IETF RFC 1043 PDF

Introduction

In the early 1980s, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) undertook the tasks of developing a TELNET capability to access full screen applications across a packet switching network. This effort was successful by implementing Data Entry Terminal (DET) options within the TELNET protocol based on RFC 732. These DET options have been implemented on IAS, MVS, OS86 and UNIX operating systems. DET options are being developed for VM and VMS operating systems.

The Department of Defense Intelligence Information System (DODIIS) is a confederation of heterogeneous computer systems and remote terminals utilizing the Defense Data Network (DDN) as the communications backbone (namely the SCINET/DSNET-3).

Although the reason for implementing a DET option specification was based upon data base application interfaces, the use of a full screen TELNET provides a method to achieve higher efficiency on the network. Most terminal to host applications on the ARPANET are character echo TELNETs. This is both costly in time and network utilization, since one character pressed on the keyboard generates a datagram composed of TCP/IP headers plus the character sent to the host and the host echoes back a similar datagram. In the DODIIS community, programmers are highly encouraged to implement full screen applications; line at a time is acceptable; and character remote echo mode is discouraged.

This RFC in its final form will be implemented on SCINET. During the interim period, the "DODIIS TELNET Network Virtual Data Entry Terminal (NVDET) Option Specification", DIA, April 1983, will be implemented.