RFC 912 (rfc912) - Page 1 of 3
Authentication service
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
Network Working Group Mike StJohns
Request for Comments: 912 TPSC
September 1984
Authentication Service
STATUS OF THIS MEMO
This RFC suggests a proposed protocol for the ARPA-Internet
community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements.
Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
INTRODUCTION
The Authentication Server provides a means to determine the identity
of a user of a particular TCP connection. Given a TCP port number
pair, it returns a character string which identifies the owner of
that connection on the server's system. Suggested uses include
automatic identification and verification of a user during an FTP
session, additional verification of a TAC dial up user, and access
verification for a generalized network file server.
OVERVIEW
This is a connection based application on TCP. A server listens for
TCP connections on TCP port 113 (decimal). Once a connection is
established, the server reads one line of data which specifies the
connection of interest. If it exists, the system dependent user
identifier of the connection of interest is sent out the connection.
The service closes the connection after sending the user identifier.
RESTRICTIONS
Queries are permitted only for fully specified connections. The
local/foreign host pair used to fully specify the connection are
taken from the query connection. This means a user on Host A may
only query the server on Host B about connections between A and B.
QUERY/RESPONSE FORMAT
The server accepts simple text query requests of the form
,
where , is the TCP port (decimal) on the target (server)
system, and is the TCP port (decimal) on the source
(user) system.
For example:
StJohns