Archive-Name: ftp-list/faq
Last-Modified: 1992/07/30
Version: 1.7


                           Anonymous FTP List
                    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)


This FAQ is posted to the following groups monthly: comp.archives.admin,
comp.misc, comp.sources.wanted, alt.sources.wanted, & news.answers.

Comments welcome  -  Tom Czarnik (aftp-list@netcom.com)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I keep a directory of Internet sites accepting anonymous FTP and mail 
retrieval of their files. A listing of these sites is posted to Usenet:

	comp.sources.wanted 	alt.sources.wanted
	news.answers		comp.misc

Lists available:

		SITES 

	o Site name                     o Date of last audit (ISO format)
	o IP address(s)                 o UT/GMT difference
	o Comments/problems address	o Country (ISO format) 
	o Organization			o Types of files
	o E-mail server if available	o Restrictions


		FILES 

	o Site name			o Date of last audit (ISO format)
	o IP address(s)			o UT/GMT difference
	o Types of files		o Country (ISO format)


                              * Topics *

(1)   Understanding the ISO date.
(2)   Retrieving the list from alternate sources.
(3)   Retrieving it directly from the coordinator.
(4)   Using FTP without direct Internet access.
(5)   Problems with a site.
(6)   Information presented is wrong or outdated.
(7)   Getting a site listed or changes made.
(8)   Making the list publicly available.
(9)   Using the general mail server at DEC's Western Research Labs.
(10)  What is Archie and how does it relate to the list?
(11)  What is and how do I use the FTP program?


                              * Answers *

(1) Understanding the ISO date.

   A) Format: Year.Month.Day (1991.12.30 is 30 December 1991).

(2) Retrieving the list from alternate sources.

   A) It is available from various FTP sites which archive the Usenet
      news.answers: ftp-list. Also look for 'ftp-list' in either the
      Sites or Files list. Or as a last resort, all the public lists 
      can be retrieved from gator.netcom.com  192.100.81.102 in 
      /pub/profile during NON-PEAK hours only!

(3) Retrieving it directly from the coordinator.

   A) I don't have time to mail copies to people. 

      I make exceptions to people who redistribute it to closed systems
      or areas that don't have access to the newsgroups. Don't abuse
      this! Send me mail to be put on the mailing list.

(4) Using FTP without direct Internet access.

   A) It is possible to get files from a site by using a general mail
      server or many sites have their own servers. If you're on BITNET,
      ask your sysadmin or technical support group about PUCC. For 
      non-BITNET sites, try using DEC's; you will find instructions 
      for using it below, in answer #9.

      Please make sure your system admin has approved the the use of
      a mail server, as files can take system resources of not only 
      your site, but several sites down the stream.

(5) Problems with a site.

   A) Mail the problems to the address shown in the Sites list. If a FTP
      comments address is not shown, attempt to use 'ftp@site_name'; 
      subsitute 'site_name' with the name of the troublesome site. If
      that fails, post a note to comp.archives.admin (the newsgroup for 
      archive administrators).

(6) Information is wrong or outdated.

   A) Send mail to me detailing the incorrect information and the
      corrections. If you are the site manager for the archive, please
      see below (topic #7) for the information I need.

(7) Getting a site listed or changes made.

   A) Send the following information to aftp-list@netcom.com.

	o Site name (and aliases you wanted listed).
	o IP address.
	o Manager(s) full name & email address(es).
 	o Address for FTP related issues (problems, comments, etc...).
	o General description of the types of files available.
	o Directories that are for anonymous FTP use (besides /pub).
	o Site's location (country) & ISO code.
	o Organization operating site.
	o UT/GMT difference (include daylight savings time).
	o Are there any special restrictions?
	o Can it be used 24 hours/day?
	o Is an E-mail server available for the site's files only?

(8) Making the list publicly available.

   A) Please let me know if there is a site that archives either the
      Sites or Files list. I will include it in future updates; the
      more people who have access, the better.

      All I ask: update the list as changes are made.

(9) Using the general mail server at DEC's Western Research Labs.

   A) Send mail to  ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com  with 'help' in the body of
      the letter. You CANNOT send a blank letter, commands are not
      optional.

(10) What is Archie and how does it relate to the list?

   A) Archie is a special server that keeps file listings from different
      FTP sites. You can Telnet to a server or use a client program to
      search for specific files. There are sites which do not appear in
      an Archie server and you can use the lists for these.
      
      Here are some sites; send mail to 'archie@site_name' for a help file.

	archie.ans.net (North America)
	archie.sura.net (North America)
	archie.mcgill.ca (Canada)
	archie.funet.fi (Finland/Mainland Europe)
	archie.au (Australia/New Zealand)
	archie.doc.ic.ac.uk (Great Britain/Ireland)
	archie.unl.edu (North America)
	cs.huji.ac.il (Israel)

(11) What is and how do I use the FTP program?

   A) This information file was originally maintained by John Granrose.
      Mike Jones added the info about the existence and location of the
      compression data chart maintained by David Lemson. I added some,
      too little to be thanked or hated for its content.

                                  By:
      
                  John Granrose (odin@pilot.njin.net)
		  Mike Jones (mjones@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu)
                    Tom Czarnik (profile@netcom.com)


      This is not a definitive guide to FTP, but will give a novice a
      general idea of what it is and how to do it.


                              What is FTP?

