RFCs and FYIs

Since 1969, developers working on the Internet protocol suite have described their protocols and related subjects in documents known as Requests for Comments (RFCs). Many RFCs are specifications for particular TCP/IP protocols and describe standards with which software implementing the protocols must comply. Other RFCs discuss the Internet, its topology, and its governing bodies. Still other RFCs explain how to manage TCP/IP applications, such as DNS.

All RFCs must be approved by the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) before they are placed in the public domain. Typically, the information in RFCs is geared to developers and other highly technical readers, though this isn`t always the case.

In recent years, For Your Information (FYI) documents have appeared as a subset of the RFCs. The FYIs contain information that does not deal with Internet standards; rather, they contain Internet information of a more general nature. For example, FYI documents include a bibliography listing introductory TCP/IP books and papers, an exhaustive compendium of Internet-related software tools, and a glossary of Internet and general networking terms.

You'll find references to relevant RFCs throughout this guide and other books in the Solaris 2.6 System Administrator set.

How to Obtain RFCs

The InterNIC Directory and Database Service maintains the repository of RFCs. If you have a connection to the Internet, you can retrieve online RFCs as follows:

• Through ftp, by sending your requests to the InterNIC directory and database server ds.internic.net. Your request should have the format:

  rfc/rfc.rfcnum.txt or rfc/rfc.rfcnum.ps

  where rfcnum represents the number of the RFC you want. For example, if you wanted to retrieve RFC 1540 in PostScript\256 format, you would request rfc/rfc.1540.ps.

• Through electronic mail, by emailing mailserv@ds.internic.net. This is an automatic server that expects the body of your request message to have the format:

  document-by-name rfcrfcnum or document-by-name rfcrfcnum.ps

• Through a World Wide Web browser, by specifying the URL http://ds.internic.net/ds/dspg1intdoc.html. The home page is http://ds.internic.net

If you need an online index of RFCs, send electronic mail to ds.internic.net with a message containing the request document-by-name rfc-index.

The InterNIC information above is current as of this writing. However, the Internet is expanding at a fast pace, and the addresses listed might no longer be current when you read this manual.