path: root/doc/rfc/rfc325.txt

Network Working Group                                           G. HICKS
Request for Comments: 325                                           UTAH
N.I.C. # 9632                                              APRIL 6, 1972


               Network Remote Job Entry Program - NETRJS

   Since October 1971 we, at the University of Utah, have had very large
   compute bound jobs running continuously.  These jobs did reduce
   response time on our PDP-10 for the other Tenex users.

   Since February we have been submitting jobs to the UCLA 360/91.  Our
   normal mode of operation is diagrammed below.

                 +---------------+                +---------------+
     ______      |      UTAH     |    NETWORK     |      UCLA     |
    /      \     |  +---------+  |                |  +---------+  |
   +        +    |  |         |  |        / /     |  |         |  |
   |\______/|    |  |         |>-|-------/ /------|->|         |  |
   |        |----+--| NETRJS  |  | :    / /       |: |   RJS   |  |
   | FILE   |    |  |         |<-|-----/ /--------|-<|         |  |
   | SYSTEM |    |  |         |  |    / /         |  |         |  |
   \        /    |  +---------+  |                |  +---------+  |
    \______/     |       |       |                |               |
                 +-------|-------+                +---------------+

                        USER
   To use NETRJS the user creates a job file under the Tenex system.  He
   then requests NETRJS to send that file to the UCLA RJS (Remote Job
   Service System).  Using NETRJS, the user is able to monitor the
   progress of his job.  When RJS notifies the user that his job output
   is ready to be picked up, the user can request NETRJS to retrieve his
   output ("printed" or "punched") to a local file.

WHERE TO GET THE SOURCE PROGRAM

   A copy of the source program is available by contacting:

          Gregory P. Hicks
          Computer Science Department
          Merrill Engineering Building 3160
          University of Utah
          Salt Lake City, Utah 84112
          (801) 531-8224







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RFC 325             Network Remote Job Entry Program          April 1972


UCLA REMOTE JOB SERVICE

   To use the UCLA 360/91 via RJS it is necessary to:

             1) Have a valid account at UCLA
             2) Have an assigned RJS terminal id.

   These can both be obtained from:

          Bob Braden
          UCLA
          Math Sciences Building
          3531 Boelter Hall
          Los Angeles, Calif. 90024
          (213) 825-7518

   The remainder of this paper describes the program in greater detail
   and the steps necessary to run a users program at UCLA.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM

   There are some jobs that are compute bound for such a long time that
   they seriously affect response time for interactive users.  These are
   jobs that run from ten hours upward.  Another computer was needed to
   handle these jobs.  The UCLA-CCN 360/91 was suggested.  The 360/91 is
   primarily a batch processing type of system where, as a matter of
   course, it is tuned to jobs that typically run for hours.  UCLA does
   have software to allow jobs to be submitted via remote terminals,
   either through direct communication lines or through the ARPANET.

HOW AND WHY THE PROGRAM WAS WRITTEN

   UCLA's software allowed the remote terminals to have unlimited
   connect time (i.e. The time the terminal was actually connected to
   the 360/91) at no charge to the  user.  The software at UCLA required
   that each terminal be allotted 2k (2048 S/360 bytes) core for each
   connection that is open at any one time.  Now, since each terminal
   could have a virtual card reader, virtual line printer and a virtual
   card punch, this means that one terminal could occupy 10k of core at
   UCLA.  This - according to the UCLA systems people  - would put a
   heavy load on the system if all the ports were occupied at once.  So
   to alleviate this situation - as a matter of design decision - it was
   decided to have the operator request to have the various connections
   opened.  The operator could not have more than three connections at
   any one time.  He could have the two operator connections and one of
   the following open at once:





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RFC 325             Network Remote Job Entry Program          April 1972


     A) Virtual line printer
     B) Virtual card reader
     C) Virtual card punch

   This would cause the operator to be more active than an operator that
   had a program that waited for his output to be sent to him
   automatically.  However because of the reduced load on the remote
   (UCLA) system, the turn around time was probably faster than if all
   remote RJS users had all the connections open.

