NYU, ANL, and LBL Joining the Net
A proposal to submit remote computer jobs through FTP.
Feinroth, Y. and R. Fink, "NYU, ANL, and LBL Joining the Net", RFC 551, DOI 10.17487/RFC0551, August 1973, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc551>.
@misc{rfc551,
series = {Request for Comments},
number = 551,
howpublished = {RFC 551},
publisher = {RFC Editor},
doi = {10.17487/RFC0551},
url = {https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc551},
author = {Y. Feinroth and R. Fink},
title = {{NYU, ANL, and LBL Joining the Net}},
pagetotal = 2,
year = 1973,
month = aug,
} RFC text
Network Working Group Y. Feinroth
Request for Comments: 551 NYU
R. Fink
LBL
August 27, 1973
New York University
Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences
AEC Computing and Applied Mathematics Center
251 Mercer Street
New York, N.Y. 10012
ARPA Network Information Center
Stanford Research Institute
Menlo Park, California
Several Atomic Energy Commission installations are planning to
enter the network in the (hopefully) near future. These sites
include Argonne National Laboratory (IBM 360/195), Lawrence Berkeley
Labs, (CDC 7600), and New York University (CDC 6600). Our
applications make early implementation of an RJE facility imperative,
and although we are resigned to the necessity of implementing FTP, we
would like to avoid RJE protocol at least in the first go-around. We
would like to be able to use FTP to transfer a file, have it queued
for execution, and return output and status information.
To this end we propose to implement local conventions within the
site dependent PATHNAME parameter of the FTP. Specifically, the
following commands are specified:
STOR RJE.JOB<rest of pathname> queue this file for execution
(STOR/RETR) RJE.PR < > transfer remote job print file
(STOR/RETR) RJE.PU < > " " " punch "
(STOR/RETR) RJE.MT < > " " " magtape "
RETR RJE.STAT < > retrieve status of remote job
The job execution parameters are not part of the protocol, but
must be specified in the standard site dependent control cards which
are transmitted with the file. These parameters also determine the
output disposition, and the output can be retrieved by the user via
RETR, or (optionally) automatically by server initiation via STOR.*
The RETR RJE.STAT causes the server to create a file with the status
information and transfer it to the user. The FTP user/acct/pass
logon is used only to validate the data transfer, not the job's right
to execute, and to identify and distribute the output.
We are concerned that we may have overlooked some problems which
are obvious to more knowledgeable people and invite (and request)
comments.
* note that in this case the RJE server is an FTP user.
[ This RFC was put into machine readable form for entry ]
[ into the online RFC archives by Tony Hansen 08/08 ]
ISO Plain Language
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§1Why the Sites Needed Remote Job Entry
Argonne National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley Labs and New York University were planning to join the network. Their applications made remote job entry, or RJE, an early need, but the sites wanted to avoid implementing a separate RJE protocol in addition to FTP.
Three laboratories planned to join the network and needed to run jobs on remote computers. They wanted to use FTP, which they already expected to implement, rather than build another protocol.
§2FTP Pathnames for Jobs and Output
The proposal uses site-dependent FTP pathname conventions. A STOR request for a pathname beginning with RJE.JOB queues the transferred file for execution. RJE.PR, RJE.PU and RJE.MT identify print, punch and magtape output; RJE.STAT requests a status file through RETR.
Job parameters are not part of the protocol. The sender includes them in the site's standard control cards, which also determine output handling.
A special FTP pathname tells the remote site whether a transfer is a job, output or status request. The site's control cards, sent with the job, specify how it runs and where its output goes.
§3What FTP Handles
The FTP login, account and password validate the data transfer and help identify and distribute output. They do not decide whether the submitted job is authorized to run. The RFC describes local pathname conventions, not a shared mechanism for job permissions or execution parameters.
The authors invite comments on problems they may have overlooked.
FTP credentials check the transfer and help route its output. They do not grant permission to execute a job; each site handles job details through its own conventions.