initial checkin of 34c3 talk on BBSs

2017/bbs_early_internet-34c3/Makefile

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+all: bbs_early_internet.html
+
+bbs_early_internet.html: bbs_early_internet.adoc bbs_early_internet.css images/*
+	 asciidoc -a stylesheet=$(PWD)/bbs_early_internet.css bbs_early_internet.adoc

2017/bbs_early_internet-34c3/bbs_early_internet.adoc

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+BBSs and Early Internet Access in Germany
+=========================================
+:author:	Harald Welte <laforge@gnumonks.org>
+:copyright:	2017 by Harald Welte (License: CC-BY-SA)
+:backend:	slidy
+:max-width:	45em
+
+
+== Circuit Switched Telephony
+
+* Telephony from 1876 until ~ 1988
+* Analog voice circuit 300-3000 Hz
+* Dial-up connection between A and B party
+* Copper wires physically switched at intermediate telephone exchange
+* Voice signal possibly amplified in the path
+
+== Hardware
+
+* Telephone
+* Copper wire
+* Telephone Exchange
+
+== Accoustic Coupler
+
+* First devices to transmit bits as audible tones over telephone
+* User manually dialled phone number like voice call
+* After call was established, both sides put receiver into coupler
+
+image:images/accoustic_coupler.jpg[width="50%"]
+
+== Modems
+
+Automatization of the accoustic coupler
+
+* Avoid speaker/micrphone path
+* directly generate/receive tones on phone line
+* directly dial the phone number / answer the line
+
+image:images/Modems.jpg[width="50%",float="right"]
+
+== Modem Speeds / Standards
+
+[width="50%",options="header"]
+|======
+|Standard|Rate (bps)|Year created
+|V.21    |300       |1962*
+|V.22    |1200      |1980*
+|V.22bis |2400      |1984*
+|V.32    |9600      |1984*
+|V.32bis |14400     |1991
+|V.32ter |19200     |1993
+|V.34    |28000     |1994
+|V.34bis |33600     |1996
+|V.90    |56000     |1998
+|======
+
+
+== BBSs
+
+What's a BBS?
+
+* Computer with Modem accepting incoming calls
+* offering interactive service to users who dial in
+
+== Content
+
+* bulletin boards / message boards
+* live chat with sysop (or other users in multi-line BBS)
+* multi-user games (text based!)
+* file areas / downloads
+* ASCII / ANSI artwork
+
+image:images/dosbox-telemate-login.png[width="50%"]
+
+== Technology/Software
+
+* Both sides: Computer + Modem
+* BBS Side
+** BBS Software
+** often extended by "doors" (external programs, think of CGI for web)
+* User Side
+** Terminal Program (e.g. TELIX, Telemate for DOS)
+
+image:images/telemate.jpg[width="50%"]
+
+
+== The "BBS Protocol Stack"
+
+In the spirit of protocol stack diagrams...
+
+image:images/bbs-protocol_stack.svg[width="80%"]
+
+
+== Curiosity: Vector Graphics
+
+* BBSs were typically all Text, mostly ANSI CP437 charset
+* RIP (Remote Imaging Protocol) / RIPscrip introduced vector graphics
+** RIPscrip introduced in 1992 (by TeleGrafix)
+*** Commands like ``!|w00001B0M10'' to draw vector graphics over Modem
+** RIPterm as terminal program for EGA (640x350)
+
+image:images/Nouveau.png[]
+
+== Isolated BBSs
+
+To participate in bulletin/message boards
+
+* Users log in at different times
+* BBS is busy while a user is logged in
+* Multiple modems / phone lines is one (expensive) option to scale
+* Time limit per User (minutes/day) often used
+
+== Points / Offline Messages
+
+* Users don't read/write interactively during active modem call
+* Messages get written offline and compressed/batched during short call
+
+Advantages:
+
+* lower cost (shorter phone calls, metered!)
+* shorter connection per user
+* BBS can scale to more users this way
+
+image:images/xpmenu.gif[width="60%"]
+
+== BBS networks (store + forward)
+
+Idea: Replicate bulletin / message boards between independent BBSs, for
+
+* scalability in number of users
+* scalability in geographic scope
+** most users will prefer least-expensive local calls to long-distance
+* efficient transport over long distance due to routing/forwarding of compressed batches
+
+== BBS network technology (examples)
+
+* FIDO (Netmail + Echomail)
+** Othernets like TrekNet, GerNet using same FTN technology
+* Z-Netz (Mail + News)
+** T-Netz, CL-Netz
+* UUCP (Usenet Mail + News)
+** Often only way to access "Internet" before IP access was available
+* MausNet - Münster Apple User Service
+** used by up to 120 BBSs in DE / AT / CH
+
+== Example: FIDOnet
+
+* Starts in 1984 with two BBSs
+* Initial limit of 250 nodes reached in 1985
+* Hierarchic, Regoinal routing/Adressing introduced in 1986
+** Nodelist defines all nodes of the network + hierarchy
+* Addresses like "Harald Welte @ 2:2490/1343"
+* Up to 39,000 nodes in 1996, estimated 2 Million users world-wide
+
+== Example: Z-Netz
+
+* Started as Zerberus-Netz implemented in Zerberus Software
+* Later renamed to Z-Netz as the ZConnect protocol was implemented in other software
+** Standards defined based on perceived complexity of RFCs and Usenet/UUCP
+* CrossPoint (DOS) most popular point software for ZConnect
+* Addresses like H.WELTE@SILVER, later H.WELTE@SILVER.zer
+
+== Example: UseNet
+
+* Established in 1980 in the US
+* Uses UUCP (Unix-to-Unix-Copy) as transport mechanism over Modmes
+** UUCP was created in the 1970ies and used to copy files, including Internet Mal
+* Usenet News format (RFC850) designed very similar to Internet Mail (RFC822)
+* Hierarchy of News Groups that gets replicated / flooded accross the network
+* Routing defined in route maps
+
+== Curiosity: Floppy Poll/Point
+
+* Not everyone had a phone line in the 1990ies
+** particularly Eastern Germany had big lack of phone lines
+* Some people thus exchanged daily floppies in evenlopes and mailed them as postal letters
