Tutorial 7: The Servers List
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Contents: General Info Server List Commands Displayable Info
Performance Tuning Summary
General Server Info

 Multiple news servers can be added to NewsRog. One server is the default server, which is to say the server from which news is obtained if the group itself does not provide a group specific news server. The default server can be changed at any time (if, for example, your main news server is down, you might switch to a backup). NewsRog will fully preserve all state information across a server change, unlike other newsreaders which either crash outright or lose read/unread and other article information.

NewsRog expects the server to provide the NNTP protocol as defined in RFC977 (A Proposed Standard for the Stream-Based Transmission of News) and the Common NNTP Extensions defined in draft-ietf-nntpext-imp-01.txt. Other types of news servers will not work.

Depending on how NewsRog is configured and used, it may need to create multiple connections to the news server. In order for this to happen, your news server must be configured to allow this. Information on how to use NewsRog in single connection mode is available elsewhere in this documentation.

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Group List Commands

The server list window looks like this. The button icons at the top have been explained in a previous tutorial. Other commands available here are:

  • Add Server - Creates a new, unnamed server. The server name or IP address can be typed into the text field.

  • Delete - Remove any selected servers.

  • Sort - Sort the server list. The list may only be sorted by name in this version of NewsRog.

  • Reset Stats - Reset the statisics dealing with the number of sucessful and failed connections and the number of groups on the server.

  • Set Default - Sets the active server as the default. Clicking on the Default checkbox next to the server name has the same effect.

  • Get Env - Attempts to read an environment variable named NNTPSERVER and creates a corresponding server entry. This environment variable is used by the tin newsreader.

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Displayable Data The server list can be set to display any desired information about a server. (See this tutorial for more information). The following data may be displayed:

Column Description
Default Displays a checkbox that will be checked next to the current default server, and unchecked next to the other servers. Clicking on this checkbox will make that server the default.
Server The full server name.
Success The number of successful connections to date.
Fail The number of failed connections to date.
Connect % Success*100/(Success+Fail). Useful to determine which servers are the most reliable.
# Groups The number of known groups on this server. The only way this information is updated is by using the Server Group List feature of the Group List window. If "*" is used as a pattern, all groups will be loaded and this count will be updated appropriately. It will thereafter be saved with the server when the NewsRog project is saved.
Timeout The TCP Connection timeout value for this server. If a TCP connection has not been made in this many seconds, the attempt is aborted. This value may be set with the Cx Timeout slider.
Retry Delay The delay between connection retries. A connection is only retried if the previous attempt established a valid TCP connection, and if the server reported that it was alive but busy. Other situations, such as failure to establish a TCP socket, or a server which fails to respond once the TCP socket has been established, will not retry the connection. This value may be set with the Retry Delay slider.
Retries The maximum number of connection retries before giving up. This value may be set with the Max Retries slider.
Hostname The hostname component of the server's nodename. This is shorter than the server name and may be displayed instead.

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Tuning for Maximum Performance If you are using some protocol such as PPP over a modem for an internet connection, it may be possible to tune your setup for faster NewsRog performance. Most modern modems can do data compression. Sent data is compressed by the remote modem for transfer, and the local modem uncompresses the data again before sending it to your computer.

It is generally best to run the computer-modem link at a much faster rate than the the modems themselves will connect. Using speeds of 115200, or the fastest than your hardware can support, can often increase speed especially for header downloads and other easily compressable data. It is generally necessary to use RTS/CTS flow control for maximum performance.

It is often possible to tune your modem for fastest possible connection speeds, but the specifics vary by manufacturer and are outside the scope of this documentation. Consult your modem user's manual for more information.

Depending on your protocol and TCP software, you may be able to set TCP header compression. This also improves performance of your network link.

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Summary By this point in the tutorial you should understand:

  • The purpose of configurating multiple news servers.
  • The type of news NNTP server required for use with NewsRog.
  • The function of the default server, and how to change it.
  • What all of the buttons in the group servers window do.
  • What the different columns available for display mean.
  • How to tune your computer and modem setup for fastest operation.
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