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l From: esasaki@nyx10.cs.du.edu (Eric Sasaki)
Newsgroups: alt.comp.fsp
Subject: REPOST: alt.comp.fsp FAQ (part 1/2)
Date: 30 Sep 1994 22:51:39 -0600
Organization: University of Denver, Math/CS Dept.
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Since I've been seeing quite a few requests for the FAQ, I'm reposting the last known revision of
the FAQ.  I got it from Andy Doherty's WWW page. Hopefully, Andy's working on a new version
of the FAQ (or on the RFC, or on FSP 3.0, or... <grin>)

Saki

[cut here]

Last-modified: 1994/06/07

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Frequently Asked Questions about FSP
------------------------------------

*** Please read this before posting to alt.comp.fsp. ***

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
  (NEW) IMPORTANT NOTICE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ THIS!

  Pete Bevin and Phil Richards are no longer the FSP maintainers, Andy   Doherty
<A.J.Doherty@reading.ac.uk> is now the FSP maintainer. 
  Hopefully this FAQ should now be fairly up to date and accurate, but if   anyone spots anything
which is out of date or just plain wrong, could   they let me know ...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
  Recent Additions:

  New Question 2.5. What about FSP v.3.0 ?
  Site information changes.
  Changes to Maintainers ...
  New Question 1.6. Why do FSP clients appear to hang sometimes ?   Updates on clients
available for OS/2 systems [2.2.3].
  Updates to maintainers in [4.1].
  Updates to site information [5.1].

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
These are the answers to some of the frequently asked questions about FSP. Posted weekly to
alt.comp.fsp, alt.answers and news.answers. 
This article answers the following questions.

    1: Introduction and Help

        1.1 What's alt.comp.fsp?  What's FSP?
        1.2 Where can I get FSP?
        1.3 Help!  I don't understand how to use FSP!
        1.4 What are those funny "R" and "I" characters?
        1.5 Why should I, as a site admin, run an FSP daemon?         1.6 Why do FSP clients appear
to hang sometimes ?

    2: FSP software and resources

        2.1 Where can I get an FTP-like interface for FSP?         2.2 Where can I get a graphical
interface for FSP?             2.2.1 UNIX (X-Windows)
            2.2.2 MS-Windows
            2.2.3 OS/2
            2.2.4 Macintosh

        2.3 Where can I get hold of a list of sites?
        2.4 Where can I get pictures of naked women in compromising             position and a copy
of SuperRoboTermiSonicBuster II ?         2.5 What about FSP v.3.0 ?


    3: Technical Issues

        3.1 What are the main differences between FSP and FTP?  How             does FSP work?
        3.2 How secure/anonymous is FSP?
        3.3 Why not add passwords to FSP?
        3.4 So what *does* FSP stand for?

    4: Who's who in FSP?

        4.1 Who writes and maintains FSP software?
        4.2 Who writes and maintains FSP client software?
        4.3 Who helped put this FAQ together?

    5: Site Information

        5.1 What FSPable sites exist ?


--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Section 1: Introduction and Help

  Q.1.1 What's alt.comp.fsp?  What's fsp?

        Alt.comp.fsp is a Usenet newsgroup for discussing the FSP file         transmission protocol. 
It was created on Tuesday 4th May 1993         by Wen-King Su (wen-king@cs.caltech.edu) after
there was no         objection on alt.config.  Before the newsgroup, there was a         mailing list
(fsp-discussion) for talking about FSP software         internals.  This newsgroup is for discussion
of both writing and         using the software.

        FSP is a protocol, a bit like FTP (but see below), for moving         files around.  It's designed
for anonymous archives, and has         protection against server and network overloading.  It
doesn't         use connections, so it can survive things falling over. 
        Quote: `FSP is what anonymous FTP *should* be'.


  Q.1.2 Where can I get FSP from?

