other versions
ACTSYNC(8) | InterNetNews Documentation | ACTSYNC(8) |
NAME¶
actsync, actsyncd - Synchronize newsgroupsSYNOPSIS¶
actsync [-AkmT] [-b hostid] [-d hostid] [ -g max] [ -i ignore-file] [-I hostid] [-l hostid] [-n name] [ -o format] [-p min-unchanged] [-q hostid] [ -s size] [-t hostid] [-v verbosity] [-w seconds] [ -z seconds] [host] host actsyncd config [debug-level [debug-format]]DESCRIPTION¶
actsync permits one to synchronize, compare, or merge two active files. With this utility one may add, change, or remove newsgroups on the local news server to make it similar to the list of the newsgroups found on another system or file. The synchronization need not be exact. Local differences in newsgroup lists may be maintained and preserved. Certain newsgroup errors may be detected and optionally corrected. There are several reasons to run actsync (or actsyncd) on a periodic basis. Among the reasons are:- •
- A control message to add, change or remove a newsgroup may fail to reach your site.
- •
- Your control.ctl may be out of date or incomplete.
- •
- News articles for a new newsgroup may arrive ahead (sometimes days ahead) of the control message.
- •
- Control messages may be forged, thus bypassing the restrictions found in control.ctl unless you set up PGP authentication (and even then, not all hierarchies use PGP authentication).
- •
- Your active file may have been trashed.
host=<host> ftppath=<path-to-active> ignore_file=<ignore-file> flags=<actsync-options>The host=, ignore_file=, and flags= lines are mandatory. Each keyword must start at the beginning of the line, and there may be no whitespace before the "=" character. Blank lines are ignored, as are comment lines that start with "#". Any other lines may produce undefined results. The <host> setting refers to the second (remote) host parameter to actsync. If <path-to-active> is provided, <host> is accessed as an FTP server, retrieving the file named. If the filename ends in ".gz" or ".Z", it will be automatically uncompressed after retrieval. <ignore-file> names the ignore file used by actsync (the -i option). <actsync-options> contains any other flags that you wish to pass to actsync. Note that one should not include -i or -o options in the flags= line; they are automatically taken care of by actsyncd. One may produce a trial actsyncd run without changing anything on the server by supplying the debug-level argument:
actsyncd <pathetc>/actsync.cfg 2The debug-level causes actsyncd to run actsync with a -v debug-level flag (overriding any -v flag on the flags= line), not make any changes to the active file, write a new active file to standard output, and write debug messages to standard error. If the debug-format argument is also given to actsyncd, the data written to standard output will be in -o debug-format instead of in "-o a1" format. INN comes with default values of "ftp.isc.org" for <host> and "/pub/usenet/CONFIG/active.gz" for <path-to-active>. You can read about the policies used for maintaining that active file at <ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/README>. Consider synchronizing from this file on a daily basis by using cron.
OPTIONS¶
actsync takes the following options. In all of the following options, the hostid parameter takes one of the following values:0 neither server 1 local default server 2 remote server 12 both servers 21 both serversIn other words, 1 refers to the local host (the first host argument on the actsync command line) and 2 refers to the remote host (the second host argument, or the only one if only one is given).
- -A
- actsync tries to authenticate before issuing the LIST command.
- -b hostid
- This flag causes actsync to ignore for synchronization purposes
newsgroups with "bork.bork.bork"-style names (newsgroups whose
last 3 components are identical). For example, the following newsgroups
have bork-style names:
alt.helms.dork.dork.dork alt.auto.accident.sue.sue.sue alt.election.vote.vote.vote
The default is "-b 0"; no newsgroups are ignored because of bork-style names.
- -d hostid
- This flag causes actsync to ignore newsgroups that have all numeric
path components. For example, the following newsgroups have numeric path
components:
alt.prime.chongo.23209 391581.times.2.to_the.216193.power.-1 99.bottles.of.treacle.on.the.wall linfield.class.envio_bio.101.d
The newsgroups directory of a newsgroup with a all numeric component could conflict with an article from another group if stored using the tradspool storage method; see storage.conf(5). For example, the directory for the first newsgroup listed above is the same path as article number 23209 from the newsgroup:alt.prime.chongo
The default is "-d 0"; all numeric newsgroups from both hosts will be processed.
- -g max
- Ignore any newsgroup with more than max levels. For example,
"-g 6" would ignore:
alt.feinstien.votes.to.trash.freedom.of.speech alt.senator.exon.enemy.of.the.internet alt.crypto.export.laws.dumb.dumb.dumb
but would not ignore:alt.feinstien.acts.like.a.republican alt.exon.amendment alt.crypto.export.laws
If max is 0, then the max level feature is disabled. By default, the max level feature is disabled.
