hostname: naic.nasa.gov
filename: files/general_info/finding-email-address.txt
updated:  9/93 (AM)

Title:     HOW DO I SEND MAIL TO WHATSHISNAME?

       (Actually: How to find someones E-mail address)


Abstract:  Users often have difficulty in finding a proper Email
           address they can use to communicate with a colleague.
           This talk looks at tricks and techniques in discovering
           a users account and hostname in the DECnet, BITnet, X.25
           and TCP/IP world with heavy emphasis on TCP/IP.  Various 
           Internet-wide resources and commonly available utilities 
           (both VMS and UNIX) will be discussed.
           
       
 

  
   There are basically three techniques one can use to determine a users
   email address.
 
   The first involves what I'll call poor-mans-networking. That is, call
   Mr. X up on the phone and ask him what his email address is.  If you 
   don't know his number, call SOMEONE at his site up and request that he 
   do some computer legwork for you.  Altho this may sound rather inelegant 
   in many cases, this last-resort technique DOES work, particularly when 
   combined with a network directory listing local points of contact (eg 
   Tracy LaQuey's book, the former SPAN yellow pages etc.) We'll see that 
   combining this with the TCP/IP WHOIS utility also may be useful

   A further example includes locally available services   Many sites have 
   locally available online flat-files that users may peruse.  eg Amarna 
   has Goddard phonebook online in SDCDCL::PUB_PROD:[PHONEBOOK]PHONEBOOK.DAT
 
                          EXAMPLE:

             search sdcdcl::pub_prod:[phonebook]phonebook.dat stern
 
      66079  STERN           DAVID        M               HSTX 930.4 28 W205J
      68292  STERN           DAVID        P            DR.695.0       2 143
      71736  STERN           RICHARD      ARICH           CSC  832.2N161119


   But these online files often doesn't contain email addresses.  More 
   importantly most remote users wouldn't know about such local services.


                               _ _ _
                                _ _
                                 _
 


   The second technique is to search commonly available databases or flatfiles
   for a partial string.

To find a BITnet machine:
=========================
Search the host table that is periodically distributed to BITnet sites.
On a VMS machine running Joiner software, it is located in
JAN_ROOT:[SYS]JANROUTES.JCP and is world-readable.  In fact, you need
not be a BITnet site to search this file. You can peruse it remotely.
Thus if a hostname is 6 or fewer alphanumeric characters, it may be
a BITnet node.

                  EXAMPLE:
 
  search dftnic::jan_root:[sys]janroutes.jcp slac
 DEFINE SLACESA  /ROUTE=SCFMVS    ! BITNET   US
 DEFINE SLACPCR  /ROUTE=SCFMVS    ! BITNET   US
 DEFINE SLACPHYS /ROUTE=SCFMVS    ! BITNET   US
 DEFINE SLACSCS  /ROUTE=SCFMVS    ! BITNET   US
 DEFINE SLACSLC  /ROUTE=SCFMVS    ! BITNET   US
 DEFINE SLACSLD  /ROUTE=SCFMVS    ! BITNET   US
 DEFINE SLACSRV2 /ROUTE=SCFMVS    ! BITNET   US
 DEFINE SLACTBF  /ROUTE=SCFMVS    ! BITNET   US
 DEFINE SLACTPC  /ROUTE=SCFMVS    ! BITNET   US
 DEFINE SLACTPCS /ROUTE=SCFMVS    ! BITNET   US
 DEFINE SLACTWGM /ROUTE=SCFMVS    ! BITNET   US
 DEFINE SLACVM   /ROUTE=SCFMVS    ! BITNET   US
 DEFINE SLACVX   /ROUTE=SCFMVS    ! BITNET   US
 

But how do you find out if someone is running Joiner software?
You can remotely translate a logical using the following technique:


       $MAIL NL: DFTNIC::JAN_ROOT   

This forces VMS on the remote machine to internally interpret the logical
jan_root and parrot back to you it's equivalence in the error message.  
This same technique can be used to see if a machine is running multinet, 
PMDF, DECpsi etc (If you know what logical to search for...)
 

                 EXAMPLE:
 
  mail nl: dftnic::jan_root
 %MAIL-E-USERSPEC, invalid user specification ':[SYS3.JANDFTNIC.]'