      FTP (File Transfer Protocol) allows a person to transfer files  
      between two computers, generally connected via the Internet. If 
      your system has FTP and is connected to  the Internet, you can 
      access very large amounts of archives available on a number of 
      systems. If you are on Bitnet or a UUCP host, you should look for
      servers that work through the mail. A good source of information
      on archives in general, is the Usenet newsgroup comp.archives.


                         What is Anonymous FTP?

      Many systems throughout the Internet offer files through anonymous   
      FTP. These include software, documents of various sorts, and files  
      for configuring networks. Archives for electronic mailing lists are
      often stored on and available through anonymous FTP. Note that all 
      this is subject to change.


                                Commands

      All the normal FTP commands may be used to retrieve files. Some FTP
      commands are the same on different computers, but others are not.
      Usually, FTP will list the commands if you type 'help' or type a
      question mark (?). Also, your computer's help command may have
      information about FTP. Try 'man ftp'  or   'man ftpd'.

      Some useful commands available on most systems include:

        get     copy a file from the remote computer to yours
        ls/dir  list the files in the current directory
        cd      Change directory
        binary  Switch to binary mode. For transferring binary files
        ascii   Switch to ascii mode. Ascii mode is the default mode


                               Procedure

      Anonymous FTP is a facility offered by many machines on the Internet.
      This permits you to log in with the user name 'anonymous' or the
      user name 'ftp'. When prompted for a password, type your e-mail
      address -- it's not necessary, but it's a courtesy for those sites
      that like to know who is making use of their facility. Be courteous.

      You can then look around and retrieve files. (Most anonymous ftp
      sites do not permit people to store files)

      Typically, a directory called 'pub' is where the interesting things
      are stored. Some sites will have a file with a name like ls-lR,
      that contains a complete list of the files on that site. Otherwise,
      you can type ls -lR and get such a listing -- for some sites, this
      can take a LONG time.

      Usually, files are grouped in archive files, so you don't have to
      get many small files separately. The most common archival file format
      for the Internet is tar. Occasionally, people use shell archives
      (shar) instead. Tar archives can be unpacked by running the 'tar'
      command -- you may want to first do a 'tar t' on the file to see what
      it contains before unpacking it. Be careful when unpacking shell
      archives since they have to be run through the Bourne shell to unpack
      them. (The simplest way is to use the unshar command)

      Files are often stored compressed -- for Unix, the most common scheme
      is the compress program, indicated by a .Z suffix on the file name.
      Sometimes, people use programs like Arc or Zoo, which are combined
      archival and compression formats. (There are probably other archival
      formats as well - talk to the systems staff if you encounter them and
      don't know how to deal with them)

      When retrieving non-text files, you must use binary mode, otherwise
      the file gets messed up. To do this, use the 'binary' command. (It's
      safe to set this for text files. If the site at the other end is
      non-Unix, you may need to use some other mode -- see the documents
      for that site and for FTP)

      The simplest way to initiate FTP would be to give the command 'ftp
      <system-name>'. The  <system-name>  is the remote system you are
      connecting to, either a name (wsmr-simtel20.army.mil, if you have
      an entry in /etc/hosts or are accessing a Domain Name Server) or 
      the Internet address (192.88.110.20  for Simtel20). After a short
      wait, you will be prompted for your username. If you do not have
      an account on the remote system, some systems allow you to use
      'anonymous'. This gives you a restricted access path.

      You would then be prompted for a password. Some systems will tell
      you to send your real identity as the password. What you type doesn't
      matter, but it is suggested to give your mail address. Other systems
      need a password of 'guest', or something similar.

      After that, you should receive the FTP prompt ( usually ftp> ) and
      have access. You can get a directory of files be giving a 'dir'
      command or if the remote system is Unix-based, 'ls -l' will give
      the familiar output. On Simtel20, there is a file available in the
      default anonymous ftp directory that explains what Simtel20 is and
      where files are located. The name is 'SIMTEL-ARCHIVES.INFO.nn, where
      ".nn" is a file generation number. You don't need to specify the file
      generation number when requesting the file. In fact, it's better not
      to because you will always get the latest generation that way.

      Unix systems will all have the familiar directory structure, and
      moving around is done with the familiar 'cd' or  'cwd' command.
      TOPS-20 systems have a different structure, but movement is still
      accomplished with the 'cd' command.

      Different systems have different organizations for their files, and
      the above example is the way most archives have it set up. By looking
      around other systems, you can learn how their files are arranged and 
      move around much faster. Note, however, that FTP will not allow you 
      outside the FTP 'root' directory. Moving about the entire system is 
      not permitted.

      These are the common Unix file types:

	SUFFIX      FTP TYPE
	------      --------
	.Z           bin     compress
        .arc         bin     ARChive
        .shar        ascii   SHell ARchive
        .tar         bin     Tape ARchive
        .uu          ascii   uuencode/uudecode
        .zip         bin     Zip
        .zoo         bin     Zoo


      To get a list of all file compression/archiving methods and the
      programs to uncompress/unarchive (on the PC, Mac, Unix, VM/CMS, 
      AtariST and Amiga systems), FTP to the following sites and 
      retrieve the listed file:

          ftp.cso.uiuc.edu	/doc/pcnet/compression
          gator.netcom.com 	/pub/profile/compression.Z
	    (make sure to set the binary mode with 'bin')

      This could be helpful to people new to FTP that don't know how 
      to unpackage the file they have just transferred. 
      
