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- <TITLE>The DXSpider Installation and Administration Manual : Filtering (New Style v1.45 and later)</TITLE>
+ <TITLE>The DXSpider Administration Manual v1.47: Information, files and useful programs</TITLE>
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-<H2><A NAME="s7">7. Filtering (New Style v1.45 and later)</A></H2>
+<H2><A NAME="s7">7. Information, files and useful programs</A></H2>
-<H2><A NAME="ss7.1">7.1 General filter rules</A>
+<H2><A NAME="ss7.1">7.1 MOTD</A>
</H2>
-<P>Upto v1.44 it was not possible for the user to set their own filters. From
-v1.45 though that has all changed. It is now possible to set filters for just
-about anything you wish. If you have just updated from an older version of
-DXSpider you will need to update your new filters. You do not need to do
-anything with your old filters, they will be renamed as you update.
+<P>One of the more important things a cluster sysop needs to do is to get
+information to his users. The simplest way to do this is to have a banner
+that is sent to the user on login. This is know as a "message of the day"
+or "motd". To set this up, simply create a file in /spider/data called motd
+and edit it to say whatever you want. It is purely a text file and will be
+sent automatically to anyone logging in to the cluster.
<P>
-<P>There are 3 basic commands involved in setting and manipulating filters. These
-are <EM>accept</EM>, <EM>reject</EM> and <EM>clear</EM>. First we will look
-generally at filtering. There are a number of things you can filter in the
-DXSpider system. They all use the same general mechanism.
+<H2><A NAME="ss7.2">7.2 Downtime message</A>
+</H2>
+
+<P>If for any reason the cluster is down, maybe for upgrade or maintenance but
+the machine is still running, a message can be sent to the user advising them
+of the fact. This message lives in the /spider/data directory and is called
+"offline". Simply create the file and edit it to say whatever you wish.
+This file will be sent to a user attempting to log into the cluster when
+DXSpider is not actually running.
<P>
-<P>In general terms you can create a 'reject' or an 'accept' filter which can have
-up to 10 lines in it. You do this using, for example ...
+<H2><A NAME="ss7.3">7.3 Other text messages</A>
+</H2>
+
+<P>You can set other text messages to be read by the user if they input the file
+name. This could be for news items or maybe information for new users.
+To set this up, make a directory under /spider called <EM>packclus</EM>.
+Under this directory you can create files called <EM>news</EM> or <EM>newuser</EM>
+for example. In fact you can create files with any names you like. These can
+be listed by the user with the command ....
<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
<PRE>
-
-accept/spots .....
-reject/spots .....
+show/files
</PRE>
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
-<P>where ..... are the specific commands for that type of filter. There are filters
-for spots, wwv, announce, wcy and (for sysops) connects. See each different
-accept or reject command reference for more details.
-<P>There is also a command to clear out one or more lines in a filter. They are ...
+<P>They can be read by the user by typing the command ....
<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
<PRE>
-clear/spots 1
-clear/spots all
+type news
</PRE>
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
-<P>There is clear/xxxx command for each type of filter.
+<P>If the file they want to read is called <EM>news</EM>. You could also set
+an alias for this in the Alias file to allow them just to type <EM>news</EM>
<P>
-<P>and you can check that your filters have worked by the command ...
+<P>You can also store other information in this directory, either directly or
+nested under directories. One use for this would be to store DX bulletins
+such as the OPDX bulletins. These can be listed and read by the user.
+To keep things tidy, make a directory under /spider/packclus called
+<EM>bulletin</EM>. Now copy any OPDX or similar bulletins into it. These
+can be listed by the user in the same way as above using the <EM>show/files</EM>
+command with an extension for the bulletin directory you have just created,
+like this ....
<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
<PRE>
-
-show/filter
+show/files bulletin
</PRE>
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>
-<P>For now we are going to use spots for the examples, but you can apply the same
-principles to all types of filter.
