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From: UH2@PSUVM.BITNET
Newsgroups: comp.mail.uucp
Subject: Re: new gateways?
Message-ID: <8547UH2@PSUVM>
Date: Tue, 18-Nov-86 08:14:49 EST
Article-I.D.: PSUVM.8547UH2
Posted: Tue Nov 18 08:14:49 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 19-Nov-86 21:25:43 EST
References: 870@hope.UUCP
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You ask how Unix land can have .com or .edu type addresses?  Simple, at
least as I understand it.

There is a massive effort to convert all the nets to this type of "domain"
addressing, with only Bitnet lagging a little behind.  (My Bitnet node
seems to handle them.)

If your machine can find, say, erie.psu.edu in its database, fine--it send
the message by whatever path is associated with that name.  Else,
it tries to send it to psu.edu, and hopes that psu.edu will know where
erie is.

As erie adds, say, a LAN with a bunch of departmental machines, they
introduce those machines to erie.psu.edu, and modify software for gatewaying
to the lan.  Then, if you send mail to pluto.erie.psu.edu, there is a good
chance that it'll get there.

If you send to user@psu.edu, because you know that user is at Penn State,
there is a good chance that psu will know user is in erie, erie will know that
user gets mail on pluto, and you won't have to know all the stuff.

I learned all this stuff last summer at UseNix, in Atlanta.  I seem to
recall that several net-gods were at the top of this project and doing all
the work, such as writing, debugging, and distributing new software.
The biggest problem is getting small machines to install the new software
so get after your sysadmin.

lee sailer