HOSTS.NNTP(5)							File Formats Manual						     HOSTS.NNTP(5)

NAME

       hosts.nntp, hosts.nntp.nolimit - list of hosts that feed NNTP news

DESCRIPTION

       The  file  /etc/news/hosts.nntp	is  read by innd(8) to get the list of hosts that feed the local site Usenet news using the NNTP protocol.
       The server reads this file at start-up or when directed to by ctlinnd(8).  When a host connects to the NNTP port of  the  system  on  which
       innd  is  running,  the server will do a check to see if their Internet address is the same as one of the hosts named in this file.  If the
       host is not mentioned, then innd will spawn an nnrpd(8) to process the connection, with the accepted connection on standard input and stan-
       dard output.

       Comments  begin	with  a  number  sign (``#'') and continue through the end of the line.  Blank lines and comments also ignored.  All other
       lines should consist of two or three fields separated by a colon.

       The first field should be either an Internet address in dotted-quad format or an address that can be  parsed  by  gethostbyname(3).   If  a
       host's  entry  has multiple addresses, all of them will be added to the access list.  The second field, which may be blank, is the password
       the foreign host is required to use when first connecting.  The third field, which may be omitted, is a list of	newsgroups  to	which  the
       host  may send articles.  This list is parsed as a newsfeeds(5) subscription list; groups not in the list are ignored. Posts crossposted in
       groups matched by a @group.* entry are dropped.

       For example:
	      ##  FOO has a password, UUNET and VIX dont.
	      ##  UUNET cannot post to local groups.
	      ##  Example is not part of Usenet II.
	      ##  These are comment lines.
	      news.foo.com:magic
	      uunet.uu.net::!foo.*
	      data.ramona.vix.com:
	      newspeer.example.com::*,@net.*

       The first field may be suffixed by ``/s'' to indicate that streaming commands are specifically permitted  to  be  used  by  this  host.	By
       default	streaming  commands  are  available  to  all hosts. If any entry in hosts.nntp has a ``/s'' suffix, then only those hosts with the
       ``/s'' suffix will be permitted to use streaming commands.

       For example, with the following hosts.nntp file, only the host data.ramona.vix.com is allowed to use the streaming commands.
	      ## As above, but
	      news.foo.com:magic
	      uunet.uu.net::!foo.*
	      data.ramona.vix.com/s:

       The first field may be suffixed by ``/a'' to indicate that the IP address of the feeding hosts allowed  by  this  entry	should	always	be
       included  in  the Path line of articles, or by ``/t'' to indicate that the address should not be included, or ``/a'' followed by a pathhost
       value to indicate that the IP address should be included if the most recent Path entry does not match the pathhost specified after  ``/a''.
       The default is to log the address in articles whose most recent Path entry is not the same as the hostname in the hosts.nntp entry.

       Since  innd  is	usually  started  at system boot time, the local nameserver may not be fully operational when innd parses this file.  As a
       work-around, a ctlinnd ``reload'' command can be performed after a delay of an hour or so.  It is also possible to provide  both  a  host's
       name and its dotted-quad address in the file.

       If  the file contains passwords, it should not be world-readable.  The file /etc/news/hosts.nntp.nolimit, if it exists is read whenever the
       ``hosts.nntp'' file is read.  It has the same format, although only the first field is used.  Any host mentioned in this file is  not  sub-
       ject  to the incoming connections limit specified by innd's ``-i'' flag.  This can be used to allow local hosts or time-sensitive peers, to
       connect regardless of the local conditions.

HISTORY

       Written by Rich $alz <rsalz@uunet.uu.net> for InterNetNews.  This is revision 1.22, dated 1996/11/27.

SEE ALSO

       ctlinnd(8), innd(8), nnrpd(8).

																     HOSTS.NNTP(5)