RFC859 - Telnet Status Option

Network Working Group J. Postel

Request for Comments: 859 J. Reynolds

ISI

Obsoletes: RFC651 (NIC 31154) May 1983

TELNET STATUS OPTION

This RFCspecifies a standard for the ARPA Internet community. Hosts on

the ARPA Internet are eXPected to adopt and implement this standard.

1. Command Name and Code

STATUS 5

2. Command Meanings

This option applies separately to each direction of data flow.

IAC DON'T STATUS

Sender refuses to carry on any further discussion of the current

status of options.

IAC WON'T STATUS

Sender refuses to carry on any further discussion of the current

status of options.

IAC SB STATUS SEND IAC SE

Sender requests receiver to transmit his (the receiver's)

perception of the current status of Telnet options. The code for

SEND is 1. (See below.)

IAC SB STATUS IS ... IAC SE

Sender is stating his perception of the current status of Telnet

options. The code for IS is 0. (See below.)

3. Default

DON'T STATUS, WON'T STATUS

The current status of options will not be discussed.

4. Motivation for the Option

This option allows a user/process to verify the current status of

TELNET options (e.g., echoing) as viewed by the person/process on the

other end of the TELNET connection. Simply renegotiating options

RFC859 May 1983

could lead to the nonterminating request loop problem discussed in

the General Consideration section of the TELNET Specification. This

option fits into the normal strUCture of TELNET options by deferring

the actual transfer of status information to the SB command.

5. Description of the Option

WILL and DO are used only to oBTain and grant permission for future

discussion. The actual exchange of status information occurs within

option subcommands (IAC SB STATUS...).

Once the two hosts have exchanged a WILL and a DO, the sender of the

WILL STATUS is free to transmit status information, spontaneously or

in response to a request from the sender of the DO. At worst, this

may lead to transmitting the information twice. Only the sender of

the DO may send requests (IAC SB STATUS SEND IAC SE) and only the

sender of the WILL may transmit actual status information (within an

IAC SB STATUS IS ... IAC SE command).

IS has the subcommands WILL, DO and SB. They are used EXACTLY as used

during the actual negotiation of TELNET options, except that SB is

terminated with SE, rather than IAC SE. Transmission of SE, as a

regular data byte, is accomplished by doubling the byte (SE SE).

Options that are not explicitly described are assumed to be in their

default states. A single IAC SB STATUS IS ... IAC SE describes the

condition of ALL options.

RFC859 May 1983

The following is an example of use of the option:

Host1: IAC DO STATUS

Host2: IAC WILL STATUS

(Host2 is now free to send status information at any time.

Solicitations from Host1 are NOT necessary. This should not

produce any dangerous race conditions. At worst, two IS's will

be sent.)

Host1 (perhaps): IAC SB STATUS SEND IAC SE

Host2 (the following stream is broken into multiple lines only for

readability. No carriage returns are implied.):

IAC SB STATUS IS

WILL ECHO

DO SUPPRESS-GO-AHEAD

WILL STATUS

DO STATUS

IAC SE

Explanation of Host2's perceptions: It is responsible for echoing

back the data characters it receives over the TELNET connection;

it will not send Go-Ahead signals; it will both issue and request

Status information.