Compare this to the attempted translation of a logical that does NOT
exist on the remote machine DFTNIC.  Note the error message regurgitates
the logical EXACTLY as you entered it.

  mail nl: dftnic::gobblede_guk
 %MAIL-E-NOSUCHUSR, no such user GOBBLEDE_GUK at node DFTNIC 
 
 


To find a VMS X.25 machine:
===========================


If you are trying to reach an X.25 site, you have DECs PSI software and your
systems manager has been kind enough to define logicals to equate easily
remembered names with machine DTE numbers, the PSI table will list at least 
those DTE's  that HAVE been defined.  This will only work locally. You can 
NOT remotely translate a PSI logical. Likewise you can't randomly browse
another machines psi$dte_table.  So if you're not a PSI site, you're SOL.
NB. Because of security considerations, Sprintnet wont translate a number 
for you)

                              EXAMPLE:

 
 
  show log/table=psi$dte_table ssl
    "SSL" = "311032100160" (PSI$DTE_TABLE)

You need not give it a full name; wildcards are allowed.  Further,
you need not remember that ridiculous logical table name:
 
  show log/table=*psi* *venus*
 
 (PSI$DTE_TABLE)
 
   "KDDVENUS" = "440881786124"


 

To find a DECnet machine:
=========================
First, let's assume it's in the NSI address space.  If your local NCP 
database is up to date, try searching it ($MCR NCP SH NODE string)
Otherwise:

              $SEARCH NSINIC::NSI_DECNET.COM string

This file lists all registered NSI-DECnet nodes.  Again, if the nodename
is 6 or fewer alphanumeric characters, it may be an NSI-DECnet node.  

               EXAMPLE:
 
  sea nsinic::nsi_decnet.com zar
 DEFINE NODE  5.864     NAME  MIZAR
 DEFINE NODE  5.900     NAME  ZARDOZ
 DEFINE NODE  33.38     NAME  MIZAR2
 
 

    PERHAPS ITS A HEPNET, EUROPEAN-SPAN, EUROPEAN-HEPNET, CANADIAN-SPAN,
    CANADIAN-HEPNET OR THENET NODE

The above nets share the same address space.  A name may be multiply defined
in two or more networks. Some areas are not defined in all of the above nets.
The same previously mentioned technique can still be used. You just need to
know where to look.  NSI_DECNET.COM has the following "gateways" defined

FNAL   (Fermi Lab in HEPnet)             42.1
ECD1   (European SPAN)                   28.1
CANOTT (Canadian SPAN)                   18.100
THENIC (Texas Higher Education Network)  25.213


The following machines are undefined in NSI_DECNET.COM (but now you know...)

HEPCAN (Canadian HEPnet)                 18.1001           
VXCERN (European HEPnet)                 22.190


So all you need to do is query one (or all) of the above regarding a
nodename.  Bear in mind that nodenames ARE not necessarily unique to
any of the above networks.

Note that you need to know (or guess) the full machine name. You cannot
search on a partial string.  Still, if you're only trying to identify
on which network a known host resides, this method will suffice.

Once you decide on what network the machine resides, you can poor-mans-route
email thru the appropriate gateway e.g.

   $ MAIL DATA.TXT FNAL::MARIE::SMITH

 

Again, keep in mind that machine names are not necessarily unique across the
DECnet Internet.  The same name may be used by many machines with different
addresses

                   EXAMPLE:

  mc ncp tell fnal sh node marie
  
 Node Volatile Summary as of 25-FEB-1992 13:53:01
  
     Node           State      Active  Delay   Circuit     Next node
                               Links
  
 43.355 (MARIE)                                BNA-0        42.33 (FNALRE)

  mc ncp sh node marie
  
 Node Volatile Summary as of 25-FEB-1992 13:53:10
  
     Node           State      Active  Delay   Circuit     Next node
                               Links
  
  5.779 (MARIE)                                SVA-0        15.1019 (WAN1)
 


 



You can also use X.500 White Pages service:
===========================================


If the user is a member of any government agency, they are likely to have
been registered in X.500 white pages.  Unfortunately it's not the most 
user-friendly device and can be painfully slow if you don't know the 
organization the user belongs to.  Futher, it uses fuzzy logic for the
search (This can be both good and bad).  Finally, it might not
even list their e-mail address 

Some of the more common X.500 front ends include:

wp   - graphics for vt100 OR display back to an Xwindow
fred - a more user-friendly front end
sd   - for experts only


 

               EXAMPLE:
$ telnet wp.gsfc.nasa.gov
Trying... Connected to LEGO.GSFC.NASA.GOV 

SunOS UNIX (lego)

login: fred


Welcome to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center


If you have any problems, send mail to rdunbar@dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov

Try   "help" for a list of commands
     "whois" for information on how to find people
    "manual" for detailed documentation
    "report" to send a report to the white pages manager

To find out about participating organizations, try
    "whois -org *"

To find the people with lastname of Dunbar in NASA, try
    "whois dunbar -org nasa"

  accessing service, please wait...

fred> help
Operations:
alias   dish    help    quit    set     whois
area    edit    manual  report  thisis  version

fred> whois -org nasa stern 
Trying @c=US@o=National Aeronautics and Space Administration ...
4 matches found.
  2. David P. Stern                                 +1 301-286-8292
  3. David Stern                                    +1 301-286-6079
  4. Richard Stern                                  +1 804-824-1610
  5. Robert Stern
(Partial results only--not all DSAs could be reached)

 
fred> whois -org nasa stern -full
Trying @c=US@o=National Aeronautics and Space Administration ...
Robert Stern (5)

