| Document: FTS-0005
| Version: 003
| Date: February 7, 1996
| Maintainer: David Nugent, 3:632/348@fidonet
The Distribution Nodelist
Originally by Ben Baker
Amended by Rick Moore, 1:115/333@FidoNet, February 5, 1989
Amended by David Nugent, 3:632/348@FidoNet, February 27, 1996
| Copyright 1986-1996 by the FidoNet Technical Standards Committee.
All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted
for non-commercial purposes only.
This document supersedes and replaces the document known under
| the names of FSC002, FSC-0002, and FTS-0002. Significant changes,
| which excludes mere formatting changes, to the previous version
| of this document have been "redlined" (marked with a vertical
| bar in the leftmost column).
This document defines the format and content of the nodelist for
the Public FidoNet Network (PFN) as published on Friday of each
| week. This format is historically known as the "St. Louis nodelist
| format".
The PFN is an international network of independently owned
electronic mail systems, most with interlocking electronic
bulletin board systems. The distribution nodelist, or simply
"nodelist", is the glue which holds the network together. It is
the PFN's "phone book" and it defines the top-level network
| structure and is the means by which FidoNet retains its integrity
| as a point-to-point mail network.
| THE NODELIST
The nodelist is published as an ASCII text file named
NODELIST.nnn, where nnn is a three digit number representing the
| day-of-year of the Friday publication date, with zeros filling
| positions to the left if necessary. This file is packed into a
| archive file named NODELIST.?nn, where 'nn' are the last two
| digits of day-of-year, and the character at the position of the
| '?' indicating the type of compression used. Conventions as to
| which compression method is used for the distributed nodelist is
| a matter of local policy and is usually determined by each zone's
| Zone Coordinator.
As stated above, NODELIST.nnn is an ASCII text file. It contains
two kinds of lines; comment lines and data lines. Each line is
terminated with an ASCII carriage return and line feed character
sequence, and contains no trailing white-space (spaces, tabs,
| etc.). The file is terminated with a DOS end-of-file character
| (character value 26 decimal, or "control-Z").
Comment lines contain a semicolon (;) in the first character
position followed by zero or more alphabetic characters called
"interest flags". A program which processes the nodelist may use
comment interest flags to determine the disposition of a comment
line. The remainder of a comment line (with one exception,
| treated below) is free-form ASCII text. There are five types of
| comments flags:
| ;S This is of particular interest to Sysops
| ;U This is of particular interest to BBS users
| ;F This should appear in any formatted "Fido List"
| ;A This is of general interest (shorthand for ;SUF)
| ;E This is an error message inserted by the nodelist generator
| ; This comment may be ignored by a nodelist processor
The first line of a nodelist is a special comment line containing
identification data for the particular edition of the nodelist.
The following is an example of the first line of a nodelist:
;A FidoNet Nodelist for Friday, July 3, 1987 -- Day number 184 : 15943
This line contains the general interest flag, the day, date, and
| three-digit (zero-filled) day-of-year number of publication, and
ends with a 5 digit decimal number with leading zeros, if
necessary. This number is the decimal representation of a check
value derived as follows:
Beginning with the first character of the second line, a
16 bit cyclic redundancy check (CRC) is calculated for the
entire file, including carriage return and line feed
characters, but not including the terminating EOF
character. The check polynomial used is the same one used
for many file transfer protocols:
2**16 + 2**12 + 2**5 + 2**0
The CRC may be used to verify that the file has not been edited.
The importance of this will become evident in the discussion of
NODEDIFF, below. CRC calculation techniques are well documented
| in various technical references, and will not be treated further
here.
The content of the remaining comments in the nodelist are
intended to be informative. Beyond the use of interest flags for
distribution, a processing program need not have any interest in
them.
A nodelist data line contains eight variable length "fields"
separated by commas (,). No space characters are allowed in a
data line, and underscore characters are used in lieu of spaces.
The term "alphanumeric character" is defined as the portion of
the ASCII character set from 20 hex through 7E hex, inclusive.
