From Linux Man Pages
actsync, actsyncd - synchronize newsgroups
SYNOPSIS
actsync [-A] [-b hostid] [-d hostid] [-g max]
[-i ignore_file] [-I hostid] [-k] [-l hostid] [-m]
[-n name] [-o fmt] [-p min_%_unchg] [-q hostid]
[-s size] [-t hostid] [-T] [-v verbosity]
[-z sec] [host1] host2
actsyncd [-x] actsync.cfg [debug_level [debug_outfmt] ]
DESCRIPTION
Actsync(8) 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 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(8) (or actsyncd(8)), 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Your control.ctl may be out of date or incomplete.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 can arrive ahead (sometimes days ahead) of the control message.
Control messages may be forged, thus bypassing the restrictions found in control.ctl .
Your active file may have been trashed.
If host1 or host2 begins with a ``. or ``/, then it is assumed to be a name of a file containing information
in the active(5) format. The getlist(1) utility may be used to obtain copy a remote system's active file via its
NNTP server, or an FTP client program can retrieve such a file from an FTP archive (such as
ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/active; see more about this below). Newsgroup information from a file may be
treated as if it was obtained from a host. In this man page host1 and host2 are called hosts, even though they
may be file names.
If a host argument does not begin with ``. or ``/, is assumed to be a hostname or Internet address. In this
case, actsync(8) will attempt to use the NNTP protocol to obtain a copy of the the specified system's active
file. If the host argument contains a ``: , the right side will be considerd the port to connect to on the
remote system. If no port number is specified, actsync(8) will connect to port 119.
Regardless how the active file information is obtained, the actions of actsync(8) remain the same.
If only one host is specified, it is assumed to be host2; if host1 is not specified, it assumed to be the default
local NNTP server as specified by the NNTPSERVER environment variable, or by the server value found in inn.conf.
The newsgroup synchronization, by default, involves all newsgroups found on both hosts. One may also synchronize
a subset of newsgroups by directing actsync(8) to ignore certain newsgroups from both systems. Only newsgroups
with valid names will be synchronized. To be valid, a newsgroup name must consist only of alphanumeric charac-
ters, ``., ``+, ``-, and ``_. One may not have two ``.s in a row. The first character must be
alphanumeric, as must any character following a ``.. The name may not end in a ``. character.
The actsyncd(8) daemon provides a convenient interface to configure and run actsync(8). If a host is not ini-
tially reachable, the daemon will retry up to 9 additional times, waiting 6 minutes before each retry. This dae-
mon runs in the foreground, sending output to standard output and standard error.
If the -x flag is given to actsyncd(8), then a ctlinnd xexec will be used instead of a ctlinnd reload to load the
newly modified active file.
The configuration filename for the daemon is given as a commandline argument, usually <pathetc in
inn.conf>/actsync.cfg The config file can contain the following options:
host=host2
ftppath=/remote/path/to/active/file
spool=<normally patharticles in inn.conf>
ignore_file=ignore_file
flags=actsyncd(8) options
The host, ignore_file, and flags lines are mandatory.
The keyword must start at the beginning of the line, and there may be no whitespace before the ``= character.
Blank lines are ignored. Comment lines start with ``# and are ignored. Any other lines may produce undefined
results.
The host config file line refers to the host2 parameter to actsync(8). The ftppath directive causes the machine
named in the host line to accessed as an ftp server, retrieving the file named. If the filename ends in .gz or
.Z, then it will automatically be uncompressed after retrieval. The spool config file lines determines where the
top of the news spool tree is to be found. The ignore_file config file line names the ignore file to be used by
actsync(8). The flags config file line contains any flags that you wish to pass to actsync(8).
Note that the -i ignore_file option and the -o format option should not be given in the flags= line because they
are automatically taken care of by actsyncd(8).
INN is shipped with default values of ftp.isc.org for host and /pub/usenet/CONFIG/active for ftppath. You can
read about the policies used for maintaining that active file at ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/README.
Consider sychronizing from this file on a daily basis by using cron(8).
OPTIONS
The options to actsync(8) are as follows:
-A actsync(8) tries to authenticate before issuing LIST command.
