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INND(8)							  INND(8)

NAME
       innd, inndstart - InterNetNews daemon

SYNOPSIS
       innd  [ -a ] [ -c days ] [ -C ] [ -d ] [ -f ] [ -H count ]
       [ -i count ] [ -IIP_address ] [ -l size ] [ -m mode ] [ -n
       flag ] [ -o count ] [ -pfd_desc ] [ -Pport ] [ -r ] [ -s ]
       [ -t timeout ] [ -T count ] [ -u ] [ -X seconds ]

       inndstart [ flags ]

DESCRIPTION
       Innd, the InterNetNews daemon, handles all  incoming  NNTP
       feeds.	It  reads the active(5), newsfeeds(5), and incom_
       ing.conf(5) files into memory.  It  then	 opens	the  NNTP
       port to receive articles from remote sites (see the ``-p''
       option), If <HAVE_UNIX_DOMAIN_SOCKETS in include/config.h>
       is  defined,  a Unix-domain stream socket to receive arti
       cles from local processes such as nnrpd(8)  and	rnews(1),
       and  a  Unix-domain datagram socket for use by ctlinnd(8).
       If <HAVE_UNIX_DOMAIN_SOCKETS in include/config.h>  is  not
       defined, named pipes are used instead.  Ctlinnd(8) is used
       to direct the server to perform certain actions.	 It  also
       opens the history(5) database and two log files to replace
       its standard output and standard error.

       Once the files and sockets have been  opened,  innd  waits
       for connections and data to be ready on its ports by using
       select(2) and non-blocking I/O.	If no data is  available,
       then  it	 will  flush  its  in-core  data structures.  The
       default number of seconds to timeout  before  flushing  is
       set  as	<DEFAULT_TIMEOUT  in include/config.h> (typically
       300) seconds.

       If innd gets an ENOSPC error (see intro(2))  while  trying
       to  write the active file, an article file, or the history
       database, it will  send	itself	a  ``throttle''	 command.
       This will also happen if it gets too many I/O errors while
       writing to any files.

       Some parameters in inn.conf(5)  can  also  be  set  innd's
       option.	In this case, parameters in inn.conf(5) are over
       ridden by those options.

OPTIONS
       -a     By default, if a	host  if  not  mentioned  in  the
	      incoming.conf  file,  then the connection is handed
	      off to nnrpd.  If the ``-a'' flag is used, then any
	      host can connect and transfer articles.

       -c     innd rejects articles that are too old.  While this
	      behavior can be controlled by the history database,
	      occasionally  a site dumps a batch of very old news
	      back onto the network.   Use  the	 ``-c''	 flag  to
	      specify a cutoff.	 For example ``-c21'' will reject
	      any articles that were posted  more  than	 21  days
	      ago.  A value of zero will suppress this check. The
	      default is 14 days, but can  be  changed	with  the
	      ``artcutoff'' option in inn.conf(5)

       -C     If  the  ``-C'' flag is used, then innd will accept
	      and propagate but not actually  process  cancel  or
	      supersedes  messages.   This  is intended for sites
	      concerned about abuse of cancels and  wish  to  use
	      another  cancel  mechanism with greater authentica
	      tion.

       -d -f  Innd normally puts itself into the background, sets
	      its  standard  output  and  error to log files, and
	      disassociates itself from the terminal.  Using  the
	      ``-d''  flag  instructs  the server to not do this,
	      while using the ``-f'' flag just leaves the  server
	      running the foreground.

       -H -T -X
	      The  ``-H'',  ``-T'',  and ``-X'' flags control the
	      number of connects per minute allowed.   This  code
	      is  meant	 to  protect  your server from newsreader
	      clients that make too many connects per  minute  to
	      your server.  You should probably not use it unless
	      you are having a problem.	 The table used for these
	      checks  is  fixed	 at  128 entries and is used as a
	      ring.  The size was chosen to make calculating  the
	      index  easy and to be pretty sure you won't run out
	      of space.	 In practice, it  is  doubtful	that  you
	      will use even half the table at any given moment.

	      The  ``-H''  flag limits the number of times a host
	      is allowed to connect to the server per ``-X'' sec
	      onds.  The default is 2.

	      The ``-T'' flag limits the total number of incoming
	      connects to innd per ``-X'' seconds.   The  maximum
	      value is 128.  The default is 60.

