Black Box 4

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Black Box 4 / BlackBox.cdr / bbs_mail / tway_131.arj / THRUWAY.DOC < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1991-11-02 | 24KB | 330 lines

┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ▒▒▒▒▒──────┤ ThruWay v1.31: An Echomail PassThru Maintenance Utility │ ├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Copyright (c) 1991, by SomaSystems[tm] and │ │ Bill Thomas, FidoNet Node 1:326/100 │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ▒▒▒▒▒──────┤ Warranty & Limitation of Liability │ ├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ ThruWay is not warranted. By installing and using ThruWay, │ │ you accept the fact that the author makes no representations │ │ of any kind regarding the suitability or reliability of this │ │ utility for your intended use and that in no event shall the │ │ author bear any responsibility for any effects or actions of │ │ ThruWay on your computer. │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ▒▒▒▒▒──────┤ Overview: What Is ThruWay? │ ├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ ThruWay examines your echomail control file to determine if │ │ there are listed pass-through areas for which there are no │ │ longer any listed destination nodes. This situation can occur │ │ quite frequently for hub operators whose downstream nodes use │ │ AreaFix to turn echos on and off remotely. If all nodes turn │ │ off a given echo, the result is a dead-ended echo that still │ │ continues to be imported by the hub for no reason. │ │ │ │ ThruWay will create messages addressed to AreaFix at the echo │ │ hosts to turn off dead-ended echos. If more than one echo is │ │ located for a given host node, ThruWay will group them all │ │ into a single message to the echo host. The echo area entry │ │ is removed from the echo control file, and if requested, the │ │ related subdirectory (if applicable) is deleted. You can also │ │ control whether ThruWay removes dead-ended echos that are │ │ associated with certain nodes as explained in the config file │ │ documentation. │ │ │ │ Finally, ThruWay will optionally scan your bad message sub- │ │ directory and remove echo messages associated with areas that │ │ were recently dropped. You can set a bad message deletion │ │ interval of from 1 to 30 days. During this time any messages │ │ received in an echo that has been turned off by ThruWay and │ │ which is not listed in your active echo control file will be │ │ automatically deleted from the bad message subdirectory. │ │ │ │ ThruWay is coded to be fully zone- and point-aware, but has │ │ only been fully tested in a single zone environment. If you │ │ find any inter-zone problems, let us know and we'll fix 'em. │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ▒▒▒▒▒──────┤ Supported Echo Control File Formats │ ├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ ThruWay supports ZMail, QEcho, QMail, and old Opus/OMMM echo │ │ control file formats (often called AREAS.BBS files). Formats │ │ of each control file type are as follows: │ │ │ │ 1. The QMail style format: │ │ │ │ [#]Path EchoName EchoHost EchoDests │ │ │ │ Example: │ │ . │ │ C:\Binkley\Msgs\For-Sale FOR-SALE 326/100 200 301 302 │ │ #C:\Binkley\Msgs\Radio RADIO 326/100 200 302 │ │ . │ │ │ │ 2. The ZMail/QEcho style format: │ │ │ │ [P|AreaNumber] EchoName EchoHost EchoDests │ │ │ │ Example: │ │ . │ │ 1 FOR-SALE 326/100 200 301 302 │ │ P RADIO 326/100 200 302 │ │ . │ │ │ │ 3. The old Opus/OMMM style format: │ │ │ │ AreaNumber EchoPath EchoName [#] EchoHost EchoDests │ │ │ │ Example: │ │ . │ │ 0001 C:\Binkley\Msgs\For-Sale FOR-SALE 326/100 200 301 │ │ 0254 C:\Binkley\Msgs\Radio RADIO # 326/100 200 302 │ │ . │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ▒▒▒▒▒──────┤ Installing & Running ThruWay │ ├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ To install ThruWay, place ThruWay.Exe in a directory on your │ │ DOS path, preferably wherever you keep your other echomail │ │ utilities. Then edit the ThruWay.Cfg configuration file to │ │ reflect appropriate entries for your system, as discussed in │ │ the configuration file section of this document. Place the │ │ ThruWay.Cfg file in the directory from which ThruWay will be │ │ normally invoked (the default directory) or you may place it │ │ in any other directory you choose if you specify a full path │ │ to the configuration file on the command line. │ │ │ │ In most cases, ThruWay will be invoked by the batch file that │ │ performs your echomail processing or daily maintenance jobs. │ │ ThruWay must be run *after* your mail tosser and after Area- │ │ Fix, especially if you are using AreaFix's queue management │ │ feature (see "Special Considerations" below for more info). │ │ │ │ The command line to run ThruWay is as follows: │ │ │ │ ThruWay [Path:CfgFile] [/NoPause] [/Quiet] [/Status] [/?] │ │ │ │ The optional command line parameters specify a path and file │ │ name for an alternate ThruWay configuration file if you wish │ │ to override the default; whether ThruWay should omit slight │ │ pauses which it inserts in status reports which are displayed │ │ to the screen; if you wish to suppress error alert beeps │ │ (good for batch mode operations); and if you wish to have │ │ ThruWay put a status report in your netmail inbox to let you │ │ know the state of your echomail areas. │ │ │ │ Since ThruWay runs rather quickly, it is recommended that you │ │ not use /NoPause until you have tested ThruWay and you are │ │ satisfied that it is performing to your satisfaction. │ │ │ │ Entering /? or /Help on the command line displays a brief │ │ summary of the ThruWay command line and config file options. │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ▒▒▒▒▒──────┤ The ThruWay.Cfg Configuration File │ ├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ There are several parameters in the ThruWay config file, of │ │ which one may occur multiple times. │ │ │ │ Parameter Description │ │ ───────── ──────────────────────────────────────────────── │ │ Address Your system's network address in the form │ │ Zone:Net/Node (e.g., 1:326/100). Required. │ │ │ │ AlertNoPwd If a dead end echo is found in your echo control │ │ file and there is no matching node for that echo │ │ in your EchoHost list in the ThruWay.Cfg file, │ │ ThruWay will not send an AreaFix message to that │ │ host. However, ThruWay will optionally send you │ │ an informative netmail "alert message" if you │ │ set AlertNoPwd to "Yes". Optional. │ │ │ │ AreaFile The path and name of your echomail control file, │ │ in the form Drive:Path\FileName (e.g., │ │ C:\BBS\Areas.BBS). Required. │ │ │ │ AreaFormat The type of echo control file which ThruWay is │ │ to process. The current supported values for the │ │ parameter are "P", "#", or "O", for ZMail/QEcho, │ │ QMail, & OMMM formats respectively. Required. │ │ │ │ BadPath The path to your mail tosser's bad message sub- │ │ directory in the form Drive:\Path (trailing "\" │ │ optional). Required if RemoveBad="Yes". │ │ │ │ BadHisDays Specifies the number of days, from 1 to 30, for │ │ which ThruWay will keep a note of each passthru │ │ echo it has dropped. This value determines how │ │ messages arriving for a dropped echo will be │ │ handled by the RemoveBad option of ThruWay. If │ │ RemoveBad is enabled, and a record of dropping │ │ the echo is still listed in ThruWay's history, │ │ the bad message will be deleted for you. If the │ │ bad message arrives after BadHisDays has passed, │ │ ThruWay will simply tell you about the message, │ │ but will not delete it from the bad message sub- │ │ directory. │ │ │ └──────────────────{Continued on next page}─────────────────────┘ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ▒▒▒▒▒──────┤ The ThruWay.Cfg Configuration File (Continued) │ ├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ EchoHost Format: EchoHost HostAddress Password Flags │ │ │ │ Each occurrence specifies the network address of │ │ an echomail host, your AreaFix password for the │ │ specified host, and the message handling flags │ │ to be set for the messages created by ThruWay │ │ for the specified host. Required. │ │ │ │ Valid message handling flags are: [Crash|Hold| │ │ Norm] and [KillSent|Keep]. If flags are omitted │ │ the default flags Crash/Keep are used. │ │ │ │ NetMail The path to your system mail message directory │ │ in the form Drive:\Path (trailing "\" optional). │ │ ThruWay will place the .MSG files it creates in │ │ this directory. (e.g., D:\Mail\Out). Required. │ │ │ │ Notify The sysop name and node number of your point or │ │ another node to which copies of ThruWay status │ │ reports and error messages will be sent if you │ │ specify this optional parameter. See sample. │ │ │ │ RemoveBad Set to "Yes" if you wish to have ThruWay delete │ │ messages for echos that were recently dropped │ │ and which were placed in your bad message sub- │ │ directory by your mail tosser. ThruWay will not │ │ touch bad messages in echos that were not turned │ │ off by by ThruWay, but it will tell you about │ │ them in a status report. │ │ │ │ RemoveDirs If you are running a QMail