- -i ignore-file
- The ignore-file, usually actsync.ign in pathetc,
allows one to have a fine degree of control over which newsgroups are
ignored. It contains a set of rules that specifies which newsgroups will
be checked and which will be ignored.
By default, these rules apply to both hosts. This can be modified by using
the -I flag.
Blank lines and text after a "#" are considered comments and are
ignored.
Rule lines consist of tokens separated by whitespace. Rule lines may be one
of two forms:
c <newsgroup> [<type> ...] i <newsgroup> [<type> ...]
If the rule begins with a "c", the rule requests certain newsgroups to be checked. If the rule begins with an "i", the rule requests certain newsgroups to be ignored. The <newsgroup> field may be a specific newsgroup, or a uwildmat(3) pattern. If one or more <type>s are specified, then the rule applies to the newsgroup only if it is of the specified type. Types refer to the 4th field of the active file; that is, a type may be one of:y n m j x =group.name
Unlike active files, the "group.name" in an alias type may be a newsgroup name or a uwildmat(3) pattern. Also, "=" is equivalent to "=*". On each rule line, no pattern type may be repeated. For example, one may not have more than one type that begins with "=", per line. However, one may achieve an effect equivalent to using multiple "=" types by using multiple rule lines affecting the same newsgroup. By default, all newsgroups are candidates to be checked. If no ignore-file is specified, or if the ignore file contains no rule lines, all newsgroups will be checked. If an ignore file is used, each newsgroup in turn is checked against the ignore file. If multiple lines match a given newsgroup, the last line in the ignore file is used. For example, consider the following ignore file lines:i *.general c *.general m i nsa.general
The newsgroups ba.general and mod.general would be synchronized if moderated and ignored if not moderated. The newsgroup nsa.general would be ignored regardless of moderation status. All newsgroups not matching *.general would be synchronized by default.
- -I hostid
- This flag restricts which hosts are affected by the ignore file. This flag
may be useful in conjunction with the -m flag. For example:
actsync -i actsync.ign -I 2 -m host1 host2
will keep all newsgroups currently on host1. It will also only compare host1 groups with non-ignored newsgroups from host2. The default is "-I 12"; newsgroups from both hosts are ignored per the file specified with -i.
- -k
- By default, any newsgroup on the local host that has an invalid name will be considered for removal. This causes actsync simply ignore such newsgroups. This flag, used in combination with -m, will prevent any newsgroup from being scheduled for removal.
- -l hostid
- This flag causes problem newsgroups of type "=" to be considered as errors. Newsgroups of type "=" are newsgroups active entries that have a fourth field that begins with "="; i.e., newsgroups that are aliased to other newsgroups. A problem newsgroup is one for which one of the following is true:
- •
- Aliased to itself.
- •
- In an alias chain that loops around to itself.
- •
- In an alias chain longer than 16 groups.
- •
- Aliased to a non-existant newsgroup.
- •
- Aliased to a newsgroup that has an error of some kind.
However, a newsgroup that is equivalent to an ignored newsgroup is not a
problem.
The default is "-l 12": problem newsgroups from both hosts are marked
as errors.
- -m
- Merge newsgroups instead of sync. By default, if a newsgroup exists on the local host but not the remote, it will be scheduled to be removed. This flag disables this process, permitting newsgroups unique to the local host to be kept.
- -n name
- Depending on -o, the ctlinnd(8) command may be used to create newsgroups as necessary. When this is done, the default creator name used is "actsync". This flag changes the creator name to name.
- -o format
- Determine the output or action format of this utility. format may be one of:
- a
- Output in active(5) format.
- a1
- Output in active(5) format and output non-error ignored groups from the local host.
- ak
- Output in active(5) format, but use the high and low (2nd and 3rd active fields) values from the remote host for any newsgroup being created.
- aK
- Output in active(5) format, but use the high and low (2nd and 3rd active fields) values from the remote host for all newsgroups found on that host.
- a1k
- Output in active(5) format, but use the high and low (2nd and 3rd active fields) values from the remote host for any newsgroup being created and output non-error ignored groups from the local host.
- a1K
- Output in active(5) format, but use the high and low (2nd and 3rd active fields) values from the remote host for all newsgroups found on that host and output non-error ignored groups from the local host.
- ak1
- Same as "a1k".
- aK1
- Same as "a1K".
- c
- Output as commands to ctlinnd.
- x
- No output. Instead, directly run ctlinnd commands.
- xi
- No output. Instead, directly run ctlinnd commands in an interactive mode.
