Xref: utzoo comp.mail.misc:5466 comp.mail.uucp:6536 Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!emory!ox.com!ox.com!emv From: emv@ox.com (Ed Vielmetti) Newsgroups: comp.mail.misc,comp.mail.uucp Subject: rftp (was Re: BITFTP grief!) Message-ID: Date: 18 May 91 16:45:45 GMT References: <1991May16.145758.6817@uu.psi.com> <1991May17.202220.9531@uu.psi.com> <-=DB8WF@xds13.ferranti.com> Sender: usenet@ox.com (Usenet News Administrator) Organization: OTA Limited Partnership, Ann Arbor MI. Lines: 38 In-Reply-To: peter@ficc.ferranti.com's message of 18 May 91 13:13:59 GMT > hypothetical rftp program As an internet service provider, I would like to have this rftp service available to MSEN customers. It would seem to dovetail quite nicely with comp.archives, since there's all that verified location information sitting there right handy to be used. The spec should cover at least the following: - format of remote files (e.g. sprite.berkeley.edu:/mx.tar.Z) - specification of alternate delivery mechanisms, e.g. uuencoded and mailed, queued at some grade for delivery, immediate call-back, left in a spool to be picked up later. - action to take on error (do nothing, do an archie search, do a comp.archives search) - mirror site treatment -- if someone fetches a file from the australian simtel20 archive, it should be OK to pick that file off your local disk if you are a mirror site or if your cache is correct. - package specifications -- if you have the comp.archives catalog at hand, you should be able to ask for "mh" and get back the right thing. - verification and limiting -- remote sites need to be able to see what they are going to be getting to make sure they have enough disk to handle it, and put limits so that request of over 5M (accidentally perhaps) could be flagged. Further input is encouraged; to get it right there's a lot of details to attend to. The "MSEN Archive Service" addresses just these sorts of needs; I know just about exactly what I want to do, just waiting on some agreements to be made and on sufficient resources to make them happen. Working on a writeup of what it'll look like, will post when that's ready. -- Edward Vielmetti, moderator, comp.archives. emv@msen.com comp.archives is a production of MSEN Inc.