+* Messages arrived about one day later, but with 1-2 days latency even inside the dial-up store-and-forward network, it hardly matters
+
+image:images/floppy-disk-1219954_640.png[width="30%"]
+
+== Internet
+
+Early ways to access Internet:
+
+* Mail/News via UUCP (as stated earlier)
+* Dial-Up Modem to a TTY of a Unix machine connected to TCP/IP
+** Often workstations at universities. You could then run FTP, IRC, telnet, Gopher on the test console
+* ftp-mailers
+** a FTP client running on a remote machine, whose input/output is used by e-mail
+** you send a mail with "ftp ftp.sun.com" and "ls"
+** hours or days later you get the list of files
+** you respond with cd / get / ...
+** hours later you get the file as batch of UUencoded mails
+
+== Internet with SLIP
+
+* if you had dial-up access to a Unix box
+* you could run SLIP on both sides, transporting IP over the modem line
+** IP. At home. In your apartment !!1!
+* later superseded by PPP (auto-configuration, authentication, compression, ...)
+
+
+== ISDN
+
+* Digital Circuit-Switched Telephony Network
+** Transport of Digital Voice (PCM) audio and transparent digital data
+* Germany
+** 1989 put in operation
+** Until 1993 German 1TR6 system
+** From 1994 European E-DSS1
+** Hugely popularized from 1995 by subsidies
+
+== ISDN Terminal Adapter
+
+* ISDN is an all-digital network
+* No modulator / demodulator required
+* Instead, so-called _terminal adapter_
+* Speeds: 64000 (single B-channel) or 128000 (both B-channels)
+* V.110 as adaptation to do async serial over sync ISDN (1988)
+
+image:images/isdn.jpg[width="50%"]
+
+== How to get Internet Access?
+
+* Hard to access in early/mid 1990ies outside of academia
+* Almost no commercial ISPs (XLink, EUnet) - and very expensive
+* Grass-Roots groups of enthusiasts established themselves
+* Kommunikationsnetz Franken e.V. (KNF, franken.de) one of them
+** dial-up UUCP and shortly later IP for personal, non-commercial users
+** POPs in Nürnberg, Fürth, Erlangen, Forchheim, Würzburg, Regensburg, ...
+** Every user got 6 static IP addresses routed to wherever he dialed in (OSPF!)
+** served ~ 800 users / members at peak
+
+== Individual Network (IN) e.V.
+
+* Umbrella Association established in 1992
+** Goal to help regional member associations with negotiating framework contracts
+** Actual technical access via WiN/DFN, XLink, EUnet
+** Regional Member Associations include Oche, Augusta, Escape, IN-Berlin, Hanse, INKA, Toppoint, muc.de, IN-Passau, ThurNet, MAUS, CL-Net and many more
+** IN members served more than 300,000 users at one point
+** Dissolved in 2000, when
+*** commercial ISPs were widespread, and
+*** remaining IN member organizations could get decend connectivity with IN e.V.
+
+== Internet
+
+With packet-switched TCP-IP
+
+* you just needed to dial one number
+* and then access systems world-wide
+
+This brought new purpose to leased lines
+
+== Analog Leased Lines
+
+* Telephone operator permanently interconnects wires at exchange
+* No signaling (dialtone/ringtone etc)
+* Requires modems with special capabilities
+** ATA without an incoming ring first
+** ATD without a dialtone first
+* In Germany: "Analog G" of Post/Telekom
+** I finally could afford one in 1998
+** 900 DM installation cost
+* 180 DM per month (60 DM per hop)
+
+== hub-nbg.franken.de, 1998
+
+image:images/pict3_Lg.jpg[]
+
+
+== ISDN Leased Lines "SPV"
+
+* Not really a leased line
+* Basically only "flat rate calls" to one specific (fixed) destination
+* Available in national 1TR6 only
+
+== Abusing Analog Lines, Part 1
+
+* ICU-T
+** inverse of ISDN NTBA
+** ISDN BRI (2x64k + 16k) over 12km of telephone line
+* Special ISDN routers without signaling to use even 16k D-channel for data!
+
+Easy upgrade to get performance of a leased ISDN line out of an Analog-G
+
+== Leased Lines at KNF, 1997/1998
+
+[graphviz]
+----
+include::images/knf-leased_lines.dot[]
+----
+
+== hub-fue.franken.de, undated
+
+image:images/hub-fue-03_Lg.jpg[]
+
+== hub-fue.franken.de, undated
+
+image:images/hub-fue-04_Lg.jpg[]
+
+== Abusing Analog Lines, Part 2
+
+When the first DSL modems became availale in the US
+
+* we imported some Ascend DSLpipe
+* with some fimrwares, they could be used back-to-back (without DSLAM)
+* suddenly we could get speeds of 2.3 MBps over analog lines
+** if they were not too long
+** if they didn't have in-line inductors
+* soon less expensive alternatives came up Pairgain (2000)
+
+image:images/ascend.jpg[width="50%"]
+
+== From Online Bistro to Internet Cafe
+
+* Falken's Maze was an _Online Bistro_ established in the 1990ies
+** I became a regular around 1994
+* initially had four DOS PCs, each with a Modem, dedicated phone line and a call charge meter
+** you could go there, eat + drink and use the PCs to log into BBSs
+* quickly became preferred meeting point of various nerds, BBS users, SYSOP meetings, etc.
+* PCs were networked with 10base2 and NetWare (DOOM!)
+* people started to dial into CompuServe, AOL, etc.
+* Internet became more popular, Falken's Maze started subsidiary in Nuernberg
+** ISDN SPV was used as Internet uplink
+
+
+== Conclusions
+
+* The first decade[s] of wide-area electronics communications was powered by a community of enthusiasts
+* BBS community / culture is a distinct sub-culture. Different norms than HAM radio, Hackers, Free Software, but lots of overlap
+
+
+== Further Reading
+
+* http://telnetbbsguide.com/
+** list of active telnet BBSs
+* http://qodem.sourceforge.net/
+** FOSS multi-platform terminal program
+* http://artscene.textfiles.com/ansi/
+** Archive of ANSI Artwork
+* http://www.filegate.net/nodelist/
+** FIDO nodelist of 2017
+
+== EOF
+
+End of File

