INTERNATIONAL ROUTING DESIGNATORS
Lew Jenkins, N6VV
David B. Toth, M.D., VE3GYQ
H. N. "Hank" Oredson, W0RLI
c/o Dr. D. B. Toth
499 Bobbybrook Drive
London, Ontario, Canada
N5X 1G8
It has become obvious by now that the work-horse of our so-called
packet network is the venerable BBS program. In fact, some will argue
that it has been too successful. Every time that a band-aid is needed
to "fix" the network, it is applied through the various BBS programs.
It is probably fair to say that the maintenance of the forwarding
tables is a drudgery that most sysops could do without. This point also
under-scores a serious problem faced by all networks: ROUTING.
With the introduction of W0RLI V7.00 and support for Hierarchical
routing designators, we have an opportunity to improve traffic routing
particularly for international traffic. Since N6VV is at the present
time responsible for traffic to Asia and the Pacific, and occasionally
Europe and Africa, he has implemented some Hierarchical routing
designators which will assist him in international routing.
Using this structure mail can now be addressed :
JA1ABC @ JA1KSO.JPN.AS
or
VK4AHD @ AX4BBS.AUS.AU
Starting today you can begin using Continental and Country designators
for international traffic destined for Asia and the Pacific. A forward
file may be set up to support the following codes:
** Continental Designators **
AF - Africa
AS - Asia
AU - Australia
EU - Europe
NA - North America
OC - Oceana
SA - South America
** Country Designators **
For country codes there is a generally accepted international standard
for abreviations. These are used in international electronic message
standards such as ANSI X.12 and EDIFACT. They are published by the
International Standards Organization and known formally as ISO
3166-1981(E/F).
--------------------------- CUT HERE ---------------------------------
Country codes (abbreviated list to show common country codes):
Argentina ARG Japan JPN
Australia AUS Korea,North PRK
Austria AUT Korea,South KOR
Belgium BEL Lebanon LBN
Bermuda BMU Liechtenstein LIE
Bolivia BOL Luxembourg LUX
Brazil BRA Malaysia MYS
Brunei BRN Mexico MEX
Bulgaria BGR Monaco MCO
Canada CAN Morocco MAR
Chile CHL Netherlands NLD
China CHN New Zealand NZL
Colombia COL Nicaragua NIC
Costa Rica CRI Norway NOR
Cuba CUB Pakistan PAK
Denmark DNK Panama PAN
Dominican Republic DOM Paraguay PRY
Ecuador ECU Peru PER
Egypt EGY Phillipines PHL
El Salvador SLV Poland POL
Finland FIN Portugal PRT
France FRA Romania ROM
French Polynesia PYF Saudi Arabia SAU
German Demo. Rep. DDR Singapore SGP
Germany, Federal Rep DEU South Africa ZAF
Greece GRC Spain ESP
Greenland GRL Sweden SWE
Guatemala GTM Switzerland CHE
Haiti HTI Syria SYR
Honduras HND Taiwan TWN
Hong Kong HKG Thailand THA
Hungary HUN Turkey TUR
Iceland ISL United Kingdom GBR
India IND United States USA
Indonesia IDN Uruguay URY
Ireland IRL USSR SUN
Israel ISR Venezuela VEN
Italy ITA Yugoslavia YUG
State and province codes shall be the recognized two-character code
established by the American and Canadian Post Offices. These may also
be found in the Callbook listings.
It is after we get down to the state/province/county level where the
trouble may begin. To understand why, we must examine how the BBS code
goes about matching things in the route. The first principle is that
it attempts to find a match between the items in its forward file and
the left-most item in the address field. As an example, say that we
send something to W0RLI @ W0RLI.OR.USA.NA, and that the only entries
--------------------- CUT HERE -------------------------------------
that we have in the forward file are for CA. That match would be
sufficient to allow the message to be forwarded. If W0RLI were found,
that entry would take precedence (because it is more left in the field
than CA) and would of course also ensure delivery. The best way to
look at it is "W0RLI AT W0RLI which is in OR which is in USA which is
in NA". So far so good.
