RFC 604

Assigned link numbers

📅 published December 1973, from ietf

RFC 604 (NIC 21186) ✨ Network Working Group, written by Jon Postel of MITRE on 26 December 1973. 🎀

This one updates [NIC 8246, NIC 9347] and tweaks the official host-to-host protocol 💅. Page 28 of "Host/Host Protocol for the ARPA Network" has outdated link number assignments, and this note updates them. It also completely replaces a previous update, [RFC 317, NIC 9347]. The change is minor, so existing network programs and usage should be fine 🫶. Four of the reserved link numbers are now set aside for experimenting with an internetworking protocol designed by Kahn and Cerf 🧚.

Description 🌸

Link 0 is the host-to-host protocol control link. That's the one doing the boss work 👑.

Links 2-71 are open for connections, as the host-to-host protocol allows 🍓.

Internetworking Protocol 🌈

Links 155-158 are for experiments with the Internetworking Protocol. Iconic, honestly ✨.

Measurements 💜

Links 159-191 are for measurements, run by the Network Measurement Center at UCLA 📊.

Message Switching ⭐

Links 192-195 are for experiments with the Message Switching Protocol 🧪.

Private Experiments 🙈

Links 196-255 are available for private experimental use. Your secret lab, basically 💀.

Reserved 🎀

Link 1, and links 72-154, are reserved for future developments and experiments. They are not to be used right now, so hands off 🫣.

Table 📋

Link Number              Assignment

    0                    Control Link
    1                    Reserved
   2-71                  Connections
  72-154                 Reserved
 155-158                 Internetworking Protocol
 159-191                 Measurements
 192-195                 Message Switching Protocol
 196-255                 Experimental

References 📚

Host-to-host Protocol           NIC 8246
Internetworking Protocol        NIC 18764
Message Switching Protocol      NIC 9926
[ This RFC was put into machine readable form for entry ]
[ into the online RFC archives by Alex McKenzie with    ]
[ support from GTE, formerly BBN Corp.            10/99 ]
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