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CTLINND(8)							    CTLINND(8)

NAME
       ctlinnd - control the InterNetNews daemon

SYNOPSIS
       ctlinnd [ -h ] [ -s ] [ -t timeout ] command [ argument...  ]

DESCRIPTION
       Ctlinnd	sends  a message to the control channel of innd(8), the Inter‐
       NetNews server.

       In the normal mode of behavior, the message  is	sent  to  the  server,
       which  then performs the requested action and sends back a reply with a
       text message and the exit code for ctlinnd.  If the server successfully
       performed  the  command,	 ctlinnd  will	exit with a status of zero and
       print the reply on standard output.  If the server  could  not  perform
       the  command  (for example, it was told to remove a newsgroup that does
       not exist), it will direct ctlinnd to exit with a status of  one.   The
       ``shutdown,''  ``xabort,''  and	``xexec''  commands  do not generate a
       reply; ctlinnd will always exit silently with a status of zero.	If the
       ``-s'' flag is used, then no message will be printed if the command was
       successful.

       The ``-t'' flag can be used to specify how long to wait for  the	 reply
       from  the server.  The timeout value specifies the number of seconds to
       wait.  A value of zero waits forever, and a value less than zero	 indi‐
       cates  that no reply is needed.	When waiting for a reply, ctlinnd will
       try every two minutes to see if the server is still running, so	it  is
       unlikely that ``-t0'' will hang.	 The default is ``-t0.''

       To  see	a  command  summary,  use  the	``-h''	flag.  If a command is
       included when ctlinnd is invoked with the ``-h'' flag,  then  only  the
       usage for that command will be given.

       If a large number of groups are going to be created or deleted at once,
       it may be more efficient to ``pause'' or ``throttle''  the  server  and
       edit the active file directly.

       The  complete  list of commands follows.	 Note that all commands have a
       fixed number of arguments.  If a parameter can be an empty string, then
       it is necessary to specify it as two adjacent quotes, like "".

       addhist <Message-ID> arr exp post paths
	      Add  an  entry to the history database.  This directs the server
	      to create a history line for Message-ID.	The angle brackets are
	      optional.	  Arr, exp, and post specify when the article arrived,
	      what its expiration date is, and when it was posted.  All	 three
	      values  are  a number indicating the number of seconds since the
	      epoch.  If the article does not have an Expires header, then exp
	      should  be  zero.	  Paths	 is the pathname within the news spool
	      directory where the article is filed.  If the article is	cross-
	      posted, then the names should be separated by whitespace and the
	      paths argument should be inside double quotes.  If the server is
	      paused  or throttled, this command causes it to briefly open the
	      history database.

       allow reason
	      Remote connections are allowed.  The reason  must	 be  the  same
	      text  given  with	 an  earlier  ``reject''  command, or an empty
	      string.

       begin site
	      Begin feeding site.  This will cause the server  to  rescan  the
	      newsfeeds(5)  file to find the specified site and set up a news‐
	      feed for it.  If the site already exists,	 a  ``drop''  is  done
	      first.  This command is forwarded; see below.

       cancel <Message-ID>
	      Remove  the article with the specified Message-ID from the local
	      system.  This does not generate a	 cancel	 message.   The	 angle
	      brackets	are  optional.	 If the server is paused or throttled,
	      this command causes it to briefly open the history database.

       changegroup group rest
	      The newsgroup group is changed so that its fourth field  in  the
	      active  file  becomes the value specified by the rest parameter.
	      This may be used to make an existing group moderated or unmoder‐
	      ated, for example.

       checkfile
	      Check the syntax of the newsfeeds file, and display a message if
	      any errors are found.  The details of the errors are reported to
	      syslog(3).

       drop site
	      Flush  and  drop	site  from  the server's list of active feeds.
	      This command is forwarded; see below.

       flush site
	      Flush the buffer for the	specified  site.   The	actions	 taken
	      depend  on the type of feed the site receives; see newsfeeds(5).
	      This is useful when the site is fed by a file  and  batching  is
	      going  to start.	If site is an empty string, then all sites are
	      flushed and the active file and history databases are also writ‐
	      ten out.	This command is forwarded; see below.