But the Japanese network wants to use area routing numbers. For
example, JA1ABC @ JA1KSO.42.JPN.AS ... and everyone says, "So what,
let them!" Of course, that is very mature of all of us, but the trouble
is that the 42 in that string may also match wild-card ZIP codes that
some folks keep in their forward file, such as 42*. The solution we
propose is to use an agreed upon key character for designators below
the state and province level, and we recommend the octothorpe, "#".
So now the above address would be JA1ABC @ JA1KSO.#42.JPN.AS .
Other examples could be:
1) W0RLI @ W0RLI.#PDX.OR.USA.NA - W0RLI within PDX (Portland)
within Oregon, etc.
2) VE3BTZ @ VE3GYQ.#LONDN.#SONT.ON.CAN.NA - VE3BTZ at VE3GYQ in
London, in Southern Ontario, in Ontario, etc.
There is another added benefit to this scheme. It involves Gatewaying
between the BBS world and other networks, such as TCP/IP via SMTP.
Much of the pioneer work in setting up the gatewaying protocols has
been done by NN2Z, N3EUA, and PA0GRI, amongst others. The W0RLI BBS
package allows for the forwarding of mail between the BBS world and
the SMTP world. Of note is the fact that the WA7MBL package has allowed
such message exporting and importing for some time now. This means that
we can take advantage of the the TCP/IP host-names and their domain or
hierarchal format for forwarding. Thus it is possible to send mail from
the BBS to VE3BTZ as
[email protected] or from SMTP to
[email protected] and not have any ambiguity.
WA7MBL versions 5.13 and later are compatible with hierarchal routing.
This system is still compatable with older style systems, as a system
that handles hierarchal forwarding identifies with the H feature letter:
[RLI-8.00-CH$]. If it does not get an appropriate response, it uses the
left-most item in the "@ BBS" string as the "@ BBS" for the message.
The authors hope that this paper will serve as a starting place for
improved message routing by means of implicit routing. Low-level (VHF)
BBSs need only maintain state or province or country codes for distant
BBSs, and route such traffic to their nearest HF Gateway. In turn, the
HF station routes it to the desired state, where the receiving Gateway
station would have a detailed list of the BBSs it serves.
Correspondence may be addressed to the address given at the start of
this paper, or to VE3GYQ @ VE3GYQ.ON.CAN.NA or N6VV @ N6VV.CA.USA.NA .
***************************************************************
* * * * * * D I G I T A L R A D I O N E W S * * * * * *
***************************************************************
* * * * KEEPING YOUR SYSOP HAPPY * * * *
Sysops have to be an unusual breed. They assume massive
responsibility, give up large blocks of time to nurse-maid the
network and put up with a lot of hassle. I suspect that they
somehow enjoy what they do. At the same time, it's this rather
parculiar behavior of these very SYSOPS that gives mortals like
you and I the pleasure of using the PBBS NETS.
These guys are OK.
I think that the least we (as mear mortals) can do to add some
glow to the dreary life of the SYSOP, is to use proper
addressing. The key phrase is: HIERARCHAL ADDRESSING.
Hierarchical Addressing makes your SYSOP's job easy by
affording automatic routing of all messages. Your SYSOP
doesn't have to stay up all hours manually digging out routing
paths for your message. It also gets your message to its
destination MUCHO POSTO-QUICKO !
