RFC 88 (rfc88) - Page 2 of 9
NETRJS: A third level protocol for Remote Job Entry
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
RFC 88 NETRJS - A THIRD LEVEL PROTOCOL 13 January 1971
3._Input Stream_ - One simulated Hollerith card reader for job
submission.
4._Printer Stream_ - One simulated line printer to record printed
output (system messages and SYSOUT data sets) from jobs.
5._Punch Stream_ - One simulated card punch, capable of recording
arbitrary (i.e., transparent) binary text.
RJS actually will support more than one reader, printer, and punch at
each remote terminal, so the NETRJS protocol could easily be expanded
to allow multiple simultaneous I/O streams to each Network user.
However, this does not presently appear useful, as the ARPA Network
bandwidth will normally be the limitation on the transmission speed
under NETRJS.
Under NETRJS, the text of a single network message is called a
_block_. A block is of variable length, up to 900 bytes (except
operator input and output blocks, which may not exceed 130 bytes).
Here the term _byte_ refers to the set of 8 bits representing one
character; each byte is to be aligned on an 8-bit boundary within the
message (and block). Thus we may consider a block to be a string of
bytes. The detailed format of a block will be defined in Sections E,
F, and G, using essentially the formalism suggested by Bobrow and
Sutherland in RFC #31.
Since the central site Host (CCN) is an IBM 360, NETRJS uses the IBM
EBCDIC character code to avoid redundant code conversion at both
hosts in those cases when the remote host also uses EBCDIC
internally. However, the message formats make no assumption about
the code, and in fact, "object decks" sent to the (simulated) card
punch will normally contain arbitrary binary text.
To maximize the use of the available Network bandwidth, we strongly
recommend transmitting input blocks as large as possible; CCN will
always fully block NETRJS output. Furthermore, to avoid excessive
overhead, we urge that all NETRJS users make their marking _a
multiple of 8 bits_, so the messages received at CCN arrive on a byte
boundary.
B. Starting a Session[3]
The initial connection protocol for NETRJS is essentially that of
Crocker in RFC #66 (as restated by Harslem and Heafner in RFC #80),
with some extensions. User U at a remote Host presumably requests
his outgoing logger to make a NETRJS connection to CCN. This
Braden, et. al.