Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!caip!topaz!rutgers!husc6!uwvax!puff!plocher From: plocher@puff.wisc.edu (John Plocher) Newsgroups: net.mail,net.news Subject: Re: FidoNET Newsletter (long - 110 lines) Message-ID: <258@puff.wisc.edu> Date: Tue, 21-Oct-86 20:48:23 EDT Article-I.D.: puff.258 Posted: Tue Oct 21 20:48:23 1986 Date-Received: Wed, 22-Oct-86 05:33:28 EDT References: <1945@well.UUCP> <768@hplabsc.UUCP> <4171@ut-ngp.UUCP> <1484@jade.BERKELEY.EDU> Reply-To: plocher@puff.WISC.EDU (John Plocher) Organization: U of Wisconsin CS Dept Lines: 112 Keywords: Fido FidoNet Xref: watmath net.mail:2033 net.news:5296 Summary: Description of FidoNet In article <1484@jade.BERKELEY.EDU> Don Curry writes: >Okay! What IS FidoNET? I can't vote for or against it without some knowledge >of what it is I'm voting for/against. FidoNet (tm) is a collection of PCs which run a Buletin Board System (BBS) called Fido (tm). Fido is a typical BBS system for micros in that it allows entry of messages (public and private) as well as upload/download of files. It has one very important difference from most PC BBSs in that ALL systems running the Fido software can automatically communicate with each other. (A lot like usenet, but significantly different - see below) This networking is done over normal voice grade phone lines, with the originator paying the phone bills. Users can send mail to users on any other Fido BBS in the world, with delivery overnight. Messages can also be sent to anyone on Usenet, again, see below. Currently, FidoNet (the name for the global network of Fidos) consists of over 1000 systems in USA, Canada, England, Holland, (other European contries too) Australia, Indonesia... FidoNet is organized as a structured blob :-) Anyone CAN talk to anyone else, but default routing channels messages through hosts or hubs. Each week a central site sends out a nodelist to hubs and regions who then send it to all the leaf nodes. This nodelist is used for the automatic routing and as an on-line "area code" directory. Also published once a week by another site is the FidoNews newsletter. This moderated newsletter is driven by the members of FidoNet, and is a great source of info to the Sysops and users involved with FidoNet. Technical description of FidoNet: Topology: other hubs <------+---------------+-----------------+----------> other hubs | | | Net 132 Hub Region 2 Hub Net 121 Hub (Node 0) (Node 0) (Node 0) | | | -------------- node 8 --------------- / | \ / | \ Node 1 node 2 node 101 node 1 node 7 node 90 A user on Net 121 Node 1 can send a message to another person on Net 132 Node 101; the message will be routed as follows: 121/1 --> 121/0 --> 132/0 --> 132/101 This is done because the hubs can usually send messages for less cost than the nodes can (After hours use of WATS lines...). Usually a 'net' is similar in concept to the telco's area code. A hub usually is a local phone call away from its nodes; Nodes which are isolated are placed in regions instead of nets. This is an arbitrary naming convention, not a different class of . If 121/1 wanted to send a file (as opposed to a message) to 132/101, the call would be placed directly between 121/1 and 132/101 to avoid saturating the hubs. Also, the Prime Directive of FidoNet is that the person who incures costs should pay for them. Thus Node 121/1 pays to send the file, not the hub, 121/0! Implementation: The Fido Software is written by Tom Jennings, and (as of version 11), is avaliable to non-commercial sites for FREE. Commercial use requires a $100 registration licencing fee. It runs on IBM/clone PC's, DEC Rainbows, Sanyo PC's, Victor 9000s, CompuPro S-100 machines... ie: MS-DOS boxes. There is a large documentation package avaliable (500+ pages), including setup manual, Sysop manual, and user manual. Also, there are help nodes on the net, and IFNA, the International FidoNet Association can help old and new BBSs out. The comunications at the networking level are crude - a combination of XMODEM and Telink (Modem7-Batch) file transfer protocols with verification preambles at connect time. (are you a user or another Fido?...) The routing is done with the above mentioned static routing tables, updated weekly. With the exception of the nodelist preperation, there is NO central node in the network - it really is an informal grouping of very independent machines. Nodes behave as they wish, since they pay their phone bills. Hubs are there to make organizational sense out of the shear number of nodes; country codes are coming soon because of the fast growth of FidoNet overseas. There is a UUCP <--> FidoNet gateway maintained by Bob Hartman at vaxine; mail can be sent to Fido systems with the UUCP address: {decvax,ihnp4}!encore!vaxine!spark!FIDO-NET-NUMBER!FIDO-NODE-NUMBER!FIDO-USER where FIDO-NET-NUMBER is the identifier of the sub-net within FidoNet the desired node resides in, FIDO-NODE-NUMBER is the local node number, and FIDO-USER is the name of the user you wish to talk to. Bob's address would be: decvax!encore!vaxine!spark!132!101!Bob_Hartman Mine would be: decvax!encore!vaxine!spark!121!0!John_Plocher -- "Never trust an idea you get sitting down" - Nietzche ------------ {harvard,seismo}!uwvax!uwmacc!uwhsms!plocher (work) John Plocher {harvard,seismo}!uwvax!puff!plocher (school) ------------ decvax!encore!vaxine!spark!121!0!John_Plocher (FidoNet)