NASA Johnson Space Center
  Houston, TX 77058

Mailbox information:
  c=usa,admd=telemail,prmd=jsc,org=nasa,ou=life,gn=robert,sn=stern,i=m

Locality:    Houston, Texas

Name:     Robert Stern, Johnson Space Center,
            National Aeronautics and Space Administration,
            US (5)
Modified: Tue Sep 24 21:17:48 1991
      by: Manager, National Aeronautics and Space Administration,
            US (7)
(Partial results only--not all DSAs could be reached)


 


All of the above are somewhat helpful but they probably sound like "hacky"
or last-resort methods. Fortunately, there are a few network utilities
that provide a somewhat more reliable solution to the problem. Network 
utilities are the third technique for looking up email addresses.


 

BITNET
======
If you are on a BITnet machine, you can send a test message/command to the
user you intend to email to.  Likewise, you can use the finger utility to
verify that a machine name is legitimate and even get a listing of user
currently logged on.  

 send @jhuvms finger
(JHUVMS) - Username  Program   Login CPU Time  TTY 
(JHUVMS) - GGA                 08:54    37.5   LTA702 
(JHUVMS) - EBOLTZ    TELNET    14:26     2.6   RTA3 
(JHUVMS) - DOR_B014  EDT       13:13    17.1   NTY4 
(JHUVMS) - JOHNHARR            14:01     8.0   TZA6672 
(JHUVMS) - CAE_005             14:27     1.4   TZA6731 
(JHUVMS) - ADM_ACWS  DTR32     13:35   214.6   TZA6613 
(JHUVMS) - EVH5150             13:14   133.4   TZA6547 
(JHUVMS) - JU1972              14:28     4.1   TZA6732 
         ... (output deleted for brevity) ....

But not all BITnet machines enable the finger utility.  The following
machine is an IBM.  It IS a valid BITnet host, just doesn't run finger.

        send @jhuvm finger
       (JHUVM) - INVALID COMMAND FINGER 

        sea jan_root:[sys]janroutes.jcp jhuvm
       DEFINE JHUVM    /ROUTE=SCFMVS    ! BITNET   US
       DEFINE JHUVMS   /ROUTE=SCFMVS    ! BITNET   US


Limitations:
------------
You must be a bitnet site.  Furthermore, using finger to identify a 
username on a valid BITnet host will only work if that user is currently 
logged on.  Finally, illegal names aren't actually identified as such.

                    EXAMPLE:

         send gobblede@jhuvm  "test"
        (JHUVM) - GOBBLEDE NOT LOGGED ON 


 

DECNET
======
Although most people wouldn't think of VMSMAIL as a network utility for 
verifying an e-mail address, it can be used as just that.  Because DECnet
is a connection-oriented protocol, you can test an email address at the
VMS MAIL "To:" prompt.  You need not send a test message. This guarantees
that you have found a legitimate email address.  This same technique can
be used to validate an X.25 mail address


                      EXAMPLE:

 mail

MAIL> s
To:	ssl::system
CC:	^Z
 Exit 

MAIL> s
To:     PSI%31103210703598::GREEN
CC:     ^Z
 Exit 

MAIL>

 

Limitations:  
------------
Just because an email address is valid, it isn't necessarily the address you
want. eg DFTNIC::GARY  (Of course, this is always true.  Just something to
keep in mind)



 

Sometimes a machine is down. To get around this, you can use a feature of
multinet to que it up.  

                        EXAMPLE:

 mail
MAIL> s
To:	ssp1::system
%MAIL-E-LOGLINK, error creating network link to node SSP1
-SYSTEM-F-NOSUCHNODE, remote node not currently reachable

MAIL> s
To:	smtp%"ssp1::system"
CC:	
Subj: Sample of queueing up DECnet mail for later delivery


 

FINGER
------

The same technique use to discover a legitimate username on a particular
BITnet machine may also be used in the IP world.

                     EXAMPLE:
 finger @nsipo.nasa.gov

  User     Real Name         What    Idle  TTY  Host      Console Location
aschen   Anne Chen                   0:02  *p7 nsipo.ar (cumulus.arc.nas
bosco    Kathy J. Bosovich           0:30  *co zeus.arc unknown
chen     Anni Chen                   0:18  *co jadee.ar unknown
defrenza Michael DeFrenza            0:14  *p7 dscs.arc (xexeo:0.2)
feinler  Jake Feinler                      *co wonderla unknown
hallie   Hallie Carlson                    *pa nsipo.ar (sophie.arc.nasa
howe     Greg Howe                   0:02  *co spot.arc unknown
joanie   Joan C. Thompson           15:59  *p1 eudoxa.a (:0.0)
jones    Wm Prichard Jones          22:15  *p2 jehovah. (:0.0)
kamerdze Jeanine Kamerdze           23:49  *pb noc.arc. (:0.0)
leon     Mark Leon                   0:24  *pd nsipo.ar (warlord.arc.nas
maria    Maria L. Gallagher          0:50  *co volcano. unknown
mckernan Daniel S. McKernan          2:20  *p9 dscs.arc (fltsatcom.arc.n
wade     A. Lee Wade                 0:03  *co discover unknown
wiersma   Al Wiersma                        p1 noc.arc. (noc.arc.nasa.go


 
PING
----

Like the previously mentioned VMSMAIL verification technique, PING can 
be used to verify a hostname and insure that the machine is currently 
available.

