Principles of Operation for the TPC.INT Subdomain: Remote Printing -- Administrative Policies
RFC 1529

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Network Working Group                                         C. Malamud
Request for Comments: 1529                 Internet Multicasting Service
Obsoletes: 1486                                                  M. Rose
Category: Informational                     Dover Beach Consulting, Inc.
                                                            October 1993

           Principles of Operation for the TPC.INT Subdomain:
               Remote Printing -- Administrative Policies

Status of this Memo

   This memo provides information for the Internet community.  It does
   not specify an Internet standard.  Distribution of this memo is
   unlimited.

Introduction

   This document defines the administrative policies for the operation
   of remote printer facilities within the context of the tpc.int
   subdomain.  The document describes different approaches to resource
   recovery for remote printer server sites and includes discussions of
   issues pertaining to auditing, security, and denial of access.

   The technical procedures for remote printing are defined in [1]. The
   general principles of operation for the tpc.int subdomain are defined
   in [2].  An overview of the remote printing facility is returned when
   electronic mail is sent to tpc-faq@town.hall.org.

Overview of Remote Printing in the TPC.INT Subdomain

   The remote printing facility allows a user to image documents on a
   remote printer, defined as a G3-compatible facsimile device connected
   to the public telephone network.  The user sends electronic mail to
   an address which includes the phone number associated with the target
   G3-compatible facsimile device.  Using the Domain Name System, the
   Internet message-handling infrastructure routes the message to a
   remote printer server, which provides access to devices within a
   specified range of the telephone system numbering plan.  The message
   is imaged on the target remote printer and an acknowledgement is sent
   back to the initiator of the message.

   The remote printing facility is concerned with outreach, integrating
   the e-mail and G3-compatible facsimile communities into a common
   communications environment. By providing easy access to remote
   printing recipients, enterprise-wide access is enhanced, regardless
   of the kind of institution (e.g., commercial, educational, or
   government), or the size of institution (e.g., global, regional, or

Malamud & Rose                                                  [Page 1]
RFC 1529       Remote Printing -- Administrative Policies   October 1993

   local).  Remote printing allows an organization to make it easier for
   electronic mail users to communicate with the personnel in the
   organization who are users of G3-compatible facsimile but not e-mail,
   providing a valuable bridge between the two types of technology.

Models of Operation for Remote Printing Servers

   Remote printer servers in the tpc.int subdomain consume resources
   that are typically recovered from neither the initiator nor the
   recipient of the remote printing service.  Owing to a lack of
   widespread authentication facilities in the Internet and connected
   message handling domains, it is not currently possible to identify
   the initiator with certainty.  Since the request was not initiated by
   the recipient, it is inappropriate for a remote printer gateway to
   accept a request and then attempt to charge the receiver of the
   message before imaging the document on the remote printer.

   Several models of resource recovery for remote printer operation are
   possible in the tpc.int subdomain:

      Community Library Model
      Neighborhood Grocery Model
      Local Newspaper Model

   In the Community Library model, an organization would register a
   remote printer gateway willing to place calls to all devices located
   within the organization's telephone system.  Other operators may
   determine that the costs of servicing the immediate vicinity (or even
   a larger area) are minimal and register to serve a portion of the
   telephone address space as a community service.

   The Community Library model can apply to a neighborhood, or to an
   organization such as a government R&D Center, a university, or a
   corporation.  The library model does not recover costs from the
   particpants, but runs the remote printer as a community service.

   In the Neighborhood Grocery model, a commercial organization
   contracts with specific end users, offering to register their
   individual fax numbers in the namespace.  This service bureau model
   could be conducted with or without cost recovery from the owner of
   the remote printer device.

   The Local Newspaper model recovers the resources needed to operate
   the remote printer service from a third party not directly connected
   with the message exchange. When a document is successfully imaged on
   a remote printer, there are two actions that result.  First, a cover