        The `official' place for FSP distributions is ftp.germany.eu.net         (192.76.144.75), in the
directory /pub/network/inet/fsp.  It is         available both by FTP and FSP: the FSP server is on
port 2001. 
        The latest versions are:

                Unix, VMS:      fsp.271.tar.Z
                OS/2:           fsp2-03b.zip
                MS-DOS:         pcfsp105.zip

        The Unix version is the `original', and was originally written         by Wen-King Su: Joseph
Traub took over for a while, followed by         Phil Richards and Pete Bevin, Andy Doherty
maintains it currently         The same distribution contains patches by Sven Pechler to make it        
run on VMS.  Larkin Lowrey wrote the OS/2 version, and Lindsey         Smith wrote the
MS-DOS version.  Email addresses are in section 4. 

  Q.1.3 Help!  I don't understand how to use FSP!

        If you're already familiar with FTP, you might want to use one         of the FTP-like clients
instead, or even a graphical interface.         See the answers to questions 2.1 and 2.2 below for
details of         how to get them.

        The following tutorial is adapted from an article in         alt.comp.fsp by David DeSimone
<fox@netcom.com>.

        The original FSP seems to have been designed for use with csh         aliases, so if you use
csh, try these aliases in your .cshrc: 
        # FSP aliases:
        alias fcat   '(set noglob; exec fcatcmd \!*)'
        alias fcd    'setenv FSP_DIR `(set noglob; exec fcdcmd \!*)`'         alias fget   '(set noglob;
exec fgetcmd \!*)'
        alias fgrab  '(set noglob; exec fgrabcmd \!*)'
        alias fls    '(set noglob; exec flscmd -F \!*)'
        alias fll    '(set noglob; exec flscmd -l \!*)'
        alias fpro   '(set noglob; exec fprocmd \!*)'
        alias fpwd   'echo "$FSP_HOST ($FSP_PORT): $FSP_DIR"'         alias frm    '(set noglob;
exec frmcmd \!*)'
        alias frmdir '(set noglob; exec frmdircmd \!*)'
        alias fhost  'set fsp_host=(\!*); source ~/bin/fhost; unset fsp_host' 
        The last alias, "fhost", is my own invention, and the ~/bin/fhost         file looks like this:

        #!/bin/csh
        #
        # Since this script sets environment variables, it really needs         # to be source'd rather than
executed.  Thus the following alias         # should be used:
        #
        # alias fhost 'set fsp_host=(\!*); source ~/.bin/fhost; unset fsp_host'         #

        if ( $#fsp_host > 0 ) then

            setenv FSP_HOST $fsp_host[1]

            if ( $#fsp_host > 1 ) then
                setenv FSP_PORT $fsp_host[2]
            else
                setenv FSP_PORT 21
            endif

            if ( $#fsp_host > 2 ) then
                setenv FSP_DIR $fsp_host[3]
            else
                setenv FSP_DIR /
            endif

        endif

        if ( $?FSP_HOST ) then
            echo "$FSP_HOST ($FSP_PORT): $FSP_DIR"
        endif

        This alias lets you "connect" to a host quickly and easily.  For         instance, to start out I
give the following command: 
        % fhost wuarchive.wustl.edu
        wuarchive.wustl.edu (21): /
        
        The "fhost" command tells me where I'm connected, on what port,         and in what
directory.

        Since all "fhost" does is set up some environemnt variables, we         aren't REALLY
connected.  To find out if the site is responding,         just do a quick "fls":

        % fls
        README          etc/            mirrors2/       pub/         README.NFS      graphics/      
mirrors3/       systems/         edu/            mirrors/        private/

        Looks like we're up and running!  Navigating with FSP is now         just like using the local
filesystem, except the commands have         "f" in front of them.  For instance:

        % fcd /systems/amiga/incoming
        directory mode: (owner: some other machine)(delete: NO)(create: NO)         % fls
        AT3D-Demo.bad       devel/              utils/
        AT3D-Demo.readme    fish/               wb30/
        comm/               programming/        demos/
        text/
        
        Other nice commands like "fcat filename" let me see what's out         there, or for larger files,
"fcat filename | less" is very         effective.