                          EXAMPLE:
$ mu ping nsipo.nasa.gov 

PING NSIPO.NASA.GOV (128.102.18.20): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 128.102.18.20: icmp_seq=0 time=360 ms
64 bytes from 128.102.18.20: icmp_seq=2 time=290 ms

 

TRACEROUTE
----------

Occasionally, you may come across a domain name that you don't recognize.
Using TRACEROUTE and a little geography, one can often figure out physically
where (at what local site) a machine resides

                        EXAMPLE:

$mu trace gdsnet.grumman.com  
traceroute to GDSNET.GRUMMAN.COM  (134.223.87.7), 30 hops max, 38 byte packets
 1  nsi-gw1 (128.183.10.40)  20 ms  10 ms  10 ms
 2  SURA.NSN.NASA.GOV (128.161.40.38)  30 ms  10 ms  10 ms
 3  nss-fix.sura.net (192.80.214.254)  40 ms  20 ms  30 ms
 4  Ithaca.NY.NSS.NSF.NET (129.140.74.9)  60 ms  60 ms  60 ms
 5  Ithaca.NY.NSS.NSF.NET (129.140.10.16)  60 ms Ithaca.NY.NSS.NSF.NET (129.140.10.80)  60 ms Ithaca.NY.NSS.NSF.NET (129.140.10.16)  60 ms
 6  cornell.syr.pop.psi.net (38.145.10.1)  60 ms  90 ms  70 ms
 7  syrpop.albany.pop.psi.net (38.145.20.2)  120 ms  90 ms  70 ms
 8  albpop.nyc2.pop.psi.net (38.145.80.1)  80 ms  80 ms  70 ms
 9  nyc_C2.lan.nyc2.pop.psi.net (38.145.218.3)  130 ms  80 ms  80 ms
10  nyc1.grumman.psi.net (38.145.18.2)  100 ms  160 ms  100 ms
11  * * *
12  * * *
13  * * *
14  * * *
15  * * *
16  * * *
17  * * *
18  * * *
19  * * *
20  * * *
21  gdsnet.grumman.com (134.223.87.7)  110 ms !  100 ms !  110 ms !

Limitation:  On VMS machines running multinet, this is a privileged command.
(Your systems manager may opt to install the command with privs...)



 

WHOIS 
-----
WHOIS  is probably the single-most valuable utility for looking up email 
addresses.  (After all, it's sole purpose is to return a legitimate email 
address). This utility comes packaged with most TCP/IP products.  It is 
based on the WHOIS lookup capability at the NIC.DDN.MIL

                  EXAMPLES:

 whois stern
STERN, RICHARD
 (RS1441)		nsaparlp@NOSC.MIL		(814) 865-6344
Stern, Alan (AS2235)		STERN%RISVAX@CCNMR.MIT.EDU	  617-497-4684
Stern, Alan (AS2236)		sternrisvax@ccnmr.mit.edu	  617 497-4684
Stern, Allen M. (AMS49)		STERNA@RUCKER-SAFETY.ARMY.MIL	(DSN) 856-2826
Stern, Andre (AS127)		stern@PRG.OXFORD.AC.UK
Stern, Catherine (CS231)	cstern@APG-EMH5.APG.ARMY.MIL
						 (301) 671-2208 (DSN) 584-2208
Stern, Damon E. (DES83)		dstern@ODS-HOST1.ARMY.MIL
   011-966-3-439-4279
Stern, David M. (DMS75)		STERN@DFTNIC.GSFC.NASA.GOV	(301) 286-6079
Stern, Eric S. (ES221)		SFAE-CM-PM@MONMOUTH-EMH3.ARMY.MIL
								(908) 532-0263
Stern, Fred (FS67)		STERN1@CCF.NRL.NAVY.MIL		(319) 353-4692
Stern, Fredrick M. (FMS8)			   (DSN) 675-2393 605-385-2393
Stern, Hal (HS71)						(617) 890-2888
Stern, Jack (JS855)		EAID-IB-EE@CASEY-EMH1.ARMY.MIL	(DSN) 730-5238
Stern, Les (LS233)		TAMMC200@OBL-LINK.EUCOM.MIL
						  06332-86-6538 (DSN) 494-6538
Stern, Neil H. (NHS2)		nstern@PICA.ARMY.MIL
						 (201) 724-6363 (DSN) 880-6363
Stern, Richard
 (RS144)		nsaparlp@NOSC.MIL		(814) 865-6344
Stern, Robert (RS713)		fastkorea@BELVOIR-EMH9.ARMY.MIL
						 (703) 664-5482 (DSN) 354-5482
Stern, Scott (SMS44)		sterns@IMO-UVAX.DCA.MIL		(703) 746-3626
Stern, Stanley Alexander (SAS54)SASTERN@AEGIS-DAHLGREN.NSWC.NAVY.MIL
								(609) 268-8216
Stern, Teresa (TS29)		STERNT@IMO-UVAX6.DCA.MIL
						   (703)696-1741 (DSN)226-1741
Stern, Timothy W. (TWS15)	633ABWLGTM@KADENA-EMH.AF.MIL	(DSN) 366-8257

