MEGAlink (protocol)
Encyclopedia
MEGAlink is a file transfer
protocol developed by Paul Meiners in 1987. His goal was to design and implement a protocol
that meets or exceeds the following criteria:
Based on Meiners' experience and reading the literature, he believed:
The format of the header block conforms to the standard "link" format established by Tom Jennings
when he designed the TeLink protocol, also used by the SEAlink
protocol.
File transfer
File transfer is a generic term for the act of transmitting files over a computer network or the Internet. There are numerous ways and protocols to transfer files over a network. Computers which provide a file transfer service are often called file servers. Depending on the client's perspective the...
protocol developed by Paul Meiners in 1987. His goal was to design and implement a protocol
Communications protocol
A communications protocol is a system of digital message formats and rules for exchanging those messages in or between computing systems and in telecommunications...
that meets or exceeds the following criteria:
- Fast. Efficiency must exceed 95% on average basis.
- Reliable. Known defects in prior protocols must be corrected.
- Inexpensive. Implementation cost must be low.
Based on Meiners' experience and reading the literature, he believed:
- ZmodemZMODEMZMODEM is a file transfer protocol developed by Chuck Forsberg in 1986, in a project funded by Telenet in order to improve file transfers on their X.25 network...
- The ideal protocol. Highly reliable and fast. Only failing is that the cost of implementation is high. - YmodemYMODEMYMODEM is a protocol for file transfer used between modems. YMODEM was developed by Chuck Forsberg as the successor to XMODEM and MODEM7, and was first implemented in his CP/M YAM program...
- Very fast, but not network friendly. Also leaves something to be desired on the reliability front. Error correction is slow. - WXmodemWXMODEMWXmodem, short for "Windowed Xmodem", is a variant of the Xmodem file transfer protocol developed by Peter Boswell optimized for high-latency data links. It supports block sizes of up to 512 bytes.-External links:* *...
- Fast and network friendly. However, several questions exist with regard to reliability.
The format of the header block conforms to the standard "link" format established by Tom Jennings
Tom Jennings
Tom Jennings is a Los Angeles-based artist and technician. He is the creator of FidoNet, the first message and file networking system for BBSes...
when he designed the TeLink protocol, also used by the SEAlink
SEAlink
SEAlink is a file transfer protocol that is backward compatible with XMODEM but features a sliding window system for improved throughput. SEAlink was written in 1986 as a part of the SEAdog FidoNet mailer written by System Enhancement Associates, creators of the famous ARC program...
protocol.