       flushlogs
	      Close the log and error log files and rename them to have a .old
	      extension.  The history database and active file are also	 writ‐
	      ten out.

       go reason
	      Re-open  the history database and start accepting articles after
	      a ``pause'' or ``throttle'' command.  The reason must either  be
	      an  empty string or match the text that was given in the earlier
	      ``pause'' or ``throttle'' command.  If a ``reject'' command  was
	      done,  this  will	 also  do  an  ``allow'' command if the reason
	      matches the text	that  was  given  in  the  ``reject.''	 If  a
	      ``reserve''  command was done, this will also clear the reserva‐
	      tion if the reason matches  the  text  that  was	given  in  the
	      ``reserve.''  Note that if only the history database has changed
	      while the server is paused or throttled, it is not necessary  to
	      send it a ``reload'' command before sending it a ``go'' command.
	      If the server throttled itself because it accumulated  too  many
	      I/O  errors,  this  command  will reset the error count.	If the
	      server was not started with the ``-ny'' flag, then this  command
	      also  does  a  ``readers''  command with ``yes'' as the flag and
	      reason as the text.

       hangup channel
	      Close the socket on the specified	 incoming  channel.   This  is
	      useful when an incoming connection appears to be hung.

       help [command]
	      Print  a	command	 summary  for all commands, or just command if
	      specified.

       mode   Print the server's operating mode as a multi-line summary of the
	      parameters and operating state.

       name nnn
	      Print the name of channel number nnn or of all channels if it is
	      an empty string.

       newgroup group rest creator
	      Create the specified newsgroup.  The rest	 parameter  should  be
	      the  fourth  field  as  described	 in active(5); if it is not an
	      equal sign, only the first letter is used.  The  creator	should
	      be  the name of the person creating the group.  If the newsgroup
	      already exists, this is equivalent to the	 ``changegroup''  com‐
	      mand.   This is the only command that has defaults.  The creator
	      can be omitted and will default to the  empty  string,  and  the
	      rest  parameter  can be omitted and will default to ``y''.  This
	      command can be done while the server is paused or throttled;  it
	      will  update  its	 internal state when a ``go'' command is sent.
	      This command updates the active.times (see active(5)) file.

       param letter value
	      Change the command-line parameters of the server.	 The  combina‐
	      tion of defaults make it possible to use the text of the Control
	      header directly.	Letter is the innd command-line option to set,
	      and  value  is  the new value.  For example, ``i 5'' directs the
	      server to allow only five incoming connections.	To  enable  or
	      disable  the  action of the ``-n'' flag, use the letter ``y'' or
	      ``n'', respectively, for the value.

       pause reason
	      Pause the server so that no incoming articles are accepted.   No
	      existing	connections  are  closed,  but the history database is
	      closed.  This command should be used for short-term locks,  such
	      as  when	replacing  the	history	 files.	 If the server was not
	      started with the ``-ny'' flag, then this	command	 also  does  a
	      ``readers''  command  with  ``no'' as the flag and reason as the
	      text.

       readers flag text
	      Allow or disallow newsreaders.  If flag starts with  the	letter
	      ``n''  then  newsreading is disallowed, by causing the server to
	      pass the text as the value of the nnrpd(8) ``-r'' flag.  If flag
	      starts with the letter ``y'' and text is either an empty string,
	      or the same string that was used	when  newsreading  was	disal‐
	      lowed, then newsreading will be allowed.

       reject reason
	      Remote connections (those that would not be handed off to nnrpd)
	      are rejected, with reason given as the explanation.

       reload what reason
	      The server updates its in-memory copies of various configuration
	      files.   What  identifies	 what should be reloaded.  If it is an
	      empty string or the word ``all'' then everything is reloaded; if
	      it  is  the word ``history'' then the history database is closed
	      and  opened,  if	it  is	the  word  ``hosts.nntp''   then   the
	      hosts.nntp(5)  file is reloaded; if it is the word ``active'' or
	      ``newsfeeds'' then both  the  active  and	 newsfeeds  files  are
	      reloaded;	 if  it	 is  the  word ``overview.fmt'' then the over‐
	      view.fmt(5) file is reloaded.  The reason is reported to syslog.
	      There  is no way to reload the data inn.conf(5) file; the server
	      currently only uses the ``pathhost'' parameter, so this restric‐
	      tion should not be a problem.