-<P>
-<H2><A NAME="ss7.2">7.2 Types of filter</A>
-</H2>
-
-<P>There are two main types of filter, <EM>accept</EM> or <EM>reject</EM>. You
-can use either to achieve the result you want dependent on your own preference
-and which is more simple to do. It is pointless writing 8 lines of reject
-filters when 1 accept filter would do the same thing! Each filter has 10
-lines (of any length) which are tried in order. If a line matches then the
-action you have specified is taken (ie reject means ignore it and accept
-means take it)
-<P>
-<P>If you specify reject filters, then any lines that arrive that match the filter
-will be dumped but all else will be accepted. If you use an accept filter,
-then ONLY the lines in the filter will be accepted and all else will be dumped.
-For example if you have a single line <EM>accept</EM> filter ...
+<P>An example would look like this ....
<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
<PRE>
-accept/spots on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
+sh/files
+bulletin DIR 20-Dec-1999 1715Z news 1602 14-Dec-1999 1330Z
</PRE>
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
-<P>then you will <EM>ONLY</EM> get VHF spots <EM>from</EM> or <EM>to</EM> CQ zones
-14, 15 and 16.
-<P>
-<P>If you set a reject filter like this ...
+<P>You can see that in the files area (basically the packclus directory) there is a
+file called <EM>news</EM> and a directory called <EM>bulletin</EM>. You can
+also see that dates they were created. In the case of the file <EM>news</EM>,
+you can also see the time it was last modified, a good clue as to whether the
+file has been updated since you last read it. To read the file called
+<EM>news</EM> you would simply issue the command ....
<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
<PRE>
-reject/spots on hf/cw
+type news
</PRE>
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
-<P>Then you will get everything <EM>EXCEPT</EM> HF CW spots. You could make this
-single filter even more flexible. For example, if you are interested in IOTA
-and will work it even on CW even though normally you are not interested in
-CW, then you could say ...
+<P>To look what is in the bulletin directory you issue the command ....
<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
<PRE>
-reject/spots on hf/cw and not info iota
+show/files bulletin
+opdx390 21381 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx390.1 1670 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
+opdx390.2 2193 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx391 25045 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
+opdx392 35969 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx393 15023 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
+opdx394 33429 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx394.1 3116 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
+opdx395 24319 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx396 32647 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
+opdx396.1 5537 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx396.2 6242 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
+opdx397 18433 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx398 19961 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
+opdx399 17719 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx400 19600 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
+opdx401 27738 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx402 18698 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
+opdx403 24994 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx404 15685 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
+opdx405 13984 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx405.1 4166 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
+opdx406 28934 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx407 24153 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
+opdx408 15081 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx409 23234 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
+Press Enter to continue, A to abort (16 lines) >
</PRE>
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
-<P>But in that case you might only be interested in iota and say:-
+<P>You can now read any file in this directory using the type command, like this ....
<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
<PRE>
-accept/spots not on hf/cw or info iota
+type bulletin/opdx391
+Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 391
+The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
+DX Bulletin No. 391
+BID: $OPDX.391
+January 11, 1999
+Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW
+Provided by BARF-80 BBS Cleveland, Ohio
+Online at 440-237-8208 28.8k-1200 Baud 8/N/1 (New Area Code!)
+Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern Ohio DX
+Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, K1XN & Golist, WB2RAJ/WB2YQH
+& The 59(9) DXReport, W3UR & The Daily DX, K3TEJ, KN4UG, W4DC, NC6J, N6HR,
+Press Enter to continue, A to abort (508 lines) >
</PRE>
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
-<P>which achieves exactly the same thing. You should choose one or the other
-until you are comfortable with the way it works. You can mix them if you
-wish (actually you can have an accept AND a reject on the same line) but
-don't attempt this until you are sure you know what you are doing!
+<P>The page length will of course depend on what you have it set to!
<P>
-<P>You can arrange your filter lines into logical units, either for your own
-understanding or simply convenience. Here is an example ...
