
[ netinfo/what-the-nic-does.txt ]


		 THE DDN NETWORK INFORMATION CENTER (NIC)

The DDN Network Information Center (NIC) is located at Government Systems,
Inc., Chantilly, VA, and is funded by the Defense Information Systems Agency's
Defense Network System Organization (DISA DNSO) to provide general user
services to DDN users via telephone, electronic mail, and U.S. postal mail.

The NIC works closely with the network Host Administrators, Node Site
Coordinators, domain administrators, network coordinators, network
protocol groups, vendors, contractors, government agencies, and military
sponsors to assist new users and potential subscribers in obtaining
pertinent network information.

Databases and information servers of interest to network users are
provided, including the WHOIS registry of network users, the NIC/Query
browsing system, TACNEWS, and the official DoD Host Name Service.  The NIC
is the source for official DDN protocol documents (other than the
MIL-STDs), as well as other DDN documents, and maintains the RFC (Request
for Comments) collection.  Many of the online files are available through
the NIC's automatic mail service, SERVICE@NIC.DDN.MIL.

The NIC registers hosts and domains, assigns IP network numbers and
Autonomous System Numbers, and provides host name translation tables
and domain name system server files to the DDN/DARPA Internet.  The
NIC also registers network users and issues MILNET TAC access cards.


I.   USER ASSISTANCE SERVICE

Toll-free telephone service is available Monday through Friday, 7 am
to 7 pm, Eastern Standard time.  Users who experience problems with using the
network in general, and with terminal-to-TAC use in particular, are
encouraged to make use of this service.

     Toll-free:                1-800-365-3642

     International:            1-703-802-4535


II.  NIC ONLINE MAILBOXES

To contact the NIC via electronic mail 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week, use these mailboxes:

     NIC@NIC.DDN.MIL             General user assistance, document requests
     REGISTRAR@NIC.DDN.MIL       User registration and WHOIS updates
     HOSTMASTER@NIC.DDN.MIL      Host, domain, network changes and updates
     ACTION@NIC.DDN.MIL          NIC computer operations    
     SUGGESTIONS@NIC.DDN.MIL     Comments on NIC services
     SERVICE@NIC.DDN.MIL         Automatic mail service
     BILLING@NIC.DDN.MIL         Question regarding bills for network usage
     SCC@NIC.DDN.MIL             General security-related information and 
                                 support


III. NIC U.S. POSTAL ADDRESS

Send U.S. postal mail correspondence to:

     DDN Network Information Center
     14200 Park Meadow Dr., Suite 200
     Chantilly, VA  22021
 

IV.  NIC COMPUTER SERVICES

The NIC host computer is a SUN 470, running the SUN operating
system, and its hostname is NIC.DDN.MIL.  Its network address is 
192.112.36.5.

The network address of the NIC root domain server is 192.
The network address of the NIC's MILNET gateway is 26.25.0.201.

NIC online services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.


V.   DOCUMENTS DISTRIBUTED BY THE NIC

The NIC distributes the following documents, all of which are
available in hardcopy and some of which are available online.  Many of
these documents are deposited at the Defense Technical Information
Center (DTIC).  An annotated list of NIC publications is found in the
file netinfo/nic-pubs.txt on NIC.DDN.MIL.

Title	 			                          Online Filename

 DDN Brochure
 DDN New User Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . netinfo/nug.doc
 DDN Newsletters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ddn-news/ddn-news-NN.txt
 DDN Management Bulletins . . . . . . . .ddn-news/ddn-mgt-bulletin-NN.txt
 DDN Security Bulletins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .scc/ddn-security-YYNN
 Network Protocol Implementations and Vendors Guide . . . . . . . . . . .
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .netinfo/vendors-guide.doc
 DDN Protocol Handbook
 DDN Subscriber Interface Guide
 DDN Subscriber Security Guide
 DDN X.25 Host Interface Specification. . . . . . . . . . netinfo/x25.doc
 FYIs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .fyi/fyiNN.txt
 FYI Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . fyi/fyi-index.txt
 Logical and Geographic Maps of MILNET and ARPANET
 RFCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .rfc/rfcNNN.txt
 RFC Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . rfc/rfc-index.txt

   
 NOTE: In the filenames, the "nn" or the "nnn" should be replaced by the
       number of the newsletter, bulletin or RFC.  For Security Bulletins,
       "YYNN" refers to the year the bulletin was issued followed by
       the number of the bulletin for that year, e.g. "9001".

