How to ... use NNTP feed mode?

Who is it for?

NNTP feed mode is not for newbies. If you want to use it in Hamster Ys you should have an advanced knowledge about the NNTP protocol and the way usenet works. Without this knowledge you are on the way to get into big trouble!

Feed settings

If Hamster is used to feed or to be fed by remote server(s) he should be used exclusively for this purpose. You should not post-process the articles. In order to use feed you have to do the following:

Set " FQDN for Message-IDs"
Check "Store posted articles in local groups immediately" (This will also generate a Path: header)
Check "Add Header ... Message-ID"
Uncheck "Add Header ... User-Agent"
Check "Add Header ... X-Trace" (recommended for spam tracing).
Delete all remote server pulls
Doing so will prevent clients' articles to be stored in News.Out

Warning: Feeding articles without correct Path: header or with missing or faulty Message-ID: header can cause nasty troubles in usenet.

Feeding Hamster Ys with other servers

To feed Hamster a remote server must be susbcribed as a local user.
If you do not want users to authenticate before feeding you can set the special "nntpdefault" account.
Warning: Doing so will also allow NNRP (sucking) users to connect to Hamster without authentication.

You then have to:

Set "Groups, the user may post to"
Check "User may feed the NNTP server"

If hsNewsIHaveAuth is set to 0 every user may feed the NNTP server without having to activate the corresponding check box.

Remote servers can send articles using the NNTP command IHAVE or the feed command TAKETHIS.

By default, Hamster will not accept articles without Path: header or with an empty Path: header. If hsNewsCheckPath is set to zero Hamster will not check the Path: header (not recommended).

By default, Hamster will refuse articles for unknown groups. if hsNewsJunkFeeder is set to 1 such articles will be accepted and saved in the local newsgroup used to store articles for groups not available in Hamster.

If hsNewsStreamMode is set to 1 Hamster allows STREAM MODE to the feeding client. STREAM MODE has no effect on Hamster's behaviour except sending proper return codes.

Feeding other servers with Hamster Ys

The server to be fed must be created as a remote NNTP server.

By default, Hamster connects to the remote server in MODE READER. if hsNewsModeReader is set to 0 Hamster does not send MODE READER command. This is not really important as it cannot previously connect in stream mode and thus does not have to switch to reader mode.

Feeding another server can be done with the hs2-command:

HamNewsJobsFeed( <server>, [<group-select>] )

A corresponding job list is put into the news-queue.
The following command:

HamNewsJobsStart( [<server-list>] )

will start the tranfer-threads for the pending jobs.

All articles are fed from Hamster's database. Articles in the folder News.Out will not be sent by feed.

Every article is offered to the peer only once using the IHAVE command. Hamster marks which articles are offered to the specified server.

What else?

Which servers may I feed with HamNewsJobsFeed?

Every RFC 977 compatible server can do peering with you. Hamster supports original Authinfo for peering which is described in RFC 2980. You can also use another local Hamster, e.g., your archive hamster, as a peering partner.

Can I use a leased line?

This depends on your peering partner requirements. Some servers cannot or do not want to accept time-shifted feeds.

Is there a test server I can feed without bothering the net?

Use a second hamster or setup a DNEWS or INN server for testing purposes. Remember to use different FQDN for the testserver and the 'real feed' server.

Which servers are willing to feed my Hamster?

Ask your local provider. Many servers place rather different requirements for peering partnership. Usually it is expected that you own a fixed IP address and a fast connection, because time-shifted feed is not possible.

[Hamster Ys Documentation]