DATA TABLES NEEDED BY NETRJS

   The NETRJS has no information "built into" it about who has a valid
   terminal id at UCLA.  This information is contained on the disk in a
   file called PWD.SAV.  There is  a program that creates and updates
   this  information for NETRJS.  NETRJS is therefore site independent.
   It will work from any TENEX system that is able to use the ARPANET.

THE COMMAND INTERPRETER

   NETRJS borrowed R. S. Tomlinson's TELNET command interpreter and
   replaced his commands with those needed to run a program at UCLA.  As
   in TELNET, the command interpreter does recognize commands partially
   typed in.  If it does not have enough of the command to recognize it
   will let the operator know about it.

OPERATION COMMANDS TO NETRJS

   The commands available are:

     1) SEND.FILE.NAMED
     2) RETRIEVE.OUTPUT.FROM
           Options available here are:
            a) PRINTER
            b) PUNCH
               Under punch the options are:
                 i) Retrieving an object deck or
                 ii) Retrieving an ascii file
     3) TIME.NOW.IS
     4) LOGOUT
     5) RESTART
     6) DISCONNECT
     7) QUIT
     8) SYSTAT
     9) JOBSTAT
    10) ?
    11) ^Q




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RFC 325             Network Remote Job Entry Program          April 1972


           Now to explain what the various commands do.

   SEND.FILE.NAMED - asks the operator for the name of his program on
        the disk, converts it to card images and sends the file to the
        Remote Job Service at UCLA.  When the file  has  been accepted
        by UCLA the operator will get a confirming message telling him
        how many cards were read and the name of his job.  At this point
        the operator may signoff from RJS and return at a later time to
        get his output.

   RETRIEVE.OUTPUT.FROM - asks the operator for the name of the virtual
        device the output is available on.  The operator may specify
        either the printer or the punch.

   TIME.NOW.IS - outputs the time for the users information.

   RESTART - will produce a very virgin NETRJS.  This should be used
        only as a last resort since it does "reset-the-world".

   LOGOUT - will do just that.  It will log the user out from his local
        and his remote job.  It  does require a confirming carriage
        return or it will do nothing.

   DISCONNECT - will log the user out from the remote job and will
        disconnect (break all connections between) him and the remote
        computer.

   QUIT - this is the only recommended way that the NETRJS program be
        terminated.  The program may be continued with no harm done.

   JOBSTAT - will cause RJS to show the status of any jobs that are
        still active, and that have been submitted by the remote
        terminal.

   SYSTAT - will cause RJS to tell the operator what remote terminals
        are using the RJS system at the present time.

   ? - will do several things.  When in the command level, it caused
        NETRJS to tell the operator what it expects next.  When nothing
        has been typed it will respond with all the top level commands.
        When something is entered, it will respond with all the commands
        that begin with those particular letters.  As in TELNET, it will
        see nothing that is illegal.  When sending or receiving a file
        the ? will tell NETRJS to type out it's progress so far.  This
        message is typed at the end of the transaction that it is
        currently processing.  For that reason, it may be a few minutes
        before the message is typed out.




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RFC 325             Network Remote Job Entry Program          April 1972


   ^Q - this command is a very useful abort facility when used in the
        following  fashion: ^Q ^C will terminate NETRJS.  This command
        is not interpreted by the command interpreter.  It is looked for
        by the sending (console) portion of the program.  In any case
        the program may not be  continued.  How  it  works...  This
        command simply re-enables the ^C in the exec and stops the
        console  from doing anything (eg:  sending messages to UCLA,
        finding out the  system  status  at  UCLA, etc...)  The
        recommended sequence  for this command (IF IT MUST BE USED) is:
        ^Q^C.  For this reason: The program is still processing but the
        operator cannot communicate with it.

HANDY COMMANDS TO THE RJS AT UCLA

   Some of the more useful commands available to the RJS user are:

   SIGNOFF - this will inform RJS that the user wants to terminate the
        session.  If there are no output streams active the signoff will
        be accepted.  If there are output streams active the RJS will
        wait until such time as they have completed.