To retrieve a document whose filename is listed above, open an FTP
connection to the NIC.DDN.MIL host, login as user ANONYMOUS and provide
the password GUEST. Retrieve the desired file.


VI.  ONLINE INFORMATION SERVERS

a.     TACNEWS

TACNEWS offers login help for DDN TAC users, includes the current list
of TAC dial-up numbers, and provides a mechanism for reading the DDN
Newsletters, Management Bulletins, and Security Bulletins.  Users
should read these Newsletters and Bulletins regularly to stay current
on DDN policies, announcements, and network news items.

     Accessing TACNEWS

From a TAC, type "@N" after being greeted with the TAC banner, press
RETURN, and provide your User ID and Access Code when prompted.  When
greeted by the NIC host, type "TACNEWS" and press RETURN.

From a DDN host, use the TELNET program to connect to host
NIC.DDN.MIL.  When greeted by the NIC host, type "TACNEWS" and press
RETURN.


b.     WHOIS/NICNAME

WHOIS/NICNAME is a NIC program that provides an electronic "white pages"
of network users.  It lists the name, network mailbox, postal address,
and telephone number, for all registered users.  Host, TAC, domain,
and network information may be obtained from WHOIS as well.
				
     Accessing WHOIS/NICNAME

From a TAC, type "@N" after being greeted with the TAC banner, press
RETURN, and provide your User ID and Access Code when prompted.  When
greeted by the NIC host, type "WHOIS" and press RETURN.

From a DDN host, use the TELNET program to connect to host NIC.DDN.MIL.
When greeted by the NIC host, type "WHOIS" and press RETURN.

WHOIS/NICNAME may also be run from a local host.  WHOIS/NICNAME user
programs for several operating systems are available from the NIC.
Contact the NIC for sources.


c.     NIC/QUERY

NIC/QUERY contains host information, protocol and other document
information, and access to WHOIS/NICNAME.  NIC/QUERY is geared toward
novice or casual users.  It also provides access to the services
offered by TACNEWS.

     Accessing NIC/QUERY

From a TAC, type "@N" after being greeted with the TAC banner, press
RETURN, and provide your User ID and Access Code when prompted. Type
"NIC" and press RETURN when greeted by the NIC host.

From a DDN host, use the TELNET program to connect to host NIC.DDN.MIL.
Type "NIC" and press RETURN when greeted by the NIC host.


d.     NAMSER

NAMSER is an internet hostname server on NIC.DDN.MIL port 101 decimal.
This server delivers machine-translatable hostname/address/attribute
information for networks, gateways, and hosts within the DDN.  The
server can deliver a single response or the entire host table,
depending upon the type of query sent.  The server provides the
information outlined in RFC 952, and is itself described in RFC 953.

     Accessing NAMSER

The server is designed to be accessed via a client program following
the protocol specified in RFC 953.

e.     ROOT DOMAIN NAME SERVER

The NIC is responsible for generating and installing the DNS files
into the NS.NIC.DDN.MIL root server and the six alternate root servers
on a twice-weekly basis.


