1. WHAT CAN I DO ?
Telnet is surly is one, if not the, oldest service on the internet. All other services are used to transfer data from a
server to a
client. Except the
WWW, you can't execute
any programs on the remote computer. Telnet allows you to use remote computers and resources (most likely applications) like
they were running on your own computer. This service is a text only service. For instance, students at universities can use
telnet to check availability of a book in the local library.
2. WHAT DO I NEED ?
This service is no exception: you will need a client and a server to connect to. If you are using Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 95, you already have a Telnet Client.
Click Start and Execute and type telnet. If you do not have a telnet client, then you might find one here:
CWS Apps List
One word of configuring your client correctly: Before you connect to an telnet host, be sure to set the terminal emulation correctly. The terminal emulation is important so that the host knows how to display text on the client side. "VT100" or "VT102" will work for most hosts.
3. WHERE CAN I CONNECT ?
You will need access to a server, that supports and allows you to issue commands and/or use remote programs. If you want you can use
archie using a telnet client. Simply connect
to an archie server listed in the IIC's archie section. Other examples that can be used via telnet are
gopher or ftp. If you are an experienced Internet user, you might find that it is sometimes quicker to use telnet rather than a
window-based client. If, however, you want to connect to a remote computer to use programs installed there, you normally have to know a
username/user id and a
password to connect.
You will be prompted for them as soon as you want to log in. To get such a username and password ask the owner of the server you want to log in.
4. HOW DO I WORK WITH TELNET ?
If you have used telnet for an ftp session and have downloaded a file, you might wonder where the file has been stored.
When you have a shell-account (that is if you have access to a remote computer with some reserved harddisk space for you),
then the file is generally stored there. To download the file to your local computer, you have to use a file transmission protocol
(most likely FTP). Connect to your remote computer using the same address you did use for establishing a telnet session, except
that you are using an ftp-client this time. Now you can download a file from your shell-account to your local computer.