1 Citadel/UX Network Manual
2 See copyright.doc for copyright information
7 The fundamental structure of the networker is fairly simple, however, it
8 has enough features to make it a bit complicated. This is probably the most
9 difficult part of the entire Citadel/UX package. So before we dive in head
10 first, let's look at the various network files and directories.
12 netproc.c Does all of the actual network processing.
13 rcit.c Feeds standard input into the networker, also
14 has the ability to translate UseNet news format
15 into Citadel/UX binary format.
16 netmailer.c Called by the main program when a user sends a
18 citmail.c A local MDA which can allow Citadel users to
19 receive Internet mail.
20 cux2ascii.c A filter which translates Citadel/UX binary
21 format to UseNet news format.
22 network Directory in which all network files reside.
23 network/systems Contains network info for each neighboring system
24 network/systems/sysname Network file for a node called "sysname".
25 network/mail.aliases Aliases for the mailer.
26 network/rnews.xref Cross-references room names to newsgroup names.
27 network/mail.sysinfo Contains routing information for network mail.
28 network/filterlist The "kill file" for your system.
33 There are a few options in the Global System Configuration which pertain
34 to the network. They are:
36 -> node name: this is the unqualified "short" node name which uniquely
37 identifies your system on a Citadel network.
38 -> fully-qualified domain name (FQDN): this identifies how your computer is
39 named on the Internet.
40 -> Human-readable node name: this is a longer, more verbose name for your
41 system. It is also used as your "node title" on older Cit86Net-based
45 SETTING UP SYSTEMS FILES
47 Please note that it is *much* easier to use the "netsetup" (command-line)
48 or "dnetsetup" (curses-based) utilities to create systems files. You should
49 only work with these files manually if you need to do something special.
51 For each of your neighboring Citadel/UX systems you must create a systems
52 file. The file is called network/systems/sysname, where sysname is the other
53 system's node name. The first line contains a command that transfers a spool
54 file to the network/spoolin directory on the remote system. The string "%s"
55 will be replaced by the name of the spool file by netproc. You may only use
56 %s ONCE in the command line. Usually, some sort of remote copy will be used
57 to do the transfer, but you may use any facility you want, *** as long as the
58 file ends up in the network/spoolin directory on the remote system ***.
60 If you're on the Internet, or any TCP/IP network, your systems file should
61 contain the following copy command:
63 cat %s >>./network/spoolout/remote_system_name
65 This simply stores the outbound spool data in a file in the "spoolout"
66 directory, where it will be picked up by server-to-server transfer programs.
68 After the command line you should enter the names of all the rooms you
69 intend to share with this system. Each room name should be followed by a
70 line containing a zero - this extra field is the "last message sent" (which
71 will be updated by netproc when it is run). Here is a sample systems file for
72 a node called uncnsrd:
74 cat %s >>./network/spoolout/uncnsrd
82 The rooms "Network Test", "Gateway", and "The Room" will be spooled to
83 the remote system. These rooms should be designated as network rooms with
84 the .<A>ide <E>ditRoom command.
90 Calling netproc with no arguments causes it to look in the network/spoolin
91 directory for newly arrived messages, and posts them if it finds any. It then
92 automatically batches up new messages on your system to be sent to your net
93 neighbors, and exports those messages to them. It is recommended
94 that you use the cron program to handle your network processing on a routine
95 basis automatically. Arrange with your netneighbors for both of your systems
96 to batch new messages before actual polls take place, to guarantee that
97 messages travel across the network as quickly as possible.
99 Calling netproc with the -i flag causes it to skip the export phase, and
100 handle incoming messages only.
103 USING CITADEL/UX AS YOUR LOCAL E-MAIL SYSTEM
105 To use Citadel/UX as your local mail system, simply define the "citmail"
106 program as your *local* mail delivery agent. You can plug citmail into any
107 popular mail routing system, including sendmail, smail, MMDF, etc.
109 Once you are using citmail as your local mail delivery agent, all users
110 on your BBS may receive mail. They can use addresses like
111 "my_user_name@yoursite.com" (note the spaces in the user's name are replaced
112 by underscores) or "cit1234@yoursite.com" (where 1234 is the user's user
115 Messages may be posted by mail if you have this program installed. Simply
116 use the prefix "room_" -- for example, a message addressed to
117 "room_hot_pink_amoebas@uncnsrd.mt-kisco.ny.us would be posted in the room "Hot
118 Pink Amoebas" at the target system.
120 PLEASE NOTE that for your BBS users to be able to send mail, you should
121 check the mailer command at the top of "netmailer.c" to be sure that it is
122 the correct mailer command for your system. You might need a command like
123 "sendmail %s" or "smail %s" depending on what MTA you're using.