To single out one record, look it up with "!xxx", where xxx is the
handle, shown in parenthesis following the name, which comes first.


 


You can use WHOIS to find all users registered on a particular node

                         EXAMPLE:

$whois @dftnic
Bennett, Jerome
 (JB113)		bennett@DFTNIC.GSFC.NASA.GOV	(301) 286-4655
Broder, Sol (SB125)		broder@DFTNIC.GSFC.NASA.GOV	(301) 286-7088
Cheek, Jack (JC331)		CHEEKS@DFTNIC.GSFC.NASA.GOV	(301) 286-2045
Cosner, Charles (CC115)		cosner@DFTNIC.GSFC.NASA.GOV	(301) 286-6693
Gary, James P. (JPG18)		pgary@DFTNIC.GSFC.NASA.GOV	(301) 286-9539
Jha, Ashok (AJ29)		jha@DFTNIC.GSFC.NASA.GOV	(301) 286-9423
Kemper, Edward (EK19)		KEMPER@DFTNIC.GSFC.NASA.GOV
						 (301) 286-5042 (FTS) 888-5042
Lang, Paul A. (PAL10)		lang@DFTNIC.GSFC.NASA.GOV	(301) 286-2045
Lev, Brian (BL41)		lev@DFTNIC.GSFC.NASA.GOV	(301) 286-9514
Stern, David M. (DMS75)		STERN@DFTNIC.GSFC.NASA.GOV	(301) 286-6079
Yurcik, William J. (WY4)	yurcik@DFTNIC.GSFC.NASA.GOV	(301) 286-1376

To single out one record, look it up with "!xxx", where xxx is the
handle, shown in parenthesis following the name, which comes first.

 

You can also find out whois is responsible for a particular network
using either the Class B address mask or the network name

                     EXAMPLE:


 whois 128.161.0.0
NASA Ames Research Center (NET-NSN-NET)
   Moffett Field, CA 94035

   Netname: NSN-NET
   Netnumber: 128.161.0.0

   Coordinator:
      Medin, Milo  (MSM1)  MEDIN@NSIPO.NASA.GOV
      (415) 604-6440 (FTS) 464-6440

   Domain System inverse mapping provided by:

   NSIPO.ARC.NASA.GOV		128.102.18.20
   ORION.ARC.NASA.GOV		128.102.18.10

   Record last updated on 03-Jan-91.


To see this host record with registered users, repeat the command with
a star ('*') before the name; or, use '%' to show JUST the registered users.

 

                     EXAMPLE:

 whois nih.gov

National Institutes of Health (NIH-DOM)
   National Library of Medicine
   8600 Rockville Pike
   Bethesda, MD 20894

   Domain Name: NIH.GOV

   Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
      Aronson, Jules P.  (JA1)  ARONSON@MCS.NLM.NIH.GOV
      (301) 496-9300 (FTS) 496-9300

   Record last updated on 02-Aug-91.

   Domain servers in listed order:

   LHC.NLM.NIH.GOV		130.14.1.128
   UUCP-GW-1.PA.DEC.COM		16.1.0.18
   RAY.NLM.NIH.GOV		130.14.20.2
   SUN1.NLM.NIH.GOV		130.14.20.30
   NS.NIH.GOV			128.231.128.251
   DXI.NIH.GOV			128.231.64.1


To see this host record with registered users, repeat the command with
a star ('*') before the name; or, use '%' to show JUST the registered users.


Further capabilities are allowed if you telnet nic.ddn.mil

Limitations:  A user needs to register at the NIC in the first place.  He/she
is also responsible for keeping the information current.  To register, ftp
nic.ddn.mil and get /netinfo/user-template.txt

 



NSLOOKUP
--------
NSLOOKUP allows you to convert IP numbers to names, convert mx records, dump
all nodes a nameserver knows about and more.  

If you know a partial host name or know their domain and think you'd recognize
the hostname if you saw it, find a nameserver in that domain and dump all
nodes.  

 It may be useful to have a list of all domain names.  Ftp to NSINIC, drop 
down to [.nsinic.tcp-ip.docs] and grab DOMAIN-INFO.TXT (or get it from 
NIC.DDN.MIL, or DECnet copy it from 
NSINIC::DISK$NSINIC:[ANONYMOUS.FILES.NSINIC.TCP-IP.DOCS]DOMAIN-INFO.TXT

You may also find the companion document US-DOMAIN.TXT, (in the same 
directory) useful.

