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1438 lines
43 KiB
HTML
1438 lines
43 KiB
HTML
<HTML>
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<HEAD>
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<TITLE>DNEWS FAQ</TITLE>
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</HEAD>
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<BODY>
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<P>
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<CENTER><B><FONT SIZE=7 FACE="Algerian">DNEWS FAQ</FONT></B></CENTER>
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<P>
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<CENTER><I>
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<FONT SIZE=7 FACE="Algerian">(F</FONT><FONT SIZE=5 FACE="Arial">requently</FONT>
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<FONT SIZE=7 FACE="Algerian">A</FONT><FONT SIZE=5 FACE="Arial">sked</FONT>
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<FONT SIZE=7 FACE="Algerian">Q</FONT><FONT SIZE=5 FACE="Arial">uestions</FONT><FONT SIZE=7 FACE="Algerian">)</FONT>
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</I></CENTER>
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<P>
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<h3><a name="Section_1">1.0 General Information</a></h3><ul>
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<li><a href="#Sec_1.1">1.1 The FTP site</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_1.2">1.2 Why is a sucking feed so great?</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_1.3">1.3 Where are the log files?</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_1.4">1.4 Where is dnews.conf?</a>
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<li><a href="feeds.htm#suck">1.5 Where can I suck news from?</a>
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<li><a href="feeds.htm#feed">1.6 Where can I get an IHAVE feed from?</a>
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</ul>
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<h3><a name="Section_2">2.0 General "How do I" questions.</a></h3><ul>
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<li><a href="#Sec_2.1">2.1 How do I limit user access to the server</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_2.2">2.2 How do set my local groups so they won't expire</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_2.3">2.3 Creating local news groups</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_2.4">2.4 Can I restore some news files (*.itm, *.idx) from tape?</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_2.5">2.5 How do I move the spool area to a bigger disk</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_2.6">2.6 How do I make the updates run only at night</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_2.7">2.7 How do I test the server using TELNET</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_2.8">2.8 How do I suck from a two sites at once</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_2.9">2.9 How can I cut out spamming (cross posts)</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_2.10">2.10 How can I make XOVER faster?</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_2.11">2.11 How do I rename a volume on UNIX</a></ul>
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<h3><a name="Section_3">3.0 Common Configuration Questions</a></h3><ul>
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<li><a href="#Sec_3.1">3.1 How do I setup DNEWS to take in a 'normal' NNTP - IHAVE feed</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_3.2">3.2 How do I setup DNEWS to take an ihave feed from 5 machines but only send back to one.</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_3.3">3.3 How do I setup XMIT to send to other sites</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_3.4">3.4 What files can I copy from an INN or CNEWS system</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_3.5">3.5 How do I setup a news gateway for my LAN</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_3.6">3.6 How do I set my EXCLUDE parameter correctly?</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_3.7">3.7 How do I setup DNEWS for local (intranet) use?</a></ul>
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<h3><a name="Section_4">4.0 I did something stupid, can I fix it?</a></h3><ul>
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<li><a href="#Sec_4.1">4.1 I deleted some item files by hand, is that ok?</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_4.2">4.2 I deleted the history.dat file, is that ok?</a></ul>
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<h3><a name="Section_5">5.0 Errors & Problems</a></h3><ul>
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<li><a href="#Sec_5.1">5.1 Large messages & Memory Use.</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_5.2">5.2 I'm not getting any binary groups, why not?</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_5.3">5.3 My news reader says the newsgroups don't exist?</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_5.4">5.4 I don't know if posts are working?</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_5.5">5.5 I'm still not convinced my posts are getting to the other side of the planet?</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_5.6">5.6 I have an old fashioned feed coming in but I'm not getting any items?</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_5.7">5.7 What should I do now that I've deleted history.dat</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_5.8">5.8 Netscape shows items but I can't read them, why?</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_5.9">5.9 Why doesn't the status report match actual diskspace used?</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_1.10">5.10 DNEWS goes very slow when users connect</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_5.11">5.11 My system runs out of memory?</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_5.12">5.12 DNEWS goes very slow</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_5.13">5.13 DNEWS locks up for brief periods (or permanently)</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_5.14">5.14 DNEWS Crashes</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_5.15">5.15 TELLNEWS says Can't BIND?</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_5.16">5.16 TELLNEWS fails or locks ups</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_5.17">5.17 TELLNEWS says remote node is unknown</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_5.18">5.18 TELLNEWS says "Cannot access tellnews.pass"</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_5.19">5.19 I see errors "NNTP, Sorry I can't talk to you" in the log file?</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_5.20">5.20 What does "Transfer permission denied" mean?</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_5.21">5.21 Posts not going upstream, 437 Duplicate article?</a></ul>
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<h3><a name="Section_6">6.0 I still can't figure it out, how can I get help?</a></h3><ul>
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<li><a href="#Sec_6.1">6.1 DNEWS Mailing List</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_6.2">6.2 To subscribe to the discussion list send to:</a>
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<li><a href="#Sec_6.3">6.3 To subscribe to the announcement list</a></ul>
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<hr>
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<H1>1.0 General Information</H1>
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<H2><A NAME="Sec_1.1">1.1 The FTP site</a></H2>
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<P>
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You can FTP the latest copy of the files from our
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main ftp site, their are binaries for common platforms (Windows
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NT (intel & Alpha), Linux, Solaris, VAXVMS, ALPHAVMS.
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<PRE>
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<FONT SIZE=2>ftp ftp.netwinsite.com
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cd pub/netwinsite/dnews
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binary
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get dnews26o.exe (Windows NT version 2.6o)
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</FONT>
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</PRE>
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<P>
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This is a self extracting archive, that means you
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just run dnews_nt.exe and it will extract itself , e.g.
