From f5ec537f787762d1df90392a1da0b45928c1e715 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Andreas Klemm Date: Thu, 29 May 1997 15:22:14 +0000 Subject: upgrade dnews to most recent FreeBSD version 4.2j added faq from www server revamped directory structure, port now uses: /var/log/dnews /var/spool/dnews ${PREFIX}/lib/dnews the cgi stuff isn't tested PR: Reviewed by: Submitted by: Obtained from: --- news/dnews/files/dnews.sh | 4 +- news/dnews/files/faq.html | 1443 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2 files changed, 1445 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) create mode 100644 news/dnews/files/faq.html (limited to 'news/dnews/files') diff --git a/news/dnews/files/dnews.sh b/news/dnews/files/dnews.sh index 728457695634..b714714205ea 100644 --- a/news/dnews/files/dnews.sh +++ b/news/dnews/files/dnews.sh @@ -2,8 +2,8 @@ # start dnews if it's really there ... usually in /usr/local ... -[ -x /usr/local/dnews/dnews_start ] \ - && /usr/local/dnews/dnews_start > /dev/null 2>&1 & +[ -x /usr/local/lib/dnews/dnews_start ] \ + && /usr/local/lib/dnews/dnews_start > /dev/null 2>&1 & # dnews started successfully if exit status = 0 diff --git a/news/dnews/files/faq.html b/news/dnews/files/faq.html new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..9cb19c380ed6 --- /dev/null +++ b/news/dnews/files/faq.html @@ -0,0 +1,1443 @@ + + + + +DNEWS FAQ + + + + + +

+

DNEWS FAQ
+

+

+(F +requently +Asked +Questions + +) +
+

+ +

1.0 General Information

+

2.0 General "How do I" questions.

+

3.0 Common Configuration Questions

+

4.0 I did something stupid, can I fix it?

+

5.0 Errors & Problems

+

6.0 I still can't figure it out, how can I get help?

+
+

1.0 General Information

+ +

1.1 The FTP site

+ +

+You can FTP the latest copy of the files from our +main ftp site, their are binaries for common platforms (Windows +NT (intel & Alpha), Linux, Solaris, VAXVMS, ALPHAVMS. +

+ftp ftp.netwinsite.com
+cd pub/netwinsite/dnews
+binary
+get dnews26o.exe  (Windows NT version 2.6o)
+
+
+ +

+This is a self extracting archive, that means you +just run dnews_nt.exe and it will extract itself , e.g. +

+dnews26o.exe   (extracts the new files to \tmp)
+cd \tmp
+install.cmd  (or newver.cmd if you already have dnews      installed)
+

+
+
+ +

+Use the following references to see our web pages +and ftp area. +

+http://netwinsite.com/
+ftp://ftp.netwinsite.com/pub/netwinsite/dnews
+
+
+

+Return to the Index +

+

1.2 Why is a sucking feed so great? +

+ +

+A sucking feed has several advantages, not all obvious. + +

Disk space and line usage

+ +

+This is the most obvious advantage, you may only +end up getting a couple of hundred groups, possibly saving 80% +of your disk space and 80% of your network bandwidth. A 64Kbps +line isn't enough to take a full news feed, but with a sucking +feed it is easily enough to give the 'impression' of a full news +feed. + +

More items in 'low use' groups +

+ +

+More items in 'read' groups: As disk space is saved, +it becomes very easy to keep 1 or 2 weeks of news (or more) in +the groups people actually want, most full feed systems can only +store a few days of news in each group. + +

Efficient file IO

+ +

+As items are fetched for one group at a time, most +file IO is to a single open file, this is a lot more efficient +that the standard news system of getting items in a 'random' order. + This efficiency is more significant on operating systems with +slower file systems, e.g. Windows NT and VMS. + +

Low impact on upstream site

+ +

+DNEWS does not use the 'newnews' command which all +news managers hate, it uses low impact commands to find the new +messages and retrieve them without accessing the history database +on the upstream server. As so much fewer articles are fetched +the overall load is greatly reduced. The exact load depends on +how many groups are being sucked. + +

Easy configuration on upstream site +

+ +

+On the upstream site, instead of setting up and managing +a feed, something which is difficult to do and tends to require +almost constant maintenance, all that is required is to give your +system simple 'news reader' access. +

+Return to the Index +

+

1.3 Where are the log files?

+ +

+Look in dnews.conf for the symbol LOG_DIR, this will +tell you which directory to find them in, there are three files: +

+dnews.log	The main log file
+dnews.in	A one line log of each message that came in
+dnews.out	A one line log of each item dnews sent out.

