snntpd,v0.3.8(8)					      System Manager's Manual						  snntpd,v0.3.8(8)

NAME

       snntpd - small news server

SYNOPSIS

       snntpd [-t timeout] [-P] [-S] [logger...]

DESCRIPTION

       snntpd  is  a  small  news server.  It needs to be run under inetd or tcpserver, as root or as the owner of /var/spool/sn.  snntpd does not
       fork into the background.  It expects to read and write from and to the network on descriptors 0 and 1.

ARGUMENTS

       logger...  (usually /usr/bin/logger) is taken to be a logging program, and all log output is piped to it.  If logger...	is not	specified,
       log messages are directed to descriptor 2.

OPTIONS

       -t timeout
	      specifies how long snntpd should wait for input before it gives up and exits.  timeout is in seconds and defaults to 600.

       -P     snntpd includes it's pid in log output.

       -S     Suppress	NNTP  greeting on startup.  This is useful if you want to perform authentication before running snntpd, or want to provide
	      your own greeting, from a wrapper.

POSTING AND POSTING PERMISSIONS

       Posts are usually handled externally by the /usr/sbin/SNPOST script, which is responsible for fine-grain posting control; handling of  con-
       trol messages; and the ultimate distribution of the posted article.

       snntpd permits or denies posting in a very simple manner:

       If /var/spool/sn/.nopost exists, posting is not allowed.

       Otherwise, if the environment variable POSTING_OK is not set, posting is not allowed.

       Otherwise if POSTING_OK is set (to the empty string), posting is generally allowed, and all POSTed articles are piped to the SNPOST script,
       which has the final say in the matter.  The value of $POSTING_OK is not currently used, but is reserved.

FILES

       /var/spool/sn/.fifo
	      If this file exists, and is a fifo, snntpd will write the name of a newsgroup into it as that newsgroup becomes the current one.	If
	      the fifo does not exist snntpd will not create it.

       /var/spool/sn/.noservice
	      If  this file exists, snntpd will display its first line and exit.  If the file can't be read or is empty, a default message is dis-
	      played.  This is useful for temporarily disabling the news server while you perform any maintenance.

       /var/spool/sn/.nopost
	      See POSTING PERMISSIONS above.

       /var/spool/sn/.SNPOST
	      If this script or program exists, it is invoked instead of SNPOST to accept a posted article.

       /var/spool/sn/news.group.name/.nopost
	      These files really belong to SNPOST, and it is unfortunate that snntpd has to check for their existence  to  determine  the  posting
	      flag for the LIST command.  See /usr/sbin/SNPOST.

       /var/spool/sn/news.group.name/.info
	      If this file exists, its first line is taken as the description of that group for use with the LIST NEWSGROUPS command.

       /var/spool/sn/news.group.name/.times
	      is a binary file containing entry times, to support the NEWNEWS command.

       /var/spool/sn/news.group.name/.created
	      is an empty file retained for it's timestamp, to support the NEWGROUPS command.

SIGNALS

       If  snntpd  catches  SIGHUP,  the files /var/spool/sn/{.fifo,.noservice,.nopost} (see below) are checked again, as they are during startup.
       Other signals have default behaviour.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

       See also /usr/sbin/SNPOST for a list of environment variables exported by snntpd.

       PATH   The PATH must be set such that snntpd can find SNPOST in order to accept postings.  If PATH does not  include  /usr/sbin,  /usr/sbin
	      will be appended to it.

       POSTING_OK
	      This variable helps determine the site-wide posting policy.  See POSTING PERMISSIONS above.

       TCPREMOTEIP
	      If  this	value is set, it is taken to be the dotted-quad IP address of the connecting client.  If it is not set, snntpd attempts to
	      derive it for itself, and then set its value.

       TCPLOCALIP
	      as above, but for the server's dotted-quad IP.

       SNROOT If this is set and is not empty, the value is used everywhere in place of /var/spool/sn, the default news spool directory.

SEE ALSO

       snsend(8), /usr/sbin/SNPOST

N.B.								    Harold Tay							  snntpd,v0.3.8(8)