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INN 2.x
My Recommendations on INN 2.x (as of August 13, 2001)
There still are design issues, but the benefits of INN 2.3 make it a better choice than INN 1.7, and it is the first version in the 2.x series which is probably as stable as INN 1.7. (Finally!)
IMPORTANT: It is a simple (software-only) upgrade from INN 2.3.x to INN 2.3.2. Upgrading from 2.2.x to 2.3 requires changes to configuration files and a rebuild of overview and history databases. Since conversion proceeds at about 500,000 articles per hour, this can take many hours if you want to preserve a full spool. The upgrade is definitely worth it. INN 2.3 is greatly improved in many ways.
Comparing INN 1.x and 2.x
INN 2.x is completely different than INN 1.x. INN 2.0 was first released on June 8, 1998, with a much better autoconfiguration and build system, and the promise of a much better storage architecture.
If you want to run "traditional" (one article per file) spool, then INN 1.7.2 is still the best choice. INN 2.3 has a one-article-per-file storage method, but it is not well tested and certain to be stable. It is slower than INN 1.7 for traditional spool. Unfortunately, as Usenet has grown, INN 1.7.x needs top-of-the-line hardware systems with lots of memory, fast CPU, network, and multiple drives to maintain a full Usenet feed. If you have a partial feed, or run a small server, INN 1.7.x is still a fine choice.
About INN 2.3.x
Starting with INN 2.3.0, some of the most major of the design issues were resolved. (I do not recommend using INN 2.2 or before for production news servers. See Major design issues for production stability) There still are design issues, but the benefits of INN 2.3 make it a better choice than INN 1.7, and it is the first version in the 2.x series which is probably as stable as INN 1.7. (Finally!)
INN 2.3.1 and 2.3.2 have improvements over INN 2.3.0. I recommend using one of the -stable FTP snapshots. Subscribers to the this Usenet RKT website get email if new versions have important reasons to upgrade (such as security fixes.)
For most sites, I'd recommend CNFS, tradindexed overview with useoverchan: false. Mib Software can setup, configure and test INN 2.3.x (whatever the latest version is) starting at a fixed cost of $250.00. This includes converting nnrp.access to the new readers.conf format, as well as preserving your settings.
About INN 2.2.3
Fixes a serious defect reported June 6, 2000 which allows remote code execution if the verifycancels setting is used.
About INN 2.2.2
Released in December 1999 to incorporate important defect fixes for a problem reported November 18, 1999. No changes which can be considered new features or improvements in performance over INN 2.0.
About INN 2.2.1
INN 2.2.1 contains fixes for the security vulnerability reported by Mib Software in May 1999, fixes for a minor security vulnerability in inews , as well as numerous additional defect fixes. There are no changes which can be considered new features or
improvements in performance over INN 2.2.
About INN 2.2
Released January 21, 1999. Still suffers Major design issues for production stability Even so, there are many defect fixes to the INN 2.1 release, as well as some additional new features. The most notable new feature added at this release is "controlchan" which serializes control message processing to avoid driving up the system load when hundreds of control message are received at once. Also storage.ctl is replaced by storage.conf in INN 2.2. There are other utilities (including mail to news gateways, and pullnews) added with INN 2.2. See the annotations in the alphabetical listing of INN 2.x Man Pages
About INN 2.1
INN 2.1 (the "cleanup" release) was released on 24 Jul 1998. It fixed many defects in INN 2.0 which caused frequent problems, but no major architectural improvements.
About INN 2.0
INN 2.0 is completely different than the last official INN, 1.7.2 INN 2.0 was first released on June 8, 1998, and featured a much better autoconfiguration and build system, and the promise of a much better storage architecture. But until the Major design issues for production stability are addressed, I do not recommend INN 2.x for production news servers.
With the links below, you can browse the INN 2.x documentation to see what is new and changed. Eventually INN 2.x will improve to be the best choice for INN production servers. The INN 2.x RKT will expand and improve also as more reports and questions are asked and answered.
Special Note: If you are trying to make a RedHat RPM install of INN work and are having problems, my experience is that you will be much happier if you get sources the ISC, and install them. You will learn just what you need to know to keep INN running smoothly.
Primary INN 2.x Documentation
INN 2.x Install Guide
With the new autoconfig features of INN 2.x , the INN 1.x "install.ms" was scrapped. The replacement was written from scratch by Joshua Thompson. It appears in INN 2.x as "INSTALL"
(RKT Subscriber Exclusive) "INSTALL" is part of the INN 2.x RKT as easy-to-navigate hypertext has augmented with "RKT Couplings" (corrections, notes, and convenient links.)
INN 2.x Man Pages
(RKT Subscriber Exclusive) See what's new and what's changed at a glance. Pages which are new or changed are clearly marked. Using "RKT Couplings", each page is annotated with a summary of the differences in previous behavior and useful links. Summaries are based on human inspection of the complete man page diffs -- done so you don't have to!
Other documentation shipped with INN 2.x
Short summaries of what's obsolete, what's what, and links to the documents themselves.
Storage API RKT. (Subscriber Exclusive!) Compiled by Mib Software The storage API in INN 2.x is the most major design change from INN 1.X. Experienced INN admins can start here to get "up to speed" on this important new feature of INN.
By Topic Areas of the INN 2.x RKT
These "Subscriber Exclusive" pages also include links to the INN-FAQ entries which are still relevant.
INN 2.x Setup and Changes by Topic
INN 2.x Troubleshooting
INN 2.x News Utilities
RKT Rapid-Links:[ Search ] [ RKT Tips ] Path: Usenet RKT / INN 2.x For Subscribers / index.html
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Copyright 1997-2001, Forrest J. Cavalier III, Mib Software, INN customization and consulting