 

  ............Select parts of DOMAIN-INFO.TXT................
 
[ NETINFO:DOMAIN-INFO.TXT ]

		DDN NIC DOMAIN SUMMARY			11-Dec-89

[NSI NIC note: Each of the "domains" referred to in the following list is the
last part of a full name Internet address; for example, GOV is the domain for
the address "nsinic.gsfc.nasa.gov" and COM is the domain for "stx.com".]

AT
No known domains under this top level domain.  (AUSTRIA)

        ........ (parts of this document removed for brevity) ........
CA
No known domains under this top level domain.  (CANADA)

COM
3Com.COM        3M.COM          A-T.COM         AATI.COM        AB.COM
ABBOTT.COM      ABLE.COM        ACADCH.COM      ACC.COM         ACCI.COM
ACS.COM         ACW.COM         ADDAMAX.COM     ADELIE.COM      ADOBE.COM
ADS.COM         ADVSCI.COM      AGFA.COM        AGS.COM         AHA.COM
AIC.COM         AII.COM         ALADDIN.COM     ALCOA.COM       ALGORISTS.COM
ALLIANT.COM     ALLIED.COM      AlphaCDC.COM    ALPHALPHA.COM   ALTOS.COM
AMC.COM         AMCC.COM        AMD.COM         AMDAHL.COM      AMERITECH.COM
AMI.COM         AMIX.COM        AMOCO.COM       AMP.COM         AMS.COM
ANA.COM         ANALYTICS.COM   ANDERSEN.COM    AOCGL.COM       APLDBIO.COM
APOLLO.COM      APPLE.COM       APPLICON.COM    APPLIX.COM      APS.COM
ARBORTEXT.COM   ARDENT.COM      ARIEL.COM       ARRIS.COM       ASA.COM
ASI.COM         ASTROSOFT.COM   ATENG.COM       ATHENANET.COM   ATHERTON.COM
ATHSYS.COM      ATI.COM         ATPAL.COM       ATT.COM         AURATEK.COM

        ........ (parts of this document removed for brevity) ........
 
 
                 EXAMPLE: finding a Grumman node called GDSsomething
$MU NSLOOKUP
Default Server:  dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov
Address:
  128.183.10.134

> SET QUERY/TY=NS 
> GRUMMAN.COM
Server:  dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov
Address:  128.183.10.134

Non-authoritative answer:
grumman.com	nameserver = NS.PSI.NET
grumman.com	nameserver = NS2.PSI.NET


Authoritative answers can be found from:
grumman.COM	nameserver = NS.PSI.NET
grumman.COM	nameserver = NS2.PSI.NET
NS.PSI.NET	internet address = 192.33.4.10
NS2.PSI.NET	internet address = 192.35.82.2

> SERVER NS.PSI.NET
Default Server:  ns.psi.net
Address:  192.33.4.10

> 
LS GRUMMAN.COM
[ns.psi.net]
 grumman.com.                  server = ns.psi.net                    
 ns.psi.net.                    192.33.4.10
 grumman.com.                  server = n2ngw.nyser.net               
 n2ngw.nyser.net.               192.35.82.2
 gdsnet                         134.223.87.7
 gdstech                        134.223.87.6
 gdsdec                         134.223.87.8
> EXIT

 

Often the above listing is quite large.  You can therefore pre-sort it.

                    EXAMPLE:  searching for host that sounds something
                              like BAST in domain BELWUE in Germany

$ mu nslookup
Default Server:   nsisrv.gsfc.nasa.gov
Address:  128.183.10.134

> set query/ty=ns
> belwue.de

Address:  128.183.10.134
Non-authoritative answer:
belwue.de	nameserver = noc.BelWue.DE
belwue.de	nameserver = deins.Informatik.Uni-Dortmund.DE
belwue.de	nameserver = rusmv5.RUS.Uni-Stuttgart.DE
belwue.de	nameserver = rusmv8.RUS.Uni-Stuttgart.DE
belwue.de	nameserver = ns.Germany.EU.net

Authoritative answers can be found from:
BelWue.de	nameserver = noc.BelWue.DE
BelWue.de	nameserver = deins.Informatik.Uni-Dortmund.DE
BelWue.de	nameserver = rusmv5.RUS.Uni-Stuttgart.DE
BelWue.de	nameserver = rusmv8.RUS.Uni-Stuttgart.DE
BelWue.de	nameserver = ns.Germany.EU.net
noc.BelWue.DE	internet address = 129.143.2.1
deins.Informatik.Uni-Dortmund.DE	internet address = 192.35.64.34
rusmv5.RUS.Uni-Stuttgart.DE	internet address = 129.69.1.8
rusmv8.RUS.Uni-Stuttgart.DE	internet address = 129.69.1.9
ns.Germany.EU.net	internet address = 192.76.144.66
> server noc.belwue.de
Default Server:  noc.belwue.de
Address:  129.143.2.1

> ls belwue.de > temp.txt
[noc.belwue.de]
#########
Received 465 records.
 

