TPC uses DNS (Domain Name Service) to route faxes in the same way e-mail is routed. Where cells currently exist in a country, a database which maps telephone numbers to servers is maintained by a qualified (volunteer of course) DNS administrator. If there is no such "zone administrator" in your country and you wish to set up a cell, you may wish to consider becoming one of our DNS admins! Contact tpcadmin@info.tpc.int to discuss the matter - we'd need a moderate level of commitment before delegating the namespace to you. How to find out if this mystical person already exists??? Read on.
The first step is to determine the appropriate zone administrator, e.g., to find the zone administrator for the US (or CA),
myhost% dig 1.tpc.int. soa...1.tpc.int. 300 SOA hewes.icl.ox.ac.uk. tpcadmin.hewes.icl.ox.ac.uk. ( 96120501 ; serial 21600 ; refresh (6 hours) 1800 ; retry (30 mins) 604800 ; expire (7 days) 300 ) ; minimum (5 mins)...
or
myhost% nslookup -query=soa 1.tpc.int. Server: localhost Address: 127.0.0.11.tpc.int origin = hewes.icl.ox.ac.uk mail addr = tpcadmin.hewes.icl.ox.ac.uk serial = 96120501 refresh = 21600 (6 hours) retry = 1800 (30 mins) expire = 604800 (7 days) minimum ttl = 300 (5 mins)
Both examples list tpcadmin@info.tpc.int as the contact address.
Note that in this example, since the IDDD country code for the US (and CA) is 1, the appropriate zone is "1.tpc.int."; however, most country codes are longer than one digit in length, e.g., the IDDD country code for the Netherlands (NL) is 31, so a zone of "1.3.tpc.int." would be used!) If you can't find the zone for your country, go to the "Starting a Zone" section.
Once you've determined the zone administrator, send a note asking for the listing procedures. There are two styles of listing: geographical and organizational, so be sure to tell the zone administrator which kind you want.
Geographical listing is based on "local and nearby calling" for the system which is running the remote printer server. Organizational listing is based on the "virtual telephone network" operated by an organization. Because an organization's VTN might span multiple countries (e.g., the organization is a multinational), you might have to contact multiple zone administrators if you want to do an organizational listing.
If you can't find the zone for your country, the first thing to do is to make sure that you're looking for the correct zone. For example, the IDDD country code for Luxembourg (LU) is 352, so the appropriate zone is "2.5.3.tpc.int."
If you're sure that there isn't a zone for your country, then it's up to you to start one!
First, create a zone file, containing a SOA and several NS records. (you'll need at least one secondary server as a shadow). Get the zone running in your DNS server.
Second, determine the administrator for the "tpc.int." zone, e.g.,
myhost% dig tpc.int. soa...tpc.int. 86400 SOA hewes.icl.ox.ac.uk. tpcadmin.info.tpc.int. ( 96103100 ; serial 21600 ; refresh (6 hours) 1800 ; retry (30 mins) 604800 ; expire (7 days) 86400 ) ; minimum (1 day)...
or
myhost% nslookup -query=soa tpc.int. Server: localhost Address: 127.0.0.1 tpc.int origin = hewes.icl.ox.ac.uk mail addr = tpcadmin.info.tpc.int serial = 96103100 refresh = 21600 (6 hours) retry = 1800 (30 mins) expire = 604800 (7 days) minimum ttl = 86400 (1 day)
and send a note containing the NS records, e.g.,
2.5.3.tpc.int. IN NS ns.lu.
2.5.3.tpc.int. IN NS ns.nl.
The administrator for the "tpc.int." zone will insert these RRs, and you'll be hooked in.
At this point, you need to need to decide on the procedures for sites who decide to participate in the experiment. We can supply you with a few scripts which you can use as a starting point, and modify to suit your local situation. Here are a few hints:
In the script mkzone.sh, be sure to set the MASTER and USER variables to the correct values. (The values supplied are for the US.)
The scripts use gawk (GNU awk) and also rely on having a date command which supports the "+"-syntax (e.g., the date command under SunOS).
You should create directory named
servers/(iddd cc)
where (iddd cc) is the appropriate IDDD country code, e.g.,
servers/352/
for Luxembourg. This is where the exchange files are kept.