-b hostid
This flag causes actsync(8) to ignore newsgroups with ``bork.bork.bork style names. That is, 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 value hostid determines on which hosts this action is performed:
0 neither host
1 local default server
2 remove server
12 both servers
21 both servers
The default is -b 0; no newsgroups are ignored because of bork-style names.
-d hostid
This flag causes actsync(8) to ignore newsgroups that have all numeric path components. The hostid value
is interpreted the same as in -b. 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 newsgroups 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 news-
group:
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 <pathetc in inn.conf>/actsync.ign , 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 hostid flag.
By default, all newsgroups are checked. If no ignore_file if specified, or if the ignore file contains no
rule lines, all newsgroups will be checked.
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 then the rule requests certain newsgroups to be checked. If the rule begins
with an i then 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 types are specified, then the rule applies to the newsgroup only if 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 not 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 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. The hostid value is interpreted the same
as in -b described above.
This flag may be useful in conjunction with the -m merge flag. For example:
actsync -i actsync.ign -I 2 -m host1 host2
will keep all newsgroups currently on host1 . It will also will only compare host1 groups with non-
ignored newsgroups from host2 .
The default is -I 12, newsgroups from both hosts to be ignored per the -i actsync.ign file.
-k By default, any newsgroup on host1 that is in error will be considered for removal. This causes act-
sync(8) simply ignore such newsgroups. This flag, used in combination with -m , will prevent any news-
group from being scheduled for removal.
-l hostid
This flag causes ``problem newsgroups of type ``= from host1 or host2 to be considered as errors. The
hostid value is interpreted the same as in -b. Newsgroups of type ``= are newsgroups active entries
that have 4th field that begins with ``=, i.e. newsgroups that are equivalent to other newsgroups. A
``problem newsgroup is one which is:
* equivalent to itself
* in an equivalence chain that loops around
to itself
* in an equivalence chain longer than 16 groups
* equivalent to a non-existant newsgroup
* equivalent to a newsgroup that has an error
of some kind
However, a newsgroup that is equivalent to an ignored newsgroup is not a problem.
By default, problem newsgroups from both hosts are marked as errors.
-m Merge newsgroups instead of sync. By default, if a newsgroup exists on host1 but not host2, it will be
scheduled to be removed. This flag disables this process, permitting newsgroups unique to host1 to be
kept.
-n name
The ctlinnd(8) command is used to create newsgroups as necessary. By default, the creator name used is
actsync. This flag changes the creator name to name.
-o fmt
Determine the output / action format of this utility. The fmt may one of:
a output in active(5) format
a1 output in active(5) format,
and output host1 non-error ignored groups
ak output in active(5) format, but use host2
hi & low (2nd & 3rd active fields) values
for any newsgroup being created
aK output in active(5) format, but use host2
hi & low (2nd & 3rd active fields) values
for all newsgroups found in host2
a1k output in active(5) format, but use host2
hi & low (2nd & 3rd active fields) values
for any newsgroup being created,
and output host1 non-error ignored groups
a1K output in active(5) format, but use host2
hi & low (2nd & 3rd active fields) values
for all newsgroups found in host2,
and output host1 non-error ignored groups
ak1 same as a1k
aK1 same as a1K
c output in ctlinnd(8) format
x no output, directly exec ctlinnd(8) commands
xi no output, directly exec ctlinnd(8) commands,
in an interactive mode
The a, a1, ak, aK, a1k, a1K, ak1 and aK1 style formats allow one to form a new active file instead of pro-
ducing ctlinnd(8) commands. They use hi & low values of 0000000000 and 0000000001 respectively for news-
groups that are created. The ak and aK variants change the the hi & low (2nd & 3rd active fields). In
the case of ak, newsgroups created take their hi & low values from host2. In the case of aK, all news-
groups found on host2 take their hi & low values from host2.
The c format produces ctlinnd(8) commands. No actions are taken because actsync(8) simply prints
ctlinnd(8) commands on standard output. The sync (or merge) with host2 may be accomplished by piping this
output into sh(1). A paranoid person might prefer to use x or xi in case a newsgroup name or type con-
tains bogus characters that might be interpreted by sh(1). Even so, this output format is useful to let
you see how host1 will be affected by the sync (or merge) with host2.