+<H2><A NAME="ss7.4">7.4 The Aliases file</A>
+</H2>
+
+<P>You will find a file in /spider/cmd/ called Aliases. First, copy this file to
+/spider/local_cmd/Aliases and edit this file. You will see something like this ...
<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
<PRE>
-reject/spots 1 on hf/cw
-reject/spots 2 on 50000/1400000 not (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
+
+#!/usr/bin/perl
+
+# provide some standard aliases for commands for terminally
+# helpless ak1a user (helpless in the sense that they never
+# read nor understand help files)
+
+# This file is automagically reloaded if its modification time is
+# later than the one stored in CmdAlias.pm
+
+# PLEASE make this file consistant with reality! (the patterns MUST
+# match the filenames!)
+
+# Don't alter this file, copy it into the local_cmd tree and modify it.
+# This file will be replaced everytime I issue a new release.
+
+# You only need to put aliases in here for commands that don't work as
+# you desire naturally, e.g sh/dx on its own just works as you expect
+# so you need not add it as an alias.
+
+
+
+package CmdAlias;
+
+%alias = (
+ '?' => [
+ '^\?', 'apropos', 'apropos',
+ ],
+ 'a' => [
+ '^ann.*/full', 'announce full', 'announce',
+ '^ann.*/sysop', 'announce sysop', 'announce',
+ '^ann.*/(.*)$', 'announce $1', 'announce',
+ ],
+ 'b' => [
+ ],
+ 'c' => [
+ ],
+ 'd' => [
+ '^del', 'kill', 'kill',
+ '^del\w*/fu', 'kill full', 'kill',
+ '^di\w*/a\w*', 'directory all', 'directory',
+ '^di\w*/b\w*', 'directory bulletins', 'directory',
+ '^di\w*/n\w*', 'directory new', 'directory',
+ '^di\w*/o\w*', 'directory own', 'directory',
+ '^di\w*/s\w*', 'directory subject', 'directory',
+ '^di\w*/t\w*', 'directory to', 'directory',
+ '^di\w*/f\w*', 'directory from', 'directory',
+ '^di\w*/(\d+)', 'directory $1', 'directory',
+ ],
+ 'e' => [
+ ],
+ 'f' => [
+ ],
+ 'g' => [
+ ],
+ 'h' => [
+ ],
+ 'i' => [
+ ],
+ 'j' => [
+ ],
+ 'k' => [
+ ],
+ 'l' => [
+ '^l$', 'directory', 'directory',
+ '^ll$', 'directory', 'directory',
+ '^ll/(\d+)', 'directory $1', 'directory',
+ ],
+ 'm' => [
+ ],
+ 'n' => [
+ '^news', 'type news', 'type',
+ ],
+ 'o' => [
+ ],
+ 'p' => [
+ ],
+ 'q' => [
+ '^q', 'bye', 'bye',
+ ],
+ 'r' => [
+ '^r$', 'read', 'read',
+ '^rcmd/(\S+)', 'rcmd $1', 'rcmd',
+ ],
+ 's' => [
+ '^s/p$', 'send', 'send',
+ '^sb$', 'send noprivate', 'send',
+ '^set/home$', 'set/homenode', 'set/homenode',
+ '^set/nobe', 'unset/beep', 'unset/beep',
+ '^set/nohe', 'unset/here', 'unset/here',
+ '^set/noan', 'unset/announce', 'unset/announce',
+ '^set/nodx', 'unset/dx', 'unset/dx',
+ '^set/nota', 'unset/talk', 'unset/talk',
+ '^set/noww', 'unset/wwv', 'unset/wwv',
+ '^set/nowx', 'unset/wx', 'unset/wx',
+ '^sh$', 'show', 'show',
+ '^sh\w*/buck', 'dbshow buck', 'dbshow',
+ '^sh\w*/bu', 'show/files bulletins', 'show/files',
+ '^sh\w*/c/n', 'show/configuration nodes', 'show/configuration',
+ '^sh\w*/c$', 'show/configuration', 'show/configuration',
+ '^sh\w*/com', 'dbavail', 'dbavail',
+ '^sh\w*/dx/(\d+)-(\d+)', 'show/dx $1-$2', 'show/dx',
+ '^sh\w*/dx/(\d+)', 'show/dx $1', 'show/dx',
