---------------------------------- --- Technical Guide to DataPac --- --- Brought to you by the --- --- NEW Dark Council (1990) --- ---------------------------------- --- If you can stand reading --- --- through this entire --- --- document, you are a boring --- --- person. Go out and get --- --- laid! --- ---------------------------------- Here is the technical "About DataPac" document so efficiently stolen from the DataPac information service. (Data Pac address 92100086). It probably won't teach you much, but it might be nice to have around if you ever need to do something out of the ordinary. DATAPAC FAMILY OF SERVICES -------------------------- DATAPAC 3000 ------------ DATAPAC 3000 IS A SYNCHRONOUS, APPLICATION INDEPENDENT SERVICE THAT ALLOWS DATA TERMINALS (DTE'S) AND DATA COMMUNICATING EQUIPMENT (DCE) TO EXCHANGE DATA IN A PACKET-MODE OVER A PUBLIC OR PRIVATE PACKET SWITCHING NETWORK. THE DTE/DCE INTERFACE CONNECTION, DISCONNECTION AND TRANS MISSION RULES ARE DEFINED IN A PACKET SWITCHING PROTOCOL CALLED X.25 RECOMMENDATION WHICH IS DEVELOPED AND GOVERNED BY THE INTERNATIONAL TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE (CCITT). X.25 PROTOCOL IS A BIT ORIENTED FRAMING STRUCTURE BASED ON THE HIGH LEVEL DATA LINK CONTROL (HDLC). THE CCITT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR X.25 ARE DIVIDED INTO THREE LEVELS, NAMELY: THE PHYSICAL INTERFACE (LEVEL 1); THE FRAME LEVEL LOGICAL INTERFACE (LEVEL 2); THE PACKET LEVEL LOGICAL INTERFACE (LEVEL 3). LEVEL 1 SPE CIFIES THE USE OF FOUR-WIRE, POINT-TO-POINT SYNCHRONOUS CIRCUIT BETWEEN THE DTE AND THE NETWORK (DCE). THIS CIRCUIT INCLUDES TWO MODEMS OR DATASETS (ONE CONNECTED TO THE DTE AND THE OTHER CONNECTED TO THE NETWORK). TYPICAL CHARACTERISTICS ARE: - 4-WIRE POINT-TO-POINT OR DIAL VIA A V.22 BIS MODEM; - FULL DUPLEX ; - EIA RS232 CONVENTION. MODEM/DATASET LEVEL 2 - DEFINES THE FRAME LEVEL LINK PROCEDURES USED TO SYNCHRONIZE TRANSMISSION, INITIATE THE "HANDSHAKING" NECESSARY TO ESTABLISH THE 'R-U-THERE'/YES-I-AM SEQUENCE, FLOW CONTROL MECHANISM AND PERFORM ERROR CHECKING OF DATA EXCHANGE ACROSS THE DTE/DCE INTERFACE (LINK). THE DTE IS USUALLY LOCATED AT THE CUSTOMER PREMISES AND IS CALLED HOST WHILE THE DCE IS LOCATED IN THE NETWORK. THE PROCEDURES USED TO CONTROL THE LINK ARE DEFINED AS COMMANDS AND RESPONSES. CHARACTERISTICS ARE: - HDLC; - LINK ACCESS PROCEDURE -BALANCED (LAPB) - X.25(80) OR X.25(84). LEVEL 3 - DEFINES THE PACKET FORMATS AND CONTROL PROCEDURES REQUIRED TO ESTABLISH A LOGICAL PATH (CALL REQUEST), EXCHANGE INFORMATION (DATA PACKETS) AND FOR REMOVING THE LOGICAL PATH (CLEAR REQUEST) BETWEEN THE DTE AND DCE. CHARACTERISTICS ARE: - LOGICAL CHANNELS (LCN`S) - PACKET SIZE - WINDOW SIZE - THROUGHPUT CLASS - ETC HOW IT WORKS ------------ THE CUSTOMER'S TERMINAL (HOST) IS CONNECTED TO A LOCAL MODEM WHICH IN TURN, IS CONNECTED TO A SECOND MODEM (REMOTE) IN THE CENTRAL OFFICE VIA BY 4 WIRES WHICH IN TURN, IS CONNECTED TO A LINE PROCESSING MODULE IN THE DATAPAC NETWORK. THIS CONFIGURATION IS CALLED THE DTE/DCE LINK AND CAN BE ASSIGNED SPEEDS OF 1200 BPS THROUGH 19200 BPS. THIS DTE/DCE LINK IS ASSIGNED A UNIQUE DATAPAC NETWORK ADDRESS (DNA) AND OTHER LINK PARA METERS SUCH AS LINE SPEED, MODEM TYPE, FLOW CONTROL AND SECURITY BY TELECOM CANADA. WHEN THE ELECTRICAL SIGNALS ARE IN THE CORRECT STATE AS SPECIFIED IN LEVEL 1, THE DATAPAC LINE PROCESSING MODULE CONTINUOUSLY TRANSMITS A CCITT COMMAND CALLED SABM (SET ASYNCHRONOUS BALANCED MODE) TO THE CUSTOMERS'S TERMINAL (HOST) EVERY THREE SECONDS. IF THE HOST IS READY, IT RESPONDS TO THE SABM WITH A CCITT RESPONSE UA (UNNUMBERED ACKNOWLEDGEMENT). WHEN THIS OCCURS, THE LINK IS INITIALIZED (LEVEL 2 READY), THE HOST AND DATAPAC MODULE EXCHANGE RESTARTS OR RESTART/RESTART CONFIRMATION COMMANDS. WHEN THIS OCCURS, THE DTE/DCE LINK GENERATES A TRANSITION TO THE NEXT X.25 LEVEL. LEVEL 3. THE DTE THEN SIGNALS THE ADDRESS IT WISHES TO COMMUNICATE WITH IN A CCITT DEFINED CALL REQUEST FORMAT (8 DIGITS ), 10 DIGITS IF USING 9TH AND 10TH DIGIT SUBADDRESSING ON A LOGICAL CHANNEL (LCN)DATAPAC THEN ROUTES THE CALL REQUEST TO THE APPROPRIATE DESTINATION (NATIONAL OR INTERNATIONAL) AND AWAITS A CCITT DEFINED CALL ACCEPT PACKET. IF THIS OCCURS, THE ACCEPT PACKET IS TRANSMITTED BACK TO THE ORIGINATING HOST AND BOTH HOSTS MAY NOW EXCHANGE CCITT DEFINED DATA PACKETS. THIS IS CALLED A SWITCHED VIRTUAL CALL (SVC); PERMANENT VIRTUAL CALLS (PVC'S) ARE ALSO OFFERED. AT THE END OF THE SESSION, EITHER HOST CAN TERMINATE THE SVC BY TRANSMITTING A CCITT DEFINED CLEAR REQUEST PACKET. UP TO 255 SVC'S MAY BE SUPPORTED SIMULTANEOUSLY. DIAL ACCESS SERVICE IS ALSO OFFERED AT 2400BPS WITH A MAXIMUM OF EIGHT LCN'S OVER THE PUBLIC TELEPHONE NETWORK BENE FITS ======== DATAPAC 3000 PROVIDES CUSTOMERS WITH A COST EFFECTIVE SERVICE DERIVED FROM PACKET SWITCHING TECHNOLOGY AND X.25 PROTOCOL. SOME BENEFITS ARE: DEDICATED OR DIAL-IN ACCESS - SIMULTANEOUS COMMUNICATION WITH MANY (UP TO 255) DIFFERENT LOCATIONS - NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL; - ERROR FREE TRANSMISSION; - SYSTEM EXPANSION FLEXIBILITY; COMMUNICATION UNIVERSALITY - COST CONTAINMENT THROUGH REDUCED HOST PORT CONNECTIONS; - 24 HOURS 7 DAYS-A-WEEK SERVICE - LOWER COMMUNICATION COSTS; - CALL PARAMATER SELECTION TO SUIT PARTICULAR APPLICATIONS. CALL OUR TELEMARKETING STAFF AT 1-800-268-9102 FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT UTILIZING THIS SERVICE AND SERVICE FEATURES. ________- DATAPAC FAMILY OF SERVICES ========================== DATAPAC 3101 ------------ DATAPAC 3101 IS A NETWORK ACCESS SERVICE