	      The  ``-X''  sets the number of seconds used by the
	      ``-H'' and ``-T'' flags.	A value of zero turns off
	      checking.	 The default is 0.

       -i     To  limit	 the number of incoming NNTP connections,
	      use the ``-i'' flag.  A value of zero will suppress
	      this check.  The default is 50, if the ``maxconnec
	      tions'' option in	 inn.conf(5)  is  not  specified.
	      The  ``maxconnections''  option  in  inn.conf(5) is
	      changed with this value.

       -I     This option allows you to bind innd to  a	 specific
	      interface	 IP  address.	The IP address must be in
	      dotted quad (nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn) format. See also  the
	      ``bindaddress'' option in inn.conf(5).

       -l     To  limit	 the  size  of an article, use the ``-l''
	      flag.  If this flag is used, then any article  big
	      ger  than size bytes will be rejected.  The default
	      is 1000000L bytes.  Checking  can	 be  disabled  by
	      using a value of zero.  See also the ``maxartsize''
	      and ``localmaxartsize'' option in inn.conf(5).

       -m     To start the server in a paused or throttled  state
	      (see  ctlinnd(8))	 use  the  ``-m'' flag to set the
	      initial running mode.  The  argument  should  start
	      with  a  single  letter  g, p, or t, to emulate the
	      ``go,''  ``pause,''   or	 ``throttle''	commands,
	      respectively.

       -n     The ``-n'' flag specifies whether or not pausing or
	      throttling the server should  also  disable  future
	      newsreading  processes.  A value of ``y'' will make
	      newreaders act as the server, a value of ``n'' will
	      allow  newsreading even when the server is not run
	      ning.  The default is to	allow  reading,	 but  can
	      also  be	changed	 with  the ``readerswhenstopped''
	      option in inn.conf(5).

       -o     To limit the number of files that will be kept open
	      for  outgoing file feeds, use the ``-o'' flag.  The
	      default is  the  number  of  available  descriptors
	      minus some reserved for internal use.

       -p     If  the  ``-p'' flag is used, then the NNTP port is
	      assumed to be open  on  the  specified  descriptor.
	      (If this flag is used, then innd assumes it is run
	      ning with the proper permissions and  it	will  not
	      call  chown(2)  on any files or directories it cre
	      ates.)

       -P     If the ``-P'' flag is used, then the port specified
	      is  used	for listening for connections.	innd will
	      need to have been executed with enough  permissions
	      to open the specified port.

       -r     If  the ``-r'' flag is used, the server will renum
	      ber the active file as if	 a  ``renumber''  command
	      were sent.

       -s     If  the  ``-s'' flag is used, then innd will not do
	      any work but will instead just check the syntax  of
	      the  newsfeeds  file.   It  will exit with an error
	      status if there are any errors; the  actual  errors
	      will be reported in syslog(3).

       -t     Change  the timeout period before flushing to time_
	      out seconds.

       -u     The logs are normally buffered; use the ``-u'' flag
	      to have them unbuffered.

       Inndstart is a small front-end program that opens the NNTP
       port, sets its userid and groupid to the news  maintainer,
       and  then  execs	 innd  with the ``-p'' flag and a minimal
       secure, environment.  This is a	small,	easily-understood
       front-end program that can be used if a site does not want
       to run innd with root privileges.

CONTROL MESSAGES
       Arriving articles that have a Control  header  are  called
       control	messages.   Except  for the cancel message, these
       messages are  implemented  by  external	programs  in  the
       <pathcontrol in inn.conf> directory, if <usecontrolchan in
       inn.conf> is ``false''.	(Cancel messages update the  his
       tory  database,	so  they  must be handled internally; the
       cost of syncing, locking, then unlocking would be too high
       given the number of cancel messages that are received.)

       When a control message arrives, the first word of the text
       is converted to lowercase except for ``cancel''	and  used
       as  the	name of the program to execute; if the named pro
       gram does not exist, then a program named <pathcontrol  in
       inn.conf>/default is executed.