EXAMPLE 1:
Ed's Hierarchal Address: KB6DRN @ K6RAU.#NOCAL.CA.USA.NA
Ed's Call--------: KB6DRN
Ed's PBBS--------: K6RAU
Ed's Local Region: #NOCAL (optional)
Ed's State-------: CA
Ed's Country-----: USA
Ed's Continent---: NA
EXAMPLE 2:
Marks's Hierarchal Address: WB9QZB @ N3AIA.IL.USA.NA
Mark's Call------: WB9QZB
Mark's PBBS------: N3AIA
Mark's State-----: IL
Mark's Country---: USA
Mark's Continent-: NA
(There is also an international list of these labels in the
"W-Files" of many PBBS Boxes)
By addressing each and every message with this method you can
attempt to make your SYSOP HAPPY. I Realize that the term
"HAPPY SYSOP" may be a bit of a paradox, however as mear
mortals we should make every attempt to work towards this goal:
1. USE THE HIERARCHAL ADDRESS
2. INCLUDE THE HIERARCHAL ADDRESS IN THE BODY OF YOUR MESSAGE.
3. BE NICE TO YOUR SYSOP.
ED/KB6DRN @ K6RAU.#NOCAL.CA.USA.NA
*** The following was provided by JA1KSO ***
Following list is the world-wide country codes recognized by ISO,
prefixes recognized by ITU, and continental separation recognized
by IARU.
Note: This list was completed by refering ISO-3166/JIS X 0304
(3-ISO) (2-ISO) (3N-ISO) PREFIX CONTINENT COUNTRY
AFG AF 004 T6/YA AS AFGANISTAN
ALB AL 008 ZA EU ALBANIA
DZA DZ 012 7X AF ALGERIA
ASM AS 016 KH8 OC AME.SAMOA
AND AD 020 C3 EU ANDORRA
AGO AO 024 D2 AF ANGOLA
ATA AQ 010 8J/KC4.. AF/AN ANTARCTICA
ATG AG 028 V2 NA ANTIGUA
ARG AR 032 LU SA ARGENTINA
AUS AU 036 VK OC AUSTRALIA
AUT AT 040 OE EU AUSTRIA
BHS BS 044 C6 NA BAHAMAS
BHR BR 048 A9 AS BAHRAIN
BGD BD 050 S2 AS BANGLADESH
BRB BB 052 8P6 NA BARBADOS
BEL BE 056 ON EU BELGIUM
BLZ BZ 084 V3 NA BELIZE
BEN BJ 204 TY AF BENIN
BMU BM 060 VP9 NA BERMUDA
BTN BT 064 A5 AS BHUTAN
BOL BO 068 CP SA BOLIVIA
BWA BW 072 A2 AF BOTSWANA
BVT BV 074 3Y AF BOUVET I.
BRA BR 076 PY SA BRAZIL
IOT IO 086 VQ9 AF CHAGOS ARCH
VGB VG 092 VP2V NA BR.VIRGIN IS
BRN BN 096 V8 OC BRUNEI
BGR BG 100 LZ EU BULGARIA
BUR BU 104 XZ AS BURMA
BDI BI 108 9U5 AF BURUNDI
BYS BY 112 UC2 EU BYELORUSSIAN SSR
CMR CM 120 TJ AF CAMEROON
CAN CA 124 VE NA CANADA
CTE CT 128 KH1/T3 OC CANTON IS
CPV CV 132 D4 AF CAPE VERDE
CYM KY 136 ZF NA CAYMAN IS
CAF CF 140 TN AF C.AFRICAN REP
TCD TD 148 TT AF CHAD
CHL CL 152 CE SA CHILE
CHN CN 156 BY AS CHINA
CXR CX 162 VK9X OC XMAS I
CCK CC 166 VK9Y AF COCOS KEELING
COL CO 170 HK SA COLOMBIA
COM KM 174 D6 AF COMOROS
