RFC 1928 (rfc1928) - Page 1 of 9


SOCKS Protocol Version 5



Alternative Format: Original Text Document



Network Working Group                                           M. Leech
Request for Comments: 1928                    Bell-Northern Research Ltd
Category: Standards Track                                       M. Ganis
                                         International Business Machines
                                                                  Y. Lee
                                                  NEC Systems Laboratory
                                                                R. Kuris
                                                       Unify Corporation
                                                               D. Koblas
                                                  Independent Consultant
                                                                L. Jones
                                                 Hewlett-Packard Company
                                                              March 1996


                        SOCKS Protocol Version 5

Status of this Memo

   This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
   Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
   improvements.  Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
   Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
   and status of this protocol.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Acknowledgments

   This memo describes a protocol that is an evolution of the previous
   version of the protocol, version 4 [1]. This new protocol stems from
   active discussions and prototype implementations.  The key
   contributors are: Marcus Leech: Bell-Northern Research, David Koblas:
   Independent Consultant, Ying-Da Lee: NEC Systems Laboratory, LaMont
   Jones: Hewlett-Packard Company, Ron Kuris: Unify Corporation, Matt
   Ganis: International Business Machines.

1.  Introduction

   The use of network firewalls, systems that effectively isolate an
   organizations internal network structure from an exterior network,
   such as the INTERNET is becoming increasingly popular.  These
   firewall systems typically act as application-layer gateways between
   networks, usually offering controlled TELNET, FTP, and SMTP access.
   With the emergence of more sophisticated application layer protocols
   designed to facilitate global information discovery, there exists a
   need to provide a general framework for these protocols to
   transparently and securely traverse a firewall.





Leech, et al                Standards Track