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From: [email protected] (Tom Czarnik, Coordinator)
Subject: Anonymous FTP List - FAQ
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Followup-To: comp.archives.admin
Summary: The Intro/FAQ for the AnonymousFTP Directory and its listings.
Keywords: annonymous ftp list public archive sites files faq
Sender: [email protected] (Tom Czarnik)
Supersedes: <[email protected]>
Reply-To: [email protected]
Organization: Anonymous FTP Directory
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1992 20:19:21 GMT
Approved: [email protected]
Expires: Sun, 6 Dec 1992 20:19:08 GMT
Lines: 344

Archive-Name: ftp-list/faq
Last-Modified: 1992/11/06
Version: 2.1


                          Anonymous FTP List
                   Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)


This FAQ is posted monthly, to these Usenet newsgroups: comp.archives.admin,
comp.misc, comp.sources.wanted, alt.sources.wanted, & news.answers.

I'm in the middle of updating sites with dates older than 1992/01/01.

Comments always welcome.

Tom Czarnik
[email protected]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I keep a directory of Internet sites accepting anonymous FTP and mail
retrieval of their files. Two listings are posted to the Usenet, as a
3-part article, on a monthly basis. You can find them in the following:

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


Topics are shown below and with their respective answers.
Format: (#Q) for a question and (#A) for the answer.

       (1)  What types of lists are available?
       (2)  How do I read the ISO date?
       (3)  Retrieving the list from alternate sources.
       (4)  Retrieving the the raw database.
       (5)  Using FTP without direct Internet access.
       (6)  Problems with a site.
       (7)  Information presented is wrong or outdated.
       (8)  Getting a site listed or changes made.
       (9)  Making the list publicly available.
       (10) Using the general mail server at DEC's Western Research Labs.
       (11) What is Archie and how does it relate to the list?
       (12) What is and how do I use the FTP program?
           *This is going to updated in the future to include more info*



(1Q) What types of lists are available?

(1A) Lists available and what is included in them:

               SITES - contains comphrensive information

       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 - useable with the Grep utility for file searches

       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)


(2Q) How do I read the ISO date?

(2A) The format is Year/Month/Day (1991/12/30 is 30 December 1991) and
a leading zero is required if the month or day is a single digit.


(3Q) Retrieving the list from alternate sources.

(3A) I will mail copies to individuals without other means of retreival
or to admins of closed systems. Leave me mail for help.

It is available from various FTP sites which archive the Usenet
news.answers group in the directory 'ftp-list'. Also look for 'ftp-list'
in either the Sites or Files list. Use anonymous FTP to get it from its
home site:

       ftp.netcom.com  192.100.81.10 /pub/profile/ftp-list

These sites mirror or conatin all or some of the lists maintained at
ftp.netcom.com.

       North America - ftp.uwp.edu  131.210.1.4 in /pub/ftp.list/ftp-list
       Europe - nic.switch.ch 130.59.1.40 in /mirror/ftp-list
       Europe - ftp.denet.dk 129.142.6.74 in /pub/misc/ftp-list
       Europe - garbo.uwasa.fi 128.214.87.1


(4Q) Retrieving the raw databse.

(4A) Yes, the database is available for importing into your own database
programs or anything else you want to do with it. It uses the vertical
bar as a field seperator, as the character is not used in any fields.
A Perl search and formatting utility is coming soon. The raw database
only available on the home FTP archive and ftp.uwp.edu.


(5Q) Using FTP without direct Internet access.

(5A) 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 (10A).

NOTE:   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.


(6Q) Problems with a site.

(6A) 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'; replace
'site_name' with the name of the troublesome site. If that fails, post
a note to comp.archives.admin (the newsgroup for archive administrators).


(7Q) Information is wrong or outdated.

(7A) Send mail to me detailing the incorrect information and the
corrections. If you are the site manager for the archive, please see
below (8A) for the information I need.


(8Q) Getting a site listed or changes made.

(8A) Send the following information to [email protected].

       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).
       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?



(9Q) Making the list publicly available.

(9A) 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. Please keep the list updated.


(10Q) Using the general mail server at DEC's Western Research Labs.

(10A) Send mail to  [email protected]  with 'help' in the body of the
letter. You CANNOT send a blank letter, commands are not optional.


(11Q) What is Archie and how does it relate to the list?

(11A) 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.

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.unl.edu (North America)
       archie.funet.fi (Finland/Mainland Europe)
       archie.au (Australia/New Zealand)
       archie.doc.ic.ac.uk (Great Britain/Ireland)
       archie.ncu.edu.tw (Taiwan)
       archie.cs.huji.ac.il (Israel)
         [ The above site only accepts client (Prospero) requests. ]


(12Q) What is and how do I use the FTP program?

(12A) For novices to the Internet, I highly recommend a recent book,
'The Whole Internet User's Guide and Catalog' by Ed Krol. It is wriiten
clearly and contains an enormous amount of information. Read it cover to
cover, and keep it close at hand. Published by O'Reilly & Asscociates, it
is available from many computer bookstores or O'Reilly's worldwide
distributors. Contact the publisher at +1 707-829-0515.


The information below was originally maintained by John Granrose (the
old maintainer of the listings). 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 ([email protected])
                 Mike Jones ([email protected])
                   Tom Czarnik ([email protected])


     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
         nic.switch.ch         /mirror/ftp-list/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.


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