impromptu web server using netcat

Ric Werme ewerme at comcast.net
Mon Jan 15 12:00:02 EST 2007


Most of you are probably familiar with the ever useful TCP/IP utility
"netcat" (often /usr/bin/nc).

I'm not sure where netcat came from, I didn't hear about it until a
year or two ago, and only tried it once or twice.

A predecessor (or completely independent) program, ttcp has a similar
feature, and I've used it for passing around tar files between
systems for two decades.  Google says there's a windows version or two,
one might work without special dll's, another looks like it needs .net.
A dumb data transfer progam that works on a base Win95 or later system
would be a handy tool.

See http://www.pcausa.com/Utilities/pcattcp.htm
http://ftp.arl.mil/~mike/ttcp.html
http://ftp.arl.mil/pub/ttcp/
http://www.gtlib.gatech.edu/pub/cygwin/release/ttcp/

ttcp was designed for performance testing, I guess netperf has taken over
some of that.  I think netcat is basically ttcp with an emphasis on file
copy.

The second link above shows how to move a tar file when router issues
prevent a direct connection by using a third system as a relay.

	-Ric Werme


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