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<PRE>
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<FONT SIZE=2>dnews26o.exe (extracts the new files to \tmp)
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cd \tmp
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</FONT><FONT SIZE=2>install.cmd (or newver.cmd if you already have dnews installed)
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<BR>
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</FONT>
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</PRE>
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<P>
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Use the following references to see our web pages
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and ftp area.
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<PRE>
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<FONT SIZE=2>http://netwinsite.com/
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ftp://ftp.netwinsite.com/pub/netwinsite/dnews
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</FONT>
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</PRE>
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<p>
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<a href="#Section_1">Return to the Index</a>
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<p>
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<H2><A NAME="Sec_1.2">1.2 Why is a sucking feed so great?</A>
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</H2>
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<P>
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A sucking feed has several advantages, not all obvious.
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<H3><A NAME="_Toc347985036">Disk space and line usage</A></H3>
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<P>
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This is the most obvious advantage, you may only
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end up getting a couple of hundred groups, possibly saving 80%
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of your disk space and 80% of your network bandwidth. A 64Kbps
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line isn't enough to take a full news feed, but with a sucking
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feed it is easily enough to give the 'impression' of a full news
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feed.
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<H3><A NAME="_Toc347985037">More items in 'low use' groups</A>
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</H3>
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<P>
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More items in 'read' groups: As disk space is saved,
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it becomes very easy to keep 1 or 2 weeks of news (or more) in
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the groups people actually want, most full feed systems can only
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store a few days of news in each group.
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<H3><A NAME="_Toc347985038">Efficient file IO</A> </H3>
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<P>
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As items are fetched for one group at a time, most
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file IO is to a single open file, this is a lot more efficient
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that the standard news system of getting items in a 'random' order.
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This efficiency is more significant on operating systems with
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slower file systems, e.g. Windows NT and VMS.
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<H3><A NAME="_Toc347985039">Low impact on upstream site</A></H3>
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<P>
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DNEWS does not use the 'newnews' command which all
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news managers hate, it uses low impact commands to find the new
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messages and retrieve them without accessing the history database
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on the upstream server. As so much fewer articles are fetched
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the overall load is greatly reduced. The exact load depends on
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how many groups are being sucked.
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<H3><A NAME="_Toc347985040">Easy configuration on upstream site</A>
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</H3>
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<P>
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On the upstream site, instead of setting up and managing
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a feed, something which is difficult to do and tends to require
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almost constant maintenance, all that is required is to give your
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system simple 'news reader' access.
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<p>
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<a href="#Section_1">Return to the Index</a>
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<p>
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<H2><A NAME="Sec_1.3">1.3 Where are the log files?</A></H2>
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<P>
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Look in dnews.conf for the symbol LOG_DIR, this will
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tell you which directory to find them in, there are three files:
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<PRE>
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<FONT SIZE=2>dnews.log The main log file
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dnews.in A one line log of each message that came in
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dnews.out A one line log of each item dnews sent out.<BR>
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</FONT>
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</PRE>
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<P>
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The file dnews.log contains .in and .out messages
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as well. By default the logging level is set to INFO, you can
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set it in dnews.conf to one of, error,warn,info,debug. E.g.:
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<PRE>
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<FONT SIZE=2>loglvl warn</FONT>
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</PRE>
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<P>
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In debug mode all error messages are sent to the
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log file, in info mode only error,warn and info messages are printed.
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In warn mode only error and warn messages are sent, and in error
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mode only serious errors are printed to the log file.
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<p>
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Every night, or if the log files get more than DEBUG_ROTATE
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lines in them the files are rotated like this:
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<PRE>
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<FONT SIZE=2>dnews.log -> dnews.log2 ->dnews.log3 ->dnews.log4 ->(deleted)</FONT>
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</PRE><p>
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<a href="#Section_1">Return to the Index</a>
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<p>
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<H2><A NAME="Sec_1.4">1.4 Where is dnews.conf?</A></H2>
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<P>
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This is the main configuration file, and you can't
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move it from it's built in directory which is:
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<PRE>
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<FONT SIZE=2>Windows NT /winnt35/system32/dnews.conf (system dir)
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Unix /etc/dnews.conf<BR>
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</FONT>
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</PRE>
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<P>
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All other configuration files will be in the config
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directory defined in dnews.conf
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<p>
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<a href="#Section_1">Return to the Index</a>
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<p>
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<hr>
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<H1>2.0 General "How do I" questions.</H1>
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<H2><A NAME="Sec_2.1">2.1 How do I limit user access to
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the server</A></H2>
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<P>
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You can limit user access to the server by username
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and password and by group, to do this you need to edit access.conf.
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This file is both tricky in it's syntax and order sensitive,
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but quite powerful.
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<P>
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Note that the netscape news reader does not currently
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implement usernames and passwords so you will need to make your
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users use a proper news reader :-)
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<P>
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Here is a simple access.conf where you only allow
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users in your domain with ip names and you only let them connect
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using usernames and passwords:
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<PRE>
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<FONT SIZE=2># By default don't let anyone even connect
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*:::!*
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# Let people in my domain connect long enough to send a username/password
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pc*.here.edu:read:::!*
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# Here are the individual users and their passwords
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pc*.here.edu:read,post:joe:joespassword:*
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pc*.here.edu:read,post:alice:alicespassword:*
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pc*.here.edu:read,post:jack:jackspassword:*
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</FONT>
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</PRE>
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<P>
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Here is a second example, where we want to stop joe
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from posting to the group local.rules, but he can read it ok still.
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<PRE>
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<FONT SIZE=2># By default don't let anyone even connect
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*:logoff::!*
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# Let people in my domain connect long enough to send a username/password
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pc*.here.edu:read:::!*
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# Here are the individual users and their passwords
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pc*.here.edu:read:joe:joespassword:*
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pc*.here.edu:read,post:joe:joespassword:*,!local.rules
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# And don't let anyone from the finance section even connect
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*finance.here.edu:logoff:::*</FONT>
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</PRE>
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<p>
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<a href="#Section_2">Return to the Index</a>
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<p>
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<H2><A NAME="Sec_2.2">2.2 How do set my local groups so
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they won't expire</A></H2>
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<P>
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At the <I><B>end </B></I>of your expire.conf file
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add a line like this:
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<PRE>
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<FONT SIZE=1>upto 1000% groups local.* keep 999 minitems 10000 maxitems 100000
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<BR>
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</FONT>
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</PRE>
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<P>
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This will keep all items in the local group for 999
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days, and even then will keep at least 10000 items but will expire
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items if more than 100000 items are in the group.