+ '^sh\w*/dx/d(\d+)', 'show/dx from $1', 'show/dx',
+ '^sh\w*/email', 'dbshow email', 'dbshow',
+ '^sh\w*/hftest', 'dbshow hftest', 'dbshow',
+ '^sh\w*/vhftest', 'dbshow vhftest', 'dbshow',
+ '^sh\w*/qsl', 'dbshow qsl', 'dbshow',
+ '^sh\w*/tnc', 'who', 'who',
+ '^sh\w*/up', 'show/cluster', 'show/cluster',
+ '^sh\w*/w\w*/(\d+)-(\d+)', 'show/wwv $1-$2', 'show/wwv',
+ '^sh\w*/w\w*/(\d+)', 'show/wwv $1', 'show/wwv',
+ '^sp$', 'send', 'send',
+
+ ],
+ 't' => [
+ '^ta$', 'talk', 'talk',
+ '^t$', 'talk', 'talk',
+ ],
+ 'u' => [
+ ],
+ 'v' => [
+ ],
+ 'w' => [
+ '^wx/full', 'wx full', 'wx',
+ '^wx/sysop', 'wx sysop', 'wx',
+ ],
+ 'x' => [
+ ],
+ 'y' => [
+ ],
+ 'z' => [
+ ],
+)
</PRE>
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
-<P>What this does is to ignore all HF CW spots and also rejects any spots on VHF
-which don't either originate or spot someone in Europe.
+<P>You can create aliases for commands at will. Beware though, these may not
+always turn out as you think. Care is needed and you need to test the
+results once you have set an alias.
<P>
-<P>This is an example where you would use a line number (1 and 2 in this case), if
-you leave the digit out, the system assumes '1'. Digits '0'-'9' are available.
-This make it easier to see just what filters you have set. It also makes it
-more simple to remove individual filters, during a contest for example.
+<H2><A NAME="ss7.5">7.5 Console.pl</A>
+</H2>
+
+<P>In later versions of Spider a simple console program is provided for the sysop.
+This has a type ahead buffer with line editing facilities and colour for spots,
+announces etc. To use this program, simply use console.pl instead of client.
<P>
-<P>You will notice in the above example that the second line has brackets. Look
-at the line logically. You can see there are 2 separate sections to it. We
-are saying reject spots that are VHF or above <EM>APART</EM> from those in
-zones 14, 15 and 16 (either spotted there or originated there). If you did
-not have the brackets to separate the 2 sections, then Spider would read it
-logically from the front and see a different expression entirely ...
+<P>To edit the colours, copy /spider/perl/Console.pl to /spider/local and edit the
+file with your favourite editor.
<P>
-<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
-<PRE>
-(on 50000/1400000 and by_zone 14,15,16) or call_zone 14,15,16
-</PRE>
-</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
-<P>The simple way to remember this is, if you use OR - use brackets. Whilst we are
-here CASE is not important. 'And BY_Zone' is just the same as 'and by_zone'.
-<P>As mentioned earlier, setting several filters can be more flexible than
-simply setting one complex one. Doing it in this way means that if you want
-to alter your filter you can just redefine or remove one or more lines of it or
-one line. For example ...
+<H2><A NAME="ss7.6">7.6 Updating kepler data</A>
+</H2>
+
+<P>Spider has a powerful and flexible show/satellite command. In order for
+this to be accurate, the kepler data has to be updated regularly. In
+general, this data is available as an email or via cluster mail.