COG CG 178 TN8 AF CONGO
COK CK 184 ZK1 OC COOK IS
CRI CR 188 TI NA COSTA RICA
CUB CU 192 T4/CO/CM NA CUBA
CYP CY 196 P3/ZC4 AS CYPRUS
CSK CS 200 OK/OL/OM EU CZECHOSLOVAKIA
DNK DK 208 OZ EU DENMARK
DJI DJ 262 J2 AF DJIBOUTI
DMA DM 212 J7 NA DOMINICANA
DOM DO 214 HI NA DOMINICAN REP
ATN NQ 216 SA/AN DRONNING MAUD LAND
TMP TP 626 YB OC EAST TIMOR
ECU EC 218 HC SA ECUADOR
EGY EG 818 SU AF EGYPT
SLV SV 222 YS NA EL SALVADOR
GNQ GQ 226 3C AF EQUATORIAL GUINEA
ETH ET 230 ET AF ETHIOPIA
FRO FO 234 OY EU FAEROE IS
FLK FK 238 VP8 SA FALKLAND IS
FJI FJ 242 3D OC FIJI
FIN FI 246 OF/OG/OH EU FINLAND
FRA FR 250 F EU FRANCE
GUF GF 254 FY SA FR GUIANA
PYF PF 258 FO OC FR POLYNESIA
GAB GA 266 TR AF GABON
GMB GM 270 C5 AF GAMBIA
DDR DD 278 Y2.. EU GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REP
DEU DE 280 DJ/DK/DL EU GERMANY
GHA GH 288 9G AF GHANA
GIB GI 292 ZB2 EU GIBRALTAR
GRC GR 300 SV EU GREECE
GRL GL 304 OX NA GREENLAND
GRD GD 308 J3 NA GRENADA
GLP GP 312 FG NA GUADELOUPE
GUM GU 316 KH2 OC GUAM
GTM GT 320 TG NA GUATEMARA
GIN GN 324 3X AF GUINEA
GNB GW 624 J5 AF GUINEA-BISSAU
GUY GY 328 8R NA GUYANA
HTI HT 332 HH NA HAITI
HMD HM 334 VK0 AF HEARD I
HND HN 340 HR NA HONDURAS
HKG HK 344 VS6 AS HONG KONG
HUN HU 348 HA/HG EU HUNGARY
ISL IS 352 TF EU ICELAND
IND IN 360 VU AS INDIA
IDN ID 360 YB OC INDONESIA
IRN IR 364 EP AS IRAN
IRQ IQ 368 YI AS IRAQ
IRL IE 372 EI EU IRELAND
ISR IL 376 4X/4Z AS ISRAEL
ITA IT 380 I EU ITALY
CIV CI 384 TU AF IVORY COAST
JAM JM 388 6Y5 NA JAMAICA
JPN JP 392 J AS JAPAN
JTN JT 396 KH3 OC JOHNSTON I.
JOR JO 400 JY AS JORDAN
KHN KH 116 XU AF KAMPUCHEA(CAMBODIA)
KEN KE 404 5Z/5Y AF KENYA
KIR KI 296 T3 OC KIRIBATI
PRK KP 408 P5 AS D.P.R. OF KOREA
KOR KR 410 HL/HM AS REP OF KOREA
KWT KW 414 9K AS KUWAIT
LAO LA 418 XW AS LAOS
LBN LB 422 OD AS LEBANON
LSO LS 426 7P AF LESOTHO
LBR LR 430 EL AF LIBERIA
LBY LY 434 5A AF LIBYA
LIE LI 438 HE/HB0 EU LIECHTENSTEIN
LUX LU 442 LX EU LUXEMBOURG
MAC MO 446 XX9 AS MACAU
MDG MG 450 5R8 AF MADAGASCAR
MWI MW 454 7Q AF MALAWI
MYS MY 458 9M AS MALAYSIA
MDV MV 462 8Q AF MALDIVES
MLI ML 466 TZ AF MALI
MLT MT 470 9H EU MALTA
MTQ MQ 474 FM NA MARTINIQUE
MRT MR 478 5T AF MAURITANIA
MUS MU 480 3B8 AF MAURITIUS
MEX MX 484 XE/XF/4A NA MEXICO
MID MI 488 KH4 OC MIDWAY
MCO MC 492 3A EU MONACO
MNG MN 496 JT AS MONGOLIA
MSR MS 500 VP2M NA MONTSERRAT
MAR MA 504 CN AF MOROCCO