   RESTART  -  (may  be  abbreviated  RST) will restart  the specified
        device/job.  Devices available are (at this time): PRINTER1 AND
        PUNCH1.  The user may specify  his jobname.  This will restart
        his job (for output) from the beginning.  The format of the
        restart command is:

                  RESTART (device or jobname[,JOB])

        There will be a confirming message that specifies the action
        taken.

   STATUS SYSTEM - this will tell the operator what remote terminals are
        using the RJS System now.  In addition, status system includes
        the status of all jobs currently in the system that have been
        submitted from the user's terminal.  The only abbreviation
        allowed is for system (SYS).

   STATUS JOB - will tell the operator what output if any is waiting to
        be returned to his terminal.  It will also tell him if there are
        any jobs being  executed.  This command should be done each time
        the user signs onto RJS.  Abbreviation allowed: J for JOB.

THE NETRJS CONTROL CHARACTERS

   The escape character for NETRJS is the control character ^S.   This
   was specified so that remote sites (and users!) could use the program
   and still retain their sanity  and  that of telnet.  This will always



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   return you to the command level of NETRJS.  This is good if you think
   that you've made a mistake (eg...  when writing the program, etc...)
   and you want to abort a send.  In other words, do not do ^S and think
   that you can continue where you left off in a send or retrieval.  It
   won't work at this time.  In a later implementation, it may, with the
   provision of stopping (and then continuing, if you wish) the printer,
   punch, or reader.


EVERYTHING UNDERLINED SHOULD BE TYPED IN BY USER

   SAMPLE SESSION USING NETRJS

   UTAH TENEX 1.28.03, JANUARY 31, 1972 EXPC 1.33.3
   [1] (USER) HICKS
              -----
   (PASSWORD)
              -----
   (ACCOUNT #) 500
               ---
    JOB 6 ON TTY21 1-APR-72 10:12
    RUN NETRJS
    ----------

   <<UCLA91 IS UP.>>
   NRJ8761 NETWORK REMOTE JOB SERVICE READY
   RJS7501 TERMINAL NETUTAH1 HAS SIGNED ONTO RJS
   RJS6601 NO ALERTS OUTSTANDING
   (^S)
   ----
   <<?
     -
   RETRIEVE.OUTPUT.FROM
   SEND.FILE.NAMED
   DISCONNECT

   QUIT
   RESTART
   TIME.NOW.IS
   LOGOUT
   DDT
   UCLA91
   SYSTAT
     SEND.FILE.NAMED TEST.F4;1
     ---             ---------
   ?
   -
   5 RECORDS TRANSFERRED.



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RFC 325             Network Remote Job Entry Program          April 1972


   FILE TEST.F4;1 HAS BEEN SENT.
   12 RECORDS TRANSFERRED.
   MORE FILES TO BE SENT? (Y OR N) Y
                                   -
   INPUT FILE: TEST.DAT;1
   ?
   -
   40 RECORDS TRANSFERRED.

   FILE TEST.DAT;1 HAS BEEN SENT.
   100 RECORDS TRANSFERRED.
   MORE FILES TO BE SENT? (Y OR N) N
                                   -
   << >>
     -
   RJS534I JOB NETUTAH1 ACCEPTED BY RJS - 0000112 CARDS READ
   <<SYSTAT >>
     --
   RJS802I TERMINAL NETUTAH1 HAS 1 SPL JOB(S)
   RJS800I TERMINAL GSM ACTIVE AN LINE1
   RJS909I PUNCH REROUTE = ENGR
   RJS800I TERMINAL NETILL ACTIVE ON LINE8
   RJS800I TERMINAL NETUTAH1 ACTIVE ON LINE11

   STATUS JOB
   ----------
   RJS810I TERMINAL NETUTAH1 HAS THE FOLLOWING JOBS ON RJS
   RJS812I NETUTAH1 SPL(A) 001
   RJS481I PRINT OUTPUT FOR JOB NETUTAH1 NOW AVAILABLE, PRTY=030, IMMED
   RJS481I PUNCH OUTPUT FOR JOB NETUTAH1 NOW AVAILABLE, PRTY=060, IMMED