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<p>
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<a href="#Section_2">Return to the Index</a>
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<p>
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<H2><A NAME="Sec_2.3">2.3 Creating local news groups</A>
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</H2>
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<P>
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If you wish to have local groups on your server,
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that are not on the server you 'suck' from, then you should remove
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the 'POSTING' flag from the feed to your feeder site (in newsfeeds.conf).
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But only if you can get ihave (or transfer permission) to send
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articles up stream rather than simple 'posting' access.
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<P>
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You can still have local groups if you can't get
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ihave access, it's just not the 'recommended' setup.
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<P>
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You can add groups with the TELLNEWS NEWGROUP command,
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e.g.
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<PRE>
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<FONT SIZE=2>tellnews newgroup here.chat y myname Local group
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here.chat = name of group
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y = Normal group (m = moderated)
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myname = A record of who created the group (one word)
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Local group = description for active.names file. <BR>
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</FONT>
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</PRE>
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<P>
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To stop your local group from being sent up stream,
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you would change the line in your newsfeeds.conf file:
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<PRE>
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<FONT SIZE=2>groups *,!here.chat,!here.secret.*</FONT>
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</PRE>
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<P>
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NOTE: KNOWN BUG, with version 2.0 items will still
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be sent upstream if you have left the 'POSTING' keyword in your
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feed. This will probably be fixed in a future version. (ofcourse
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this isn't a major problem unless the items are very secret as
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your upstream site will probably just reject them anyway)
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<p>
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<a href="#Section_2">Return to the Index</a>
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<p>
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<H2><A NAME="Sec_2.4">2.4 Can I restore some news files
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(*.itm, *.idx) from tape?</A></H2>
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<PRE>
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<FONT SIZE=2>You have restored part of a database, to merge this new stuff into the indexes use:
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</FONT><FONT SIZE=2>tellnews addlost</FONT>
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</PRE>
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<P>
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Which will scan the entire database and rebuild the
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history file. This could take 12 hours or more to run on 4 Gig
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of news.
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<p>
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<a href="#Section_2">Return to the Index</a>
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<p>
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<H2><A NAME="Sec_2.5">2.5 How do I move the spool area to
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a bigger disk</A></H2>
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<P>
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First shutdown DNEWS:
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<PRE>
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<FONT SIZE=2>tellnews exit</FONT>
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</PRE>
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<P>
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Then move the entire SPOOL tree structure from it's
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current place to it's new place, for example on NT you might use
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file manager to move
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<PRE>
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<FONT SIZE=2>c:\dnews\spool... to e:\dnews\spool...
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</FONT>
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</PRE>
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<P>
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Change the definition of SPOOL in DNEWS.CONF
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<PRE>
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<FONT SIZE=2>NOTEPAD \winnt35\system32\dnews.conf
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spool e:\dnews\spool
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</FONT>
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</PRE>
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<P>
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Restart DNEWS:
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<PRE>
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<FONT SIZE=2>(NT) Control Panel, Services, Start
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(UNIX) su root; dnews_start.sh</FONT>
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</PRE>
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<p>
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<a href="#Section_2">Return to the Index</a>
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<p>
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<H2><A NAME="Sec_2.6">2.6 How do I make the updates run
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only at night</A></H2>
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<P>
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Updates for a sucking feed normal run once every
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ten minutes, this is controlled in DNEWS.CONF with the command
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<PRE>
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<FONT SIZE=2>update_at *5 *</FONT>
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</PRE>
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<P>
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This "*5" tells dnews to do an update whenever
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the minutes end in a digit '5' and the second "*" tells
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it to do updates during any hour.
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<P>
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To do one update a night at 5 past 2 in the morning
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you would use:
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<PRE>
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<FONT SIZE=2>update_at 5 2</FONT>
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</PRE>
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<P>
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To do updates every 10 minutes from 6p.m. to 8a.m.
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you would use:
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<PRE>
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<FONT SIZE=2>update_at *5 18-8</FONT>
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</PRE>
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<p>
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<a href="#Section_2">Return to the Index</a>
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<p>
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<H2><A NAME="Sec_2.7">2.7 How do I test the server using
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TELNET</A></H2>
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<P>
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NNTP is a text based protocol, this means you can
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test it, and even read news without any software, just by using
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telnet and typing in commands by hand, this is not a seriously
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good way to read news, but it is a very good way to test your
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own server or your feeding server:
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<PRE>
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<FONT SIZE=2>NT Accessories, Telnet, Connect, Remote Service
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Enter the feeder.site and under PORT type in NNTP
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Under Terminal Preferences turn ECHO on
|
|
Press Control J to end lines instead of ENTER
|
|
VMS $ telnet feeder.site /port=119
|
|
UNIX > telnet feeder.site 119
|
|
|
|
Type in this sequence of commands to read an article by hand:
|
|
group comp.os.vms (select a group)
|
|
head (display the header)
|
|
body (display the body)
|
|
next (next item please)
|
|
help (show valid commands)
|
|
quit (exit the connection)</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_2">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_2.8">2.8 How do I suck from a two sites
|
|
at once</A></H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Use the alternate suck names, NNTP_SUCK2, NNTP_SUCK3,
|
|
NNTP_SUCK4
|
|
<P>
|
|
Put these in dnews.conf, followed by the list of
|
|
news groups that should be sucked from these alternate sites.
|
|
You should use the NNTP_FEEDER variable (suck1) for the largest
|
|
number of groups.
