Very Computer

Could some one tell me why I can't get a ftp url to work ??? i.e

ftp://bla.bla.com.au/pub/file/brz.zip

Netscape reports that it can't find the file ???

Thanks ..

Lindsay

                     http://k-whiner.pica.army.mil/

bla bla was just a example :)

Lindsay.

|> >

|> >>Could some one tell me why I can't get a ftp url to work ??? i.e
|> >>
|> >>ftp://bla.bla.com.au/pub/file/brz.zip
|> >>
|> >>Netscape reports that it can't find the file ???
|> >
|> >"Host name does not exist"
|>
|> :) ... it should have read ftp://www.tnet.com.au/pub/brz.zip

The host "www.tnet.com.au" does not have a DNS entry.  Nor indeed does
"tnet.com.au".  It looks like your service provider isn't handling host
aliases correctly.  From your news article reference, it appears that
your host is also named <something>.iinet.com.au.  I did a DNS lookup
(use the Unix command "nslookup") on www.iinet.com.au, and got the
address 203.0.178.1.

Using "iinet" in place of "tnet", your FTP URL works fine, up to a point.
Your service provider sent back the error message

FTP Error

Could not login to FTP server

You are not allowed access. This is because you should use ftp.iinet.net.au
instead.

User anonymous access denied.

So, trying <URL: ftp://ftp.iinet.com.au/pub/brz.zip>.  That fails too,
because the pub/ directory on that host doesn't contain any exact files,
just directories.  You can easily find this out using <URL:
ftp://ftp.iinet.com.au/pub/> (note the trailing slash), which will give
you a list of everything in that directory.

There are two lessons you need to draw from this exchange, Lindsay.
First, if you want to ask others for help, you need to provide specific,
real information which we can use to debug your problem.  Giving a "fake"
URL doesn't help, since the problem is most likely at the host, not with
the software you're using (thousands of people use Netscape for FTP access
every day).

Second, if you are going to access information on the Internet, you need
to have some understanding of how the various systems work, and how to
track down the many problems you're going to encounter.  If you are
running a program like Netscape directly from your home PC, this can be
extremely difficult, since most TCP/IP tools don't exist for DOS or
Windows.  If you have a dial-up account with a service provider, that
gives you a Unix command line prompt, then there are many tools available
for you to use.

1) ping hostname.  This sends a test packet to the given host, and tells
you how long it took to get a response back.  It's a useful way to check
whether the machine you are trying to reach is running and connected.  It
_cannot_ tell you whether the machine accepts FTP, HTTP, or any other sort
of connection.

2) nslookup hostname.  This uses the domain nameservice (DNS) system to
convert a hostname to an address.  It's a good way to find out if you have
misspelled the name, or if the name doesn't exist.

3) whois domain.  This checks with InterNIC Registration Services (the
folks who assign IP addresses) to find out who the network manager for
theg domain is.  A domain is the part of the host address _after_ the
specific hostname (for example, in "avocet.SLAC.Stanford.EDU", the
hostname is "avocet," which belongs to the "SLAC.Stanford.EDU" domain.

4) If you are trying to make an HTTP connection, you can talk directly to
the remote site's HTTP server on telnet port 80: telnet hostname 80.  You
should get nothing in response, until you type

        GET / HTTP/0.9
        [Return]

Note the extra return after you type the GET command.  What you should get
in return is all the HTML source code for that site's homepage, and then
the connection should be closed automatically.  If you don't get a
connection, or if nothing is returned, the remote site isn't running a Web
server.

There are a number of good books on TCP/IP, the best ones, in my opinion,
being published by O'Reilly and Associates (the Nutshell books, with
animals on the covers).
                                                -- Mike Kelsey
--
[ My opinions are not endorsed by SLAC, Caltech, or the US government ]
 "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.  Attack ships on fire
  off the shoulder of Orion. I've watched C-beams glitter in the dark
  near the Tannhauser Gate.   All these moments will be lost in time,
  like tears in rain."                                    -- Roy Baty