Usenet 1993 July/InfoMagic USENET CD-ROM July 1993.ISO/answers/fsp-faq

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From: [e-mail] (Pete Bevin)
Newsgroups: alt.comp.fsp,alt.answers,news.answers
Subject: FSP Frequently Asked Questions (Read This Before Posting!)
Summary: This posting contains a list of frequently asked questions
    (and their answers) about the FSP protocol.  Please read this
    before you post to alt.comp.fsp.
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Archive-name: fsp-faq
Last-modified: 20th June 1993

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

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

This is the answers to some of the frequently asked questions about FSP.
It is posted weekly to alt.comp.fsp, alt.answers and news.answers.  It
is also available by FSP from seismo (see below) in the directory /misc.

This article includes answers to:

    Q1  What's alt.comp.fsp?  What's fsp?
    Q2  What are the main differences between FSP and FTP?
    Q3  Who writes and maintains FSP software?
    Q4  Where can I get FSP software from?
    Q5  What does FSP stand for?
    Q6  How anonymous is FSP?
    Q7  Why not add passwords to FSP?
    Q8  Where can I get an FTP-like interface for FSP?
    Q9  Where can I get hold of a list of sites?
    Q10 Where can I get hold of hundreds of pictures of naked women
        in compromising positions?

This FAQ is written and maintained by Pete Bevin ([e-mail]).
If you have any comments, suggestion, or additions, please send me some
mail.




Q1: 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 ([e-mail]) after there was no
    objection on alt.config.  Before the newsgroup, there was a
    mailing list (fsp-discussion) for discussion of the 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 overloading.

    Quote: `FSP is what anonymous FTP *should* be'.


Q2: What are the main differences between FSP and FTP?

    From the user's point of view, the differences are not that
    great, except that some of the more annoying features of FTP
    are gone.  Here are the main differences.

        a. The protocol can stand things going down: if the
        server or the network falls over in the middle of a
        transfer, you can just wait until it comes back up.
        You don't have to reconnect, and even better, if the
        server went down 90% through grabbing a file, you can
        continue from where you left off.

        b. The protocol doesn't need a username or password.
        You just throw packets at the server.  You don't have
        to identify yourself (though you're not completely
        anonymous -- see below).

        c. It's harder to kill off a site with an FSP server
        than with an FTP server.  The FSP daemon is designed to
        be as lightweight as possible:  it doesn't fork off any
        sub-processes, and it takes steps to limit the amount
        of traffic it handles.

        d. The user interface is completely different.  The
        interface that comes with the package consists of
        eleven commands that you can call from the shell.  In
        effect, your shell is providing all the nice functions
        like command line editing.  This makes the interface
        much more versatile than FTP's.  (See below for how to
        get an FTP-like interface, though).

        e. FSP is a bit slower than FTP.  This is a feature,
        not a bug.  The point is to keep the communication
        lightweight, and not to flood the net.

    From the programmer's point of view, fsp is a complete rewrite.

        a. Instead of TCP sockets, it uses datagrams to
        communicate, so that the connection doesn't break on a
        flaky line.

        b. FTP works by opening a port, and then asking the
        server to send a file to it.  FSP uses the same port
        all the time for communication, and asks for segments
        of a file.  So you can start off a transfer half way
        through a file, if you really want to.

        c. The server tries to make sure you don't ask for
        packets too quickly.  Each packet it sends out has a
        random identification number, which the client must
        return on the next request.  (If the client loses the
        number, it must wait a few seconds before the server
        accepts another packet from it).  Therefore, the client
        has to wait for an answer to each request before it
        sends out the next one.


Q3: Who writes and maintains FSP software?

    Wen-King Su ([e-mail]) wrote the original
    version.  The current maintainer is Joseph Traub
    ([e-mail]).  Sven Pechler ([e-mail])
    wrote and maintains a VMS version.  Finally, Phil Richards
    ([e-mail]) has written an FTP-like client for FSP.


Q4: Where can I get FSP software from?

    You can get the latest version by FTP from
    seismo.soar.cs.cmu.edu (128.2.206.138): the file to get
    is /fsp/fsp.271.tar.Z.  The file contains the Unix and VMS
    versions.  The same archive contains an archive of FSP
    utilities, including the FTP-like clients (see below).