The following discussion defines the contents of each field in a
data line.
Field 1: Keyword
The keyword field may be empty, or may contain one of the
following:
Zone
Begins the definition of a geographic zone and define its
coordinator. All the data lines following a line with the
"Zone" keyword down to, but not including, the next
occurrence of a "Zone" keyword, are regions, networks, and
| nodes within the defined zone. Node entries defined
| immediately after the "Zone" keyword and before the next
| region or host entry are known as zone adminstrative nodes.
| These are allocated by the Zone Coordinator for use by nodes
| in the entire zone; for example, mail gateways between
| FidoNet zones.
Region
Begins the definition of a geographic region and defines
its coordinator. All the data lines following a line with
the "Region" keyword down to, but not including, the
next occurrence of a "Zone", "Region", or "Host"
keyword, are independent nodes within the defined region.
Host
Begins the definition of a local network and defines its
| network coordinator. All the data lines following a line
with the Host keyword down to, but not including, the
next occurrence of a "Zone", "Region", or "Host" keyword,
are local nodes, members of the defined local network.
Hub
Begins the definition of a routing sub-unit within a
multi-level local network. The hub is the routing focal
point for nodes listed below it until the next occurrence
of a "Zone", "Region", "Host", or "Hub" keyword. The hub
entry MUST be a redundant entry, with a unique number, for
one of the nodes listed below it, within its hub segment.
This is necessary because some nodelist processors
eliminate these entries in all but the local network.
Pvt
Defines a private node with unlisted number. Private nodes
are only allowed as members of local networks.
Hold
Defines a node which is temporarily down. Mail may be sent
to it and is held by its host or coordinator.
Down
Defines a node which is not operational. Mail may NOT be
sent to it. This keyword may not be used for longer than
two weeks on any single node, at which point the "down"
node is to be removed from the nodelist.
<empty>
| The field contains no text (not the sequence "<empty>"),
| and defines a normal node entry.
| Only one of these may be used in any individual data line.
Field 2: Zone/Region/Net/Node number
This field contains only numeric digits and is a number in the
range of 0 to 32767. If the line had the "Zone", "Region", or
"Host" keyword, the number is the zone, net, or region number,
and the node has an implied node number of 0. Otherwise, the
number is the node number. The zone number, region or net number,
and the node number, taken together, constitute a node's FidoNet
address.
Zone numbers must be unique. Region or net numbers must be unique
within their zone, hub numbers unique be within their net, node
| numbers unique within their net (and region, for regional
| independent nodes, zone for zone administrative entries). Duplicate
node numbers under different hubs within the same net are not
allowed.
Field 3: Node name
This field may contain any alphanumeric characters other than
commas and spaces. Underscores are used to represent spaces, and
a comma delimits the end of the field. This is the name by which
the node is known, usually as determined by the node or the
coordinator responsible for compiling the segment.
Field 4: Location
This field may contain any alphanumeric characters other than
commas and spaces. Underscores are used to represent spaces. This
field contains the location of the node. It is usually expressed
as the primary local location (town, suburb, city, etc.) plus the
identifier of the regional geopolitical administrative district
(state, province, department, county, etc.). Wherever possible,
standard postal abbreviations for the major regional district
should be used (IL, BC, NSW, etc.).
Field 5: Sysop name
This field may contain any alphanumeric characters other than
commas and spaces. Underscores are used to represent spaces. This
is the name of the system operator.
Field 6: Phone number
This field contains at least three and usually four numeric
sub-fields separated by dashes (-). The fields are country code,
city or area code, exchange code, and number. The various parts
of the phone number are frequently used to derive cost and
routing information, as well as what number is to be dialed. A
typical example of the data in a phone number field is
1-800-555-1212, corresponding to country 1 (USA), area 800
(inbound WATS), exchange 555, and number 1212.
Alternatively, this field may contain the notation
"-Unpublished-" in the case of a private node. In this case, the
| keyword "Pvt" must appear at the start of the line.
