Newsgroups: bit.listserv.nodmgt-l
Date:         Tue, 5 Jan 1993 19:07:39 +0100
From:         Eric Thomas <ERIC@SEARN.BITNET>
Subject:      Inconsistencies in ':internet.' tags
Comments: cc: "Forum on LISTSERV release 1.7" <LSTSRV-L@SEARN.BITNET>

After spending quite a lot of time troubleshooting a LISTSERV problem due
to incorrect ':internet.' data, I decided to make LISTSERV check the file
for consistency and report errors so that Hans-Ulrich and I can take care
of them  before issuing a NODUPD  file. I had naively  thought that there
would only  be a handful  of errors, mostly  from novice sites.  In fact,
there are 65 errors, mostly from knowledgeable sites.

Two  types of  misunderstandings  seem  to account  for  the majority  of
errors. The  first one is  that if you have  two BITNET machines  (here I
mean different  physical machines  - not aliases),  XYZ1 and  XYZ2, whose
users send  and receive mail via  the generic XYZ.EDU domain,  you should
code ':internet.XYZ.EDU'  in both  entries. This is  not correct.  If you
code a  ':internet.' tag,  you are defining  a one-to-one  equivalence of
userids  for the  Internet  and  NJE name  and  telling  servers such  as
LISTSERV that if  Joe@XYZ.EDU issues a GET command for  a binary file, it
can be sent via NJE to Joe@XYZ1, for ANY possible value of 'Joe' which is
not longer than 8 bytes. If you  have a campus mail system which shuffles
mail  around  and sends  it  to  the  preferred  machine of  your  20,000
registered users, it  must NOT be defined in the  ':internet.' tag unless
ALL 20,000  users have an account  on the BITNET system  in question with
the exact same  name. Servers just can't tell Joe@XYZ.EDU,  who also as a
JOE@XYZ1 account, from  Jack@XYZ.EDU, who is only  reachable via Internet
while JACK@XYZ1 doesn't exist or belongs to someone else.

The  second  misunderstanding, assuming  a  BITNET  machine (typically  a
VAXcluster) XYZ  with aliases XYZ1,  XYZ2 and XYZ3 and  Internet hostname
XYZ.EDU,  is that  one  should code  the Internet  address  in all  three
entries.  While it  is true  that you  do have  a one-to-one  equivalence
between XYZ.EDU  and the various  XYZn, LISTSERV does not  do "transitive
mapping". That is, if a user subscribes  to a list as XYZ1 and then sends
a command as XYZ2, LISTSERV will not say "Ah, but I see that XYZ1 is also
XYZ1.XYZ.EDU and XYZ.EDU,  hmm XYZ1.XYZ.EDU is not known  under any other
name, but wait,  XYZ.EDU is also XYZ2,  so it must be  the same machine".
LISTSERV does not  do anything recursive or anything  requiring more than
two lookups. Nor do you want to  encourage users in your VAXcluster to be
signed up to lists under the  individual machine names - what will happen
when you replace  the whole cluster with two Alpha  servers next year? In
that case  the proper  thing to  do is  to code  all addresses  under the
cluster name, and under the cluster name only. So you would have:

     :node.XYZ :internet.XYZ.EDU XYZ1.BITNET XYZ2.BITNET XYZ3.BITNET

I  am appending  the list  of  incorrect entries.  Followup to  NODMGT-L.
People who are planning to flame about the use of BITNET addresses in the
':internet.'  tag should  read  the  list archives,  in  which they  will
discover that there  is presently no other mechanism  for telling servers
that nodes XYZ1 and XYZ2 are the same machine.