+
+
+ +

+The file dnews.log contains .in and .out messages +as well. By default the logging level is set to INFO, you can +set it in dnews.conf to one of, error,warn,info,debug. E.g.: +

+loglvl warn
+
+ +

+In debug mode all error messages are sent to the +log file, in info mode only error,warn and info messages are printed. + In warn mode only error and warn messages are sent, and in error +mode only serious errors are printed to the log file. +

+Every night, or if the log files get more than DEBUG_ROTATE +lines in them the files are rotated like this: +

+dnews.log -> dnews.log2 ->dnews.log3 ->dnews.log4 ->(deleted)
+

+Return to the Index +

+

1.4 Where is dnews.conf?

+ +

+This is the main configuration file, and you can't +move it from it's built in directory which is: +

+Windows NT	/winnt35/system32/dnews.conf (system dir)
+Unix		/etc/dnews.conf

+
+
+ +

+All other configuration files will be in the config +directory defined in dnews.conf +

+Return to the Index +

+

+

2.0 General "How do I" questions.

+ +

2.1 How do I limit user access to +the server

+ +

+You can limit user access to the server by username +and password and by group, to do this you need to edit access.conf. + This file is both tricky in it's syntax and order sensitive, +but quite powerful. +

+Note that the netscape news reader does not currently +implement usernames and passwords so you will need to make your +users use a proper news reader :-) +

+Here is a simple access.conf where you only allow +users in your domain with ip names and you only let them connect +using usernames and passwords: +

+# By default don't let anyone even connect
+*:::!*
+# Let people in my domain connect long enough to send a username/password
+pc*.here.edu:read:::!*
+# Here are the individual users and their passwords
+pc*.here.edu:read,post:joe:joespassword:*
+pc*.here.edu:read,post:alice:alicespassword:*
+pc*.here.edu:read,post:jack:jackspassword:*
+
+
+ +

+Here is a second example, where we want to stop joe +from posting to the group local.rules, but he can read it ok still. +

+# By default don't let anyone even connect
+*:logoff::!*
+# Let people in my domain connect long enough to send a username/password
+pc*.here.edu:read:::!*
+# Here are the individual users and their passwords
+pc*.here.edu:read:joe:joespassword:*
+pc*.here.edu:read,post:joe:joespassword:*,!local.rules
+# And don't let anyone from the finance section even connect
+*finance.here.edu:logoff:::*
+
+

+Return to the Index +

+

2.2 How do set my local groups so +they won't expire

+ +

+At the end of your expire.conf file +add a line like this: +

+upto 1000% groups local.* keep 999 minitems 10000 maxitems 100000
+

+
+
+ +

+This will keep all items in the local group for 999 +days, and even then will keep at least 10000 items but will expire +items if more than 100000 items are in the group. +

+Return to the Index +

+

2.3 Creating local news groups +

+ +

+If you wish to have local groups on your server, +that are not on the server you 'suck' from, then you should remove +the 'POSTING' flag from the feed to your feeder site (in newsfeeds.conf). + But only if you can get ihave (or transfer permission) to send + articles up stream rather than simple 'posting' access. +

+You can still have local groups if you can't get +ihave access, it's just not the 'recommended' setup. +

+You can add groups with the TELLNEWS NEWGROUP command, +e.g. +

+tellnews newgroup here.chat y myname Local group
+
+here.chat = name of group
+y = Normal group (m = moderated)
+myname = A record of who created the group (one word)
+Local group = description for active.names file. 

+
+
+ +

+To stop your local group from being sent up stream, +you would change the line in your newsfeeds.conf file: +

+groups *,!here.chat,!here.secret.*
+
+ +

+NOTE: KNOWN BUG, with version 2.0 items will still +be sent upstream if you have left the 'POSTING' keyword in your +feed. This will probably be fixed in a future version. (ofcourse +this isn't a major problem unless the items are very secret as +your upstream site will probably just reject them anyway) +

+Return to the Index +

+

2.4 Can I restore some news files +(*.itm, *.idx) from tape?

+ +
+You have restored part of a database, to merge this new stuff into the indexes use:
+tellnews addlost
+
+ +

+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. +

+Return to the Index +

+

2.5 How do I move the spool area to +a bigger disk

+ +

+First shutdown DNEWS: +

+tellnews exit
+
+ +

+Then move the entire SPOOL tree structure from it's +current place to it's new place, for example on NT you might use +file manager to move +

+c:\dnews\spool...		to 	e:\dnews\spool...
+
+
+ +

+Change the definition of SPOOL in DNEWS.CONF +

+NOTEPAD \winnt35\system32\dnews.conf
+spool	e:\dnews\spool
+
+
+ +

+Restart DNEWS: +

+(NT)	Control Panel, Services, Start
+(UNIX)	su root; dnews_start.sh
+
+

+Return to the Index +

+

2.6 How do I make the updates run +only at night

+ +

+Updates for a sucking feed normal run once every +ten minutes, this is controlled in DNEWS.CONF with the command +

+update_at *5 *
+
+ +

+This "*5" tells dnews to do an update whenever +the minutes end in a digit '5' and the second "*" tells +it to do updates during any hour. +

+To do one update a night at 5 past 2 in the morning +you would use: +

+update_at 5 2
+
+ +

+To do updates every 10 minutes from 6p.m. to 8a.m. +you would use: +

+update_at *5 18-8
+
+

+Return to the Index +

+

2.7 How do I test the server using +TELNET

+ +

+NNTP is a text based protocol, this means you can +test it, and even read news without any software, just by using +telnet and typing in commands by hand, this is not a seriously +good way to read news, but it is a very good way to test your +own server or your feeding server: +

+NT	Accessories, Telnet, Connect, Remote Service
+	Enter the feeder.site and under PORT type in NNTP
+	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)
+
+

+Return to the Index +

+

2.8 How do I suck from a two sites +at once

+ +

+Use the alternate suck names, NNTP_SUCK2, NNTP_SUCK3, +NNTP_SUCK4 +

+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. +

+nntp_feeder news.upstream.site
+nntp_suck2 other.news.site chat.local.* 
+
+
+ +

+Alternatively you can take a feed and suck from another +host at the same time. +

+Your list of groups will be based on the NNTP_FEEDER +host, other groups must be added using the tellnews newgroup command. +

+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.: +

+other.feed.machine:ihave:::*
+
+
+

+Return to the Index +

+

2.9 How can I cut out spamming (cross +posts)

+ +

+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... +

+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. +

+You can chage the limit in newsfeeds.conf under the +ME settings, e.g. +

+site me
+groups *,!*binary*
+maxcross 4
+
+
+

+Return to the Index +

+

2.10 How can I make XOVER faster? +

+ +

+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 +

+HEAD_CACHE 2000
+
+
+

+Return to the Index +

+

2.11 How do I rename a volume on UNIX +

+ +

+You may wish to rename a current volume /var/spool/news +to be /var/spool/dnews, to do this: +

+	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

+
+
+ +

+When you are happy with the new system, or you need +the space: +

+	rm -r /var/spool/dnews/OLD
+
+Return to the Index +

+

+

3.0 Common Configuration Questions

+ +

3.1 How do I setup DNEWS to take in +a 'normal' NNTP - IHAVE feed

+

+In access.conf, give your feed site access to send +you ihave messages: + +

+
+	my.feeder.site.com:ihave:::*
+
+
+

+In dnews.conf, comment out the nntp_feeder definition. +

+In newsfeeds.conf, replace: +

+
+	site $NNTP_FEEDER
+		groups *
+		builtin
+		posting
+
+

+With: +

+
+	site my.feeder.site
+		groups *
+		builtin
+
+ +

+And in dnews.conf add a line: +


+        cachedall true
+
+
+ +

+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: +

+(Stop DNEWS first)
+copy active_from_provider.txt /dnews/spool/active.dat

+
+
+ +

+Now, read the FAQ section entitled "3.6 How +do I set my EXCLUDE parameter correctly?" +

+Here is an example of a full feed from UUNET. + Note the exclude parameter is essential. +

+-------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:::*
+
+

+Return to the Index +

+

3.2 How do I setup DNEWS to take an +ihave feed from 5 machines but only send back to one.

+ +

+Lets assume you have been told you will get a feed +from any or all of: +

+news1.xxx.net
+news2.xxx.net
+news3.xxx.net
+news4.xxx.net
+
+ +

+And you have also been told to send your feed back to +

+newsup.xxx.net
+
+ +

+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' +

+Then you would setup access.conf and newsfeeds.conf +like this: +

+news1.xxx.net:ihave:::*
+news2.xxx.net:ihave:::*
+news3.xxx.net:ihave:::*
+news4.xxx.net:ihave:::*

+
+
+ +

+And you would setup newsfeeds.conf like this: +

+site me
+	groups *
+
+site newsup.xxx.net
+	groups *
+	builtin
+	exclude news_stamp.xxx.net
+
+site your.mail.gatewway
+	smtp
+
+

+Return to the Index +

+

3.3 How do I setup XMIT to send to +other sites

+ +

+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) +

+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. +

+First add entries to your NEWSFEEDS.CONF file, this +creates the .feed file that XMIT will use: +

+NOTEPAD newsfeeds.conf
+	site other.site.here.com
+		groups *
+
+ +

+Now modify your startup procedure to run the xmit +job for each feed you have defined in newsfeeds.conf +

Adding XMIT to Windows NT Services +(startup)

+ +

+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) + +

+addsvc -add dxmit1 xmit.exe "dxmit1 site.name.edu -at *5 *"
+addsvc -add dxmit2 xmit.exe "dxmit2 site2.name.edu -at *5 *"
+

+
+
+ +

+Then from CONTROL PANEL, SERVICES, and start the +feed(s). +

Adding XMIT to UNIX startup

+ +

+Add lines to your dnews_start.sh procedure, e.g. +

+cd /usr/local/dnews
+./xmit send.to.site.name -at "*2" "*"
+./xmit send.other.site.name -at "*7" "*"
+
+ +

Adding XMIT to VMS startup

+ +

+Modify RUNXMIT.COM and add it to dnews_start.com +

+Return to the Index +

+

3.4 What files can I copy from an +INN or CNEWS system

+ +

+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. +

+You can safely copy these files: +

+
+	active		-> active.dat
+	active.times	-> active.times
+	newsgroups 	-> active.names  (may be changed in future)

+
+
+ +

+If you copy the active file, you must reset DNEWS +with this special manager command: +

+	tellnews resetall
+
+

+Return to the Index +

+

3.5 How do I setup a news gateway for my LAN

+ +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. +

+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). +

+Here are some example settings if your LAN is not on the internet. +

+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)
+
+
+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 +

+Return to the Index +

+

3.6 How do I set my EXCLUDE parameter correctly?

+ +

+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. +

+	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
+
+
+ +

+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. +

+	site fastfeed.world.net
+    		groups *
+		exclude world.net
+		builtin	
+
+
+ +

+You may need to delete your .feed and .sending files +from the spool directory to clear out the backlog of articles +queued. +

+Return to the Index +

+

3.7 How do I setup DNEWS for local (intranet) use?

+ +

+This is fairly simple to achieve, install DNEWS normally, +then in dnews.conf set +


+cachedall true
+
+

+Don't define the 'nntp_feeder' variable at all, remove +the word 'posting' from newsfeeds.conf then start the server. +

+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) +

+
+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
+
+
+ +

+Done! +

+Return to the Index +

+

+

4.0 I did something stupid, can I fix it?

+ +

4.1 I deleted some item files by hand, +is that ok?

+ +

+This is like editing a database with a binary editor +and removing a few records by hand, it is not a good idea :-( +

+However, DNEWS is written for people just like you, +the database will correct itself with a little luck. :-) +

+Please do not edit an item file and remove individual +items or change them, this will corrupt the database and the items +will simply dissappear. +