       All  control  programs  are  invoked with four parameters.
       The first is the address of the person who posted the mes
       sage;  this  is	taken  from  the  Sender header.  If that
       header is empty, then it is taken from  the  From  header.
       The  second  parameter  is the address to send replies to;
       this is taken from the Reply-To header.	If that header is
       empty then the poster's address is used.	 The third param
       eter will be a name under which the article is filed, rel
       ative  to  the news spool directory.  The fourth parameter
       is the host that sent the article,  as  specified  on  the
       Path line.

       If  <usecontrolchan  in inn.conf> is ``true'', all control
       messages except for the cancel  will  never  processed  by
       external	 program  fork'ed  by  innd.  Instead they can be
       processed by controlchan script which is invoked as  chan
       nel program by innd, and you need to setup newsfeeds(5) to
       use this script.	 Processing  by	 controlchan  can  reduce
       excessive  load if many control messages arrive in a short
       time.

       The distribution of control message is also different from
       those of standard articles.

       Control messages are normally filed in the newsgroup named
       control.	 They can be filed in subgroups,  however,  based
       on  the	control message command.  For example, a newgroup
       message will be filed in control.newgroup  if  that  group
       exists, otherwise it will be filed in control.

       Sites  may  explicitly  have  the ``control'' newsgroup in
       their subscription list, although it is	usually	 best  to
       exclude	it.   If  a  control message is posted to a group
       whose name ends with the four characters ``.ctl'' then the
       suffix  is  stripped  off  and what is left is used as the
       group name.  For	 example,  a  cancel  message  posted  to
       ``news.admin.ctl''  will	 be  sent  to all sites that sub
       scribe to ``control''  or  ``news.admin.''   Newgroup  and
       rmgroup messages receive additional special treatment.  If
       the message is approved and posted  to  the  name  of  the
       group  being  created or removed, then the message will be
       sent to all sites whose subscription patterns would  cause
       them to receive articles posted in that group.

       If  <mergetogroups in inn.conf> is ``true'', if an article
       is posted to a newsgroup that starts with the  three  let
       ters  ``to.''  it  will get special treatment if the news
       group does not exist in the active file:	 the  article  is
       filed  into  the	 newsgroup  ``to''  and it is sent to the
       first site named after the prefix.  For example, a posting
       to  ``to.uunet''	 will  be filed in ``to'' and sent to the
       site ``uunet.''

PROTOCOL DIFFERENCES
       Innd implements the NNTP commands defined in RFC 977, with
       the following differences:

       1.     The   ``list''  may  be  followed	 by  an	 optional
	      ``active'',  ``active.times'',  ``newsgroups''   or
	      ``subscription''	argument.   This common extension
	      is not fully supported; see nnrpd(8).

       2.     The ``authinfo user'' and	 ``authinfo  pass''  com
	      mands are implemented.  These are based on the ref
	      erence Unix implementation; see  draft-barber-nntp-
	      imp-07.txt for more detail.

       3.     A	 new command, ``mode reader'', is provided.  This
	      command will cause the server to pass  the  connec
	      tion  on	to  nnrpd.  The command ``mode query'' is
	      intended for future use, and is  currently  treated
	      the same way.

       4.     The  commands to support streaming transfer ``check
	      messageid'' and  ``takethis  messageid''	are  pro
	      vided.

       5.     A	 batch	transfer command ``xbatch byte-count'' is
	      also provided. This command  will	 read  byte-count
	      bytes  and  store	 them  for  later  processing  by
	      rnews(1) (which must be  started	separately).  See
	      the programs innxbatch and sendxbatches.sh.

       6.     The  only other commands implemented are ``head'' ,
	      ``help'' , ``ihave'' , ``quit'' , and ``stat''.

HEADER MODIFICATIONS
       Innd modifies as few article headers as possible, although
       it could be better in this area.

       The following headers, if present, are removed:
	      Date-Received
	      Posted
	      Posting-Version
	      Received
	      Relay-Version
       Empty  headers  and  headers  that  consist of nothing but
       whitespace are also dropped.

       The local site's name (as determined by	the  ``pathhost''
       value   in  inn.conf(5))	 and  an  exclamation  point  are
       prepended to the Path header, if the first site's name  in
       the header is different from local one.

       The Xref header is removed and a new one created.

       The Lines header will be added if it is missing.

       Innd  does not rewrite incorrect headers.  For example, it
       will not replace	 an  incorrect	Lines  header,	but  will
       reject the article.