WHICH ENABLES TELETYPEWRITER COMPATIBLE DEVICES, SUCH AS TIME-SHARING TERMINALS, TO ACCESS THE DATAPAC NETWORK. LOW SPEED, ASYNCHRONOUS DEVICES ARE SUPPORTED THROUGH AN INTERACTIVE TERMINAL INTERFACE (I TI) IN A PACKET ASSEMBLER/DISASSEMBLER (PAD), WHICH ALLOWS THE DEVICES TO ACCESS THE NETWORK OVER DIAL-UP (DDD) OR DEDICATED ACCESS LINES. ITI, THE END-TO-END PROTOCOL FOR DATAPAC 3101 CONFORMS TO THE CCITT RECOMMENDATIONS X.3, X.28 AND X.29 AND SUPPORTS ACCESS TO THE DATAPAC NETWORK FOR ASYNCHRONOUS, START-STOP CHARACTER MODE TERMINALS. X.3 SPECIFIES THE OPERATION OF THE PAD. IT CONTAINS THE SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE TWELVE INTERNATIONAL PARAMETERS AND THEIR OPERATION. ADDITIONAL DOMESTIC PARAMETERS ARE A LSO IN PLACE TO MEET CANADIAN MARKET REQUIREMENTS. X.28 SPECIFIES THE COMMAND LANGUAGE BETWEEN THE TEMINAL AND THE PAD. IT ALSO SPECIFIES THE CONDITIONS WHICH DEFINE THE COMMAND MODE AND THE DATA TRANSFER MODE. X.29 SPECIFIES THE PROCEDURES TO BE FOLLOWED BY AN X.25 DTE TO ACCESS AND MODIFY THE PARAMETERS IN THE PAD AS WELL AS THE DATA TRANSFER PROCEDURE. THE USER NEEDS NO SPECIAL HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE TO INTERFACE A TERMINAL TO THE DATAPAC NETWORK. A KNOWLEDGE OF THE ITI PROCEDURES IS THE ONLY REQUIREME NT AT THE TERMINAL END. THE DATAPAC 3101 SERVICE PROVIDES FOR TERMINAL TO HOST (USER'S COMPUTER) AND TERMINAL TO TERMINAL COMMUNICATION. THE HOST ACCESS SHOULD CONFORM WITH THE X.25 PROTOCOL, USING THE DATAPAC 3000 ACCESS SERVICE, AND ALSO SUPPORT THE HIGHER LEVEL PROTOCOL CONVENTIONS OF ITI. HOST ACCESS MAY ALSO BE PROVIDED VIA THE DATAPAC 3101 SERVICE FOR SOME APPLICATIONS. THE DATAPAC 3101 SERVICE ALSO PROVIDES BLOCK MODE AND TAPE SUPPORT. ____ DATAPAC FAMILY OF SERVICES ========================== D ATAPAC 3201 ------------ NETWORK ACCESS SERVICE WHICH ENABLES VARIOUS TERMINALS THAT ARE BUFFERED, POLLABLE AND OPERATE ASYNCHRONOUSLY TO COMMUNICATE WITH HOST COMPUTERS THROUGH THE DATAPAC NETWORK. APPLICATIONS ------------ THE DATAPAC 3201 SERVICE IS TYPICALLY USED BY THE GENERAL MERCHANDISE AND SPECIALITY SECTORS OF THE RETAIL INDUSTRY IN CANADA. IT PROVIDES A COST EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION SOLUTION WHENEVER THERE IS A REQUIREMENT FOR SENDING SMALL AMOUNTS OF INFORMATION TO A HOST COMPUTER AND OBTAINI NG A SHORT RESPONSE. THE PRIMARY APPLICATIONS ARE ON-LINE COMPILATION OF SALES DATA TO HELP IN INVENTORY CONTROL, AND ON-LINE CREDIT VERIFICATION TO DETECT FRAUDULENT CREDIT CARDS. OTHER EMERGING APPLICATIONS INVOLVE TRUST COMPANIES, CREDIT UNIONS, BANKS AND SERVICE STATIONS. ACCESS ARRANGEMENTS ------------------- DATAPAC 3201 PROVIDES SUPPORT AT THE CUSTOMERS' TERMINAL END (FOR EXAMPLE A RETAIL STORE) BY MEANS OF A PACKET ASSEMBLER/DISASSEMBLER (PAD) WHICH IS LOCATED IN A TELECOM CANADA MEMBER COMPANY CENTRAL OFFICE. THE PAD POLLS THE VARIOUS DEVICES FOR INFORMATION IN AN ON-LINE REAL TIME ENVIRONMENT. DEVICES MAY COMMUNICATE TO THE PAD VIA TWO OPTIONS: 1) SHARED MULTIPOINT MULTIDROP ACCESS AT 1200 BPS, OR 2) DEDICATED ACCESS AT 1200, 2400 BPS. PROTOCOL SUPPORT ---------------- COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE PAD AND THE TERMINAL CONFORMS TO THE ANSI (AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARDS INSTITUTE) X3.28-1976 ISO (INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS ORGANIZATION) POLL/SELECT ASYNCHRONOUS PROTOCOL. TELECOM CANADA UNDERTAKES T O TEST TERMINALS WHICH SUPPORT THIS PROTOCOL, PRIOR TO CONNECTING THEM TO THE DATAPAC 3201 NETWORK. FOR MORE INFORMATION REFER TO THE "RAPID TERMINAL COMMUNICATION PROTOCOL" SPECIFICATION. COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE CUSTOMERS HOST COMPUTER LOCATION AND THE DATAPAC NETWORK IS ACCOMPLISHED BY THE USE OF A X.25 (DATAPAC 3000) INTERFACE WHICH SUPPORTS THE DATAPAC 3201 HOST TO PAD "POINT-OF-SALE (POS) END TO END PROTOCOL" SPECIFICATION. COMMUNICATION RESPONSE TIME --------------------------- - DATA COLLECTIO N: AVERAGE 1.7 TO 2.3 SECONDS IN THE PEAK PERIODS. - INQUIRY-RESPONSE (CREDIT CHECK): AVERAGE 2.7 TO 4.2 SECONDS IN THE PEAK PERIODS. MESSAGE SIZE ------------ A TYPICAL RETAIL DATAPAC 3201 APPLICATION USES SHORT INPUT AND OUTPUT MESSAGES. (FOR EXAMPLE AN AVERAGE OF 50 CHARACTERS). ONE KILOPACKET (1,000 PACKETS OR 256,000 BYTES) IS EQUAL TO APPROXIMATELY 1,000 SALES TRANSACTIONS OR 500 CREDIT AUTHORIZATIONS. AVERAGE TRANSACTION VOLUME WOULD BE LESS THAN 5000 PACKETS PER DAY. OPTIONAL DATAPAC NET WORK FEATURES: --------------------------------- CLOSED USER GROUP (CUG): ALLOWS DEVICES WITHIN ONE GROUP TO COMMUNICATE ONLY WITH ACCREDITED DEVICES OF THE SAME GROUP, RESULTING IN A HIGH DEGREE OF DATA SECURITY. ADDITIONAL OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE TO LIMIT CALL ATTEMPTS BETWEEN CLOSED USER GROUPS OR WITHIN A CLOSED USER GROUP. REVERSE CHARGE CALL: ALLOWS A USER TO CHARGE A CALL TO THE DESTINATION ADDRESS REVERSE CHARGE CALL BLOCKING: REVERSE CHARGED CALLS DESTINED TO A DATAPAC 3201 ADDRESS WILL BE BLOCKED BY THE NETWORK. Whew! I probably didn't get all of it, but hey, I'm lazy, and I am not about to read through it all too see if it makes sense! Your Phriend, Lithium __________________________________________________________________________ Call: T h e NEW __ __ _ _ The Motor Inn | \ /\ |__| |_/ 3/12/2400 Baud |__/ /--\ | \ | \_ 24 Hours a Day __ __ __ (403) 963-0658 / / \ | | |\ | / | | Headquarters of the New Dark Council. | | | \|| | | \__ \__/ |__| | | \__ | |___ Phreaking is alive in 1990 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++