+Return to the Index +

+

4.2 I deleted the history.dat file, +is that ok?

+ +

+No, it's not. You need to do this, type in: +

+tellnews addlost
+
+
+ +

+And cross your fingers and wait until the addlost +finishes (it could take a few hours on a full feed system) +

+Return to the Index +

+

+

5.0 Errors & Problems

+ +

5.1 Large messages & Memory Use. +

+ +

+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) +

+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 +

+ITEM_MAX 100000
+
+ +

+(this setting is not dynamic, you must restart DNEWS) +

+Return to the Index +

+

5.2 I'm not getting any binary groups, +why not?

+ +

+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. +

+Anyway, you or your users demand it, to fix the problem +edit your newsfeeds.conf file and remove the !*binary* from the +'ME' feed. +

+Then use the commands: +

+tellnews undelete *binary*
+tellnews matchfeed
+
+
+

+Return to the Index +

+

5.3 My news reader says the newsgroups +don't exist?

+ +

+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. +

+Return to the Index +

+

5.4 I don't know if posts are working? +

+ +

+There are two main reasons for posts to fail: +

    +
  1. You've messed up your newsfeeds.conf file. +
  2. Your provider is not allowing you to send messages +via 'ihave' +
+ +

+Follow these instructions to figure out where the +error is:
+ +

+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. +

+Return to the Index +

+

5.5 I'm still not convinced my posts +are getting to the other side of the planet?

+ +

+Post an item to alt.test, you should receive 10-15 +messages from news robots all over the world. +

+Return to the Index +

+

5.6 I have an old fashioned feed coming +in but I'm not getting any items?

+ +

+There are two main reasons for incoming feeds to +fail: +

    +
  1. You've messed up your access.conf file (or your +DNS does not work) +
  2. Your provider has not successfully setup the +feed. +
+ +

+In case 1), first try letting everyone in by putting +a wildcard access line at the bottom of access.conf +

+*:read,post,ihave:::*
+tellnews reload
+
+ +

+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. +

+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. +

+Return to the Index +

+

5.7 What should I do now that I've +deleted history.dat

+ +

+First I advise you not to play with guns because +you are in danger of shooting yourself in the foot. +

+Before restarting dnews, delete history.idx and history.dat, +and then start dnews and type: +

+tellnews addlost
+
+ +

+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. +

+Return to the Index +

+

5.8 Netscape shows items but I can't +read them, why?

+ +

+This means the item is missing from the history database, +this should never happen, but since it has, try this command: +

+tellnews addlost
+
+ +

+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. +

+Return to the Index +

+

5.9 Why doesn't the status report +match actual diskspace used?

+ +

+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: +

+tellnews setused 950
+
+ +

+Then wait 2 minutes and do another: +

+tellnews status
+
+

+Return to the Index +

+

5.10 DNEWS goes very slow when users +connect

+ +

+Check your DNS is working, try putting +

+nodns true
+
+ +

+In dnews.conf, and fix access.conf to use numbers +then type: +

+tellnews reload
+
+ +

+Then see if that speeds things up, if it does then +your DNS is faulty. +

+Return to the Index +

+

5.11 My system runs out of memory? +

+ +

+First check your pagefile settings, for a full feed +you will need about 120MB of pagefile on Windows NT. +

+See the section on large news messages. +

+Send the output of tellnews status to the mailing +list or NetWin and ask for comments. +

+Return to the Index +

+

5.12 DNEWS goes very slow

+ +

+Check your DNS is working. +

+Type in: +

+tellnews stats 
+

+(not status)
+

+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. +

+Send the output of tellnews stats and status to the +mailing list or NetWin for further suggestions. +

+Consider installing more memory or a faster disk +drive. +

+If the xover command is using most of the time then +consider increasing the buffering of headers. (see dnews.conf +options) +

+Return to the Index +

+

5.13 DNEWS locks up for brief periods +(or permanently)

+ +

+Panic! +

+Check the log file dnews.log, work out from the time +stamps what dnews was doing when it locked up. +

+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. +

+Use the tellnews stats command, this will also point +to commands which are taking too long to process for some reason. +