  Eric

>>> Both ALBNYVM1 and ALBANY claim ':internet' host UACSC2.ALBANY.EDU.
>>> Both ALBNYVM1 and ALBANY claim ':internet' host ALBANY.EDU.
>>> Both ALBNY1VX and ALBNYVMS claim ':internet' host UACSC1.ALBANY.EDU.
>>> Both ALBNY1VX and ALBNYVMS claim ':internet' host RACHEL.ALBANY.EDU.
>>> Both AMHBIT and AMH claim ':internet' host AMHERST.EDU.
>>> Both AMHERST and AMH claim ':internet' host AMHERST.EDU.
>>> Both AMHTST and AMH claim ':internet' host AMHERST.EDU.
>>> Both ARIZRVAX and ARIZJVAX claim ':internet' host CCIT.ARIZONA.EDU.
>>> Both ARIZVMS and ARIZJVAX claim ':internet' host CCIT.ARIZONA.EDU.
>>> Both BANUFS12 and BANUFS11 claim ':internet' host UFSIA.AC.BE.
>>> Both BITNIC and APS claim ':internet' host BITNIC.EDUCOM.EDU.
>>> Both BPAVMS and ARIZBPA claim ':internet' host BPA.ARIZONA.EDU.
>>> Both CERAMICS and ALFREDU claim ':internet' host BIGVAX.ALFRED.EDU.
>>> Both CMIVMS and ARIZBPA claim ':internet' host BPA.ARIZONA.EDU.
>>> Both CORNELLC and CORNELL claim ':internet' host CORNELLC.CIT.CORNELL.EDU.
>>> Both CORNELLC and CORNELL claim ':internet' host CORNELLC.CCS.CORNELL.EDU.
>>> Both FINUHA and FINUH claim ':internet' host CC.HELSINKI.FI.
>>> Both FINUHB and FINUH claim ':internet' host CC.HELSINKI.FI.
>>> Both HLSDNL50 and HLSDNL5 claim ':internet' host RESEARCH.PTT.NL.
>>> Both HLSDNL50 and HLSDNL5 claim ':internet' host PTTRNL.NL.
>>> Both HLSDNL51 and HLSDNL5 claim ':internet' host RESEARCH.PTT.NL.
>>> Both HLSDNL51 and HLSDNL5 claim ':internet' host PTTRNL.NL.
>>> Both HLSDNL52 and HLSDNL5 claim ':internet' host RESEARCH.PTT.NL.
>>> Both HLSDNL52 and HLSDNL5 claim ':internet' host PTTRNL.NL.
>>> Both HUJIFH and BATATA claim ':internet' host BATATA.HUJI.AC.IL.
>>> Both IPFWCVAX and IPFW claim ':internet' host CVAX.IPFW.INDIANA.EDU.
>>> Both IUBACS and IUAZURE claim ':internet' host UCS.INDIANA.EDU.
>>> Both LUCCPUA and LOYOLA claim ':internet' host LUCCPUA.IT.LUC.EDU.
>>> Both MILORI and ARIZJVAX claim ':internet' host CCIT.ARIZONA.EDU.
>>> Both MISVMS and ARIZBPA claim ':internet' host BPA.ARIZONA.EDU.
>>> Both MUVMS1 and MARSHALL claim ':internet' host MARSHALL.WVNET.EDU.
>>> Both MUVMS3 and MARSHALL claim ':internet' host MARSHALL.WVNET.EDU.
>>> Both MUVMS4 and MARSHALL claim ':internet' host MARSHALL.WVNET.EDU.
>>> Both MUVMS5 and MARSHALL claim ':internet' host MARSHALL.WVNET.EDU.
>>> Both NYUACF1 and NYUACF claim ':internet' host ACFCLUSTER.NYU.EDU.
>>> Both NYUACF6 and NYUACF claim ':internet' host ACFCLUSTER.NYU.EDU.
>>> Both NYUACF7 and NYUACF claim ':internet' host ACFCLUSTER.NYU.EDU.
>>> Both PSUECLA and PSUECL claim ':internet' host ECL.PSU.EDU.
>>> Both SITVXC and SITVXA claim ':internet' host VAXC.STEVENS-TECH.EDU.
>>> Both SKYBLU and ARIZJVAX claim ':internet' host CCIT.ARIZONA.EDU.
>>> Both SLOAN and MITECCF1 claim ':internet' host SLOAN.MIT.EDU.
>>> Both STANFORD and FORSYTHE claim ':internet' host FORSYTHE.STANFORD.EDU.
>>> Both STEVENS and SITVXA claim ':internet' host VAXC.STEVENS-TECH.EDU.
>>> Both SUSOLAR and SOLAR claim ':internet' host SOLAR.STANFORD.EDU.
>>> Both TOWSON1 and TOWSONVX claim ':internet' host TOE.TOWSON.EDU.
>>> Both TOWSON2 and TOWSONVX claim ':internet' host TOE.TOWSON.EDU.
>>> Both UBVMSB and UBVMS claim ':internet' host UBVMS.CC.BUFFALO.EDU.
>>> Both UBVMSC and UBVMS claim ':internet' host UBVMS.CC.BUFFALO.EDU.
>>> Both UBVMSD and UBVMS claim ':internet' host UBVMS.CC.BUFFALO.EDU.
>>> Both UCBCSM and UCBALFA claim ':internet' host ALFA.BERKELEY.EDU.
>>> Both UCBMAIL and UCBLILAC claim ':internet' host MAILHOST.BERKELEY.EDU.
>>> Both UIUCHEPB and UIUCHEPA claim ':internet' host UIHEPA.HEP.UIUC.EDU.
>>> Both UIUCHEPG and UIUCHEPA claim ':internet' host UIHEPA.HEP.UIUC.EDU.
>>> Both UMASSD1 and UMASSD claim ':internet' host UMASSD.EDU.
>>> Both UMASSD2 and UMASSD claim ':internet' host UMASSD.EDU.
>>> Both UMICHRS1 and UMICHRLY claim ':internet' host CMS1.RS.ITD.UMICH.EDU.
>>> Both UNBMVS1 and UNB claim ':internet' host UNB.CA.
>>> Both UNBVM1 and UNB claim ':internet' host UNB.CA.
>>> Both UVVMY and UVVM claim ':internet' host UVVM.UVIC.CA.
>>> Both UWALOCKE and LOCKE claim ':internet' host LOCKE.HS.WASHINGTON.EDU.
>>> Both UWAVM and OLY claim ':internet' host UWAVM.U.WASHINGTON.EDU.
>>> Both VTMATH and VTCALVIN claim ':internet' host MATH.VT.EDU.
>>> Both VTVM1 and VPIVM1 claim ':internet' host VTVM1.CC.VT.EDU.
>>> Both VTVM2 and VPIVM2 claim ':internet' host VTVM2.CC.VT.EDU.
>>> Both YALEVMX and YALEVM claim ':internet' host YALEVM.CIS.YALE.EDU.
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU