COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR COMPUTING ACTIVITIES THE KERMIT FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL June 1984 KERMIT is a protocol for transferring sequential files between computers of all sizes over ordinary asynchronous telecommunication lines using packets, check- sums, and retransmission to promote data integrity. KERMIT is non-proprietary, thoroughly documented, well tested, and in wide use. The protocol and the original implementations were developed at Columbia University and have been shared with many other institutions, some of which have made significant con- tributions of their own. KERMIT is presently available for the following sys- tems, with others under development: Machine Operating System Language DECsystem-10,20 TOPS-10,20 MACRO-10,20 IBM 370 Series VM/CMS, MTS IBM Assembler, Pascal CDC Cyber 170 NOS Fortran-77 Univac-1100 EXEC EXEC Assembler Honeywell MULTICS PL/I VAX-11 VMS Bliss-32, Macro-32 PDP-11 RT,RSX,RSTS MACRO-11 VAX,PDP-11,SUN,etc UNIX C PRIME PRIMOS PL/P Data General AOS/Software Tools Ratfor HP3000, Univac, etc Software Tools Ratfor Terak, HP-98x6, IBM PC UCSD p-System 8080, 8085, or Z80 CP/M-80 ASM 8086, 8088 PC DOS, MS DOS MS MASM-86 8086, 8088 CP/M-86 DR ASM86 Apple II 6502 Apple DOS DEC-10/20 CROSS TRS80 I, III TRSDOS Z80 Assembler Atari DOS Action! The 8080 version runs on the DEC VT180, DECmate II (CP/M), Heath/Zenith-89 and 100, Superbrain, Apple II/Z80, TRS-80 II (CP/M), Osborne, Kaypro, and others. There are 8086 MS DOS versions for the IBM PC, DEC Rainbow, Compaq, Heath/ Zenith-100, HP-150, Tandy 2000, Victor 9000, and others. The 8086 CP/M-86 ver- sion runs on the DEC Rainbow and the NEC APC. KERMIT DISTRIBUTION POLICY: The KERMIT software is free and available to all. Columbia University, however, cannot afford to distribute free software on the scale required for KERMIT. Therefore, to defray our costs for media, printing, postage, labor, and computing resources, we must request a moderate distribu- tion fee from sites that request KERMIT directly from us. The schedule is as follows: Complete KERMIT Distribution $100.00 (Includes Tape, User Guide, and Protocol Manual) Printed Documents $5.00 each (User Guide, Protocol Manual, or Any Source Listing) Order Processing Fee $100.00 (Omit this if you send a check with your order) The User Guide contains complete instructions for installing and using each im- plementation of KERMIT. The Protocol Manual is a guide for writing a new im- plementation of KERMIT, and includes a source listing in the C language. Other sites remain free to redistribute KERMIT on their own terms, and are en- couraged to do so, with the following stipulations: KERMIT should not be sold for profit; credit should be given where it is due; and new material should be sent back to Columbia University at the address below so that we can maintain a definitive and comprehensive set of KERMIT implementations for further dis- tribution. To order KERMIT from Columbia University, send a letter requesting either: (a) The manuals or source listings you desire (specify each one), or (b) A 9-track magnetic tape in one of the following formats: System Tape Format Densities TOPS-10 BACKUP/Interchange, Unlabeled 800, 1600 TOPS-20 DUMPER, Unlabeled 800, 1600 UNIX TAR 800, 1600 IBM VM/CMS EBCDIC, CMS Format 1600, 6250 or EBCDIC, OS Standard Label 1600, 6250 Other ASCII, ANSI Label, Format ``D'' 800, 1600 (Specify system, format, and density.) One copy of each manual will be included with the tape. We will supply the tape, packaging, and postage. We can only make tapes in the formats listed above. We cannot produce floppy disks; bootstrapping procedures are provided to allow the microcomputer ver- sions to be downloaded from the mainframe for which the tape is produced. The tape includes all source programs, documentation, and, when practical, binaries or hex. Unfortunately, our limited resources to not allow us to provide automatic updates to KERMIT recipients when new implementations, documentation, or bug fixes appear. Send your letter to: KERMIT Distribution Columbia University Center for Computing Activities <- Make check payable to 7th Floor, Watson Laboratory 612 West 115th Street New York, N.Y. 10025 Please list the machines and operating systems you expect to run KERMIT on, specify the tape format or the listings desired, and mention whether there are additional systems for which you require KERMIT or if you might be interested in attempting your own implementation for a new system. KERMIT is also available to users of the BITNET network via a server at host CUVMA. BITNET users may type ``SMSG RSCS MSG CUVMA KERMSRV HELP'' for further information. And KERMIT is available to users of ARPANET, via anonymous FTP from host COLUMBIA-20, in the area PS:. No warranty of the software nor of the accuracy of the documentation surround- ing it is expressed or implied, and neither the authors nor Columbia University acknowledge any liability resulting from program or documentation errors.