The "Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting Issues for
Terminal/Network Servers" BOF will be held from 7:00 - 10:00 PM
on Tuesday, November 19 at the 22nd IETF meeting in Santa Fe.
Motivation for this BOF
In the course of planning for the replacement of the existing
proprietary and outmoded equipment that provides user access to
MichNet, we have identified several required functions which we
currently offer that are not available in any comparable commercial
equipment that we have come across. The major functionality we find
lacking lies in the areas of authentication, authorization, and
accounting. We feel that the lack of functionality in these areas
presents problems that are by no means specific to MichNet; These
problems are, or will be, faced by many other network providers. In
order to illustrate the issues to be discussed, we next present
a few examples of some of the functions in the topic areas that are
currently performed within MichNet.
Currently access to specific destinations within MichNet can be
either allowed or disallowed based upon factors such as whether the
user has been identified to the network, whether the user's account
can be billed against, or whether the user's point of access is a
dial-up or direct line. A usage charge can be imposed at
either end of a connection, and the network collects the billing
information. The sending of IP packets off MichNet from dial-up
lines can be restricted only to authorized users.
However, these required functions are provided in an ad hoc manner
in the current network; We would much prefer to see them provided
in a standard manner in the replacement equipment. Adherence to
standards in the provision of these functions would allow us, and
others, to easily upgrade to new equipment as it becomes available
and also to select this equipment from various vendors.
While the equipment we are replacing is used mostly for
asynchronous user access, the issues to be discussed extend to
other forms of access as well. The term "terminal/network server"
refers to devices that allow access to and from an IP network via a
dumb terminal, a PC or workstation using point-to-point framed IP
(PPP, SLIP, SLFP), and other non-IP networks.
quot;rembrandt"
WebCrawler: rembrandt and artist and portrait 21 matching documents
Magellan: rembrandt 666 results
Magellan: rembrandt and artist and portrait 39379 results
You'll notice, in the above statistics, that the numbers for Magellan
are quite different from the others. This is because different
search engines may function differently. When you do a this+that
search on Magellan, it looks for all instances of This AND all
instances of That rather than the standard response of Only documents
which contain both This AND That. On almost all the sites I have
explored, there is an explanation of how the search process works on
that site. You should read that explanation if you're having trouble
or need further information.
You will also begin to see patterns in the way people name, or file,
their information, which will help you find more information. Some
may list their links to ART, while others list their links to
PAINTINGS. Also many people put links to related pages in their
pages, so one page you find that doesn't have what you're looking
for, may have a pointer to another page that does have what you're
looking for. Searching is an iterative process, keep going from one
search key to another, and continue down multiple levels to see what
is out there. Its known as Exploring, or Surfing the Net, and it is
a major part of the joy of the Internet.
Humanities and Arts [draft-ietf-harts-guide-02.txt] [Page 18]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
4. Accessing the Internet
Accessing the Internet in terms of simply receiving, downloading,
and viewing files, uses most of the same tools (software and
hardware) needed to create files and make them available on the
Internet. This section, and the next, overlap in the areas of basic
hardware and software.
The Internet can be accessed in many comfortable ways: at school,
at home, at work, and even at trendy CyberCoffeeHouses. Accessing
the Internet is not synonymous with publishing and displaying on the
Internet, however. You may need different equipment for creating and
retrieving content.
4.1 Getting Started
Many Internet Service Providers (See Section 4.2) offer free
instruction to get you started in accessing the Internet as well as
creating content. With the competition of Internet providers, you
should be able to find one or two that offer the instruction you
need. Artists in smaller communities may need to rely more heavily
upon online sources of information.
Check with local libraries and schools which may offer classes on
Internet related subjects, including getting connected, or check the
Internet section available in most bookstores today.
Don't be dissuaded if you find limited access. The Internet will
soon be everywhere, but if you don't want to wait, then do what these
enterprising youths did...
When several students from large universities returned home to Taos,
NM, a couple of summers ago, they left behind their Internet
connections. Missing their connectivity, they approached the owner
of a local bakery and suggested he start an Internet room where he
could charge people by the hour to use the Internet. The
entrepreneurial baker applied for a government grant and received a
a few computers with high speed modems.