> view temp.txt
 AWI-Bremerhaven                129.143.249.2
 AWI-Bremerhaven                134.1.1.254
 BA-Mosbach                     188.1.132.131
 BA-Mosbach                     192.124.236.254
 BA-Stuttgart                   129.143.227.2
 BA-Stuttgart                   141.108.1.254
 BelWue.DE.                     server = deins.Informatik.Uni-Dortmund.DE
 BelWue.DE.                     server = noc.BelWue.DE                 
 BelWue.DE.                     server = ns.Germany.EU.net             
 BelWue.DE.                     server = rusmv5.RUS.Uni-Stuttgart.DE   
 BelWue.DE.                     server = rusmv8.RUS.Uni-Stuttgart.DE   
 DKFZ-Heidelberg                129.143.229.2
 DKFZ-Heidelberg                188.1.132.34
 DKFZ-Heidelberg                192.55.188.24
 FH-Aalen                       141.18.1.254
 FH-Aalen                       188.1.132.51

    .... (printout goes on, and on...)

> exit
$ search temp.txt bast
 bastm-rz-gw                     141.108.1.254
 bast-st2-gw                    129.143.227.2
 st2-bast-gw                    129.143.227.1
 

   BUT WHAT IF THE DOMAIN IS TOO NEW A NAME TO LISTED IN DOMAIN-INFO.TXT?

             Use /Type=SOA (Start of Authority)

$ MU NSLOOKUP/TYPE=SOA WISC.EDU

Defaukt Server: dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov
Address:  128.183.10.134

WISC.EDU
       origin = cs.wisc.edu
       mail addr = hostmaster.cs.wisc.edu
       serial = 920304
       refresh = 28800
       retry = 14400 (4 hours)
       expire = 3600000 (41 days 16 hours)
       minimum ttl = 86400 (1 day)


  So for further information on a machine in the above domain, one could
  connect to the above machine (cs.wisc.edu) and query it


 

Likewise, if you can't translate a hostname, you could always try querying
one of the severn Internet ROOT SERVERS. They include:

NS.NIC.DDN.MIL

KAVA.NISC.SRI.COM

AOS.BRL.MIL

C.NYSER.NET

TERP.UMD.EDU

NS.NASA.GOV

NIC.NORDU.NET

 

                     EXAMPLE:

$mu nslookup 
Default Server: dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov
Address:  128.183.10.134

>server ns.nasa.gov
Deafult Server: ns.nasa.gov
Address:  128.102.16.10,  192.52.195.10

$ mu nslookup
Default Server:  dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov
Address:  128.183.10.134

>server kava.nisc.sri.com
Default Server:  kava.nisc.sri.com
Address:  192.33.33.24

>ca.
Server:  kava.nisc.sri.com
Address:   192.33.33.24

Name:    ca
Served by:
- RELAY.CDNNET.CA
  192.73.5.1
	CA
- NNSC.NSF.NET
  128.89.1.178
	CA
- CLOUSO.CRIM.CA
  192.26.210.1
	CA
- UGW.UTCS.UTORONTO.CA
  128.100.102.3, 128.100.100.3
	CA


    From here I could coonect to any of the above for further information

 

But sometimes the address you're given doesn't seem like a legitimate host.
Perhaps it's an MX record. That is, mail destined for that host is sent
thru a "Mail exchanger" (gateway) that forwards it appropriately

                      EXAMPLE:

 mu trace bypass.dnet.nasa.gov
r2vuva$dia2:[sys0.syscommon.][multinet]multinet_traceroute.exe;2: 
unknown host BYPASS.DNET.NASA.GOV

$ mu nslookup/ty=mx bypass.dnet.nasa.gov
Server:  dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov
Address:  128.183.10.134

Non-authoritative answer:
BYPASS.DNET.NASA.GOV	preference = 0, mail exchanger = east.gsfc.nasa.gov
east.gsfc.nasa.gov	internet address = 128.183.104.4

                          EXAMPLE:

$ mu nslookup/ty=mx nasamail.nasa.gov
Server:  dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov
Address:  128.183.10.134

NASAMAIL.NASA.GOV	preference = 5, mail exchanger = gemini.arc.nasa.gov
NASAMAIL.NASA.GOV	preference = 10, mail exchanger = homer.arc.nasa.gov
gemini.arc.nasa.gov	internet address = 128.102.18.6
 

The safest way to use NSLOOKUP is probably with the /type=any qualifier

                          EXAMPLE:

$ mu nslookup/ty=any nasamail.nasa.gov
Server:  dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov
Address:  128.183.10.134