2017/bbs_early_internet-34c3/images/knf-leased_lines.dot

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+#!graphviz
+digraph G {
+	hub_er [label="hub-er\nErlangen", shape="box"]
+	hub_fo [label="hub-fo\nForchheim", shape="box"]
+	hub_fue [label="hub-fue\nFuerth", shape="box"]
+	hub_lau [label="hub-lau\nLauf", shape="box"]
+	hub_bai [label="hub-bai\nBaiersdorf", shape="box"]
+	hub_nbg [label="hub-nbg\nNuernberg", shape="box"]
+	uni_er [label="Uni Erlangen"]
+	uni_nbg [label="Uni Erlangen\nBuilding in Nuernberg"]
+	chaplin [shape="box"]
+	sunbeam [label="sunbeam\n(Harald Welte)"]
+
+	hub_er -> chaplin [label="128k"]
+	hub_fo -> chaplin [label="64k"]
+	hub_fue -> chaplin [label="64k"]
+	hub_lau -> chaplin [label="64k"]
+	hub_bai -> chaplin [label="33k6"]
+	chaplin -> uni_er [label="Ethernet"]
+	uni_nbg -> uni_er [label="X.21"]
+	hub_nbg -> uni_nbg [label="128k"]
+
+	sunbeam -> hub_nbg [label="33k6"]
+	user1 -> hub_nbg [label="33k6"]
+	user2 -> hub_nbg [label="33k6"]
+
+	user3 -> hub_fue [label="33k6"]
+	user4 -> hub_fue [label="33k6"]
+
+	user5 -> hub_er [label="33k6"]
+	user6 -> hub_er [label="33k6"]
+}