🚀 go-pugleaf

Archive-name: fsp-faq
Last-modified: 20th June 1993

Frequently Asked Questions about FSP
------------------------------------

*** Please read this before posting to alt.comp.fsp. ***

This is the answers to some of the frequently asked questions about FSP.
It is posted weekly to alt.comp.fsp, alt.answers and news.answers.  It
is also available by FSP from seismo (see below) in the directory /misc.

This article includes answers to:

	Q1  What's alt.comp.fsp?  What's fsp?
	Q2  What are the main differences between FSP and FTP?
	Q3  Who writes and maintains FSP software?
	Q4  Where can I get FSP software from?
	Q5  What does FSP stand for?
	Q6  How anonymous is FSP?
	Q7  Why not add passwords to FSP?
	Q8  Where can I get an FTP-like interface for FSP?
	Q9  Where can I get hold of a list of sites?
	Q10 Where can I get hold of hundreds of pictures of naked women
	    in compromising positions?

This FAQ is written and maintained by Pete Bevin (pete@sst.icl.co.uk).
If you have any comments, suggestion, or additions, please send me some
mail.




Q1: What's alt.comp.fsp?  What's fsp?

	Alt.comp.fsp is a Usenet newsgroup for discussing the FSP file
	transmission protocol.  It was created on Tuesday 4th May 1993
	by Wen-King Su (wen-king@cs.caltech.edu) after there was no
	objection on alt.config.  Before the newsgroup, there was a
	mailing list (fsp-discussion) for discussion of the FSP software
	internals.  This newsgroup is for discussion of both writing and
	using the software.

	FSP is a protocol, a bit like FTP (but see below), for moving
	files around.  It's designed for anonymous archives, and has
	protection against overloading.

	Quote: `FSP is what anonymous FTP *should* be'.


Q2: What are the main differences between FSP and FTP?

	From the user's point of view, the differences are not that
	great, except that some of the more annoying features of FTP
	are gone.  Here are the main differences.

		a. The protocol can stand things going down: if the
		server or the network falls over in the middle of a
		transfer, you can just wait until it comes back up.
		You don't have to reconnect, and even better, if the
		server went down 90% through grabbing a file, you can
		continue from where you left off.

		b. The protocol doesn't need a username or password.
		You just throw packets at the server.  You don't have
		to identify yourself (though you're not completely
		anonymous -- see below).

		c. It's harder to kill off a site with an FSP server
		than with an FTP server.  The FSP daemon is designed to
		be as lightweight as possible:  it doesn't fork off any
		sub-processes, and it takes steps to limit the amount
		of traffic it handles.

		d. The user interface is completely different.  The
		interface that comes with the package consists of
		eleven commands that you can call from the shell.  In
		effect, your shell is providing all the nice functions
		like command line editing.  This makes the interface
		much more versatile than FTP's.  (See below for how to
		get an FTP-like interface, though).

		e. FSP is a bit slower than FTP.  This is a feature,
		not a bug.  The point is to keep the communication
		lightweight, and not to flood the net.

	From the programmer's point of view, fsp is a complete rewrite.

		a. Instead of TCP sockets, it uses datagrams to
		communicate, so that the connection doesn't break on a
		flaky line.

		b. FTP works by opening a port, and then asking the
		server to send a file to it.  FSP uses the same port
		all the time for communication, and asks for segments
		of a file.  So you can start off a transfer half way
		through a file, if you really want to.

		c. The server tries to make sure you don't ask for
		packets too quickly.  Each packet it sends out has a
		random identification number, which the client must
		return on the next request.  (If the client loses the
		number, it must wait a few seconds before the server
		accepts another packet from it).  Therefore, the client
		has to wait for an answer to each request before it
		sends out the next one.


Q3: Who writes and maintains FSP software?

	Wen-King Su (wen-king@cs.caltech.edu) wrote the original
	version.  The current maintainer is Joseph Traub
	(jtraub@cs.cmu.edu).  Sven Pechler (S.A.Pechler@bdk.tue.nl)
	wrote and maintains a VMS version.  Finally, Phil Richards
	(pgr@prg.ox.ac.uk) has written an FTP-like client for FSP.


Q4: Where can I get FSP software from?

	You can get the latest version by FTP from
	seismo.soar.cs.cmu.edu (128.2.206.138): the file to get
	is /fsp/fsp.271.tar.Z.  The file contains the Unix and VMS
	versions.  The same archive contains an archive of FSP
	utilities, including the FTP-like clients (see below).

	There's also a PC version of FSP, written by Lindsey Smith
	(smith@fgs200.fgs.com), available by FTP from wuarchive.wustl.edu
	(128.252.135.4) as `/pub/MSDOS_UPLOADS/misc/pcfsp101.zip'.


Q5: What does FSP stand for?

	Erm.  Good question.  In fact, it doesn't stand for anything
	yet.  The best suggestions so far are:

		File Slurping Protocol
		Flaky Stream Protocol
		FTP's Sexier Partner


Q6: How anonymous is FSP?