MOZ MZ 508 C9 AF MOZAMBIQUE
NAM NA 516 ZS3 AF NAMIBIA
NRU NR 520 C2 OC NAURU
NPL NP 524 9N AS NEPAL
NLD NL 528 PA EU NETHERLAND
ANT AN 532 P4 SA NETH. ANTILLES
NTZ NT 536 8Z4 AS NEUTRAL ZONE
NCL NC 540 FK OC NEW CALEDONIA
NZL NZ 554 ZL/ZM OC NEW ZEALAND
NIC NI 558 YN NA NICARAGUA
NER NE 562 5U AF NIGER
NGA NG 566 5N AF NIGERIA
NIU NU 570 ZK2 OC NIUE
NFK NF 574 VK9N OC NORFOLK I
NOR NO 578 LA EU NORWAY
OMN OM 512 A4 AS OMAN
PCI PC 582 KH0... OC MARIANA/PACIFIC IS
PAK PK 586 AP AS PAKISTAN
PAN PA 590 HP NA PANAMA
PNG PG 598 P2 OC PAPUA NEW GUINEA
PRY PY 600 ZP SA PARAGUAY
PER PE 604 OA SA PERU
PHL PH 608 DU/DX OC PHILIPPINES
PCN PN 612 VR6 OC PITCAIRN I
POL PL 616 SP/SQ EU POLAND
PRT PT 620 CT/CS EU PORTUGAL
PRI PR 630 KP4 NA PUERTO RICO
QAT QA 634 A7 AS QATAR
REU RE 638 FR AF REUNION
ROM RO 642 YO EU ROMANIA
RWA RW 646 9X AF RWANDA
SHN SH 654 ZD7 AF ST.HELENA
KNA KN 658 VP2K/VP2E NA ST.KITTS-ANGUILLA
LCA LC 662 J6 NA ST.LUCIA
SPM PM 666 FP NA ST.PIERRE/MIQUELON
VCT VC 670 J8 NA ST.VINCENT/GRENADINES
WSM WS 882 5W OC SAMOA
SMR SM 674 T7/M1 EU SAN MARINO
STP ST 678 S9 AF SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE
SAU SA 682 HZ/7Z AS SAUDI ARABIA
SEN SN 686 6W AF SENEGAL
SYC SC 690 S7 AF SEYCHELLES
SLE SL 694 9L AF SIERRA LEONE
SGP SG 702 9V AS SINGAPORE
SLB SB 090 H4 OC SOLOMON IS
SOM SO 706 T5/6O AF SOMALIA
ZAF ZA 710 ZS/ZR AF SOUTH AFRICA
ESP ES 724 EA EU SPAIN
LKA LK 144 4S7 AS SRI LANKA
SDN SD 736 ST AF SUDAN
SUR SR 740 PZ SA SURINAME
SJM SJ 744 JX/JW EU SVALBARD/JAN MAYEN
SWZ SZ 748 3D6 AF SWAZILAND
SWE SE 752 SM/SL/SK EU SWEDEN
CHE CH 756 HB EU SWITZERLAND
SYR SY 760 YK AS SYRIA
TWN TW 158 BV AS TAIWAN
TZA TZ 834 5H AF TANZANIA
THA TH 764 HS AS THAILAND
TGO TG 768 5V AF TOGO
TKL TK 722 ZM7 OC TOKELAU
TON TO 776 A35 OC TONGA
TTO TT 780 9Y NA TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
TUN TN 788 3V AF TUNISIA
TUR TR 792 TA AS/EU TURKEY
TCA TC 796 VP5 NA TURKS AND CAICOS IS
TUV TV 798 T2 OC TUVALU
UGA UG 800 5X AF UGANDA
UKR UA 804 UB5 EU UKRAINEAN SSR
ARE AE 784 A6 AF UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
GBR GB 826 G EU UNITED KINGDOM
USA US 840 W/K/N NA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
PUS PU 849 KH1,5.. OC US MISCELLANEOUS PAC IS
VIR VI 850 KP2 NA US VIRGIN IS
HVO HV 854 XT2 AF UPPER VOLTA
URY UY 858 CX SA URUGAY
SUN SU 810 UA... EU/AS U.S.S.R.