You may be able to find a place like this, often called a CyberCafe,
rather than having to create one. Try your local magazine stand for
the latest periodicals, or your public library or bookstore for
pointers to other people who will know more.
Once you have some Internet access, you can find out more about
Cybercafes, InternetCafes, and other physical Internet access points,
by searching as described in Section 3, and in the newsgroup
alt.cybercafes.
Humanities and Arts [draft-ietf-harts-guide-02.txt] [Page 19]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
4.2 Internet Service Providers
Being an Internet Service Provider (ISP) these days is pretty easy
and can be financially worthwhile, so there are alot of them, and
they are starting and failing every day. In addition to the
information and pointers you will find in this document, many
organizations exist to help you locate, and choose a service
provider. In any case, be sure to get references, not only for the
ISP but also for the organizations who recommend them. Some
organizations exist solely to recommend those who pay them. Most
Internet related magazines these days contain extensive advertising
by ISPs in your area. See Appendix D for a listing of many magazines
which now contain information and pointers about the Internet.
As we discussed in Section 1, every machine on the Internet needs an
address by which it is accessed. Even machines which are only
browsing need an address to which the browsed information is
returned. This is actually called your IP (Internet Protocol)
address. Usually you will get your IP address from your work,
school, or ISP when you get your configuration information for your
Internet connection. If you were trying to get an IP Address on your
own, you would go to the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).
The following is sent out by the IANA in response to a request for
an IP network number assignment.
You should get your IP address (a 32bit number) from your
network service provider.
Your network service provider works with a regional registry
to manage these addresses. The regional registry for the US
is the Internic, for Europe is RIPE, for the Asia and Pacific
region is the AP-NIC, and parts of the world not otherwise
covered are managed by the Internic.
If for some reason your network service provider does not
provide you with an IP address, you can contact the your
regional registry at one of the following addresses:
Internic <hostmaster@internic.net>
RIPE <ncc@ripe.net>
AP-NIC <admin@apnic.net>
Please do contact your network service provider first, though.
The regional registry will want to know all the gory details
about why that didn't work out before they allocate you an
address directly.
Humanities and Arts [draft-ietf-harts-guide-02.txt] [Page 20]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
4.3 Computer Software and Hardware Tools
A basic computer system consists of a box containing a Central
Processor Unit (CPU), MotherBoard, and Floppy Drive. It will also
come with a keyboard, and you will need a Hard Drive, Memory, and a
Video Monitor. How much memory, how large a hard drive, and how
fabulous a monitor, will vary with your needs and experience.
To connect to an ISP you will also need a modem and a phone line.
Your normal telephone line will do, but if you have call-waiting you
will probably want to disable it for the duration of your networking
session so that you do not lose data to a lost connection.
There are many types of computers available including PC's, Macs, and
other Workstations. The most affordable systems are generally PCs
and Macs. You may also need to choose an Operating System (OS) for
the machine you choose.
Personal Computers (PCs) can run a version of DOS, anything from
Microsoft(R), or a version of Unix (BSDI, FreeBSD, Linux, etc.) Apple
Macintosh computers can run the common Mac Windows, or Apples version
of Unix. Workstations generally run a Unix derived OS.
With any system, you should ensure that it contains the software and
hardware necessary to maintain both itself and your data. While
computer data is not particularly fragile, it is still sometimes lost
due to hardware or software problems or simple human error. For this
reason it is considered important to "back up" your system by making
extra copies of important data. While simply copying data onto
floppy disks could work, the small storage size of the disks makes it
alot of work and prone to human error. Many large capacity disk and
tape drives are available with special software specifically for
doing backups. It is highly recommended that you purchase a backup
solution along with your computer.
It is also important to protect your data from being damaged by
computer viruses. When you connect to the net and move data back and
forth, it is possible that there can be a small piece of software
(called a virus) that could hide in some of the data and "infect"
your system, possibly then using your system to infect other machines
that you connect to. These viruses are often created by misguided
people as a sort of computer prank, and can accidentally or
maliciously damage your data. Fortunately it is possible to buy
virus checking software that can regularly scan your system to see if
it has been infected. This software is important whether you are
downloading information from the net, or using other peoples floppy
disks. See Section 6 for more information on viruses.