       renumber group
	      Scan  the spool directory for the specified newsgroup and update
	      the low-water mark in the active file.  If  group	 is  an	 empty
	      string then all newsgroups are scanned.

       reserve reason
	      The  next	 ``pause''  or ``throttle'' command must use reason as
	      its text.	 This ``reservation'' is cleared by  giving  an	 empty
	      string  for  the	reason.	 This command is used by programs like
	      expire(8) that want to avoid running  into  other	 instances  of
	      each other.

       rmgroup group
	      Remove  the  specified  newsgroup.   This is done by editing the
	      active file.  The spool directory is not touched, and any	 arti‐
	      cles  in	the group will be expired using the default expiration
	      parameters.  Unlike the ``newgroup'' command, this command  does
	      not update the active.times file.

       send feed text...
	      The  specified  text  is	sent as a control line to the exploder
	      feed.

       shutdown reason
	      The server is shut down, with the specified reason  recorded  in
	      the  log and sent to all open connections.  It is a good idea to
	      send a ``throttle'' command first.

       signal sig site
	      Signal sig is sent to the specified site, which must be a	 chan‐
	      nel or exploder feed.  Sig can be a numeric signal number or the
	      word ``hup,'' ``int,'' or ``term''; case is not significant.

       throttle reason
	      Input is throttled so that all existing connections  are	closed
	      and  new	connections  are  rejected.   The  history database is
	      closed.  This should be used for long-term locks, such  as  when
	      expire  is  being	 run.	If the server was not started with the
	      ``-ny'' flag, then this command also does a ``readers''  command
	      with ``no'' as the flag and reason as the text.

       trace item flag
	      Tracing is turned on or off for the specified item.  Flag should
	      start with the letter ``y'' or ``n'' to turn tracing on or  off.
	      If  item	starts is a number, then tracing is set for the speci‐
	      fied innd channel, which must be for an incoming NNTP feed.   If
	      it  starts  with	the  letter ``i'' then general innd tracing is
	      turned on or off.	 If it	starts	with  the  letter  ``n''  then
	      future nnrpd's will or will not have the ``-t'' flag enabled, as
	      appropriate.

       xabort reason
	      The server logs  the  specified  reason  and  then  invokes  the
	      abort(3) routine.

       xexec path
	      The  server gets ready to shut itself down, but instead of exit‐
	      ing it execs the specified path with all of its  original	 argu‐
	      ments.   If  path	 is  ``innd''  then  /usr/contrib/news/innd is
	      invoked; if it is ``inndstart'' then /usr/contrib/news/inndstart
	      is  invoked; if it is an empty string, it will invoke the appro‐
	      priate program depending on whether or not it was	 started  with
	      the ``-p'' flag; any other value is an error.

       In addition to being acted upon within the server, certain commands can
       be forwarded to the appropriate child process.  If the  site  receiving
       the command is an exploder (such as buffchan(8)) or it is a funnel that
       feeds into an exploder, then the command can  be	 forwarded.   In  this
       case, the server will send a command line to the exploder that consists
       of the ctlinnd command name.  If the site funnels into an exploder that
       has  an asterisk (``*'') in its ``W'' flag (see newsfweed(5)), then the
       site name will be appended to the command;  otherwise  no  argument  is
       appended.

BUGS
       Ctlinnd	uses  the  inndcomm(3)	library,  and  is therefore limited to
       server replies no larger than 4k.

HISTORY
       Written by Rich $alz <rsalz@uunet.uu.net> for  InterNetNews.   This  is
       revision 1.30, dated 1993/03/18.

SEE ALSO
       active(5),  expire(8), innd(8), inndcomm(3), inn.conf(5), newsfeeds(5),
       overview.fmt(5).

								    CTLINND(8)
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