        Once I see a nice file that I want copied to my local system, I         just give the "fget
filename" command and away it goes.  Usually         I type "fget filename &" which throws the
transfer request into         the background.  Then I can immediately go off and "fcd" to some        
other directory and look for more files to grab, "fcat"-ing the         README files and such.


  Q.1.4 What are those funny "R" and "I" characters?

        When FSP doesn't get any response from the server, it keeps on         sending requests.  The
first time it retries, it prints an "R",         (meaning "Retry"), and the second, third, and subsequent
times,         it prints an "I".  You might also see an "E", which means "error":         FSP got a
packet, but it was corrupted for some reason. 
        Fspclient does it slightly differently: it starts by printing         "r" and "R" characters, and
then uses "-\|/" characters to draw         a spinning bar.  As Phil Richards (the author) says, `I
quite         often see spinning bars, but usually only after the fifth pint'. 

  Q.1.5 Why should I, as a site admin, run an FSP daemon?

        Because it's one more way people can access your site, and it         won't cost you much
extra load on the machine.  The FSP daemon         never forks, so it won't increase your load
average by more than         one.  FSP doesn't add much to the network load either, and you        
can limit the amount of data the daemon will send out (eg, to         2.5k/sec).

        FSP allows comprehensive logging, running off inetd, README         files per directory,
banning on per-host or per-network basis,         reverse naming and read-only sites.  The only
thing anonymous         FTP gives that FSP doesn't is having the user type in an email        
address, and of course, this can easily be faked.  FSP logs give         the user's hostname, which is
harder to fake.


  Q.1.6 Why do FSP clients appear to hang sometimes ?

        When unable to get a response to it's last request the FSP clients         use a non-linear
algorithm to increase the delay until they re-try.         Effectively this means that during a transfer
a client may appear to         be sitting their doing nothing for periods of time, as the timeout        
they use increases to high values, to paraphrase Wen-King Su - "the         algorithm is brain
damaged". Hopefully this problem will be addressed         in the next major release of FSP.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Section 2: FSP software and resources

  Q.2.1 Where can I get an FTP-like interface for FSP?

        Phil Richards' <pgr@sst.icl.co.uk> fspclient.  The latest version         (still pre-alpha, but
more reliable than your average beta         release) is fspclient.0.0-h. You can get it by FTP from    
    ftp.robots.ox.ac.uk as /pub/ox.src/fspclient/fspclient.0.0-h+.tar.Z         and via FSP from
ftp.germany.eu.net:2001 /pub/network/inet/fsp/* 
        Another interface to use is Nicolai Langfeldt's 'fspcli'.  It         has a ftp like interface and
more.  It is in the release         directory on ftp.germany, and it has also been posted on        
alt.sources.  Another nice thing about it is that it's a         small(ish) perl script rather than a large
compiled executable,         and it's not alpha OR beta.  Presently the latest version is 1.2.1 
        Ove Ruben R Olsen <Ruben@uib.no> has written a client quite         similar to Nicolai's, but
even smaller.  It is available in         the fspsh directory on taxus.uib.no/9000 (see below). 
        Note that if you want to use either of the last two clients,         you'll have to have the Perl
language installed.  You can get         the latest version by FTP from prep.ai.mit.edu in
        /pub/gnu/perl*, or from most sites which mirror GNU, such as         ftp.germany .

  Q.2.2 Where can I get a graphical interface for FSP?

        2.2.1 For Unix (X-Windows) ...

        The interface I use is FSPtool (not suprising really :-) ) by         myself [Andy Doherty
<A.J.Doherty@reading.ac.uk>]. It is an XView         based client for the X Window System. 
Available from         ftp.germany.eu.net as `/pub/network/inet/fsp/fsptool-1.6.1.tar.gz',         or via
FTP from ftp.x.org `/contrib/fsptool-1.6.1.tar.gz'.  Like         fspcli and fspshell, it acts as an
interface to the standard FSP         shell commands, rather than rewriting them itself. 
        Note that to use this package, you will need the XView libraries,         if you're using a Sun
workstation, or the standard MIT X11R5/R6         distribution you should be you're OK:
otherwise, you might have to         get and compile them yourself.

