From igc.apc.org!notes Sun Nov 29 15:37:24 1992 From: arni@web.apc.org (Arni Mikelsons) Date: 24 Nov 92 13:24 PST Subject: - Gateway software To: Recipients of conference "tech.smallsys" Message-Id: <269400024%web.apc.org@igc.apc.org> Functional International Gateways An essential ingredient in the establishment of sustainable electronic communication systems in Africa is the efficient movement of messages from the FIDO-based systems to systems used by the larger electronic mail networks in developed countries. These larger networks use a style of message formatting called Internet addressing, or in technical terms, RFC822/1023/1036 mail/news format. For example, delays in the exchange of messages between points such as Harare and Ottawa are not the result of international communication problems. Delays are most frequently caused by interruptions in communication between a FIDO computer and a UNIX computer, both of which are located in Toronto. These interruptions are a result of poor software which frequently requires human intervention. A more efficient and robust piece of "gateway" software is required to eliminate this barrier. Why RFMAIL and UFGATE RFMAIL is a FidoNet implementation of uucp/FidoNet gateway software which runs on most UNIX systems. It implements the relevant standards, is actively maintained by its original author with the help of a number of groups in the networking community, and is freely available, including full source code. It is currently running at GreenNet, IGC Networks, and in South Africa. UFGATE is the best known and most correct (from the protocol and data format standards viewpoint) DOS-based FidoNet/uucp gateway software. It is widely used, is shareware, and much auxiliary software has been developed for use with it. It is in use on the APC networks today at Web, Pegasus, and NordNet, and needs minimal enhancements to make it quite suitable for the next few years. A future use of UFGATE could be on African FIDO hosts to enable them to connect with local uucp sites, usually university systems. There are other DOS-based FidoNet/822 packages in development. But, until they are actually released, tested in the field, and shown to be both reliable and compliant with all relevant standards, they should not be used in the high-volume production environment of the APC network or of an African FIDO system. If they are released, field-tested, free and available in source form, they could form the basis of the next generation of DOS-based gateways. There are also some related DOS uucp implementations such as Waffle, that under the right circumstances may be a good choice to use as part of an overall set-up under DOS, and the modular nature of these programs means that they can easily be combined as needed. RFMAIL and UFGATE thus meet the necessary criteria to form the basis of the gateways that are needed. To be fully functional, with low maintenance requirements, they both need a final 10% of tuning and companion programming. Modify Rfmail and Intelligent Mail Routing Software This work involves software modifications to APC host systems. The result will be the uninterrupted and reliable movement of messages between the African FIDO systems and any commercial or non- commercial system worldwide. Currently manual maintenance of these systems is often required. In the long term, manual intervention guarantees an unacceptable level of reliability. Users are also often faced with confusing and complex addresses for African systems. Changes to RFMAIL will enable addressing to African hosts using familiar, standard formats which are consistent with the APC and academic networks. RFMAIL and its auxiliary packages need some enhancement. In particular, some of the UNIX support code needs modification to meet the FidoNet standards and to support the special needs of the APC hosts. The following are necessary additions: - install a getty/login that will allow a FidoNet system to log in to the UNIX system without any special scripts. At minimum this must be available during FidoNet's Zone Mail Hour (ZMH), but ideally 24 hours per day on the same ports as interactive users. Specifically, the login has to spawn RFMAIL with the proper environment while maintaining a high level of system security; - RFMAIL's 'fcall' routine needs to have 'session level' passwords implemented to prevent unauthorised FIDO systems from picking up other system's mail. - RFMAIL needs to allow calls to special routines at the appropriate points in the mail session to allow environment- specific setting of X25 PAD parameters to optimize handshaking, zmodem transfers, etc., for callers using X25 or X28 dial-up instead of ordinary telephone lines; - enhancements to the routines which do splitting/unsplitting of large messages going to/coming from FIDO to comply with the limits on message size in the FIDO standards; - additional To:/From: address modifications are necessary to handle the following: - the full range of legal RFC822/1023 addresses (e.g. comments in address fields); - APC node name abbreviations for proper FQDN addresses; - special characters in people's names; - full compatibility with the DOS-based gateway programs; - binary file translation to / from FidoNet file attaches. - an equivalent of FidoNet's 'AreaFix' function is needed to provide automated un/subscription to news conferences. This should be configurable on the 'news' side to allow other systems besides APC to use this feature, and it should also include different security/access levels configurable on a per node and per conference basis to restrict access to private conferences; - for proper RFC822/1023 header support and full flexibility in uucp and Internet routing, APC nodes need to convert to a smart mailer such as Smail 3.1. This will require significant technical staff time to do the installation and training, but will provide a much more flexible and supportable environment; - upgrading to a smart mailer will also handle the necessary mail redirection based on user name which readdresses messages to FidoNet points, FidoNet nodes, and other FQDN Internet addresses; - compression methods for news and mail should be configurable on a per-node basis as they are under most DOS FIDO mailers; - refinements to the logging of messages to ensure all the necessary information for billing purposes is available and processing routines to convert the logs to the paper billing format on a monthly basis, and mail the processed logs to the nodes that need them for their billing. This is essential if we are to respond to the demand to open up services like fax, telex and Dasnet are to be made available to FIDO users. (The smart mailer can take care of blocking unauthorised users from using these services.); - documentation for installation, configuration, training, and use in addition to and consolidation of what already exists, including an operator's guide, on-line manual for all commands (called UNIX 'man' pages), and a full installation guide. - small programs must be written to convert FidoNet point lists to APC user lists and vice versa, and be set up to run automatically on a regular basis. Modify the UFGATE Software This is DOS-based software which also enables the movement of messages between FIDO systems and Unix systems. This software will most often be used by African hosts to facilitate connections to local academic systems. For example, an African host running UFGATE locally can call an academic network which runs uucp (a common message format) and exchange mail and conferencing material. UFGATE needs modification and enhancement of its auxiliary programs to meet the FidoNet standards and to support the special needs of the APC hosts. Some changes for address modification (also called munging) and translation to accommodate the following: - the full range of legal RFC822/1023 addresses (e.g. comments in address fields); - APC node name abbreviations for proper FQDN addresses; - special characters in people's names; - full compatibility with the UNIX-based gateway software; - binary file inclusion translation to/from FidoNet file attaches; - small programs must be written to convert FidoNet point lists to APC user lists and vice versa and be set up to run automatically on a regular basis; - enhancements to the logging procedures to record message size and size of any attached files; - small programs are needed to control batching and compressing of outbound news and inbound and outbound mail.