The "a", "a1", "ak", "aK",
"a1k", "a1K", "ak1", and "aK1" style
formats allow one to format new active file instead of producing
ctlinnd commands. They use high and low values of 0000000000 and
0000000001 respectively for newsgroups that are created unless otherwise
specified. The "ak" and "aK" variants change the high and
low values (2nd and 3rd active fields). In the case of "ak",
newsgroups created take their high and low values from the remote host. In the
case of "aK", all newsgroups found on the remote host take their
high and low values from it.
The "c" format produces ctlinnd commands. No actions are taken
because actsync simply prints ctlinnd commands on standard
output. This output format is useful to let you see how the local host will be
affected by the sync (or merge) with the remote host.
The sync (or merge) may be accomplished directly by use of the "x" or
"xi" format. With this format, actsync uses the
execl(2) system call to directly execute ctlinnd commands. The
output of such exec calls may be seen if the verbosity level is at least 2.
The actsync utility will pause for 4 seconds before each command is
executed if "-o x" is selected. See the -z flag below for
discussion of this delay and how to customize it.
The "xi" format interactively prompts on standard output and reads
directives on standard input. One may pick and choose changes using this
format.
Care should be taken when producing active(5) formatted output. One
should check to be sure that actsync exited with a zero status prior to
using such output. Also one should realize that such output will not contain
lines ignored due to -i even if "-p 100" is used.
By default, "-o c" is assumed.
- -p min-unchanged
- By default, the actsync utility has safeguards against performing massive changes. If fewer than min-unchanged percent of the non-ignored lines from the local host remain unchanged, no actions (output, execution, etc.) are performed and actsync exits with a non-zero exit status. The min-unchanged value may be a floating point value such as 66.667. A change is a local newsgroup line that was removed, added, changed, or found to be in error. Changing the 2nd or 3rd active fields via "-o ak" or "-o aK" are not considered changes by -p. To force actsync to accept any amount of change, use the "-p 0" option. To force actsync to reject any changes, use the "-p 100" option. Care should be taken when producing active(5) formatted output. One should check to be sure that actsync exited with a zero status prior to using such output. Also one should realize that such output will not contain lines ignored due to -i even if "-p 100" is used. By default, 96% of the lines not ignored in the first host argument on the actsync command line must be unchanged. That is, by default, "-p 96" is assumed.
- -q hostid
- By default, all newsgroup errors are reported on standard error. This flag quiets errors from the specified hostid.
- -s size
- If size is greater than 0, then ignore newsgroups with names longer than size and ignore newsgroups aliased (by following "=" chains) to names longer than size. Length checking is performed on both the local and remote hosts. By default, size is 0 and thus no length checking is performed.
- -t hostid
- Ignore improper newsgroups consisting of only a top component from the
specified hostid. The following newsgroups are considered proper
newsgroups despite top only names and therefore are exempt from this flag:
control general junk test to
For example, the following newsgroup names are improper because they only contain a top level component:dole_for_pres dos microsoft windows95
The default is "-t 2"; that is, all improper top-level-only newsgroups from the remote host are ignored.
- -T
- This flag causes newsgroups on the remote host in new hierarchies to be ignored. Normally a newsgroup which only exists on the remote host, chongo.was.here for example, is created on the local host. However, if this flag is given and the local host does not have any other newsgroups in the same hierarchy (chongo.* in this case), the newsgroup in question will be ignored and will not be created on the local host.
- -v verbosity
- By default, actsync is not verbose. This flag controls the verbosity level as follows:
- 0
- No debug or status reports (default).
- 1
- Print summary, but only if work was needed or done.
- 2
- Print actions, exec output, and summary, but only if work was needed or done.
- 3
- Print actions, exec output, and summary.
- 4
- Full debug output.
- -w seconds
- If "-o x" or "-o xi" is selected, ctlinnd will wait seconds seconds before timing out. The default value is "-w 30".
- -z seconds
- If "-o x" is selected, actsync will pause for seconds seconds before each command is executed. This helps prevent innd from being busied-out if a large number of ctlinnd commands are needed. One can entirely disable this sleeping by using "-z 0". By default, actsync will pause for 4 seconds before each command is executed if "-o x" is selected.