LOGGING
       Innd  reports all incoming articles in its log file.  This
       is a text file with a variable number  of  space-separated
       fields in one of the following formats:
	      mon dd hh:mm:ss.mmm + feed <Message-ID> site...
	      mon dd hh:mm:ss.mmm j feed <Message-ID> site...
	      mon dd hh:mm:ss.mmm c feed <Message-ID> site...
	      mon dd hh:mm:ss.mmm - feed <Message-ID> reason...
	      mon dd hh:mm:ss.mmm ? feed <Message-ID> reason...

       There can also be a hostname and size field after the Mes
       sage-ID depending on the ``nntplinklog''	 and  ``logsize''
       options in inn.conf(5)

       The  first three fields are the date and time to millisec
       ond resolution.	The fifth field is the site that sent the
       article	(based on the Path header) and the sixth field is
       the article's Message-ID; they will be a question mark  if
       the information is not available.

       The   fourth  field  indicates  whether	the  article  was
       accepted or not.	 If it is a plus sign, then  the  article
       was  accepted.  If it is the letter ``j'' then the article
       was accepted, but all of newsgroups have an ``j'' in their
       active  field,  so the article was filed into the ``junk''
       newsgroup.  If the fourth field is the letter ``c'',  then
       a  cancel message was accepted before the original article
       arrived.	  In  all  three  cases,  the  article	has  been
       accepted and the ``site...'' field contains the space-sep
       arated list of sites to which the article is being sent.

       If the fourth field is a minus sign, then the article  was
       rejected.  The reasons for rejection include:
	      "%s" header too long
	      "%s" wants to cancel <%s> by "%s"
	      Article exceeds local limit of %s bytes
	      Article posted in the future -- "%s"
	      Bad "%s" header
	      Can't write history
	      Duplicate
	      Duplicate "%s" header
	      EOF in headers
	      Linecount %s != %s +- %s
	      Missing %s header
	      No body
	      No colon-space in "%s" header
	      No space
	      Space before colon in "%s" header
	      Too old -- "%s"
	      Unapproved for "%s"
	      Unwanted newsgroup "%s"
	      Unwanted distribution "%s"
	      Whitespace in "Newsgroups" header -- "%s"
       Where ``%s'', above, is replaced by more specific informa
       tion.

       If the fourth field is the letter ``?'', then the  article
       includes	 strange  strings  which  is  CR without LF or LF
       without	CR.   Those  characters	 are  used  together   as
       ``CRLF''	 to  indicate  end  of	line.  Currently this log
       entry just indicates the weirdness of  article,	and  innd
       never rejects it for this reason.

       Note  that  if  an  article is accepted, and <wanttrash in
       inn.conf> is set to ``yes'' and none of the newsgroups are
       valid,  it will be logged with two lines, a ``j'' line and
       a minus sign line.

       Innd also makes extensive  reports  through  syslog.   The
       first word of the log message will be the name of the site
       if the entry is site-specific  (such  as	 a  ``connected''
       message).   The	first word will be ``SERVER'' if the mes
       sage relates to the server itself, such	as  when  a  read
       error occurs.

       If  the	second	word is the four letters ``cant'' then an
       error is being reported.	 In this case, the next two words
       generally  name	the  system  call or library routine that
       failed, and the object upon which  the  action  was  being
       performed.   The rest of the line may contain other infor
       mation.

       In other cases, the second word attempts to summarize what
       change  has  been  made,	 while the rest of the line gives
       more specific information.  The word  ``internal''  gener
       ally indicates an internal logic error.

SIGNALS
       Innd  will  catch  SIGTERM  and SIGDANGER and then it will
       shutdown.  If ``-d'' flag is used,  SIGINT  also	 will  be
       catched and innd will shutdown.

       Innd  will  catch  SIGUSR1 signal and recreate the control
       channel which is typically used for ctlinnd(8).

HISTORY
       Written by Rich $alz  <rsalz@uunet.uu.net>  for	InterNet
       News.  This is revision 1.24.2.4, dated 2000/08/20.

SEE ALSO
       active(5),    ctlinnd(8),   dbz(3),   history(5),   incom
       ing.conf(5),    inn.conf(5),    newsfeeds(5),	nnrpd(8),
       rnews(1), syslog(8).

							  INND(8)
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