Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!caen!ox.com!ox.com!emv From: emv@ox.com (Ed Vielmetti) Subject: Re: FTP Conformance Testing In-Reply-To: Ray_Soper.wgc-e@rx.xerox.com's message of 14 May 91 08:35:38 GMT Message-ID: Sender: usenet@ox.com (Usenet News Administrator) Organization: OTA Limited Partnership, Ann Arbor MI. References: <"14-May-91..9:35:38.+1".*.Ray_Soper.wgc-e@rx.Xerox.com> Date: Tue, 14 May 1991 13:38:10 GMT In article <"14-May-91..9:35:38.+1".*.Ray_Soper.wgc-e@rx.Xerox.com> Ray_Soper.wgc-e@rx.xerox.com writes: Is there a standard set of conformance tests for FTP? Is there a reference implementation to test against? How do people "normally" test new FTP implementations? Does anyone run a conformance testing service? Ray, The traditional tests of FTP are interoperability tests, not conformance tests; the published RFCs on FTP are rather weak in describing what parts of the protocol need to be done, and are completely lacking in specifying (e.g.) data formats which would facilitate FTP'ing entire directory trees. There is still much work to be done in the standardization and specification area. Regarding simple protocol questions, it's really quite easy to generate a testbed for FTP implementations. There is an extensive catalog of sites which offer anonymous FTP services; at the very least, your test mechanisms should examine a sample of these services and verify interoperability for any protocol features which you'd like to test out. comp.archives is a good source of ongoing data to drive a test regimen. Grab copies of the most favorite FTP add-on scripts (the 'autoftp' things which attack dial SIMTEL20, the 'bftp' background FTP scripts, the 'expect' package with its FTP driving routines come to mind) and see to it that your package offers an adequate sampling of these features on the client side. On the server side, it's ridiculously easy to generate a lot of test traffic. Put up a system with your ftp server that offers an anonymous FTP login; populate the public directories with interesting materials, and post an announcement to this effect somewhere on usenet. To ensure that people will notice your site, it would be best to include in it materials which are traditionally forbidden fruit to NSFnet sites -- nudie pix, racy stories, other items of prurient interest, encryption algorithms, political propaganda, and meeting notes of secret societies are items which should generate traffic from a wide range of client systems. this will ensure that you'll also be able to test the efficiency of your FTP system and your network under load, and it will give you an unmatched opportunity to find problems. Please contact me directly if you have any questions. -- Edward Vielmetti, vice president for research, MSEN Inc. emv@msen.com "(6) The Plan shall identify how agencies and departments can collaborate to ... expand efforts to improve, document, and evaluate unclassified public-domain software developed by federally-funded researchers and other software, including federally-funded educational and training software; " "High-Performance Computing Act of 1991, S. 272"