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>nntp_feeder news.upstream.site
|
|
nntp_suck2 other.news.site chat.local.*
|
|
</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Alternatively you can take a feed and suck from another
|
|
host at the same time.
|
|
<P>
|
|
Your list of groups will be based on the NNTP_FEEDER
|
|
host, other groups must be added using the tellnews newgroup command.
|
|
<P>
|
|
To do this just setup the system to suck as usual,
|
|
but then add a line to access.conf to allow your secondary feed
|
|
to come in, e.g.:
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>other.feed.machine:ihave:::*
|
|
</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_2">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_2.9">2.9 How can I cut out spamming (cross
|
|
posts)</A></H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Spamming, is where people cross post to hundreds
|
|
of news groups with information which is not relevant to the content
|
|
of the news group. e.g. advertising pyramid schemes etc...
|
|
<P>
|
|
Cross posting is a neat idea but enormously abused
|
|
mechanism, you can limit the abuse by rejecting items that are
|
|
crossposted to more than 'n' groups, a value of 5-10 would seem
|
|
reasonable to me. The default is 100 for DNEWS.
|
|
<P>
|
|
You can chage the limit in newsfeeds.conf under the
|
|
ME settings, e.g.
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>site me
|
|
groups *,!*binary*
|
|
maxcross 4
|
|
</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_2">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_2.10">2.10 How can I make XOVER faster?</A>
|
|
</H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
By default DNEWS caches the last 200 item headers
|
|
that it has read, if you have spare memory then it is well worth
|
|
increasing this value: The upper limit is 9000, at approx 3K
|
|
per header this would use about 27MB, but a value of 2000 would
|
|
use 6MB which most systems could easily deal with. In DNEWS.CONF
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>HEAD_CACHE 2000
|
|
</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_2">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_2.11">2.11 How do I rename a volume on UNIX</A>
|
|
</H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
You may wish to rename a current volume /var/spool/news
|
|
to be /var/spool/dnews, to do this:
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2> cd /var/spool/news
|
|
mkdir OLD
|
|
mv * OLD
|
|
umount /var/spool/news
|
|
emacs /etc/vfstab (or /etc/fstab)
|
|
(change /news into /dnews)
|
|
mount /var/spool/dnews<BR>
|
|
</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
When you are happy with the new system, or you need
|
|
the space:
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2> rm -r /var/spool/dnews/OLD</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
<a href="#Section_2">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<hr>
|
|
<H1>3.0 Common Configuration Questions</H1>
|
|
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_3.1">3.1 How do I setup DNEWS to take in
|
|
a 'normal' NNTP - IHAVE feed</A></H2>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=3>In access.conf, give your feed site access to send
|
|
you ihave messages:
|
|
</FONT>
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>
|
|
my.feeder.site.com:ihave:::*
|
|
</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=3>In dnews.conf, comment out the nntp_feeder definition.</FONT>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=3>In newsfeeds.conf, replace:</FONT>
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>
|
|
site $NNTP_FEEDER
|
|
groups *
|
|
builtin
|
|
posting</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=3>With:</FONT>
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>
|
|
site my.feeder.site
|
|
groups *
|
|
builtin</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=3>And in dnews.conf add a line:</FONT>
|
|
<PRE><FONT SIZE=2>
|
|
cachedall true
|
|
</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=3>You need to FTP an active file from your provider,
|
|
if he won't supply you one then you can get one of the NetWin
|
|
FTP site, but it is better to get a local one. Copy this file
|
|
to your spool directory:</FONT>
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>(Stop DNEWS first)
|
|
copy active_from_provider.txt /dnews/spool/active.dat<BR>
|
|
</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=3>Now, read the FAQ section entitled "<B>3.6 How
|
|
do I set my EXCLUDE parameter correctly?"</B></FONT>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=3>Here is an example of a full feed from UUNET.
|
|
Note the exclude parameter is essential.</FONT>
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>-------dnews.conf---------
|
|
In dnews.conf comment out nntp_feeder by putting a HASH in
|
|
front of the line, and add cachedall true, e.g.
|
|
# nntp_feeder your.feeder.ohio.edu
|
|
cachedall true
|
|
|
|
------newsfeeds.conf cut here ----------
|
|
site me
|
|
groups *
|
|
site news.uu.net
|
|
groups *,!local.*
|
|
builtin
|
|
exclude uunet
|
|
site YOUR.MAIL.GATEWAY
|
|
smtp
|
|
------access.conf cut here and change your domain and ipnumbers ------
|
|
# Don't let the world connect :-)
|
|
*:logoff:::*
|
|
|
|
# Do let your domain and ip range connect **** CHANGE THIS BIT ***
|
|
*.your.domain:Read,Post:::*
|
|
161.232.32.*:read,post:::*
|
|
|
|
# Do let your news feed from UUNET send you items
|
|
news*.uu.net:ihave:::*</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_3">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_3.2">3.2 How do I setup DNEWS to take an
|
|
ihave feed from 5 machines but only send back to one.</A></H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Lets assume you have been told you will get a feed
|
|
from any or all of:
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>news1.xxx.net
|
|
news2.xxx.net
|
|
news3.xxx.net
|
|
news4.xxx.net</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
And you have also been told to send your feed back to
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>newsup.xxx.net</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
And after examining the PATH header in a news item
|
|
from your upstream feed you have seen that they stamp all incoming
|
|
messages with the name 'news_stamp.xxx.net'
|
|
<P>
|
|
Then you would setup access.conf and newsfeeds.conf
|
|
like this:
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>news1.xxx.net:ihave:::*
|
|
news2.xxx.net:ihave:::*
|
|
news3.xxx.net:ihave:::*
|
|
news4.xxx.net:ihave:::*<BR>
|
|
</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
And you would setup newsfeeds.conf like this:
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>site me
|
|
groups *
|
|
|
|
site newsup.xxx.net
|
|
groups *
|
|
builtin
|
|
exclude news_stamp.xxx.net
|
|
|
|
site your.mail.gateway
|
|
smtp</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_3">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_3.3">3.3 How do I setup XMIT to send to
|
|
other sites</A></H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
If you have more than one large feed coming into
|
|
your site, then you should use XMIT to send to all sites and NOT
|
|
use the builtin feeding system at all, (see the keyword builtin
|
|
above, remove it!!) The builtin feeder will not run fast enough
|
|
to 'pass through' large feeds so you must use the XMIT feeder
|
|
in all directions. (Leaf sites can still use a sucking feed quite
|
|
safely as this is also very efficient)
|
|
<P>
|
|
The XMIT feeder is a high speed, auto configuring
|
|
streaming feeder with built in scheduling, so you don't need to
|
|
use CRON or anything else tricky like that.
