Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!apple!carr
From: carr@Apple.COM (Randy Carr)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: What is RESPONDER?
Message-ID: <17793@apple.Apple.COM>
Date: 26 Sep 88 19:42:06 GMT
References: <15393@ames.arc.nasa.gov>
Reply-To: carr@apple.com.UUCP (Randy Carr)
Organization: Apple Computer Inc, Cupertino, CA
Lines: 35

In article <15393@ames.arc.nasa.gov> raymond@pluto.arc.nasa.gov (Eric A. Raymond) writes:
>Any idea what the RESPONDER init does?  It seems to register my machine
>with some sort of appletalk resource, but this doesn't seemed to be used.
>Guess I need yet another piece of "optional" apple software.
>

Hi Eric,

I'm the author of the "optional responder" software.  Responder was written as
an INIT31 to allow all Macintoshes running it recognition as being on the
AppleTalk network.  The companion application for Responder is called
Inter*Poll and it allows network administrators to find devices connected to
a selected AppleTalk network and in the case of Macintoshes running Responder,
the ability to send packets to those Macs and get some system software version
information: System, Finder, LaserWriter driver, and AppleShare version strings.

No, Responder does NOT allow the ability to download code to a workstation or
manipulate any data on the workstation.  It simply installs Echo protocol (at
startup time) if the old version of AppleTalk is present (Mac 512Ks, Plus, XLs
only), and installs a ATP driven socket listener to return the system software version strings to someone who asks for this info.

If you don't need or use AppleTalk administration, you don't need Responder.  It was my attempt to get everyone used to having Responder around so we could really do some great stuff in the future...

>Name: Eric A. Raymond
>ARPA: raymond@pioneer.arc.nasa.gov
>SLOW: NASA Ames Research Center, MS 244-17, Moffett Field, CA 94035
>


Randy Carr                                          Network Systems Development
Domain: carr@apple.com                                     Apple Computer, Inc.
UUCP:   {nsc,dual,sun,voder}!apple!carr             20525 Mariani Ave. M/S 27-O
AppleLink: CARR2                                            Cupertino, CA 95014

Opinions & Responses are my own and do NOT represent my employer...