        2.2.2 For MS-Windows ...

        winfsp12.zip by Ian Heath <ih@ecs.soton.ac.uk> is a MSW client         using
WINSOCK.DLL . It's available via FTP from wuarchive.wustl.edu        
"/systems/ibmpc/win3/winsock/winfsp12.zip" and ftp.cica.indiana.edu        
"/pub/pc/win3/winsock/winfsp12.zip".

        2.2.3 For OS/2 ...

        If you're an OS/2 user, you can use the OS/2 client by Albert         Crosby
<acrosby@uafhp.uark.edu>.  It wraps around the OS/2 FSP         software (see 2.1), and also
requires RexxMenu and RxU.  It         can read a list of files in the standard FSP host listing        
format, and uses RexxMenu's point-and-click interface. 
        Alternatively Larkin Lowrey <llowrey@ucsd.edu> has an OS/2 FSP client         (version
1.0). The archive can be found on ftp.cdrom.com as         `/pub/os2/new/fsp2-10.zip'. This version
includes clients for IBM's         TCP/IP 1.2.1 and TCP/IP 2.0. Both are 32-bit and fully handle       
 longfilenames.

        2.2.4 For the Macintosh ...

        Jim Browne (jbrowne@uiuc.edu) is working on a version for the         Macintosh, this is still
in Beta version and hasn't yet been         released to the waiting masses ... if you're interested you
can         ask to be put on a mailing list by mailing him at jbrowne@uiuc.edu 

  Q.2.3 Where can I get hold of a list of sites?

        There is a list, maintained by <archive-admin@Germany.EU.net>,         which you can get
hold of by fsp from ftp.Germany.EU.net (port         2001):/pub/lists/fsp-servers.  Various other
people produce         lists as well: have a look around!

        You are encouraged to post site information to alt.comp.fsp, and         if you post in the
format shown later, most people will be able to         slurp your list straight into their front-end
programs.  There's         an unofficial standard for the format, which you can find on taxus         in
the file "fsplist.std".

        Dan Charrois runs a FSP site list service which allows updates,         alterations and listings
to be made via email. For instructions on         using the FSP Site server, send email to
charro@ee.ualberta.ca         with the subject 'fsp list' and the word 'help' on a line by         itself.
You are strongly encouraged to make use of this service         as it's in danger of shutting down
through lack of use - despite         being possibly the best way of maintaining an up to date list of   
     open sites.

        In the meantime, a small list sites can be found in section 5. 

  Q.2.4 Where can I get pictures of naked women in compromising positions         and a copy of
SuperRoboTermiSonicBuster II ?

        Don't ask me, I only edit the FAQ :-)

        Seriously, FSP has a reputation of being for "crooks and         perverts".  If you know any
sites carrying illegal material, then         do them a favour and keep them to yourself. Posting them
won't         make you any friends.

        If someone posts a list of sites, and you didn't want them to,         please don't publicly flame
them.  It doesn't endear you to         anyone.  If you must put them right, send email.  Thank you. 

  Q.2.5 What about FSP v.3.0 ?

        The revision of the FSP protocol to version 3.0 is currently on-         going. Forums for
discussion are the alt.comp.fsp newsgroup and         the fsp-discussion@germany.eu.net mailing
list.

        Current work in progress includes an FSP RFC (Request For         Comments) - basically an
internet specification of the protocol;         alterations to improve security facilities; miscellanous    
    extra features and facilities.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

-- 
Eric Sasaki - IBM Co-op || esasaki@nyx10.cs.du.edu / gt7294b@prism.gatech.edu Georgia Tech
INTA major || http://nyx10.cs.du.edu:8001/~esasaki/home.html "More than an end to war, we
want an end to the beginnings of all wars."                                                      -- Franklin D.
Roosevelt 