|
|
<P>
|
|
First add entries to your NEWSFEEDS.CONF file, this
|
|
creates the .feed file that XMIT will use:
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>NOTEPAD newsfeeds.conf
|
|
site other.site.here.com
|
|
groups *</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Now modify your startup procedure to run the xmit
|
|
job for each feed you have defined in newsfeeds.conf
|
|
<H3><A NAME="_Toc347985059">Adding XMIT to Windows NT Services
|
|
(startup)</A></H3>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
On windows NT you need to setup each xmit job as
|
|
a service, to do this use the program ADDSVC.EXE which came with
|
|
the dnews distribution to add a service for each outgoing feed,
|
|
e.g. (notepad setupsvc.cmd and then run it to create the feeds)
|
|
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>addsvc -add dxmit1 xmit.exe "dxmit1 site.name.edu -at *5 *"
|
|
addsvc -add dxmit2 xmit.exe "dxmit2 site2.name.edu -at *5 *"
|
|
<BR>
|
|
</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Then from CONTROL PANEL, SERVICES, and start the
|
|
feed(s).
|
|
<H3><A NAME="_Toc347985060">Adding XMIT to UNIX startup</A></H3>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Add lines to your dnews_start.sh procedure, e.g.
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>cd /usr/local/dnews
|
|
./xmit send.to.site.name -at "*2" "*"
|
|
./xmit send.other.site.name -at "*7" "*"</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<H3><A NAME="_Toc347985061">Adding XMIT to VMS startup</A></H3>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Modify RUNXMIT.COM and add it to dnews_start.com
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_3">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_3.4">3.4 What files can I copy from an
|
|
INN or CNEWS system</A></H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
This is not necessary, but if you are replacing a
|
|
system then there are some files that you may want to preserve
|
|
so that news.rc files are not 'too' confused by the new system.
|
|
<P>
|
|
You can safely copy these files:
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>
|
|
active -> active.dat
|
|
active.times -> active.times
|
|
newsgroups -> active.names (may be changed in future)<BR>
|
|
</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
If you copy the active file, you must reset DNEWS
|
|
with this special manager command:
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2> tellnews resetall</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_3">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><a name="Sec_3.5">3.5 How do I setup a news gateway for my LAN</a></H2>
|
|
|
|
With DNEWS, a modem, and Windows NT (or 95) you can give all the users on a LAN internet news access (to read and post) with only a single dial in modem to any local internet provider. You may have to trigger the updates by hand to avoid leaving the modem connected 24 hours a day.
|
|
<p>
|
|
To do this, install a modem and ethernet card in a pc, then configure the pc for tcpip access to your local lan using a local ip number (you can make this up) and then configure it again for modem internet access to your local provider (probably using an ip address provided via ppp).
|
|
<p>
|
|
Here are some example settings if your LAN is not on the internet.
|
|
<pre>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>Ethernet Adapter:
|
|
IP Address 1.1.1.1 (anything just give each pc a different number)
|
|
Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0
|
|
Gateway (leave blank)
|
|
DNS (Leave blank)
|
|
|
|
Modem TCPIP Adapter:
|
|
IP Address (leave blank, provider will supply)
|
|
Subnet Mask (blank)
|
|
Gateway (blank)
|
|
DNS 1.2.3.4 (You MUST get this from your provider)
|
|
|
|
</FONT></PRE>
|
|
Then for myname in dnews.conf you would use 1.1.1.1 and from other PC's on your lan set their news server to be 1.1.1.1
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_3">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><a name="Sec_3.6">3.6 How do I set my EXCLUDE parameter correctly?</a></H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
In newsfeeds.conf you must set your exclude parameter
|
|
to stop DNEWS from sending incoming messages back to your feed
|
|
site. Lets assume your feed site is called fastfeed.world.net.
|
|
You need to find out what it stamps onto news articles, to do
|
|
this read a news article (and show all headers so you can see
|
|
the PATH header) e.g.
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2> Newsgroups: alt.winsock.trumpet
|
|
Subject: Sportster Si does not seem to work with TRUMPET
|
|
Date: Thu, 26 Oct 1995 22:44:08
|
|
Organization: Personal
|
|
Lines: 8
|
|
Message-ID: <moleski.2.0016BD02@sasknet.sk.ca>
|
|
NNTP-Posting-Host: eagle28.sasknet.sk.ca
|
|
X-Newsreader: Trumpet for Windows [Version 1.0 Rev A]
|
|
Path: fast1.world.net!world.net!news.icix.net!esol.intermedia.com
|
|
</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Look thru the path, left to right, and find the first
|
|
or most generic name for your feed site, in this case 'world.net'
|
|
looks like the best name to choose. So here is the entry you
|
|
should put in newsfeeds.conf, you may need the builtin and posting
|
|
settings as well but that is up to you.
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2> site fastfeed.world.net
|
|
groups *
|
|
exclude world.net
|
|
builtin
|
|
</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
You may need to delete your .feed and .sending files
|
|
from the spool directory to clear out the backlog of articles
|
|
queued.
