Application Layer

The application layer defines standard Internet services and network applications that anyone can use. These services work with the transport layer to send and receive data. Many application layer protocols exist. The following list shows examples of application layer protocols:

• Standard TCP/IP services such as the ftp, tftp, and telnet commands

• UNIX “r” commands, such as rlogin and rsh

• Name services, such as NIS and the domain name system (DNS)

• Directory services (LDAP)

• File services, such as the NFS service

• Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), which enables network management

• Router Discovery Server protocol (RDISC) and Routing Information Protocol (RIP) routing protocols

Standard TCP/IP Services

• FTP and Anonymous FTP – The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) transfers files to and from a remote network. The protocol includes the ftp command and the in.ftpd daemon. FTP enables a user to specify the name of the remote host and file transfer command options on the local host's command line. The in.ftpd daemon on the remote host then handles the requests from the local host. Unlike rcp, ftp works even when the remote computer does not run a UNIX based operating system. A user must log in to the remote system to make an ftp connection, unless the remote system has been configured to allow anonymous FTP.

  You can obtain an enormous amount of material from anonymous FTP servers that are connected to the Internet. Universities and other institutions set up these servers to offer software, research papers, and other information to the public domain. When you log in to this type of server, you use the login name anonymous, hence the term “anonymous FTP server.”

  Using anonymous FTP and setting up anonymous FTP servers is outside the scope of this manual. However, many books, such as The Whole Internet User's Guide & Catalog, discuss anonymous FTP in detail. Instructions for using FTP are in System Administration Guide: Network Services. The ftp(1) man page describes all ftp command options that are invoked through the command interpreter. The ftpd(1M) man page describes the services that are provided by the in.ftpd daemon.

• Telnet – The Telnet protocol enables terminals and terminal-oriented processes to communicate on a network that runs TCP/IP. This protocol is implemented as the telnet program on local systems and the in.telnetd daemon on remote machines. Telnet provides a user interface through which two hosts can communicate on a character-by-character or line-by-line basis. Telnet includes a set of commands that are fully documented in the telnet(1) man page.

• TFTP – The Trivial File Transfer Protocol (tftp) provides functions that are similar to ftp, but the protocol does not establish ftp's interactive connection. As a result, users cannot list the contents of a directory or change directories. A user must know the full name of the file to be copied. The tftp(1)man page describes the tftp command set.

UNIX “r” Commands

The UNIX “r” commands enable users to issue commands on their local machines that run on the remote host. These commands include the following:

• rcp

• rlogin

• rsh

Instructions for using these commands are in the rcp(1), rlogin(1), and rsh(1) man pages.

Name Services

Oracle Solaris provides the following name services:

• DNS – The domain name system (DNS) is the name service provided by the Internet for TCP/IP networks. DNS provides host names to the IP address service. DNS also serves as a database for mail administration. For a complete description of this service, see System Administration Guide: Naming and Directory Services (DNS, NIS, and LDAP). See also the resolver(3RESOLV) man page.

• /etc files – The original host-based UNIX name system was developed for standalone UNIX machines and then adapted for network use. Many old UNIX operating systems and computers still use this system, but it is not well suited for large complex networks.

• NIS – Network Information Service (NIS) was developed independently of DNS and has a slightly different focus. Whereas DNS focuses on making communication simpler by using machine names instead of numerical IP addresses, NIS focuses on making network administration more manageable by providing centralized control over a variety of network information. NIS stores information about machine names and addresses, users, the network itself, and network services. NIS name space information is stored in NIS maps. For more information on NIS Architecture and NIS Administration, see System Administration Guide: Naming and Directory Services (DNS, NIS, and LDAP).

Directory Service

Oracle Solaris supports LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) in conjunction with the Sun Open Net Environment (Sun ONE) Directory Server, as well as other LDAP directory servers. The distinction between a name service and a directory service is in the differing extent of functionality. A directory service provides the same functionality of a naming service, but provides additional functionalities as well. See System Administration Guide: Naming and Directory Services (DNS, NIS, and LDAP).

File Services

The NFS application layer protocol provides file services for Oracle Solaris. You can find complete information about the NFS service in System Administration Guide: Network Services.

Network Administration

The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) enables you to view the layout of your network and the status of key machines. SNMP also enables you to obtain complex network statistics from software that is based on a graphical user interface (GUI). Many companies offer network management packages that implement SNMP.

Routing Protocols

The Routing Information Protocol (RIP) and the Router Discovery Server Protocol (RDISC) are two available routing protocols for TCP/IP networks. For complete lists of available routing protocols for Oracle Solaris 10, refer to Table 5–1 and Table 5–2.