VII. ONLINE FILES

The NIC maintains a number of online files which are available to
network subscribers via the file transfer program (FTP) or Kermit.
These files contain information about protocols, site personnel,
hosts, and other subjects relevant to network users.  See the file
NETINFO:00NETINFO-INDEX.TXT for an index to the files in the NETINFO
directory.  See also the DDN New User Guide, or contact the NIC User
Assistance service for more information.  Other publicly accessible
directories include PROTOCOLS, RFC, IEN, SCC, and DDN-NEWS.  Each of
these additional directories has an index in the format
00DIRECTORY-INDEX.TXT or DIRECTORY-INDEX.TXTin order to allow users to
quickly identify the files they need.


a. How to Retrieve NIC files Using FTP

To retrieve any of the NIC's public files via your local FTP program,
connect to the NIC.DDN.MIL host, and log in as ANONYMOUS with password
GUEST.  FTP program use varies slightly from host to host, so please
consult your Host Administrator for instructions, if needed.


b. How to Retrieve NIC Files Using Kermit

The NIC provides a Kermit server for file retrieval.  Users should connect
to the NIC.DDN.MIL host from a TAC. To run the NIC's Kermit server from a
TAC, type "@N" after being greeted with the TAC banner, press RETURN, and
provide your User ID and Access Code when prompted. Type "KERMIT" and
press RETURN when greeted by the NIC host.  The user should then enter the
Kermit escape sequence to return control to his local Kermit client
program and issue the local Kermit "GET" command to retrieve the desired
file or files.


c. How to Use the NIC's Automated Mail Service

SERVICE@NIC.DDN.MIL is an automated service provided by the DDN
Network Information Center.  It allows access to NIC documents and
information via ordinary electronic mail.  This is especially useful
for users who do not have access to the NIC via a direct Internet
link, such as users of BITNET, CSNET and UUCP sites.

   To use the mail service, send a mail message to SERVICE@NIC.DDN.MIL.
In the SUBJECT field, request the type of service you wish followed by
any needed arguments.  The message body is normally ignored.  Large files
will be broken into smaller separate messages.  The information you
request will be sent back to you as soon as possible.

The following services are currently available:

HELP            This message; a list of current services.
HOST xxx        Returns information about host xxx.  WHOIS xxx can
                also be used to get more details about a host.
IEN nnn         nnn is the IEN number or the word INDEX.
IETF xxx        xxx is a file name
INDEX		Returns the master list of available index files.
INTERNET-DRAFTS xxx	xxx is a file name
NETINFO xxx     xxx is a file name or the word INDEX.
RFC nnn         nnn is the RFC number or the word INDEX.
RFC nnn.PS      to retrieve an available Postscript RFC. Check RFC INDEX for
                form of RFC. 
FYI nnn         nnn is the FYI number or the word INDEX.
FYI nnn.PS      to retrieve postscript versions of FYI files.
SEND xxx        xxx is a fully specified file name.
WHOIS xxx       Returns information about xxx from the WHOIS service.
                Use "WHOIS HELP" for information on how to use WHOIS.

Example SUBJECT lines:

    HELP
    RFC 822
    RFC INDEX
    RFC 1119.PS
    FYI 1
    IETF 1DIRECTORIES.TXT
    INTERNET-DRAFTS 1ID-ABSTRACTS.TXT
    NETINFO DOMAIN-TEMPLATE.TXT
    SEND RFC:ASSIGNED-NUMBERS.TXT
    SEND IETF:1WG-SUMMARY
    SEND INTERNET-DRAFTS:DRAFT-IETF-IWG-BGP-OO.TXT
    HOST NIC.DDN.MIL
    WHOIS NEOU, VIVIAN

Send comments or suggestions to SUGGESTIONS@NIC.DDN.MIL.  Send questions
and bug reports to BUG-SERVICE@NIC.DDN.MIL.


VIII. USER REGISTRATION

Host Administrators have overall responsibility for registering their
users.  When new users acquire accounts on MILNET hosts, their Host
Administrator must complete a NIC-generated template to register them in
the NIC database.  Names and addresses of Host Administrators are found on
the NIC.DDN.MIL host in the files NETINFO:MIL-HOST-ADMINISTRATORS-A-L.TXT,
NETINFO:MIL-HOST-ADMINISTRATORS-M-Z.TXT and
NETINFO:ARPA-HOST-ADMINISTRATORS.TXT.