Field 7: Baud rate
This field contains one of the values: 300, 1200, 2400, 9600,
| 19200, or 38400.
| This baud rate is indicative only of the maximum baud rate that
| may be expected when connecting to a node and is generally of use
| only where a calling node needs to adjust the baud rate used to
| dial to the caller's modem speed in order to achieve a
| connection, a requirement that with modem technology available in
| 1996 is rarely if ever needed. This information is largely
| superseded by modem protocol flags (see next section) where any
| two nodes using a common protocol may have other expectations
| with regards to actual transfer rates. Use of the baud rate field
| alone is therefore depreciated.
Field 8 - Flags
This optional field contains data about the specific operation of
the node, such as file requests, modem protocol supported, etc.
Any text following the seventh comma on a data line is taken
collectively to be the flags field. The required format is zero
or more sub-fields, separated by commas. Each sub-field consists
of a flag, possibly followed by a value.
The following flags define special operating conditions:
Flag Meaning
CM Node accepts mail 24 hours a day
MO Node does not accept human callers
| LO Node accepts calls only from valid listed node
| numbers in the current FidoNet nodelist
The following flags define modem protocols supported:
H96 Hayes V9600
HST USR Courier HST up to 9600
| H14 USR Courier HST up to 14400
| H16 USR Courier HST up to 16800
MAX Microcom AX/96xx series
PEP Packet Ensemble Protocol
| CSP Compucom Speedmodem
| ZYX Zyxel series
| VFC V.Fast Class
| V32T V.32 Terbo
NOTE: Many V22 modems also support Bell 212A.
If no modem flag is given, Bell 212A is assumed for 1200 bps
systems, ITU-T V22bis is assumed for 2400 bps systems.
The following flags define type of error correction available. A
separate error correction flag should not be used when the error
correction type can be determined by the modem flag. For
| instance, a modem flag of HST implies MNP, V32b implies V32 and
| V42b implies V42. Therefore MNP+HST, H14+MNP, H16+MNP, V32+V32b
| and V42+V42b flag pairs are redundant and should not be used.
The following flags define the type(s) of compression of mail
packets supported.
Flag Meaning
MN No compression supported
| NOTE: While FidoNet nodes usually exchange mail
| using a variety of different file compression
| formats negotiated between individual systems, the
| presence of this flag indicates the INABILITY TO
| RECEIVE MAIL compressed using the SEA ARC version 5
| compression format and/or named according to the
| ARCmail 0.6 mail bundle naming method. This is, by
| convention, the most common mail compression format
| in use within FidoNet. The presence of this flag
| would normally indicate that all mail should be sent
| uncompressed unless there is some overriding
| arrangement with the receiving system.
The following flags indicate the types of file and file update
requests supported.
Flag Meaning
XA Bark and WaZOO file/update requests
XB Bark file/update requests, WaZOO file requests
| XC Bark file requests, WaZOO file file/update
XP Bark file/update requests
XR Bark and WaZOO file requests
XW WaZOO file requests
| XX WaZOO file/update requests
The following flag defines gateways to other domains (mail
networks).
Flag Meaning
Gx..x Gateway to domain 'x..x', where 'x..x` is a string
of alphanumeric characters.
NOTE: Valid values for 'x..x' are assigned by the FidoNet
| International Coordinator or the person appointed as
| Internetworking Coordinator by the FidoNet
| International Coordinator. Current valid values of
'x..x' may usually be found in the notes at the end
| of the current FidoNet nodelist. The most common
| gateway flag is "GUUCP", to denote a gateway to the
| Internet mail system that gates on behalf of the
| fidonet.org internet domain.
The following flags define the dedicated mail periods supported.
They have the form "#nn" or "!nn" where nn is the UTC hour the mail
period begins, '#' indicates Bell 212A compatibility, and '!'
indicates incompatibility with Bell 212A.
