64 lines
3.1 KiB
HTML
64 lines
3.1 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//IETF//DTD HTML 2.0//EN">
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<!--Converted with LaTeX2HTML 96.1-c (Feb 29, 1996) by Nikos Drakos (nikos@cbl.leeds.ac.uk), CBLU, University of Leeds -->
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<HTML>
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<HEAD>
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<TITLE>UUCP Networks</TITLE>
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<NAME="description" CONTENT="UUCP Networks">
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<NAME="keywords" CONTENT="nag">
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<NAME="resource-type" CONTENT="document">
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<NAME="distribution" CONTENT="global">
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</HEAD>
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<BODY LANG="EN">
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<A HREF="node1.html"><IMG WIDTH=65 HEIGHT=24 ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="contents" SRC="contents_motif.gif"></A> <BR>
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<B> Next:</B> <A HREF="node6.html">How to Use UUCP</A>
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<B>Up:</B> <A HREF="node3.html">Introduction to Networking</A>
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<B> Previous:</B> <A HREF="node4.html">History</A>
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<BR> <P>
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<H1><A NAME="SECTION003200000">UUCP Networks</A></H1>
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UUCP is an abbreviation for Unix-to-Unix Copy. It started out as a
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package of programs to transfer files over serial lines, schedule those
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transfers, and initiate execution of programs on remote sites. It has
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undergone major changes since its first implementation in the late
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seventies, but is still rather Spartan in the services it offers. Its
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main application is still in wide-area networks based on dial-up
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telephone links.
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<P>
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UUCP was first developed by Bell Laboratories in 1977 for communication
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between their Unix-development sites. In mid-1978, this network already
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connected over 80-sites. It was running email as an application, as
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well as remote printing. However, the system's central use was in
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distributing new software and bugfixes.<A HREF="footnode.html#268"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="gif" SRC="foot_motif.gif"></A> Today, UUCP is not confined to the environment anymore. There
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are both free and commercial ports available for a variety of platforms,
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including AmigaOS, DOS, Atari's TOS, etc.
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<P>
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One of the main disadvantages of UUCP networks is their low bandwidth.
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On one hand, telephone equipment places a tight limit on the maximum
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transfer rate. On the other hand, UUCP links are rarely permanent
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connections; instead, hosts rather dial up each other at regular
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intervals. Hence, most of the time it takes a mail message to travel a
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UUCP network it sits idly on some host's disk, awaiting the next time a
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connection is established.
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<P>
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Despite these limitations, there are still many UUCP networks operating
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all over the world, run mainly by hobbyists, which offer private users
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network access at reasonable prices. The main reason for the popularity
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of UUCP is that it is dirt cheap compared to having your computer
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connected to The Big Internet Cable. To make your computer a UUCP node,
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all you need is a modem, a working UUCP implementation, and another UUCP
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node that is willing to feed you mail and news.
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<P>
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<BR> <HR>
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<UL>
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<LI> <A HREF="node6.html#SECTION003210000">How to Use UUCP</A>
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</UL>
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<HR><A HREF="node1.html"><IMG WIDTH=65 HEIGHT=24 ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="contents" SRC="contents_motif.gif"></A> <BR>
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<B> Next:</B> <A HREF="node6.html">How to Use UUCP</A>
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<B>Up:</B> <A HREF="node3.html">Introduction to Networking</A>
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<B> Previous:</B> <A HREF="node4.html">History</A>
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<P><ADDRESS>
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<I>Andrew Anderson <BR>
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Thu Mar 7 23:22:06 EST 1996</I>
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</ADDRESS>
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</BODY>
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</HTML>
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