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_3">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><a name="Sec_3.7">3.7 How do I setup DNEWS for local (intranet) use?</a></H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
This is fairly simple to achieve, install DNEWS normally,
|
|
then in dnews.conf set
|
|
<PRE><FONT SIZE=2>
|
|
cachedall true
|
|
</FONT></PRE>
|
|
<P>
|
|
Don't define the 'nntp_feeder' variable at all, remove
|
|
the word 'posting' from newsfeeds.conf then start the server.
|
|
<P>
|
|
Now create your local groups, try to pick names that
|
|
will never conflict with internet names if you decide to join
|
|
up at a later date, to achieve this add your companys name to
|
|
the start of each group name (or an abbreviation of it)
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>
|
|
tellnews newgroup netwin.chatting y Group for chatting about things
|
|
tellnews newgroup netwin.schedule y For scheduling meetings
|
|
tellnews newgroup netwin.products y Product sheets and info for sales staff
|
|
</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Done!
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_3">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<hr>
|
|
<H1>4.0 I did something stupid, can I fix it?</H1>
|
|
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_4.1">4.1 I deleted some item files by hand,
|
|
is that ok?</A></H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
This is like editing a database with a binary editor
|
|
and removing a few records by hand, it is not a good idea :-(
|
|
<P>
|
|
However, DNEWS is written for people just like you,
|
|
the database will correct itself with a little luck. :-)
|
|
<P>
|
|
Please do not edit an item file and remove individual
|
|
items or change them, this will corrupt the database and the items
|
|
will simply disappear.
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_4">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_4.2">4.2 I deleted the history.dat file,
|
|
is that ok?</A></H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
No, it's not. You need to do this, type in:
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>tellnews addlost
|
|
</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
And cross your fingers and wait until the addlost
|
|
finishes (it could take a few hours on a full feed system)
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_4">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<hr>
|
|
<H1>5.0 Errors & Problems</H1>
|
|
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_5.1">5.1 Large messages & Memory Use.</A>
|
|
</H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Unless you have infinite memory on your system then
|
|
it is necessary to limit the size of messages that can be processed.
|
|
This also saves a lot of wasted bandwidth and disk space for
|
|
you and every other news system. DNEWS limits messages to 1MB
|
|
by default, (a fairly generous limit considering many news readers
|
|
still die horribly with messages greater than 64K and anything
|
|
bigger than this should not be sent via news but should be put
|
|
on an FTP/WEB site and a pointer to it should be sent)
|
|
<P>
|
|
To deal with messages of size 1MB dnews needs about
|
|
6MB of memory, so if you are short of memory you may want to reduce
|
|
this. To limit messages to 100k you would add a line in DNEWS.CONF
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>ITEM_MAX 100000</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
(this setting is not dynamic, you must restart DNEWS)
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_5">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_5.2">5.2 I'm not getting any binary groups,
|
|
why not?</A></H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
The default configuration file (newsfeeds.conf) that
|
|
comes with DNEWS excludes all binary groups. In my opinion these
|
|
groups should not exist, they are a left over from the days before
|
|
FTP and WEB and even EMAIL, so that news was the only option,
|
|
now it is much more appropriate to post pointers to large files,
|
|
rather than the file itself.
|
|
<P>
|
|
Anyway, you or your users demand it, to fix the problem
|
|
edit your newsfeeds.conf file and remove the !*binary* from the
|
|
'ME' feed.
|
|
<P>
|
|
Then use the commands:
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>tellnews undelete *binary*
|
|
tellnews matchfeed
|
|
</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_5">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_5.3">5.3 My news reader says the newsgroups
|
|
don't exist?</A></H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Check access.conf, you might have access to get in,
|
|
but no access to read the news groups so they will appear empty
|
|
or give 'no such newsgroup' errors.
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_5">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_5.4">5.4 I don't know if posts are working?</A>
|
|
</H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
There are two main reasons for posts to fail:
|
|
<OL>
|
|
<LI>You've messed up your newsfeeds.conf file.
|
|
<LI>Your provider is not allowing you to send messages
|
|
via 'ihave'
|
|
</OL>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Follow these instructions to figure out where the
|
|
error is:<BR>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Post an item to some local TEST news group, e.g.
|
|
nz.test, then check the file DNEWS.OUT, this should give one line
|
|
per message sent 'out' of your system, if this file is empty,
|
|
or gives an error, first consider if the error is from DNEWS or
|
|
if it is from the site you are sending items to. Second, look
|
|
in dnews.log, search for "out:" once you've found the
|
|
failure message you will probably find more clues just above or
|
|
below it as to what went wrong.
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_5">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_5.5">5.5 I'm still not convinced my posts
|
|
are getting to the other side of the planet?</A></H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Post an item to alt.test, you should receive 10-15
|
|
messages from news robots all over the world.
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_5">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_5.6">5.6 I have an old fashioned feed coming
|
|
in but I'm not getting any items?</A></H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
There are two main reasons for incoming feeds to
|
|
fail:
|
|
<OL>
|
|
<LI>You've messed up your access.conf file (or your
|
|
DNS does not work)
|
|
<LI>Your provider has not successfully setup the
|
|
feed.
|
|
</OL>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
In case 1), first try letting everyone in by putting
|
|
a wildcard access line at the bottom of access.conf
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>*:read,post,ihave:::*
|
|
tellnews reload</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Then check the log files, or use tellnews status,
|
|
and you will see the name and number of any machine sending you
|
|
IHAVE messages, (in the list of connected channels) put this
|
|
name in access.conf.
|
|
<P>
|
|
If tellnews status shows the number twice, but no
|
|
name, then your DNS is not working, use numbers in the access.conf
|
|
file instead or fix your DNS.
