RFC 946 (rfc946) - Page 1 of 4

Telnet terminal location number option

Alternative Format: Original Text Document
Next >
Network Working Group                                          R. Nedved
Request for Comments: 946                     Carnegie-Mellon University
                                                                May 1985

                 TELNET TERMINAL LOCATION NUMBER OPTION


Status of this Memo

   This RFC proposes a new option for Telnet for the ARPA-Internet
   community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements.
   Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Overview

   In a community of users that share a large degree of common
   facilities, it is often advantageous to use some common feature to
   improve software performance and reduce initial implementation costs.

   In March of 1982, CMU designed and implemented based on the growing
   CMU PUP-based network a terminal location database and modified
   existing network software to handle a 64-bit number which some call
   the Terminal Location Number or TTYLOC for short.  The number can be
   efficiently stored in operating systems tables and can be passed
   between various levels of operating system and network layering with
   minimum modifications to existing software.  An initial evaluation of
   changing software to communicate an unfixed or reasonable length
   terminal location string indicated it would be expensive.

   CMU now wishes to extend this mechanism into the TCP-based networking
   support that is replacing the existing PUP-based software.  The
   mechanism is not viewed as a replacement for the Telnet Terminal
   Location (SEND-LOCATION) Option but as a shorthand mechansim for
   communicating hosts in the same community.

TTYLOC Number

   The TTYLOC number is a 64-bit number composed of two (2) 32-bit
   numbers: The 32-bit official ARPA Internet host address (may be any
   one of the addresses for multi-homed hosts) and a 32-bit number
   representing the terminal on the specified host.  The host address of
   [0.0.0.0] is defined to be "unknown", the terminal number of FFFFFFFF
   (hex, r or-1 in decimal) is defined to be "unknown" and the terminal
   number of FFFFFFFE (hex, or -2 in decimal) is defined to be
   "detached" for processes that are not attached to a terminal.








Nedved
Next >