+Updating it is simple. First you need to export the mail message as a
+file. You do this with the <EM>export</EM> command from the cluster prompt
+as the sysop. For example ...
<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
<PRE>
-reject/spots 1 on hf/ssb
+export 5467 /spider/perl/keps.in
</PRE>
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
-<P>would redefine our earlier example, or
+<P>would export message number 5467 as a file called keps.in in the
+/spider/perl directory.
+<P>Now login to a VT as sysop and cd /spider/perl. There is a command in
+the perl directory called <EM>convkeps.pl</EM>. All we need to do now is
+convert the file like so ...
<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
<PRE>
-clear/spots 1
+./convkeps.pl keps.in
</PRE>
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
-<P>To remove all the filter lines in the spot filter ...
+<P>Now go back to the cluster and issue the command ...
<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
<PRE>
-clear/spots all
+load/keps
</PRE>
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
+<P>That is it! the kepler data has been updated.
<P>
-<H2><A NAME="ss7.3">7.3 Filter options</A>
+<H2><A NAME="ss7.7">7.7 The QRZ callbook</A>
</H2>
-<P>You can filter in several different ways. The options are listed in the
-various helpfiles for accept, reject and filter.
-<P>
-<H2><A NAME="ss7.4">7.4 Default filters</A>
-</H2>
-
-<P>Sometimes all that is needed is a general rule for node connects. This can
-be done with a node_default filter. This rule will always be followed, even
-if the link is isolated, unless another filter is set specifically. Default
-rules can be set for nodes and users. They can be set for spots, announces,
-WWV and WCY. They can also be used for hops. An example might look like
-this ...
-<P>
-<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
-<PRE>
-accept/spot node_default by_zone 14,15,16,20,33
-set/hops node_default spot 50
-</PRE>
-</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
-<P>This filter is for spots only, you could set others for announce, WWV and WCY.
-This filter would work for ALL nodes unless a specific filter is written to
-override it for a particular node. You can also set a user_default should
-you require. It is important to note that default filters should be
-considered to be "connected". By this I mean that should you override the
-default filter for spots, you need to add a rule for the hops for spots also.
-<P>
-<H2><A NAME="ss7.5">7.5 Advanced filtering</A>
-</H2>
-
-<P>Once you are happy with the results you get, you may like to experiment.
-<P>
-<P>The previous example that filters hf/cw spots and accepts vhf/uhf spots from EU
-can be written with a mixed filter, for example ...
-<P>
-<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
-<PRE>
-rej/spot on hf/cw
-acc/spot on 0/30000
-acc/spot 2 on 50000/1400000 and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
-</PRE>
-</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
-<P>Note that the first filter has not been specified with a number. This will
-automatically be assumed to be number 1. In this case, we have said <EM>reject all
-HF spots in the CW section of the bands but accept all others at HF. Also
-accept anything in VHF and above spotted in or by operators in the zones
-14, 15 and 16</EM>. Each filter slot actually has a 'reject' slot and
-an 'accept' slot. The reject slot is executed BEFORE the accept slot.
-<P>
-<P>It was mentioned earlier that after a reject test that doesn't match, the default
-for following tests is 'accept', the reverse is true for 'accept'. In the example
-what happens is that the reject is executed first, any non hf/cw spot is passed
-to the accept line, which lets through everything else on HF. The next filter line
-lets through just VHF/UHF spots from EU.
-<P>
+<P>The command <EM>sh/qrz</EM> will only work once you have followed a few
+simple steps. First you need to get a user ID and password from qrz.com.
+Simply go to the site and create one. Secondly you need to copy the file
+/spider/perl/Internet.pm to /spider/local and alter it to match your user
+ID and password. You also at this point need to set $allow=1 to complete
+the setup. Many thanks to Fred Lloyd, the proprieter of
+<A HREF="http://www.qrz.com">qrz.com</A> for allowing this access.
<P>
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