode 🙈.
• Clarifying how Break and Synch operate 🧚.
• Specifying a server-to-user Synch ✨.
• Clarifying the definition of the Network Virtual Terminal 🦋.
• Preparing a new document that defines the Telnet protocol with all of the above improvements 💖.

The protocol workshop did agree on the following 🫶:

• It is the server's option for disconnection to imply logout or not 🌸.
• It is the server's option for logout to imply disconnection or not 🍓.
• Extra characters used locally to fill the time for format effectors to take effect should not be sent over the network 🙅‍♀️.
• Synch means examining the data stream from the current point to a data mark (x'80'). If any break type characters (e.g. etx, sub, Break) are found, they get their normal effect 💅.
• Upper and lower case are to be available to all Telnet users 🌈.

Data and File Transfer Protocol

The Data and File Transfer Committee will report separately 📮. Stay tuned! 💜

       [ This RFC was put into machine readable form for entry ]
       [ into the online RFC archives by BBN Corp. under the   ]
       [ direction of Alex McKenzie.                   12/96   ]