1. Introduction
This paper is a list of the essential things, in my view, that a people who are responsible for providing network information should have in their hands as reference material. One of the basic problems with information is making it easily available to those who need the data. Libraries have been performing a cataloging function for many centuries. Information flow is now being provided so fast that it is difficult to keep up with it, even partially. Computer networks have only added to the problem by opening up access to even more information.
Attempting to make this wealth of information available to those who would find it useful poses some problems.
First, we need to know of its existence. To that end, this paper provides an index to the vast realm of network information. Most of the documents listed here are POINTERS to the final information.
Second, even if you know of a document's existence, you may not know if it is important or relevant. Few of us are knowledgeable in more than a limited area. We need to rely on others to make us aware of the importance of databases in a specific discipline. Librarians can be of great assistance here. They are familiar with the research databases that individuals search in law, mathematics, and many other fields.
Finally, once existence and importance are known, the information needs to be indexed so that researchers can find it. This is the most difficult task to accomplish. Information available on the network is rarely static. It is always moving, growing, changing, and dying. Computers should be able to assist us in managing this ever-changing environment. Right now, we have to catalog the information as it passes through the network. In my case, I generally save it in a file somewhere and spend far too much time trying to retrieve it again when I need it.
1.1. Access to the Internet
A frequently asked question concerns how the average mortal gets access to the Internet. The most common way is via electronic mail. Using e-mail, it is possible to communicate with anyone on the Internet and on any other networks as well, and there are many "gateways" to the Internet from other networks and systems. For instance using CompuServe, a large commercial electronic information and communication service, you can send e-mail to and from individuals on the Internet.
A direct connection to the Internet provides some additional capabilities that e-mail cannot. One of these is the ability to establish a connection to a remote computer connected to the Internet from your own personal computer or from one connected to the Internet. The program that establishes this connection is called Telnet. Many universities and large research companies have Internet connections. They pay rather large fees to have these high speed (more than one million bits per second) connections. If you are associated with a large university or company you already may have access or can gain access to the Internet using one of their computers.
A direct connection to the Internet also allows you to transfer a file from a remote computer. This program is referred to as FTP (file transfer protocol). Section 4.0 covers the many places that have files and programs available using FTP.
The following information was taken from a Frequently Asked Question posting by Aydin Edguer to the alt.bbs newsgroup.
If you do not have access to a service connected to Internet, you can get access for a fee. The following companies provide Internet access to individuals or companies at various rates depending on the time of access, speed of access desired, and several other factors.
The first method to gain access to the Internet is by getting an account on a public access bulletin board system that is connected to the Internet. There are a growing number of such systems available. For information on some of these systems, send electronic mail to:
info@world.std.com
info@netcom.com
info@concert.net
info@panix.com
info@holonet.net
info@msen.com
info@csn.org
sysadmin@ids.com
Any of these systems is open to the public for a monthly access fee.
A second method to gain access to the Internet is by getting an account with a network service provider who offers a dial-in service. See the "How do I get connected to the Internet?" section for more information.
1.2. How do I get connected to the Internet?
Traditionally, connections to the Internet were dedicated connections. This is still the most common type of connection. Monthly costs for the connection range anywhere from $250 per month [plus line charges] for a dialup 9600-bps connection to $4,000 [plus line charges] for a T1 [1.44-Mbps] connection. There is also an initial one-time startup fee of anywhere from $100 to $8,000 [plus equipment charges].
Some service providers also are offering part-time dialup connections. Customers share a set of phone lines and dialup when needed. This is usually less expensive than dedicated dialup connections for customers who need a connection less than 80 hours per month. Monthly costs range from $40-100 per month [plus line charges] plus an hourly charge of $2-4.
