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From: josh@polaris.UUCP (Josh Knight)
Newsgroups: net.mail,net.wanted
Subject: Re: Gateway to VNET wanted
Message-ID: <696@polaris.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 17-Aug-86 01:21:24 EDT
Article-I.D.: polaris.696
Posted: Sun Aug 17 01:21:24 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 19-Aug-86 22:21:56 EDT
References: <1002@kuling.UUCP> <162@wucfua.UUCP> <967@mit-trillian.MIT.EDU> <680@polaris.UUCP> <42WGRCU@CUNYVM>
Reply-To: josh@polaris.UUCP (Josh Knight)
Organization: IBM Research, Yorktown Heights, N.Y.
Lines: 39
Keywords: VNET, gateway, IBM
Summary: There are indeed two
Xref: mnetor net.mail:1025 net.wanted:3690

In article <42WGRCU@CUNYVM> WGRCU@CUNYVM.BITNET writes:
>I hope no one minds if I interject a bit of fact into this conversation.

Well, there has certainly been some stuff about VNET <-> non-IBM world
connections that I don't consider "fact" on this newsgroup recently.
Bill Rubin's posting is clearly the best information that has been
posted to this group about the VNET <-> BITNET connection, at least for
the last couple of years.  However, the original question (and the immediate,
predictable "me too's") came from non-BITNET sites.  For those not on BITNET
the canonical gateway to the internal IBM RSCS network (referred to as VNET
on this group recently) is at IBM.COM, which is physically at the IBM
Almaden Research Center.  Direct queries to postmaster@IBM.COM.  As I
mentioned earlier <987@polaris.uucp>, this gateway is unrestricted except
for whatever limitations are imposed on the traffic by other networks
(CSNet, ARPA) and by the authorization requirements of the particular IBM
installation.  As is the case with the connection to BITNET, the request for
authorization must be initiated on the IBM side.  Indeed, since the address
josh@ibm.com is transformed by the gateway at Almaden, knowing the USERID
at NODE address of someone inside IBM isn't enough to get mail to them
through the gateway.  In this respect, the BITNET connectivity of the
IBM Research Division computers (typically YKTVMx where x=H,H2,T,V,X or Z)
is different.  Anyone authorized to use BITNET at T.J. Watson Research can
be addressed as userid@yktvmx.bitnet if they are USERID at YKTVMX on VNET.
As Bill Rubin noted, this "direct" research connection is only for a very
limited number of nodes.
 
As an aside, VNET also provides PVM service (remote login) between many
internal IBM sites.  I'm pretty sure that there will be an article
in an upcoming issue of Communications of the ACM (October, I believe)
with a title like "Notable Computer Networks".  The authors are
Josiah Hoskins and John Quarterman.  It has a section on VNET and
the connections thereto, actually that's the only part of it I've
seen.

Of course, I speak only for myself, not for my employer. 
-- 

	Josh Knight, IBM T.J. Watson Research
 josh@ibm.com, josh@yktvmh.bitnet,  ...!philabs!polaris!josh