+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) +

+Return to the Index +

+

5.14 DNEWS Crashes

+ +

+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. +

+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' +

+loglvl debug           (or flush)
+debug_rotate 3000         
+
+ +

+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. +

+Return to the Index +

+

5.15 TELLNEWS says Can't BIND? +

+ +

+Can't BIND, and tellnews says "I can't talk +to you" when you telnet to the port. +

+On LINUX the slackware distribution comes with a +dummy nntp daemon installed, you must remove this so dnews can +bind to the socket. +

+	edit /etc/inetd.conf
+	(comment out the NNTP line)
+	kill -HUP <pid of inetd process>
+
+

+Return to the Index +

+

5.16 TELLNEWS fails or locks ups +

+ +

+The DNEWS process may take 1-2 minutes to initialize, +so wait a bit before panicking. +

+Check if the process is running +

+	ps -axl | grep dnews	(linux)
+	ps -ef | grep dnews	(SunOS)
+
+ +

+Check the log files +

+	more /usr/local/dnews/dnews.log
+
+ +

+ +

+On UNIX if it gets started up with the wrong PID +you will get all sorts of protection problems, all the files +in: +

+  /var/spool/dnews/...
(including var/spool/dnews) +

+must be owned by the same user, normally 'news'. +Also all the files in: +

+  /var/local/dnews/*
+

+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. +

+Return to the Index +

+

5.17 TELLNEWS says remote node is +unknown

+ +

+Check the myname variable in DNEWS.CONF, also check +your DNS is working, if its isn't then use the number in dnews.conf +

+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.: +

+ $ tellnews :== $dnews_top:tellnews
+

+Return to the Index +

+

5.18 TELLNEWS says "Cannot access +tellnews.pass"

+ +

+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. +

+On VMS and UNIX you must be running the tellnews +command from the usercode ROOT or NEWS or NEWS$SERVER. +

+Return to the Index +

+

5.19 I see errors "NNTP, Sorry +I can't talk to you" in the log file?

+ +

+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. +

+The access file may be called something like: +

+ CNEWS /usr/local/lib/news/nntp_access +

+ INND /usr/local/news/nnrp.access +

+ DNEWS + /usr/local/dnews/access.conf +

+ DNEWS-NT /dnews/access.conf +

+Return to the Index +

+

5.20 What does "Transfer permission +denied" mean?

+ +

+This can come from one of two directions, DNEWS +can give this error when a site tries to feed it new items. +

+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. +

+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. +

+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. +

+Return to the Index +

+

5.21 Posts not going upstream, 437 Duplicate article?

+ +

+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 "3.6 +How do I set my EXCLUDE parameter correctly?" +

+Return to the Index +

+

+

6.0 I still can't figure it out, how can I get help?

+ +

+You have two options, the DNEWS discussion list has +lots of expertise on it. So try that first. +

+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. +

+Hardware & OS: Windows NT - Intel (or NT-Alpha +or Solaris 4.3 etc...) +

+Version of DNEWS: 2.0b +

+Type of feed: Sucking feed (or full ihave feed...) +

+FAX: (include country code) +

+And any relevant setup files, usually one or more +of: dnews.conf, newsfeeds.conf, access.conf +

+And maybe a few lines from dnews.log showing the +problem +

+(Please don't email 3MB of log files to us :-)
+ +

+And state your problem clearly: +

+(a bad example) My feed doesn't work, why not? +

+(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? +

+Return to the Index +

+

6.1 DNEWS Mailing List

+ +

+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. +

+Return to the Index +

+

6.2 To subscribe to the discussion +list send to:

+ +
+dnews-request@adam.com.au
+
+ +

+A message containing one word: +

+subscribe

+
+
+ +

+Then to post to the list send to: +

+dnews@adam.com.au
+
+

+Return to the Index +

+

6.3 To subscribe to the announcement +list

+ +

+Send a message to: +

+ maiser@emagic.co.nz +

+Containing the line: +

+ subscribe dnews +

+This is a moderated list, it's only function is to +provide timely information on new features, releases, bugs, installation +gotcha's etc to interested people. You will not get 20 messages +a day from this list, it will probably average 1-2 messages per +month. +

+Return to the Index +

+

+ + + -- cgit v1.2.3