Non-authoritative answer:
NASAMAIL.NASA.GOV	preference = 5, mail exchanger = gemini.arc.nasa.gov
NASAMAIL.NASA.GOV	preference = 10, mail exchanger = homer.arc.nasa.gov

Authoritative answers can be found from:
nasa.gov	nameserver = NS.NASA.GOV
nasa.gov	nameserver = CRAYON.NAS.NASA.GOV
nasa.gov	nameserver = ORION.ARC.NASA.GOV
nasa.gov	nameserver = JPL-MIL.JPL.NASA.GOV
gemini.arc.nasa.gov	internet address = 128.102.18.6
homer.arc.nasa.gov	internet address = 128.102.18.66
NS.NASA.GOV	internet address = 128.102.16.10
NS.NASA.GOV	internet address = 192.52.195.10
CRAYON.NAS.NASA.GOV	internet address = 129.99.23.6
ORION.ARC.NASA.GOV	internet address = 128.102.18.10
ORION.ARC.NASA.GOV	internet address = 128.102.128.2
JPL-MIL.JPL.NASA.GOV	internet address = 128.149.1.101
JPL-MIL.JPL.NASA.GOV	internet address = 128.149.4.1
JPL-MIL.JPL.NASA.GOV	internet address = 128.149.28.2
 

But unless you know how to read this, you may come down with a bad case
of information overload.  Additionally, type=mx only interprets the
address STYLE, not the hostname itself.

                         EXAMPLE:

$ mu nslookup/ty=mx mumble.dnet.nasa.gov
Server:  dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov
Address:  128.183.10.134

Non-authoritative answer:
MUMBLE.DNET.NASA.GOV	preference = 0, mail exchanger = east.gsfc.nasa.gov
east.gsfc.nasa.gov	internet address = 128.183.104.4

Note that nowhere in the above example does it mention that this is not
a valid address.  So type=mx needs to be used in conjunction with a 
straight nslookup or SMTP to determine the address. 
 

 NSLOOKUP can also be used to back-translate a number to a node

                      EXAMPLE:
$ MU NSLOOKUP/TYPE=PTR 128.102.18.10  
Server:  dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov
Address:  128.183.10.134

10.18.102.128.in-addr.arpa	name = orion.arc.nasa.gov


 

SMTP
----
We all take mail for granted. The front ends (mailers) we use often hide
what happens on the lower levels.  Using the lower levels of Simple Mail
Transfer Protocol (SMTP), one can verify an address, expand a mail 
distribution list and more.

In the following example, the syntax used is for VMS machine running
multinet.  Other variations of TCP/IP require the syntax "TELNET host 25"
 
                             EXAMPLE:

$telnet/port=25 nsisrv
Trying... Connected to NSISRV.GSFC.NASA.GOV
EXPN ADFTO
220 nsisrv.gsfc.nasa.gov Sendmail 5.57/Ultrix3.0-C ready at Tue, 
25 Feb 92 13:45:30 -0500
250-Javad Boroumand <javad>
250-Yonsook Enloe <yonsook>
250-<yurcik@dftnic.gsfc.nasa.gov>
250-<tencati@dftnic.gsfc.nasa.gov>
250-<stern@dftnic.gsfc.nasa.gov>
250-<sellers@amarna.gsfc.nasa.gov>
250-Scott W. Rogers <rogers>
250-<lev@dftnic.gsfc.nasa.gov>
250-<lang@dftnic.gsfc.nasa.gov>
250-<jamil@lego.gsfc.nasa.gov>
250-<jackson@dftnic.gsfc.nasa.gov>
250-<pgary@dftnic.gsfc.nasa.gov>
250-<rdunbar@lego.gsfc.nasa.gov>
250-Bill Fink <bill@wizard.gsfc.nasa.gov>
250 <bennett@dftnic.gsfc.nasa.gov>
250 <rdunbar@lego.gsfc.nasa.gov>
VRFY RICK
550 rick... User unknown: No such file or directory
VFRY RDUNBAR
250 Rick Dunbar <rdunbar@lego.gsfc.nasa.gov>
QUIT
221 nsisrv.gsfc.nasa.gov closing connection

 

Now let's put it all together.  The following example verifies the address
molner@telly.on.ca

                             EXAMPLE:

 mu ping telly.on.ca
r2vuva$dia2:[sys0.syscommon.][multinet]multinet_ping.exe: 
unknown host TELLY.ON.CA

 mu nslookup/ty=mx telly.on.ca

Server:  dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov
Address:  128.183.10.134

TELLY.ON.CA     preference = 10, mail exchanger = gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca
gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca    internet address = 128.100.100.1
gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca    internet address = 128.100.102.1
NSINIC  telnet/port=25 gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca
Trying... Connected to GPU.UTCS.UTORONTO.CA, a SUN4/490 running SUNOS4.1.1.

220 gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca Server SMTP ready at Wed, 26 Feb 1992 09:36:34 -0500
expn molnar
250-local delivery for Tom Molnar <molnar>
quit
