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ABSTRACT

Five years of collaborative development have established message communication as a way of life on the ARPAnet. Many lessons were learned in building the network-wide message system, and it does a generally reliable and efficient job. However, the haste with which the system was built has forced numerous compromises and left many questions unresolved. This paper sketches the history and design of the system and then explores conclusions, compromises and questions in four areas of the technology: message form and structure, addressing, authentication and protection, and the implications of a network environment.

REFERENCES

• 1: Tenex Users Guide, Jerry D. Burchfiel, Elsie M. Leavitt, Sonya Shapiro, Theodore R. Strollo, Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc., January 1975.
• 2: "ARPANET Protocol Handbook", E.J. Feinler and J.B. Postel, Network Information Center No. 7104; Augmentation Research Center, Standford Research Institute, Menlo Park, April 1976. (NTIS AD A003890).
• 3: "The Role of Informal Communications in Computer Networks", R.P. Uhlig, S.M. Martin and E.S. von Gehren, Pacific Area Computer Network Symposium, Sendai, Japan, August 21, 1975.
• 4: "Practical Experience in Computer Based Message Systems", R.P. Uhlig, S.M. Martin and E.S. von Gehren, National computer Conference, New York City - 1976.
• 5: "Standardizing Network Mail Headers", A.K. Bhushan, K.T. Pogran, R.S. Tomlinson and J.E. White, ARPANET Request for Comments, No. 561, Network Information Center No. 18516; Augmentation Research Center, Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park, September 1973.
• 6: "Message Transmission Protocol", Theodore H. Myer, and D. Austin Henderson, Network Working Group RFC 680, NIC 32116, April 30, 1975.
• 7: "Proposed Official Standard for the Format of ARPA Network Messges", Ken Pogran (MIT-LSC/CSR), John Vittal (BBN), Dave Crocker (Rand-ISD), and Austin Henderson (BBN), RFC 724, NIC 37435, May 12, 1977.
• 8: "Notes on the Development of Message Technology", by T.H. Myer and D.W. Dodds in Proceedings of the Berkeley Workshop on Distributed Data Management and Computer Networks (LBL-5315). Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California and United States Energy Research and Development Administration, Washington, D.C., May 1976.
• 9: Reference manual for the SIGMA Message System, University of California Information Sciences Institute, February, 1977.
• 10: "Design Issues in Distributed Computing", Robert H. Thomas, (with R. Bressler), to appear in International Computer State of the Art Report: Distributed Computation, Infotech Information Ltd., Maidenhead, Bershire, England, October, 1976.
• 11: "Message Services Data Transmission Protocol", Jack Haverty, RFC 713, NIC 34739, April 6, 1976.
• 12: Bhushan, A.K. "The File Transfer Protocol" ARPANET Request for Comments, No. 354, Network Information Center No. 10596; Augmentation Research Center, Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park, July 1972.
• 13: Bhushan, A.K. "Comments on the file Transfer Protocol". ARPANET Request for Comments, No. 385, network Information Center No. 11357; Augmentation Research Center, Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park, August 1972.
• 14: McKenzie, A. "File Transfer Protocol.". ARPANET Request for Comments, No. 4454, Network Information Center No. 14333; Augmentation Research Center, Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park, February 1973.
• 15: Myer, Theodore H., and Mooers, Charlotte D. Hermes Users' Guide, Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc., June 3, 1976.
• 16: Neigus, N. "File Transfer Protocol". ARPANET Request for Comments, No. 542, Network Information Center No. 17759; Augmentation Research Center, Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park, July 1973.
• 17: Postel, J.B. "Revised FTP Reply Codes". ARPANET Request for Comments, No. 640, Network Information Center No. 30843; Augmentation Research Center, Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park, June 1974.
• 18: Vezza, A., and Broos, M.S., "An Electronic Message System: Where Does It Fit?", Published in Proceedings of IEEE Symposium on Trends and Applications 1976: Computer Networks, November 17, 1976.
• 19: Uhlig, Ronald P., "Human Factors in Computer Messge Systems", Datamation, May, 1977.

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  D. Software
  D.4 OPERATING SYSTEMS
      D.4.4 Communications Management
          Subjects: Message sending

Additional Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.2 COMPUTER-COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
      C.2.0 General
          Subjects: Security and protection (e.g., firewalls)
      C.2.1 Network Architecture and Design

          Nouns: ARPANET

  D. Software
  D.4 OPERATING SYSTEMS
      D.4.6 Security and Protection
          Subjects: Authentication

General Terms:
Design, Security