115 lines
7.9 KiB
HTML
115 lines
7.9 KiB
HTML
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<meta name="generator" content="HTML Tidy for Linux/x86 (vers 1st June 2003), see www.w3.org">
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<title>The Linux Documentation Project Weekly News</title>
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<div class="ARTICLE">
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<div class="TITLEPAGE">
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<h1 class="title"><a name="AEN2"></a>The Linux Documentation Project Weekly News</h1>
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<b>Issue Number :</b> 12<br>
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<b>Publication Date :</b> 2004-03-24<br>
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<hr></div>
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<div class="TOC">
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<dl>
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<dt class="c1">Table of Contents</dt>
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<dt>1. <a href="#new-released">New documents @ TLDP</a></dt>
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<dt>2. <a href="#updated-docs">Updated HOWTOs, FAQs and Guides</a></dt>
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<dt>3. <a href="#discussions">Discussions on TLDP lists</a></dt>
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<dd>
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<dl>
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<dt>3.1. <a href="#discussion1">TLDP Mirrors</a></dt>
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</dl>
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</dd>
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<dt>4. <a href="#interview">Interview with Fred Stutzman</a></dt>
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<dt>5. <a href="#feedback">HOWTO contribute to TLDP</a></dt>
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</dl>
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</div>
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<div class="sect1">
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<h1 class="sect1"><a name="new-released"></a>1. New documents @ TLDP</h1>
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<p>Tabatha completed the review of Kai Schlachter's <a href="http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Glibc-Install-HOWTO/" target="_top">Glibc Installation HOWTO</a>, which details the installation of a new glibc
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version on a Linux system. Kai decided to write this documentation after having struggled with the subject and finding no good documentation with an overview of the tasks to perform.</p>
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</div>
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<div class="sect1">
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<hr>
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<h1 class="sect1"><a name="updated-docs"></a>2. Updated HOWTOs, FAQs and Guides</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><span class="rss:item">The <a href="http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Linux+IPv6-HOWTO/" target="_top">Linux IPv6 HOWTO</a> v0.46 by Peter Bieringer features minor updates and corrections and more links to
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external resources.</span></li>
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</ul>
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</div>
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<div class="sect1">
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<hr>
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<h1 class="sect1"><a name="discussions"></a>3. Discussions on TLDP lists</h1>
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<div class="sect2">
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<h2 class="sect2"><a name="discussion1"></a>3.1. TLDP Mirrors</h2>
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<p>In <a href="http://lists.tldp.org/index.cgi?1:mss:6821:200403:icjmgahabpdlipbhobhb" target="_top">response</a> to Tille's post indicating a map of The LDP mirrors, Saqib Ali suggested that we have
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an automatic redirector based on the IP address of the client machine. Various people <a href="http://lists.tldp.org/index.cgi?1:mss:6826:200403:ehngfbpnepphojhokgdn" target="_top">disagreed</a> with
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reasons and suggested <a href="http://lists.tldp.org/index.cgi?1:mss:6835:200403:ifhbolfhjihbhnkaanhb" target="_top">alternative methods</a> of handling traffic.</p>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="sect1">
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<hr>
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<h1 class="sect1"><a name="interview"></a>4. Interview with Fred Stutzman</h1>
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<div class="figure"><a name="AEN29"></a>
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<p class="c2">Figure 1. Fred Stutzman, leader of iBiblio/TLDP support team.</p>
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<div class="mediaobject">
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<p><img src="fred.png"></p>
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</div>
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</div>
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<p>(Thanks to Doc Searles from <a href="http://www.linuxjournal.com" target="_top">Linux Journal</a> for taking this picture)</p>
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<p>TLDP WN had the chance of asking Fred Stutzman a couple of questions. Who is Fred, you might wonder? Indeed, he is not on the volunteer list page. Nevertheless, Fred is very important to us: he
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manages, with his colleagues, the TLDP servers at iBiblio. He is going to tell us about the hardware and network resources you need if you want to start a TLDP-like project.</p>