VUT VU 548 YJ OC VANUATU
VAT VA 336 HV EU VATICAN CITY
VEN VE 862 YV SA VENEZUELA
VNM VN 704 3W/XV AS VIETNAM
WAK WK 872 KH9 OC WAKE I
WLF WF 876 FW OC WALLIS AND FUTUNA IS
ESH EH 732 S0 AF WESTERN SAHARA
YEM YE 886 4W AS YEMEN
YMD YD 720 7O AS P.D.R. OF YEMEN
YUG YU 890 YU/YT EU YUGOSLAVIA
ZAR ZR 180 9Q AF ZAIRE
ZMB ZM 894 9J AF ZAMBIA
ZWE ZW 716 Z2 AF ZIMBABWE
BY JA1KSO/AH6HX
(C) NOB ITOH
If you are going to use this for W0RLI's SUBLIST , you must omit your
own country from this list or put it into ( ) like (JPN).
Multiple forwarding by @ JPN(for example) must be controlled by
CONFIG.MB and by DIS file.
A!*
A@!*
B!*
B@!*
C!*
C@!*
D!*
D@!*
E!*
E@!*
F!*
F@!*
G!*
G@!*
H!*
H@!*
I!*
I@!*
J!*
J@!*
K!*
K@!*
L!*
L@!*
M!*
M@!*
N!*
N@!*
O!*
O@!*
P!*
P@!*
R!*
R@!*
S!*
S@!*
T!*
T@!*
U!*
U@!*
V!*
V@!*
W!*
W@!*
X!*
X@!*
Y!*
Y@!*
Z!*
Z@!*
1@!*
2@!*
3@!*
4@!*
5@!*
6@!*
7@!*
8@!*
9@!*
Above listing covers all prefixes being used for amateur radio.
This does not cover unauthorized calls such as UPOL23 etc.
If you are going to use this list for private mail forwarding, please
rewrite to meet your conditions. You must omit prefixes used in your
country.
Following are for Japan. In Japan following prefixes has been used.
JA1-0
JD1
JE1-0
JF1-0
JG1-0
JH1-0
JI1-0
JJ1-0
JK1-0
JL1-0
JM1-0
JN1-0
JO1-0
JP1-0
JQ1-0
JR1-0
JS1-0
7J1-0
8J1-0
So, sublist listing of PFX.NET for me is
A!*
A@!*
B!*
B@!*
C!*
C@!*
D!*
D@!*
E!*
E@!*
F!*
F@!*
G!*
G@!*
H!*
H@!*
I!*
I@!*
JT!* (must cover other than JA-JS)
JW!* =
JX!* =
JY!* =
K!*
K@!*
L!*
L@!*
M!*
M@!*
N!*
N@!*
O!*
O@!*
P!*
P@!*
R!*
R@!*
S!*
S@!*
T!*
T@!*
U!*
U@!*
V!*
V@!*
W!*
W@!*
X!*
X@!*
Y!*
Y@!*
Z!*
Z@!*
1@!*
2@!*
3@!*
4@!*
5@!*
6@!*
7G!* (following 7.8 listing cover other than 7J and 8J)
7O!*
7P!*
7Q!*
7S!*
7T!*
7X!*
7Z!*
8F!*
8P!*
8Q!*
8R!*
8T!*
8Z!*
9@!*
If we use this PFX.NET and COUNTRY.NET list, world-wide file forwarding
shall be mor successful.
DE JA1KSO