End users who require MILNET TAC dial-up access to reach their hosts must
have TAC Access cards that are provided by the NIC.  Approval for
distributing the card is sent to the NIC from the user's Host
Administrator.  Until the user is permanently registered, there may be
temporary "Guest" TAC cards available from the Host Administrator for
immediate use.


IX. HOST, DOMAIN, NETWORK NUMBER, IN-ADDR, AND ASN REGISTRATION

The NIC is responsible for the registration of hosts, domains, IP
networks, and autonomous systems numbers (ASNs) used by various
organizations connected to the DDN Internet.

To include a new host in the DDN Internet Host Table, the template
found in NETINFO:IHOST-TEMPLATE.TXT needs to be completed and returned
to HOSTMASTER@NIC.DDN.MIL.  Hosts included in the Host Table are
limited to those hosts acting as domain or IN-ADDR servers, gateways,
and hosts integral for mail routing.

Twice weekly, information is generated and installed into the DDN
Internet Host Table as NETINFO:HOSTS.TXT, which is a listing of the
hosts, gateways, and networks attached to the Internet and registered
with the NIC.  From this file, two additional files are generated:
HOSTS.TXT-Z, a UNIX compressed version of the HOSTS.TXT file; and
MIL-HOSTS.TXT, a complete listing of the MILNET hosts in HOSTS.TXT.

Domains are registered via the domain template found in
NETINFO:DOMAIN-TEMPLATE.TXT.  New domain information is installed into
the seven DNS root servers on a twice-weekly basis.  Information
regarding the root servers is kept in NETINFO:ROOT-SERVERS.TXT.
Additionally, a listing of the domains registered with the NIC can be
found in NETINFO:DOMAIN-INFO.TXT.  A listing of the netaddresses of
the domain servers for individual top-level domains can be found in
NETINFO:DOMAINS.TXT.

Network number assignments are made when a network POC completes the
template in NETINFO:INTERNET-NUMBER-TEMPLATE.TXT and returns the
template to Hostmaster.  A complete listing of government sponsored
networks is found in NETINFO:NETWORKS.TXT.

To provide address to hostname reverse resolution, IN-ADDR domains are
registered within the domain root servers via an IN-ADDR template sent
to the HOSTMASTER mailbox.  This template can be found in
NETINFO:IN-ADDR-TEMPLATE.TXT.

The NIC assigns autonomous system numbers (ASNs) when the template
found in NETINFO:ASN-TEMPLATE.TXT is sent to HOSTMASTER@NIC.DDN.MIL.
A complete listing of assigned ASNs is found in NETINFO:ASN.TXT.

From the domain, network number, and ASN templates, POC information is
extracted and individuals that are not already registered are given
records in the WHOIS database.


X. USAGE SENSITIVE BILLING DESK

The NIC also answers queries about bills for use of the DDN via the
Usage Sensitive Billing (USB) desk.  If you have a bill for DDN usage
and have any questions about it, you can contact the USB desk several
ways:

E-mail:       BILLING@NIC.DDN.MIL

Phone:        1-800-365-3642 
              1-703-802-4535 

Postal mail:  DDN Network Information Center
              14200 Park Meadow Dr., Suite 200
              Chantilly, VA  22021

Phone hours are from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.  


XI.  SECURITY COORDINATION CENTER

The NIC is the site of the DDN Security Coordination Center (SCC).
The SCC acts in conjunction with the DDN Network Security Officer to
coordinate actions regarding security incidents and network
vulnerabilities.  The SCC relays security-related information to the
Network Security Officer and works with him in handling network
security problems.  In addition, the SCC issues DDN Security Bulletins
to network users.  The SCC can be contacted in these ways:

E-mail:       SCC@NIC.DDN.MIL

Phone:        1-800-365-3642     
              1-703-802-4535

Postal mail:  DDN Network Information Center
              14200 Park Meadow Dr., Suite 200
              Chantilly, VA  22021

Phone hours are from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

