Data (D.*) Files for BNU

Purpose

Contain data to be sent to remote systems.

Description

Data (D.*) files contain the data to be sent to remote systems by the Basic Networking Utilities (BNU) uucico daemon. The full path name of a data file is a form of the following:

/var/spool/uucp/SystemName/D.SystemNamexxxx###

where the SystemName directory and the SystemName portion of the file name indicate the name of the remote system. The xxxx### notation is the hexadecimal sequence number of the command (C.*) file associated with that data file, for example: D.venus471afd8.

After a set period of time (specified by the uusched daemon), the uucico daemon transfers the data file to the designated system. It places the original data file in a subdirectory of the BNU spooling directory named /var/spool/uucp/SystemName, where the SystemName directory is named for the computer that is transmitting the file, and creates a temporary (TM.*) file to hold the original data file.

After receiving the entire file, the BNU program takes one of the three following actions:

  • If the file was sent with the uucp command and there were no transfer problems, the program immediately renames the TM.* file with the appropriate data file name, such as D.venus471afd8, and sends it to the specified destination.
  • If the file was sent with the uuto command, the BNU program also renames the temporary data file with the appropriate D.* file name. The program then places the data file in the /var/spool/uucppublic public directory, where the user receives the data file and handles it with one of the uupick command options.
  • If there were transfer problems (such as a failed login or an unavailable device), the temporary data file remains in the spooling subdirectory. The uudemon.cleanu command, a shell procedure, removes these files automatically at specified intervals. They can also be removed manually.

Files

Item Description
/etc/uucp/Systems Describes accessible remote systems.
/var/spool/uucp/SystemName directory Contains BNU command, data, and execute files.
/var/spool/uucp/SystemName/C.* Contains instructions for file transfers.
/var/spool/uucp/SystemName/TM.* Stores data files temporarily after they have been transferred to a remote system.
/var/spool/uucppublic/* directory Contains files that the BNU program has transferred.