128 The file network/mail.aliases is a simple list of aliases for the various
129 mailers to use. Each line takes the form
133 Obviously, neither the alias nor the name can contain commas. The name
134 may also be the system name "sysop", where messages sent to sysop will
135 be posted in the Aide> room.
138 CITADEL/UX NETWORK MAIL
140 Citadel/UX has the ability to transport mail in a simple and
141 transparent fashion not unlike the way public messages are sent. Users may
142 enter recipient names exactly as they appear on top of messages (i.e.,
143 user name @ system name). In addition, mail routing is provided, allowing
144 users to send mail to systems which do not directly connect with their own.
146 When entering a message in the Mail> room, a user may type a recipient
147 name on the local system, or on a remote system. If the recipient is not
148 local, citadel.c calls netmailer.c, which is a standalone program that handles
149 network mail. This runs in a multithreaded mode, allowing netmailer to run in
150 the background while the user goes on to do something else.
153 INTELLIGENT NETWORK PROCESSING AND THE MAIL.SYSINFO FILE
155 There is (or soon will be) a file in your network directory called
156 "mail.sysinfo". In earlier releases of the network software, the system
157 administrator had to manually configure this file. Starting with netproc
158 version 2.1, the system should now create and configure the file automatically.
159 Note that all information may not appear in the file immediately. When a
160 message arrives from a system on the network, your system will attempt to
161 add that system to its network map. If the originating system is one of your
162 netneighbors, it will look for a systems file in the network/systems directory
163 to determine whether it is a valid neighbor. If the originating system is
164 not a neighbor, but the message arrived via a valid neighbor, your map will
165 be updated accordingly, with an entry for the new system showing the next hop
168 So, under normal circumstances you shouldn't have to configure this file at
169 all. But if you need to do something special, or if for some reason netproc
170 detects the topology wrong, here's how to configure mail.sysinfo. There
171 are three types of entries in this file. A "use" entry tells the system which
172 neighbor to route a message through to get to a particular non-neighboring
173 system. A "bin" entry tells the system that a particular neighbor supports
174 net mail. If there are systems that either do not have the netmailer or are
175 not running Citadel/UX, but can be reached by regular electronic mail, you
176 can use the "uum" command. Type "uum" followed by an address (for the user
177 name, use a %s which will be replaced by the user name at the remote
178 system. Here is a sample network map, where our system is called "myself"
179 and all systems have Citadel/UX EXCEPT for "gateway" and "mailsys":
181 gateway---mailsys _____testbbs
183 othersys ----- myself ----- thebox
187 In this example, our neighbors are "othersys" and "thebox". othersys
188 also connects to funboard, and thebox connects to testbbs and theirsys. If
189 everyone supports netmail, the network/mail.sysinfo file would look like this:
207 uum othersys!gateway!%s
210 uum othersys!gateway!mailsys!%s
212 (Keep in mind that your file will contain additional system-generated
215 The "bin" entries specify neighbors, the "use" entries specify routing, and
216 the "uum" entries specify Internet mail. The method of delivery is totally
217 transparent to the user, who only needs to enter the recipient as user@sysname.
218 Note that netproc will probably stuff lots of other info into each entry.
223 Tired of idiots lowering the quality of the net? You can set up a "kill
224 file" in ./network/filterlist that can be used to filter out messages from
225 any user, room, or system (or any combination). The three fields should be
226 separated by commas, and the name "*" may be used as a wildcard in any field.
229 # Filter out user "The Idiot" in "Idiot Room" at "idiotbbs"
231 The Idiot,Idiot Room,idiotbbs
233 # Filter out the same user, but in every room
237 # Filter out all messages from a system we don't like
241 # Filter out messages in a certain room from a certain system
245 You could also put a "*" wildcard in all three fields, essentially
246 disabling all incoming messages. Obviously you don't want to do this.
251 That should cover everything you need to get running. By the way, gateway
252 software for StoneHenge and NYTI FordBoard systems is available upon special
253 request. And, a Cit86Net gateway is now available. For the latest version
254 of this program, or to leave comments/suggestions, call my board -
255 UNCENSORED! BBS at (914) 244-3252 (modem) or uncnsrd.mt-kisco.ny.us (Internet).