The sync (or merge) may be accomplished directly by use of the x format. With this format, actsync(8)
uses the execl(2) system call to directly execute ctlinnd(8) commands. Because of the exec, there is no
risk of bogus newsgroups containing bogus characters causing a shell to do bogus (or dangerous) things.
The output of such exec calls may be seen if the verbosity level is at least 2.
The actsync(8) utility will pause for 4 seconds before each command is executed if -o x is selected. See
the -z sec 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 act-
sync(8) 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 ignore_file even if -p 100 is used.
By default, -o c is assumed.
-p min_%_unchg
By default, the actsync(8) utility has safeguards against performing massive changes. If fewer than
min_%_unchg percent of the non-ignored lines from host1 remain unchanged, no actions (output, execution,
etc.) are performed and actsync(8) exits with a non-zero exit status. The min_%_unchg may be a floating
point value such as 66.667.
A change is considered a host1 line that was removed, added, changed, or found to be in error. Changing
the 2nd or 3rd active fields via -oak or -o aK are not considered changes by -p.
To force actsync(8) to accept any amount of change, use the -p 0 option. To force actsync(8) to reject
any changes, use the -p 100 option.
Care should be taken when producing active(5)-formatted output; be sure to check that actsync(8) exited
with a zero status prior to using such output. Also one should realize that such output will not contain
lines ignored by the -i ignore_file process even if -p 100 is used.
By default, 96% of the lines not ignored in host1 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 host1 or
host2. The hostid value is interpreted the same as in -b.
-s size
If size > 0, then ignore newsgroups with names longer than size, and ignore newsgroups equivalent (by fol-
lowing ``= 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 host1 or host2. The hostid value is
interpreted the same as in -b. 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 are ignored.
-T This flag causes host2 newsgroups from new hierarchies to be ignored. Normally a newsgroup which only
exists on host2 , for example chongo.was.here , will be created for host1. However, if this flag is given
and host1 does not have any other newsgroups in the same hierarchy, e.g. ``chongo.*, then the newsgroup
in question will be ignored and will not be created on host1.
-v verbosity
By default, actsync(8) 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
-z sec If -o x is selected, actsync(8) will pause for sec seconds before each command is executed. This helps
prevent innd(8) from being busied-out if a large number of ctlinnd(8) commands are needed. One can
entirely disable this sleeping by using -z 0.
By default, actsync(8) 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.net
Same as above, with full debug and progress reports:
actsync -v 4 news.uu.net
Force a site to have the same newsgroups some other site:
actsync -o x master
This 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.net
where 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.net
Based 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 exists
Automatic processing may be setup 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 2
and then by running actsyncd(8) with the path to the config file:
actsyncd <pathetc in inn.conf>/actsync.cfg
One may produce a trial actsyncd(8) run without changing anything on the server by supplying the debug_level arg:
actsyncd <pathetc in inn.conf>/actsync.cfg 2
The debug_level causes actsyncd(8) to run actsync(8) with an -v debug_level (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 mes-
sages to standard error.
If the debug_outfmt arg is also given to actsyncd(8) then the data written to standard output will be in -o
debug_outfmt instead of in -o a1 format. The /bin/sh command
actsyncd <pathetc in inn.conf>/actsync.cfg 4 \
>cmd.log 2>dbg.log
will operate in debug mode, not change the active file, write ctlinnd(8) 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 comp.*
c gnu.*
c sci.*
c alt.*
c misc.*
c news.*
c rec.*
c soc.*
c talk.*
and the command:
actsync -i actsync.ign news.uu.net
To determine the differences between your old active and your current default server:
actsync <pathetc in inn.conf>/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.edu
or by:
actsync ...flags... -o c erehwon.honey.edu | sh
is effectively the same as the active file produced by:
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, is
faster.
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(8) will treat all copies as errors. However, if the group is
marked for removal, only one rmgroup will be issued.
The timeout for ctlinnd(8) commands is fixed at 30 seconds when running in ``x or ``xi output format. Per-
haps the timeout value should be controlled via a command line option?
RELATED
active(5),
simpleftp(1),
mod-active(8),
ctlinnd(8),
getlist(8),
inn.conf(5).
HISTORY
Written by Landon Curt Noll <chongo@toad.com> for InterNetNews. Updated to support ftp fetching by David
Lawrence <tale@isc.org>.
CATEGORY