EXAMPLES¶
Determine the difference (but don't change anything) between your newsgroup set and uunet's set:actsync news.uu.netSame as above, with full debug and progress reports:
actsync -v 4 news.uu.netForce a site to have the same newsgroups as some other site:
actsync -o x masterThis may be useful to sync a slave site to its master, or to sync internal site to a gateway. Compare your site with uunet, disregarding local groups and certain local differences with uunet. Produce a report if any differences were encountered:
actsync -v 2 -i actsync.ign news.uu.netwhere actsync.ign contains:
# Don't compare to.* groups as they will differ. # i to.* # These are our local groups that nobody else # (should) carry. So ignore them for the sake # of the compare. # i nsa.* # These groups are local favorites, so keep them # even if uunet does not carry them. # i ca.dump.bob.dorman i ca.keep.bob.dorman i alt.tv.dinosaurs.barney.die.die.die i alt.tv.dinosaurs.barney.love.love.love i alt.sounds.* =alt.binaries.sounds.*To interactively sync against news.uu.net, using the same ignore file:
actsync -o xi -v 2 -i actsync.ign news.uu.netBased on newsgroups that you decided to keep, one could make changes to the actsync.ign file:
# Don't compare to.* groups as they will differ. # i to.* # These are our local groups that nobody else # (should) carry. So ignore them for the sake # of the compare. # i nsa.* # These groups are local favorites, so keep them # even if uunet does not carry them. # i ca.dump.bob.dorman i alt.tv.dinosaurs.barney.die.die.die i alt.sounds.* =alt.binaries.sounds.* # Don't sync test groups, except for ones that are # moderated or that are under the gnu hierarchy. # i *.test c *.test m # check moderated test groups c gnu.*.test c gnu.test # just in case it ever existsAutomatic processing may be set up by using the following actsync.cfg file:
# Host to sync off of (host2). host=news.uu.net # Location of the ignore file. ignore_file=<pathetc in inn.conf>/actsync.ign # Where news articles are kept. spool=<patharticles in inn.conf> # actsync(8) flags # # Automatic execs, report if something was done, # otherwise don't say anything, don't report # uunet active file problems, just ignore # the affected entries. flags=-o x -v 2 -q 2and then by running actsyncd with the path to the config file:
actsyncd <pathetc>/actsync.cfgThe command
actsyncd <pathetc>/actsync.cfg 4 >cmd.log 2>dbg.logwill operate in debug mode, not change the active file, write ctlinnd style commands to cmd.log, and write debug statements to dbg.log. To check only the major hierarchies against news.uu,net, use the following actsync.ign file:
# By default, ignore everything. # i * # Check the major groups. # c alt.* c comp.* c gnu.* c humanities.* c misc.* c news.* c rec.* c sci.* c soc.* c talk.*and the command:
actsync -i actsync.ign news.uu.netTo determine the differences between your old active and your current default server:
actsync <pathetc>/active.old -To report but not fix any newsgroup problems with the current active file:
actsync - -To detect any newsgroup errors on your local server, and to remove any *.bork.bork.bork-style silly newsgroup names:
actsync -b 2 - -The active file produced by:
actsync <flags> -o x erehwon.honey.eduis effectively the same as the active file produced by:
cd <pathdb> ctlinnd pause 'running actsync' rm -f active.new actsync <flags> -o a1 erehwon.honey.edu > active.new rm -f active.old ln active active.old mv active.new active ctlinnd reload active 'running actsync' ctlinnd go 'running actsync'It should be noted that the final method above, pausing the server and simply replacing the active file, may be faster if you are making lots of changes.
FILES¶
- pathbin/actsync
- The C program itself used to synchronize, compare, or merge two active files.
- pathbin/actsyncd
- The Shell daemon which provides a convenient interface to configure and run actsync.
- pathetc/actsync.cfg
- The configuration file which specifies the settings to use.
- pathetc/actsync.ign
- The ignore file which contains a set of synchronization rules that specifies which newsgroups will be checked and which will be ignored.
CAUTION¶
Careless use of this tool may result in the unintended addition, change, or removal of newsgroups. You should avoid using the "x" output format until you are sure it will do what you want.BUGS¶
If a newsgroup appears multiple times, actsync will treat all copies as errors. However, if the group is marked for removal, only one rmgroup will be issued.HISTORY¶
Written by Landon Curt Noll <chongo@toad.com> for InterNetNews. Updated to support FTP fetching by David Lawrence <tale@isc.org>. Converted to POD by Russ Allbery <rra@stanford.edu>. $Id: actsync.pod 9475 2013-05-21 20:06:20Z eagle $ By Landon Curt Noll <chongo@toad.com> (chongo was here /\../\). Copyright (c) Landon Curt Noll, 1993. All rights reserved. Permission to use and modify is hereby granted so long as this notice remains. Use at your own risk. No warranty is implied.SEE ALSO¶
active(5), ctlinnd(8), getlist(8), inn.conf(5), mod-active(8), simpleftp(1).2014-03-15 | INN 2.5.4 |