   <<RETRIEVE.OUTPUT.FROM PRINTER
     ---                  -------
   GOING TO FILE NAMED TEST.PRT [NEW FILE]
                       --------           -
   RJS783I TERMINAL STATUS CHANGED
   ?
   -
   99 RECORDS TRANSFERRED.
   STATUS JOB
   ------ ---
   RJS809I TERMINAL NETUTAH1 HAS THE FOLLOWING JOBS IN RJS
   RJS800I NETUTAH1 PRT(A)   060
   ?
   -
   169 RECORDS TRANSFERRED.

   YOUR OUTPUT IS HERE.



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RFC 325             Network Remote Job Entry Program          April 1972


   217 RECORDS AND 16119 BYTES TRANSFERRED.>>

   <<RETRIEVE.OUTPUT.FROM PUNCH
     ---                  -----
   WILL THIS BE AN OBJECT DECK (O)
   OR AN ASCII FILE (A)?? ASCII
                          -
   GOING TO FILE NAMED TEST.PUJ [NEW FILE]
                       --------           -
   RJS783I TERMINAL STATUS CHANGED


   YOUR OUTPUT IS HERE.
   17 RECORDS AND 1222 BYTES TRANSFERRED.>>
   SIGNOFF
   -------
   RJS751I TERMINAL NETUTAH1 HAS REQUESTED SIGNOFF FROM RJS
   NRJ898I SIGNOFF ACCEPTED
   @


WHEN THE OPERATOR'S CONSOLE IS ACTIVE

   The NETRJS prompt character is the  "<<".  This indicates  that  the
   program is  ready to accept commands.  When the ">>" is printed the
   console is in the remote  mode.  Anything that is typed at this point
   goes directly to RJS.  When sending or retrieving files the operator
   may communicate with RJS if he wishes even though the ">>" has not
   yet been output.  The operator's console is in the remote mode at all
   times except when NETRJS is at the command level.

EDITING ON THE NETWORK

   There are two control characters that allow you to make mistakes and
   then to correct them.  One is control-x.  This has the action of
   notifying RJS to ignore your last line.  This is echoed by "___".
   The other is control-h.  This will cause UCLA to ignore the character
   immediately preceding it.  This is echoed by "_" and there will be no
   echo of the deleted character.

TABS AND OTHER NEAT GOODIES

   Most people writing programs under TENEX like to use the tab stops
   provided on the teletype.  So we needed a nice number to set them to.
   When running NETRJS the user should be aware that the tab stops are
   set every 8 columns.  In other words, a line that starts with a tab
   will find the first character in (card) column 8.  The program
   accepts almost any type of <eol> indicator eg: TENEX eol and cr lf.



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RFC 325             Network Remote Job Entry Program          April 1972


   (This last in any order, by the way.)  It also deletes blank lines
   and since the user may wish to use a program written in a language
   such as Fortran to generate data, the program also ignores null (00)
   characters.  When retrieving a file of data, for an <eol> the program
   uses <cr> and <lf>.  This is to keep the output compatible with
   text-editors such as QED, DED, SOS and etc.

FILE FORMAT

   When sending a file to UCLA there is a line limit of 80 characters.
   This is a design restriction in that jobs going to the OS/360 be no
   longer than 80 characters/line.  (Remember, IBM is still card
   oriented...) The operator will get a nasty (well...  semi-nasty
   anyway) message if NETRJS finds a line that is longer than that.  For
   an output file, there is no limit to the length of a line other than
   that imposed by the programming language used up to 255 characters.
   When the user retrieves a punch file he may find that there are a few
   extra lines thrown in...  This is done by UCLA to allow the user to
   identify his deck when it is punched on the card punch.


         [ This RFC was put into machine readable form for entry ]
             [ into the online RFC archives by Elias Lofgren ]




























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