	By default, the FSP daemon keeps logs of transactions, along
	with their site names.  An FSP administrator could use this to
	find out who you are, with a reasonable degree of certainty.

	In short, FSP gives you no more privacy than anonymous FTP.
	Anyone who tells you different has a less devious mind than most
	FSP admins I know.

	Why not make FSP more anonymous?  Well, it's impossible to make
	a protocol with complete anonymity, since at some point, the
	remote site will have to send a file back to you, and it needs
	at least an address to send it to.


Q7: Why not add passwords to FSP?

	(Thanks to Joseph Traub for the material for this section)

	1. They don't add much security.  If you use one password for
	   the whole site, then you might just as well set up the site
	   and only tell a few people its port number.  That's no more
	   or less secure than using a password.  Besides, it's easier
	   just to set up the server only to respond to certain hosts.

	2. Any other password system is likely to be a big lose on
	   efficiency, since you'll have to check every single packet.

	3. The main use of server passwords appears to be so that people
	   can move pirated software around, and the authors don't want
	   to add code to support that.

	To quote Joseph Traub, the FSP maintainer: 

		If you really want to do passworded file transfer, grab
		a copy of the ftpd source code (which is also on my
		server) and modify it to a) use a higher port number
		(Yes virginia, you CAN specify port numbers to most ftp
		clients) and b) to read a file other than /etc/password
		to look up user information.

		This capability does NOT belong in FSP because it gets
		away from the concept of lightweight simple file
		transfers.


Q8: Where can I get an FTP-like interface for FSP?

	The interface to use is Phil Richards' (pgr@prg.ox.ac.uk)
	fspclient.  The latest version (still pre-alpha, but more
	reliable than your average beta release) is fspclient.0.0-h.
	You can get it by FTP from ftp.robots.ox.ac.uk as
	/pub/ox.src/fspclient.0.0-h+.tar.Z, or by FSP from
	seismo.soar.cs.cmu.edu (128.2.206.138), port 30, as
	/programs/fsp/fspclient.0.0-h+.tar.Z.

        Another interface to use is Nicolai Langfeldt's 'fspcli'.  It
        has a ftp like interface and more. You can get it by fsp from
        seismo as /programs/fsp/fspcli-1.2.tar.Z (or by ftp from the
        same place), and it has also been posted on alt.sources. Another
        nice thing about it is that it's a small(ish) perl script rather
        than a large compiled executable, and it's not alpha OR beta.
        Presently the latest version is 1.2

	Finally, Ove Ruben R Olsen (Ruben@uib.no) has written a client
	similar to Nicolai's, but even smaller.  It is available as
	/programs/fsp/fspshell.tar.Z on seismo.  You might also want to
	check out the fspsh directory on taxus.uib.no/9000 (see below).


Q9: Where can I get hold of a list of sites?

	There is a list, maintained by <archive-admin@Germany.EU.net>,
	which you can get hold of by fsp from ftp.Germany.EU.net (port
	2001):/pub/lists/fsp-servers.  Various other people produce
	lists as well: have a look around!

	You are encouraged to post site information to alt.comp.fsp, and
	if you post in the format below, most people will be able to
	slurp your list straight into their front-end programs.  There's
	an unofficial standard for the format, which you can find on taxus
	in the file "fsplist.std".

	In the meantime, here's a list to get you going.

	128.52.46.11	21	alpha	/      # GNU Alpha releases
	131.231.19.21	21	genie	/      # small UK site
	192.76.144.75	2001	germany	/      # big German archive
	131.215.131.148	21	mosaic	/      # BSD386/Usenet
	128.2.206.138	30	seismo	/      # main FSP code site
	146.169.2.1	21	src	/      # big UK site
	129.177.30.10	9000	taxus	/      # fspadm, fsp-shell tools
	131.155.2.71	21	terra	/      # big Netherlands site
	18.172.1.2	21	tsx	/      # linux
	137.205.192.5	21	warwick	/      # another UK site
	128.252.135.4	21	wu	/      # everything you ever wanted

Q10: Where can I get hold of hundreds of pictures of naked women in
    compromising positions?

	Don't ask me, I only edit the FAQ :-)

	Seriously, FSP has a reputation of being for "crooks and
	perverts".  If you know any good sites carrying illegal
	material, then do them a favour and keep them to yourself.
	Posting them won't make you any friends.

	If someone posts a list of sites, and you didn't want them to,
	please don't publicly flame them.  It doesn't endear you to
	anyone.  If you must put them right, send email.  Thank you.


Acknowledgements

	Thanks to all who helped put this FAQ together.

		Pete Bevin (pete@sst.icl.co.uk)
		Tony Brannigan (tbrann@ox.ac.uk)
		Maurizio Codogno (mau@beatles.cselt.stet.it)
		Jan Nicolai Langfeldt (janl@ifi.uio.no)
		Ove Ruben R Olsen (Ruben@uib.no)
		Phil Richards (pgr@prg.ox.ac.uk)
		Lindsey Smith (SMITH@fgs200.fgs.com)
		Wen-King Su (wen-king@cs.caltech.edu)
		Joseph Traub (jtraub@cs.cmu.edu)