style system where │ │ subdirectories are created for all echos, you │ │ can set this switch to "Yes" to have ThruWay │ │ remove the subdirectories for you. The default │ │ value is "No". Optional. │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ▒▒▒▒▒──────┤ DOS Exit ErrorLevels │ ├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ ThruWay returns the following DOS Exit ErrorLevels which may │ │ be used in batch files to determine subsequent actions based │ │ on ThruWay results: │ │ │ │ DOS ErrorLevel Description │ │ ────────────── ───────────────────────────────────────── │ │ 0 ThruWay ran to normal completion without │ │ errors; no passthru echos were dropped. │ │ │ │ 1 No passthru echos were dropped; ThruWay │ │ generated non-fatal warning error messages. │ │ │ │ 2 Some passthru echos were dropped; ThruWay │ │ generated non-fatal warning error messages. │ │ │ │ 3 Some passthru echos were dropped; no error │ │ message conditions occurred. │ │ │ │ 99 A fatal error caused ThruWay to abort prior │ │ to normal completion. │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ▒▒▒▒▒──────┤ Special Considerations │ ├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Some users report that the queue management facility of the │ │ widely-used AreaFix utility has a small bug. We have not been │ │ able to duplicate this on our system, but apparently in some │ │ cases AreaFix does not insert node distribution information │ │ in a QEcho-style control file when AreaFix encounters a newly │ │ arrived echo area in the bad message directory for which a │ │ pending .QUE entry is present. In such cases AreaFix inserts │ │ only the echoname and host node info into the echo control │ │ file on its first run; the next time AreaFix runs, it removes │ │ the destination node entry(s) from its queue (AreaFix.Que) │ │ and updates the recipient node data in the echo control file. │ │ │ │ If this occurs with your system setup you should invoke Area- │ │ Fix twice in your mail handling batch file before you run │ │ ThruWay in order to avoid having ThruWay turn off an echo │ │ which the AreaFix queue manager has partially restored. │ │ │ │ This apparently occurs only with QEcho-style control files. │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ▒▒▒▒▒──────┤ ShareWare Notice │ ├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ ThruWay is copyrighted by SomaSystems[tm] and is a shareware │ │ utility. The following shareware fees apply to the use of │ │ this utility: │ │ │ │ Type Of Usage ShareWare Fee │ │ ─────────────────────────────────────── ───────────── │ │ BBS's and echomail hubs that are not │ │ operating for the purpose of making a │ │ profit - 0 - │ │ │ │ BBS's and echomail hubs which charge │ │ fees and are operated for the purpose │ │ of making a profit $ 15. *─┐ │ │ │ │ │ BBS's operated by corporations or by │ │ │ any government department $ 25. *─┤ │ │┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ │└> * Please remit appropriate shareware fees to Bill Thomas, │ │ * SomaSystems, PO Box 171, Kittery Point, ME 03905. │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ▒▒▒▒▒──────┤ Support and Enhancements │ ├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ If you have questions about ThruWay, please feel free to send │ │ netmail to Bill Thomas at FidoNet address 1:326/100. We will │ │ do our best to respond promptly. Please send along any bug │ │ reports also! │ │ │ │ Note: ThruWay was created with an E.T. personality. At some │ │ time during it's lifetime of use on your BBS, ThruWay may │ │ send one brief message back to its home planet, just to let │ │ us know its running okay. Don't be alarmed...it really won't │ │ steal your umbrella, your phonograph, or your kids! If it │ │ does generate such a message, it will be flagged as a normal │ │ priority message for host-routing by your mail handler; it │ │ will not cause your system to make a crashmail toll call. │ │ │ │ If you would like enhancements and new features incorporated │ │ into ThruWay, let us know. We'll do our best to accommodate │ │ your requests. │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ▒▒▒▒▒──────┤ Acknowledgements │ ├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Our thanks to beta testers Wayne Price and Paul Shoop, and │ │ a very special acknowledgement to Gordon Green for his many │ │ excellent suggestions. Thanks also of course to Tom Jennings │ │ for inventing this FidoNet madness, and to Jeff Rush for │ │ thinking up (what hath he wrought!) EchoMail. │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