FreeBSD in Dixons

Brian Somers brian at Awfulhak.org
Fri Mar 10 08:35:30 GMT 2000


> Something else to consider -- I'd like to get example config files,
> scripts, and so on, for /usr/share/examples, for the UK.
> 
> For example, a /usr/share/examples/ppp/uk/ directory, with sample ppp.conf
> files for Demon, Pavilion, Freeserve, BT, ..., DNS configurations, and so
> on.
> 
> Perhaps a /usr/share/examples/isp/uk/ directory hierarchy might be better, 
> 
>     .../examples/isp/uk/$ISP/ppp
>                              namedb
>                              sendmail
>                              leafnode
>                              inn
>                              squid
> 
> and other directories, each one containing commented configuration files
> suitable for $ISP (Demon, Pavilion, Freeserve, and so on).

If others jump on the bandwagon, this'll be good.  If they don't, it 
may look a bit half baked (witness the PGP keys in the handbook - 
*VERY* slow to materialise !).

I can supply configs for a lot of these services for Demon, 
Force9, Pavilion and BT.  It's interesting though, I think what we 
actually need is a script/program that will generate the config files 
based on a database of "isp specifics".  These specifics would 
contain things like phone numbers, dial strings, DNS negotiation flags,
web proxy name, news server name, newsfeed or inews style posting, 
hostname or domain and finally, services supported.  The script would 
then get some generic templates, prompt for account specifics (if not 
supplied on the command line) and build the requisite config files.

So, how about

   /usr/share/isp/defaults
   /usr/share/isp/uk/defaults
   /usr/share/isp/uk/pavilion
   /usr/share/isp/uk/demon
   /usr/share/isp/uk/bt
   /usr/share/isp/uk/force9

etc ?  These files would contain the standard bourne shell variable 
assignments, and then there'd be

   genconfig [-pnmlis] [otheroptions]

where the above flags generate configurations for ppp, named, mail, 
leafnode, innd and squid respectively.  We'd also want flags like 
-d domain to auto-specify your domain etc.

Any interest in something like this ?

> Obviously, there needs to be a big hefty disclaimer at the front of all
> these advising the user to double check them before using them, but it
> might help save new users some trouble.
> 
> The PPP configuration in sysinstall could then be modified to ask the user
> whether they want to use a canned configuration for an ISP, and if so, to
> select the ISP from a list. . .
> 
> Thoughts?

I think the main thing here is to make it easy to add new options - 
for example:

/usr/share/isp/uk/someisp
  phone=1234567
  services=ppp
  domain=someisp.co.uk

Would tell the program that it can generate a ppp.conf with the 
standard template and only the phone number specified.  It would then 
prompt for your authname/authkey and ask if you want to use a login 
script (it would generate one with \\U & \\P).  Or

/usr/share/isp/uk/demon
  phone=1234567
  pppdns=false
  proxy=www-cache.demon.co.uk
  services=ppp,squid,leafnode

where it prompts for your host/domain, authname and authkey, and allows 
you to configure squid using the given proxy) and leafnode using the 
standard news.domain.

> N
> -- 
> Internet connection, $19.95 a month.  Computer, $799.95.  Modem, $149.95.
> Telephone line, $24.95 a month.  Software, free.  USENET transmission,
> hundreds if not thousands of dollars.  Thinking before posting, priceless.
> Somethings in life you can't buy.  For everything else, there's MasterCard.
>   -- Graham Reed, in the Scary Devil Monastery

-- 
Brian <brian at Awfulhak.org>                        <brian@[uk.]FreeBSD.org>
      <http://www.Awfulhak.org>                   <brian@[uk.]OpenBSD.org>
Don't _EVER_ lose your sense of humour !







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