Determining your ideal hardware and software configuration will
take some time and patience. You need an understanding of what you
want to do, and how, and whether you wish to simply view, or create.
You'll also want to know the limitations and expandability potential
Humanities and Arts [draft-ietf-harts-guide-02.txt] [Page 21]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
of the system, so you can determine if it will have a useful
lifespan. If the machine cannot grow for the foreseeable few years,
it will become obsolete before its given you its fullest value.
4.4 Multimedia
Depending upon your needs, you may require special hardware installed
in the machine, or attached externally by cables. These additional
pieces of hardware are known as peripherals.
The peripherals needed for accessing information on the Internet
might include the following:
- a sound card and speakers to hear sounds, music, speech, etc.
- a CD-ROM player to read stored images of artwork
- midi equipment for audio artists
- video equipment for participating in video forums
- a printer to make hardcopy of files, or images
- Other equipment for creating content See Section 5.
Most of these peripherals will require specialized software. If you
plan to purchase all the hardware and software at once, find a vendor
who will connect and test all the hardware, software, and peripherals
for you. Due to the complexity of these systems, they can be
difficult to configure for the inexperienced user.
Also, verify that the vendor will stand behind their equipment, and
this configuration in the event that it doesn't work the way you want
it to. Hook the system up, and test it extensively right away, so
as to determine any problems before your warrantee period expires.
5. Creating Content
As the hardware and software of the net becomes cheaper and better
understood, the technology itself will become less important than the
content which lives on the net. Many of the rewards of the Internet
will go to the people who create such content.
There are different ways to add content to the Internet. One may
start with pre-existing content, such as paintings or stories, and
find a place for it, or one may create content specifically for the
net such as a web page.
Let us for the moment assume that you have already created something
which you would like to make available on the net. There are many
ways in which you could do this. You could deal with agencies who
provide this service professionally, find friends or others willing
to do it for free, or get yourself on the net in some fashion and
create a place for it yourself.
Humanities and Arts [draft-ietf-harts-guide-02.txt] [Page 22]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
If you chose to do it yourself, you will need your own computer and
some form of internet access from an Internet Service Provider (ISP)
or Web Space Provider (WSP).
Once you have a place to put your content, you will need to put it in
the right format. Images may have to be digitized, audio may have to
be recorded into computer files, etc. Section 5.2 discusses the
various information formats in more detail. While hardware, such as
image scanners, are readily available, there are also many other
options available. For example, most print, or copy shops today can
do high quality image scans and some WSPs may provide this as one of
their services.
If you are placing your content on the Web, a web page must be
created for it in the form of an HTML document that references the
content in the appropriate file format. While this is easy enough to
do yourself, many WSPs also offer this service, and there are also
independent web page designers who may be able to do a better job.
Creating online content involves moving your art into an electronic
format and then, perhaps, re-formatting it for the Internet. For
some art forms, the initial electronic step is fairly painless:
translating a short story, poem, novel (or any type of creative
writing that doesn't have much desktop publishing formatting, for
example) into HTML is fairly straight forward. Likewise, moving a
computer graphic to the Internet requires a converter program to make
the graphic follow the right format. Performing arts, sculpture, and
other pieces that are hard to capture on a computer disk, require
more work and creative thinking.
Much of the information needed to help you think creatively about
publicizing your work online is available in classes, books, local
Internet cafes, and on the Internet itself. Many Internet magazines
are available for subscriptions or individual issues can help get you
started. Most new bookstores and, to some extent, used bookstores
provide numerous volumes of Internet information. However, even the
most recently published books may contain outdated information. The
latest 'standards' can be obtained directly from the Internet
Engineering Task Force, or IETF, at http://www.ietf.org/. The
document you are reading now is a product of that organization.
If you learn better by doing, rather than reading, you may be
interested in taking a HTML or Internet Introduction course at a
local college. Most larger metropolitan area schools provide classes
for the basics, which can also expose you to other artists. Make
sure you read the course description; some courses may only cover
accessing the Internet while you may want to actually be creating
documents. If no colleges in your area offer classes, contact the
computer science department or the continuing education office and
suggest a topic. If the school can obtain enough support, they may
offer a class the following semester.
