Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!ucbvax!proteon.COM!jas
From: jas@proteon.COM (John A. Shriver)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: TFTP mail mode (ancient history)
Message-ID: <8807121449.AA06567@monk.proteon.com>
Date: 12 Jul 88 14:49:45 GMT
References: <8807120106.AA00497@terminus.UMD.EDU>
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 21

TFTP mail did exist, and was implemented, back when TCP and NCP were
coexisting.  Here is the header from a peice of mail that went that
way:

 Date: 15 Sep 1982 1652-EDT (Wednesday)
 From: "lwa%MIT-CSR" at MIT-Multics
 Subject: Re: Re: Unix driver for Interlan Ethernet interface
 To: mo at LBL-UNIX (Mike O'Dell [system])

MIT-Multics was speaking NCP mail.  MIT-CSR did not have IP/TCP/SMTP,
but did have IP/UDP/TFTP.  MIT-Multics was forwarding the mail to CSR
using the TFTP Mail mode.  When NCP was being cut off, an SMTP was
written for MIT-CSR in a weekend.

While MIT-CSR is no longer running SMTP (it's essentially a TIU
running V6 UNIX off one RK05 disk), the TFTP still might accept mail.
MIT-Multics is gone, NCP no longer exists outside of DoD, and we use
@'s in mail addresses now.

One certainly does not want to implement mail mode in a new TFTP
server.