Some service providers have begun to offer a new dial-in service. The name for dial-in service varies from vendor to vendor. The dial-in service is usually provided as a way for Internet-connected users to connect back to their home sites from remote locations. But most service providers do not limit their service to this audience, it is open to people not already on the Internet. The dial-in service provides either a terminal server connection [with password] or an account on the service provider's equipment [with password] which permits you to use Telnet to connect to other sites on the Internet. This service differs from the normal dialup IP services because it does not require the user to run any IP software like PPP (Point-to-Point protocol) or SLIP (serial line IP). The cost for this service usually range from $35 to $250 per month [plus line charges]. There is also an initial $35 to $500 connection fee [plus equipment charges].
The following is a list of known Internet service providers, along with the services they offer, an e-mail address to contact for more information, a phone number to contact for more information, or an FTP archive for more information.
ALTERNET Full time connections speed 9.6K 14.4K 56K T1 T3 Leased Line y y y y n Dialup Line y y - - - note: T1=1.544Mbs T3=45Mbps Part time connections: no Dial-in Service: none Region: national (USA) Contact: alternet-info@uunet.uu.net Phone: (800)4UUNET3 FTP: ftp.uu.net:/uunet-info/ PSINet Full time connections speed 9.6K 14.4K 56K T1 T3 Leased Line y y y y n Dialup Line y y - - - note: T1=1.544Mbs T3=45Mbps Part time connections: yes Dial-in Service: Global Dialup Service (GDS) Region: national (USA) Contact: info@psi.com Phone: (800)82PSI82 FTP: ftp.psi.com:/press.releases/ CERFnet Full time connections speed 9.6K 14.4K 56K T1 T3 Leased Line n y y y n Dialup Line y y - - - note: T1=1.544Mbs T3=45Mbps Part time connections: yes Dial-in Service: DIAL'n'CERF (nationwide USA) Region: California Contact: help@cerf.net Phone: (800)876-CERF FTP: nic.cerf.net:/cerfnet/ ANSNET Full time connections speed 9.6K 14.4K 56K T1 T3 Leased Line n n y y y Dialup Line n n - - - note: T1=1.544Mbs T3=45Mbps Part time connections: no Region: national (USA) Contact: info@ans.net Phone: (914)789-5300 or (313)663-2482 FTP: nis.ans.net:/pub/info/ MSEN Full time connections speed 9.6K 14.4K 56K T1 T3 Leased Line y y n n n Dialup Line y y - - - note: T1=1.544Mbs T3=45Mbps Part time connections: yes Dial-in Service: yes [*note* it is a local call from any 313 #] Region: Michigan Contact: info@msen.com Phone: (313)741-1120 FTP: ftp.msen.com:/pub/vendor/msen/ OARnet Full time connections speed 9.6K 14.4K 56K T1 T3 Leased Line y y y y y Dialup Line y y - - - note: T1=1.544Mbs T3=45Mbps Part time connections: yes Dial-in Service: none Region: Ohio Contact: nic@oar.net Phone: (614)292-0700
Please note, although this is a Frequently asked Question, this newsgroup, alt.bbs.internet, is NOT for the discussion of how to get connected to the Internet. This is the correct newsgroup to discuss your bulletin board system and what it offers once you are connected to the Internet.
The above excerpt is from a frequently asked questions Usenet posting to alt.bbs.internet and crossposted to news.answers. The news.answers newsgroup is a very good group to subscribe to read the frequently asked questions sent to many newsgroups. See 12.6 Usenet entry in the Glossary for more information on newsgroups.
Further investigation in the above groups yields a great deal of information about techniques and rates to access the Internet. Of course one common question is about getting free access. As mentioned before if you are associated with a university, a large company, or research group you may very well have access via one of their computers. If you are a student or faculty member and are away from your local campus, you may be able to get a guest account from the local university.
Some campuswide information systems may give limited access to the network in a read-only mode. Also some communities (such as Cleveland) operate a FREENET which enables you to read newsgroups and if you register send mail at no charge. See section 8.0 for more information.
For example, you can Telnet to Holonet below to get an idea of how it works. This is not an endorsement of this system but it does give you a good idea how this type of access to an Internet BBS works.
1.3. Holonet (Commercial access to Internet)
Source:
Telnet holonet.net
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