Flag Meaning
| #01 Zone 5 mail hour (01:00 - 02:00 UTC)
#02 Zone 2 mail hour (02:30 - 03:30 UTC)
| #03 Zone 4 mail hour (08:00 - 09:00 UTC)
#09 Zone 1 mail hour (09:00 - 10:00 UTC)
#18 Zone 3 mail hour (18:00 - 19:00 UTC)
| #20 Zone 6 mail hour (20:00 - 21:00 UTC)
NOTE: When applicable, the mail period flags may be strung
together with no intervening commas, e.g.. "#02#09"
| or "!02!09". Only mail hours other than that
standard within a node's zone should be given. Since
observance of mail hour within one's zone is
mandatory, it should not be indicated.
The following flag defines user-specific values. If present,
this flag MUST be the last flag present in a nodelist entry.
Flag Meaning
Ux..x A user-specified string, which may contain any
alphanumeric character except blanks. This string
may contain one to thirty-two characters of
information that may be used to add user-defined
data to a specific nodelist entry.
| NOTE: Ux..x flags are the mechanism by which new flags may
| be experimentally introduced into the nodelist for a
| trial period to assess their worth. They are
| therefore of a temporary nature, and after their
| introduction they are eventually either promoted
| to a non-U flag or dropped from use altogether.
The FTSC recognizes that the FidoNet International Coordinator is
the ultimate authority over what appears in the FidoNet nodelist.
Also, FTSC is by definition a deliberative body, and adding or
changing a flag may take a considerable amount of time.
Therefore, the FidoNet International Coordinator may temporarily
make changes or additions to the flags as defined in this
document. The FidoNet International Coordinator will then consult
with FTSC over the changes needed to this document to reflect
these temporary changes.
The following are examples of nodelist data lines:
| With more than thirty-five thousand nodes as of this date (1996),
| the nodelist, even in archive form, is a document of substantial
| size. Since distribution of the nodelist occurs via electronic
file transfer, this file is NOT routinely distributed. Instead,
| when a new nodelist is prepared weekly, it is compared with the
previous week's nodelist, and a file containing only the
differences is created and distributed.
| The distribution difference file, called NODEDIFF.nnn, where nnn
is the day-of-year of publication, is actually an editing script
which will transform the previous week's nodelist into the
current nodelist. A definition of its format follows:
The first line of NODEDIFF.nnn is an exact copy of the first line
| of LAST WEEK'S nodelist (i.e. the first line of the nodelist to
| which the current difference file applies). This is used as a
first-level confidence check to insure that the correct file is
being edited. The second and subsequent lines are editing
commands and data.
There are three editing commands and all have the same format:
<command><number>
<command> is a 1 letter command, one of A, C, or D.
<number> is a decimal number greater than zero, and defines the
number of lines to be operated on by the command. Each command
appears on a line by itself. The commands have the following
meanings:
Ann Add the following nn lines to the output file.
Cnn Copy nn unchanged lines from the input to the output
file.
Dnn Delete (or skip) nn lines from the input file.
The following illustrate how the first few lines of a
| hypothetical NODEDIFF.213 might look:
;A Friday, July 25, 1986 -- Day number 206 : 27712
D2
A2
;A Friday, August 1, 1986 -- Day number 213 : 05060
;A
C5
This fragment illustrates all three editing commands. The first
line is the first line from the previous nodelist, NODELIST.206.
The next line says "delete the first two lines" from
NODELIST.206. These are the identification line and the line
following it. The next command says "add the next two lines" to
NODELIST.213 at the "current" location. The two data lines are
followed by a command which says "copy five unchanged lines" from
NODELIST.206 to NODELIST.213. Notice that the first line added
| will ALWAYS contain the new nodelist CRC, so that the software
| applying the changes to the old nodelist may check the result of
| its editing.
Since only the differences will be distributed, it is important
to insure the accuracy of the newly created nodelist. This is the
function of the CRC mentioned above. It is sufficient for a
program designed to perform the above edits to pick the CRC value
from the first line added to the output file, then compute the
CRC of the rest of the output file. If the two CRCs do not agree,
one of the input files has been corrupted. If they do agree, the
probability is very high (but not 100%) that the output file is
accurate.