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<p><em>Q: Do we eat a lot of bandwidth? And the mirrors? What connection (uplink) do you have for all this?</em></p>
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<p>A: Does TLDP use a lot of bandwidth? I wouldn't say TLDP is necessarily a bandwidth-heavy site. That is to say, most of the transactions from TLDP sites involve highly efficient, basic HTML
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documents. A rather unscientific interrogation of server logs shows that the iBiblio TLDP site does anywhere between 500,000 to 1 Million transactions daily.</p>
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<p>A basic, unscientific look at page size will show that most of the TLDP pages are just a few kilobytes, the images a few more. All in all, this adds up - but with our uplink (which I'll get to)
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and the global system of mirrors, we're able to sustain the traffic load.</p>
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<p>iBiblio's network connectivity is provided by a 1 gigabit direct uplink to the campus' border router. Connectivity to commodity networks and I2/Abilene is provided by an OC-48 uplink. iBiblio's
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traffic load averages about 260Mbits/Sec, with web traffic a substantial part of that load.</p>
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<p><em>Q: How come iBiblio hosts TLDP?</em></p>
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<p>A: TLDP needed a home, and we offered our services. iBiblio is very interested in helping projects like the Linux Documentation Project, they fit our core goals very well. We're happy to handle
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the hosting, and let the TLDP folk work on what they do best, helping the world get access to the documentation that helps people use and understand Linux. Its really a perfect relationship for us in
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many ways.</p>
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<p>(note: The long history of cooperation between iBiblio and TLDP is documented in <a href="http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=7433" target="_top">this article</a>.)</p>
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<p><em>Q: How much time do you or your colleagues spend on managing TLDP data?</em></p>
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<p>A: We don't spend much time nowadays. In the beginning, we did a good amount of work getting the systems set up, and coordinating with the global network of volunteers. Now, we simply let the
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systems run, and assist the project leads and volunteers with their requests. Things run quite smoothly, thanks in no small part to the technical expertise of the TLDP staff.</p>
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<p><em>Q: What hardware does TLDP run on?</em></p>
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<p>A: TLDP runs on the iBiblio web cluster, which involves dual LVS directors, a cluster of web nodes, and fileservers. The equipment is IBM xSeries servers, 345's and 330's. The equipment was
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donated as part of the IBM Shared University Research Grant, for which we are very thankful.</p>
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<p><em>Q: How is the data backed up?</em></p>
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<p>A: The data is backed up nightly by UNC's (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) Enterprise Backup and Recovery Group. Using Tivoli Storage Manager, the data is incrementally backed up to
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tape. Additionally, the global system of mirrors provides another level of backup to the project. In a time of trouble (one especially notable episode of data corruption), we were able to repoint LDP
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to another site (with the administrator's permission, of course), and users were unaware of the switch as we restored the corrupted device. It was quite seamless.</p>
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<p><em>Q: What is your strangest experience in relation to TLDP?</em></p>
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<p>A: I don't really have many funny anecdotes. But come to mention it, as TLDP expands into many different languages, sometimes communication becomes a difficulty. I know there are some pretty
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bizarre discussion threads out there that involve me trying to communicate using translation software...which is probably not to be advised quite yet ;)</p>
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<p>Thanks, Fred!</p>
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</div>
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<div class="sect1">
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<hr>
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<h1 class="sect1"><a name="feedback"></a>5. HOWTO contribute to TLDP</h1>
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<p>The Linux Documentation Project (TLDP) is working on developing free, high quality documentation for the GNU/Linux operating system. If you want to help TLDP, consider joining <tt class=
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"email"><<a href="mailto:discuss-subscribe@en.tldp.org">discuss-subscribe@en.tldp.org</a>></tt>.</p>
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<p>Help us create this newsletter. We need volunteers who follow the community (mailing lists, newsgroups, web channels) and report events related to free software documentation. Write to us at
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<tt class="email"><<a href="mailto:feedback@en.tldp.org">feedback@en.tldp.org</a>></tt>.</p>
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<p>The LDP Weekly News is compiled and edited by Machtelt Garrels and Y Giridhar Appaji Nag with help from several other people.</p>
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</div>
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