    There's also a PC version of FSP, written by Lindsey Smith
    ([e-mail]), available by FTP from wuarchive.wustl.edu
    (128.252.135.4) as `/pub/MSDOS_UPLOADS/misc/pcfsp101.zip'.


Q5: What does FSP stand for?

    Erm.  Good question.  In fact, it doesn't stand for anything
    yet.  The best suggestions so far are:

        File Slurping Protocol
        Flaky Stream Protocol
        FTP's Sexier Partner


Q6: How anonymous is FSP?

    By default, the FSP daemon keeps logs of transactions, along
    with their site names.  An FSP administrator could use this to
    find out who you are, with a reasonable degree of certainty.

    In short, FSP gives you no more privacy than anonymous FTP.
    Anyone who tells you different has a less devious mind than most
    FSP admins I know.

    Why not make FSP more anonymous?  Well, it's impossible to make
    a protocol with complete anonymity, since at some point, the
    remote site will have to send a file back to you, and it needs
    at least an address to send it to.


Q7: Why not add passwords to FSP?

    (Thanks to Joseph Traub for the material for this section)

    1. They don't add much security.  If you use one password for
       the whole site, then you might just as well set up the site
       and only tell a few people its port number.  That's no more
       or less secure than using a password.  Besides, it's easier
       just to set up the server only to respond to certain hosts.

    2. Any other password system is likely to be a big lose on
       efficiency, since you'll have to check every single packet.

    3. The main use of server passwords appears to be so that people
       can move pirated software around, and the authors don't want
       to add code to support that.

    To quote Joseph Traub, the FSP maintainer:

        If you really want to do passworded file transfer, grab
        a copy of the ftpd source code (which is also on my
        server) and modify it to a) use a higher port number
        (Yes virginia, you CAN specify port numbers to most ftp
        clients) and b) to read a file other than /etc/password
        to look up user information.

        This capability does NOT belong in FSP because it gets
        away from the concept of lightweight simple file
        transfers.


Q8: Where can I get an FTP-like interface for FSP?

    The interface to use is Phil Richards' ([e-mail])
    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.0.0-h+.tar.Z, or by FSP from
    seismo.soar.cs.cmu.edu (128.2.206.138), port 30, as
    /programs/fsp/fspclient.0.0-h+.tar.Z.

        Another interface to use is Nicolai Langfeldt's 'fspcli'.  It
        has a ftp like interface and more. You can get it by fsp from
        seismo as /programs/fsp/fspcli-1.2.tar.Z (or by ftp from the
        same place), 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

    Finally, Ove Ruben R Olsen ([e-mail]) has written a client
    similar to Nicolai's, but even smaller.  It is available as
    /programs/fsp/fspshell.tar.Z on seismo.  You might also want to
    check out the fspsh directory on taxus.uib.no/9000 (see below).


Q9: Where can I get hold of a list of sites?

    There is a list, maintained by <[e-mail]>,
    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 below, 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".

    In the meantime, here's a list to get you going.

    128.52.46.11    21    alpha    /      # GNU Alpha releases
    131.231.19.21    21    genie    /      # small UK site
    192.76.144.75    2001    germany    /      # big German archive
    131.215.131.148    21    mosaic    /      # BSD386/Usenet
    128.2.206.138    30    seismo    /      # main FSP code site
    146.169.2.1    21    src    /      # big UK site
    129.177.30.10    9000    taxus    /      # fspadm, fsp-shell tools
    131.155.2.71    21    terra    /      # big Netherlands site
    18.172.1.2    21    tsx    /      # linux
    137.205.192.5    21    warwick    /      # another UK site
    128.252.135.4    21    wu    /      # everything you ever wanted

Q10: Where can I get hold of hundreds of pictures of naked women in
    compromising positions?

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

    Seriously, FSP has a reputation of being for "crooks and
    perverts".  If you know any good 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.


Acknowledgements

    Thanks to all who helped put this FAQ together.

        Pete Bevin ([e-mail])
        Tony Brannigan ([e-mail])
        Maurizio Codogno ([e-mail])
        Jan Nicolai Langfeldt ([e-mail])
        Ove Ruben R Olsen ([e-mail])
        Phil Richards ([e-mail])
        Lindsey Smith ([e-mail])
        Wen-King Su ([e-mail])
        Joseph Traub ([e-mail])