For actual distribution, NODEDIFF.nnn is packed into an archive
| file named NODEDIFF.?nn, where 'nn' are the last two digits of
| day-of-year, and '?' indicates the compression format used.
| NODELIST COMPILATION
| This section is included for tutorial reasons and is not intended
| as a definition of any specific method by which FidoNet MUST
| compile its weekly nodelist. It merely represents an attempt to
| document the method by which it currently does so. It is intended
| to be explanatory, and seeks to answer commonly asked questions,
| such as how the nodelist is compiled and where the information
| comes from, why the nodelists used in different FidoNet zones are
| not the same document, and why the difference file generated for
| use in one FidoNet zone cannot be applied to the nodelist
| generated for use in a different zone, even though the week
| numbers match.
| Nodelists are compiled via a distributed method, which follows
| the same structure as the FidoNet coordinator hierarchy. At the
| lowest level, network coordinators maintain a list of the nodes
| in their network and are responsible for the addition, removal
| and correction of individual node's listings in their "segment"
| (as portions of the full nodelist are called). In some larger
| networks, it is common for this job to be shared with hub
| coordinators appointed by the net coordinator, though the
| responsibility for those hub segments still remains with the
| network coordinator.
| At a nominated day during the week, before the regional level
| segment is submitted to the zone coordinator, individual net
| coordinators submit their segments to the regional coordinator
| who subsequently compiles these segments and transmits the merged
| copy to the zone coordinator. These are combined by the zone
| coordinator with the separate segments of other zones and
| compiled into that zone's version of the world nodelist. This
| world nodelist is then compared with the previous week's version,
| a difference file is generated and subsequently distributed
| throughout the zone.
| In some cases, in the interest of saving in transmission times
| and therefore costs, the compilation process itself may be better
| served by the submission of DIFFERENCE FILES rather than full
| net- or region-level segments. Each coordinator therefore retains
| a copy of the previously submitted segments and applies
| difference files to those to derive the new one. This process is
| exactly identical to the NODEDIFF/NODELIST scenario described
| earlier in this document, with the same first line and CRC
| validation method used to guard the integrity of the nodelist
| segments.
| For a number of reasons, it is important that publication of the
| nodelist be as timely as possible. These reasons include: the
| nodelist is a definitive list of valid FidoNet addresses that may
| receive mail, and must therefore be as correct and up-to-date as
| possible to save nodes the unnecessary expense of mail routed to
| possibly non-existing addresses; the nodelist contains the list
| of telephone numbers that may be called by any user of the
| FidoNet nodelist and should therefore be accurate so as not to
| unduly annoy owners of those phone numbers should a listed node
| go down and an unsuspecting telephone subscriber inherit the same
| telephone number.
| Given this constraint, the expense of international calls and the
| fact that FidoNet is a worldwide network that exists in many time
| zones, it may be unreasonable to expect the compilation of the
| nodelist to be delayed until each zone coordinator can transmit
| their most up-to-date zone segment to a central authority for
| compilation and subsequent redistribution in any week. For the
| sake of expedience, each zone instead maintains its own separate
| world nodelist which contains a compilation of the current zone's
| latest segments and including the most current copy to hand of
| all other FidoNet zone's segments. The zone level nodelist
| generated each week by each zone coordinator is then transmitted
| to all other zone coordinators for inclusion into their separate
| world nodelist as timing permits.
| In theory, then, the only difference between nodelists
| distributed in each zone in any week are accounted for by timing
| differences in the exchange of each zone's separate segment. In
| practice, other constraints may interfere with timeliness, such
| as the difficulty and expense of international telephonic
| communications. Also, another point of variance is introduced by
| the fact that each zone usually includes its own zone segment
| first into its world nodelist to assist - amongst other things -
| software that uses the nodelist for index generation. Some
| software in common use in FidoNet indexes the nodelist according
| to its sequential order (e.g. version 5 and 6 compiled nodelist
| formats), and including the current zone first before others will
| have a beneficial effect on software performance.
