Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!interlan.interlan.COM!kasten
From: kasten@interlan.interlan.COM (Frank Kastenholz)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: Re:  Counting Internet Hosts (and Users)
Message-ID: <8910101451.AA01170@interlan.interlan.com>
Date: 10 Oct 89 14:51:24 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 20

Gee, 

Seems like there is a simpler way to do it......

    for (i=0; i<0xffffffff; i++)
         foo = ping(i)
        if (foo == answered)
           number_of_hosts++;

Its only an order n problem . . . no fancy protocols, no worrying about
whether you are allowed to dump the domain tables, etc, etc...

It may take a while to finish, but that would provide a good excuse for 
people to buy more/faster/bigger/<your favorite adjective here> machines.

Linearly and Inefficiently Yours...
Frank Kastenholz
Racal InterLan

(p.s. for those people who tend to believe everything they read - don't)