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_5">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_5.7">5.7 What should I do now that I've
|
|
deleted history.dat</A></H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
First I advise you not to play with guns because
|
|
you are in danger of shooting yourself in the foot.
|
|
<P>
|
|
Before restarting dnews, delete history.idx and history.dat,
|
|
and then start dnews and type:
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>tellnews addlost</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Which will scan the entire database and rebuild the
|
|
history file. This could take 12 hours or more to run on 4 Gig
|
|
of news.
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_5">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_5.8">5.8 Netscape shows items but I can't
|
|
read them, why?</A></H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
This means the item is missing from the history database,
|
|
this should never happen, but since it has, try this command:
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>tellnews addlost</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Which will scan the entire database and rebuild the
|
|
history file. This could take 12 hours or more to run on 4 Gig
|
|
of news.
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_5">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_5.9">5.9 Why doesn't the status report
|
|
match actual diskspace used?</A></H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
DNEWS maintains an internal count of free disk space,
|
|
this can be wrong, or possibly your setting for 'diskspace' in
|
|
dnews.conf could be wrong. Decide which is wrong, either fix
|
|
the number in dnews.conf or use the 'setused' command to change
|
|
the internal count, e.g. to set the used value to 950MB, type
|
|
in:
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>tellnews setused 950</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Then wait 2 minutes and do another:
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>tellnews status</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_5">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_5.10">5.10 DNEWS goes very slow when users
|
|
connect</A></H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Check your DNS is working, try putting
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>nodns true</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
In dnews.conf, and fix access.conf to use numbers
|
|
then type:
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>tellnews reload</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Then see if that speeds things up, if it does then
|
|
your DNS is faulty.
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_5">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_5.11">5.11 My system runs out of memory?</A>
|
|
</H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
First check your pagefile settings, for a full feed
|
|
you will need about 120MB of pagefile on Windows NT.
|
|
<P>
|
|
See the section on large news messages.
|
|
<P>
|
|
Send the output of tellnews status to the mailing
|
|
list or NetWin and ask for comments.
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_5">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_5.12">5.12 DNEWS goes very slow</A></H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Check your DNS is working.
|
|
<P>
|
|
Type in:
|
|
<P><pre>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>tellnews stats </FONT>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>(not status)</FONT></pre>
|
|
<P>
|
|
This gives a listing of NNTP commands and how long
|
|
dnews is spending on each one, this will show if one command is
|
|
slow, and also if one command is being used more than is reasonable.
|
|
Also consider adding memory.
|
|
<P>
|
|
Send the output of tellnews stats and status to the
|
|
mailing list or NetWin for further suggestions.
|
|
<P>
|
|
Consider installing more memory or a faster disk
|
|
drive.
|
|
<P>
|
|
If the xover command is using most of the time then
|
|
consider increasing the buffering of headers. (see dnews.conf
|
|
options)
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_5">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_5.13">5.13 DNEWS locks up for brief periods
|
|
(or permanently)</A></H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Panic!
|
|
<P>
|
|
Check the log file dnews.log, work out from the time
|
|
stamps what dnews was doing when it locked up.
|
|
<P>
|
|
This can happen if you run an expire while lots of
|
|
people are trying to use the system or while an ihave feed is
|
|
sending stuff in.
|
|
<P>
|
|
Use the tellnews stats command, this will also point
|
|
to commands which are taking too long to process for some reason.
|
|
<P>
|
|
Check your DNS and also that site you are sucking
|
|
from is working and it's news server is working, either of these
|
|
can cause a problem. If the site you suck from is down for a
|
|
few hours, you may have to remove the feeder line from dnews.conf
|
|
until it is up again. (normally you won't have to do this, it's
|
|
just a thing to watch for)
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_5">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_5.14">5.14 DNEWS Crashes</A></H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Check the end of the file dnews.log, the only partly
|
|
acceptable reason for a crash is if DNEWS runs out of memory,
|
|
if the errors indicate this then see the section on memory problems
|
|
above.
|
|
<P>
|
|
If it gives an error 'signal xxx causing exit' then
|
|
set the debugging level to 'debug', if the log files just ends
|
|
suddenly, then set the debug level to 'flush'
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>loglvl debug (or flush)
|
|
debug_rotate 3000 </FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Now next time it crashes email the last few hundred
|
|
lines of dnews.log to NetWin. We really don't accept crashes
|
|
as acceptable behaviour and will go to some extreme lengths to
|
|
fix this sort of problem.
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_5">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_5.15">5.15 TELLNEWS says Can't BIND</A>?
|
|
</H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Can't BIND, and tellnews says "I can't talk
|
|
to you" when you telnet to the port.
|
|
<P>
|
|
On LINUX the slackware distribution comes with a
|
|
dummy nntp daemon installed, you must remove this so dnews can
|
|
bind to the socket.
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2> edit /etc/inetd.conf
|
|
(comment out the NNTP line)
|
|
kill -HUP <pid of inetd process></FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_5">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_5.16">5.16 TELLNEWS fails or locks ups</A>
|
|
</H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
The DNEWS process may take 1-2 minutes to initialize,
|
|
so wait a bit before panicking.
|
|
<P>
|
|
Check if the process is running
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2> ps -axl | grep dnews (linux)
|
|
ps -ef | grep dnews (SunOS)</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Check the log files
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2> more /usr/local/dnews/dnews.log</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
On UNIX if it gets started up with the wrong PID
|
|
you will get all sorts of protection problems, all the files
|
|
in:
|
|
<P><pre>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2> /var/spool/dnews/... </font></pre> (including<tt><font size=2> var/spool/dnews</FONT></tt>)
|
|
<P>
|
|
must be owned by the same user, normally 'news'.
|
|
Also all the files in:
|
|
<P><pre>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2> /var/local/dnews/*</FONT></pre>
|
|
<P>
|
|
Also on UNIX it is possible to start dnews twice,
|
|
this can cause real disasters, always check with ps and by looking
|
|
at the log before restarting DNEWS.