Humanities and Arts [draft-ietf-harts-guide-02.txt] [Page 23]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
5.1 Getting Help: Consultants, Web Page Designers, Providers, etc.
Once you're connected to the Internet, there are many more ways of
getting help with it. Try the forums, listed in Section 3, such as
Newsgroups, Bulletin Boards, and Chat rooms. If you've checked the
local netiquette guidelines, and behave accordingly, the Internet
community will usually be very helpful toward new arrivals.
When looking for good consultants and web page designers, start with
the sites you like, and find out who did their pages. Discuss your
needs with other artists, or check the phone book, library, books,
magazines and other periodicals for artist collectives and groups who
may be available to assist you. Look for groups whose cause is
artisticly motivated, rather than trusting people who are paid to
point you at a particular consultant or assistant.
Know what you want. If it takes you a while to figure out what you
want, take that time. This shouldn't be something you need to rush
into. The Internet isn't going to go away. Whatever you decide to
do, don't be afraid to ask for references. A good provider of
services will always be happy to provide you with a list of happy
customers.
5.2 Basic design issues: Understanding Formats
As discribed in Section 1.3, there are many file formats available on
the Internet. You'll need to understand a little bit about the
formats you'll want to present, in order to create them for others to
see. Some formats are called Public Domain, and are freely copyable,
and the software tools used to create this content is available for
you to download off the net. Other formats are called Proprietary,
and are only readable and creatable using software you must purchase
from the vendor who created it, or their authorized reseller. Some
formats, and their associated formatting tools, come along with other
software packages. For example, Microsoft Windows comes with a Sound
Recorder, which makes and plays back .wav files. Now people who want
sound cues in the software they write for Windows can use .wav files
and give you more options with the tools you have. So you can now
surf the net for .wav files to add to the usefulness of those tools.
For more information on file formats, connect to:
http://www.matisse.net/files/formats.html
or
http://rodent.lib.rochester.edu/multimed/contents.htm
(note the extension in this case is .htm rather than .html - this is
the case when files are created in an environment that only supports
three character extensions, such as DOS.
++ List, define, and describe, formats and extensions...
++ Sound, Image, Text, Hypertext
Humanities and Arts [draft-ietf-harts-guide-02.txt] [Page 24]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
Some artists are actually using html as an artform in itself and are
helping to push the boundaries of this medium.
++ Mention scanners, tablets, speakers, recorders,
++ encoders/decoders, slide reader video equipment, software needed,
++ Save in-depth for the appropriate subsection.
++ Don't forget Examples: How people are creating content ...
5.3 Text and Hypertext
++ what and how
5.4 Graphic and Moving images
++ Creating mpeg, jpeg, gif, jpg, Compression: jpg vs. gif
++ What is a thumbnail?
5.5 Music and Sound
The World Wide Web supports audio data as well as visual data. The
most obvious way to send audio across the net would be to use digital
audio like that used for the Compact Disc or "CD". However, CD
format digital audio requires 44,100 16 bit words per second for a
mono signal, and twice that for a stereo signal. While there are
many places where one can find digital audio in Windows ".wav&
Purpose of this BOF
The particular functions we would like to address at this BOF lie
in the areas of authentication, authorization and accounting. These
are the areas related to terminal/network server access that we
feel need the most attention from the IETF. Most of the discussion
at this BOF will center upon these three areas.
We also would like to discuss the concept of providing a
standard, server based, user interface that could be used to
control session establishment in a manner independent of the type
of terminal/network server providing the access. It may be
possible to have workstations also provide this standard user
interface for session control. The areas of authentication,
authorization, and accounting are central to this concept as well.
We hope to accomplish the following at this BOF.
Share experience/needs and seek advice in the areas of
authentication, authorization and accounting in relationship to
network access.
Identify existing standards that could be applied to the
problems.
Identify working groups that might be interested in solving these
problems.
Make plans to provide input to these WGs.
Possibly start a new working group(s), if problems remain which
will not be addressed by the existing process.
Outline of this session
We would like this BOF to be very interactive. We will attempt to
follow this format:
A model for viewing the issues will be described and terms
will be defined.
A set of authentication, authorization, and accounting
requirements will be proposed.
Many issues related to required or desired functions as well as
to the scope of this endeavor will be discussed.
We will finish up with some discussion of where we go from here.