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_5">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_5.17">5.17 TELLNEWS says remote node is
|
|
unknown</A></H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Check the myname variable in DNEWS.CONF, also check
|
|
your DNS is working, if its isn't then use the number in dnews.conf
|
|
<P>
|
|
On VMS, if the symbol tellnews is not defined, it
|
|
will try and run telnet instead, this can be confusing. You may
|
|
have to log in again to get the symbol, or if you forgot to put
|
|
it in your sylogin: script then you will have to do so, e.g.:
|
|
<P><pre>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2> $ tellnews :== $dnews_top:tellnews</FONT></pre>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_5">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_5.18">5.18 TELLNEWS says "Cannot access
|
|
tellnews.pass"</A></H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
For some reason tellnews cannot find it's configuration
|
|
files, on NT this could be caused by a file protection problem
|
|
or more likely if the disk drive letter was not specified in the
|
|
configuration file DNEWS.CONF.
|
|
<P>
|
|
On VMS and UNIX you must be running the tellnews
|
|
command from the usercode ROOT or NEWS or NEWS$SERVER.
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_5">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_5.19">5.19 I see errors "NNTP, Sorry
|
|
I can't talk to you</A>" in the log file?</H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Your news-host does not want to talk to you, this
|
|
is because there is a security file which gives a list of hosts
|
|
which are allowed to connect, the name of your machine must be
|
|
in this list, and your machine's name must be in the Domain Name
|
|
Server tables as well as the Reverse Translation Domain Name server
|
|
tables.
|
|
<P>
|
|
The access file may be called something like:
|
|
<P>
|
|
<TT><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier New"> CNEWS /usr/local/lib/news/nntp_access</FONT></TT>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<TT><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier New"> INND /usr/local/news/nnrp.access</FONT></TT>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<A NAME="_Toc339472717"><TT><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier New"> DNEWS
|
|
/usr/local/dnews/access.conf</FONT></TT></A>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<TT><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier New"> DNEWS-NT /dnews/access.conf</FONT></TT>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_5">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_5.20">5.20 What does "Transfer permission
|
|
denied" mean?</A></H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
This can come from one of two directions, DNEWS
|
|
can give this error when a site tries to feed it new items.
|
|
<P>
|
|
If you are using a sucking feed then you should stop
|
|
the site that is trying to send to you from sending as DNEWS will
|
|
ask for any items it wants.
|
|
<P>
|
|
If you do want to allow incoming IHAVE messages,
|
|
then add an IHAVE record for this ip address in the ACCESS.CONF
|
|
file, and also remove the 'POSTING' flag from the NEWSFEEDS.CONF
|
|
file for the ME site.
|
|
<P>
|
|
The last possibility is that this error is coming
|
|
from your feeding site, in which case you need to contact the
|
|
system manager of that site and ask him to give you 'ihave' access.
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_5">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_5.21">5.21 Posts not going upstream, 437 Duplicate article?</a></H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
The problem is DNEWS is echo'ing all your incoming
|
|
news back to your news feed site, this is clogging the outgoing
|
|
feed. To fix this see the section above entitled <B>"3.6
|
|
How do I set my EXCLUDE parameter correctly?"</B>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_5">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<hr>
|
|
<H1>6.0 I still can't figure it out, how can I get help?</H1>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
You have two options, the DNEWS discussion list has
|
|
lots of expertise on it. So try that first.
|
|
<P>
|
|
If that fails, or if you are a registered (not free)
|
|
customer then as part of normal support NetWin provide email
|
|
advice and help on setting up your system. In general try and
|
|
give as much information as possible about your setup and what
|
|
you want to do, and ALWAYS include a FAX or phone number just
|
|
incase your mail system is broken as well :-) e.g.
|
|
<P>
|
|
Hardware & OS: Windows NT - Intel (or NT-Alpha
|
|
or Solaris 4.3 etc...)
|
|
<P>
|
|
Version of DNEWS: 2.0b
|
|
<P>
|
|
Type of feed: Sucking feed (or full ihave feed...)
|
|
<P>
|
|
FAX: (include country code)
|
|
<P>
|
|
And any relevant setup files, usually one or more
|
|
of: dnews.conf, newsfeeds.conf, access.conf
|
|
<P>
|
|
And maybe a few lines from dnews.log showing the
|
|
problem
|
|
<P>
|
|
(Please don't email 3MB of log files to us :-)<BR>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
And state your problem clearly:
|
|
<P>
|
|
(a bad example) My feed doesn't work, why not?
|
|
<P>
|
|
(a good example) The IHAVE feed coming INTO my system
|
|
from my provider is being refused, he says it gives an error,
|
|
'transfer permission denied', I have searched the log files but
|
|
can't find an equivalent error at my end, what should I do?
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_6">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_6.1">6.1 DNEWS Mailing List</A></H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
There are two mailing lists for DNEWS, one is only
|
|
used to make major announcements of new version or urgent patches.
|
|
The other is for general discussion, you may want to join both.
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="#Section_6">Return to the Index</a>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="Sec_6.2">6.2 To subscribe to the discussion
|
|
list send to:</A></H2>
|
|
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>dnews-request@adam.com.au</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
A message containing one word:
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>subscribe<BR>
|
|
</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Then to post to the list send to:
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=2>dnews@adam.com.au</FONT>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
<p>
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<a href="#Section_6">Return to the Index</a>
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<p>
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<H2><A NAME="Sec_6.3">6.3 To subscribe to the announcement
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list</A></H2>
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<P>
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Send a message to:
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<P><tt>
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<FONT SIZE=2> maiser@emagic.co.nz</FONT></tt>
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<P>
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Containing the line:
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<P><tt>
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<FONT SIZE=2> subscribe dnews</FONT></tt>
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<P>
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This is a moderated list, it's only function is to
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provide timely information on new features, releases, bugs, installation
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gotcha's etc to interested people. You will not get 20 messages
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a day from this list, it will probably average 1-2 messages per
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month.
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<p>
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<a href="#Section_6">Return to the Index</a>
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<p>
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