Iroffer 1.2b16

Welcome to iroffer 1.2b16, by PMG (released May 25th 2003)

 --- New in 1.2b16 --- (May 25th 2003)
 - increased number of packs and transfers
 - background and color modes on cygwin
 - proper file handling for xdcc and ignl files (no possibility of corruption now)
 - fix disconnect transfer bug (would previously have to timeout transfer)
 - fix channel user list 'unknown channel' bug on some servers
 - handle bogus reading after signal (ctrl-c stuck bug)
 - better error reasons in logs/messages
 - allow color/nocolor screen/noscreen from command line
 - fix cygwin 'not running cygwin' bug

 --- What is iroffer? ---

iroffer is a fileserver for irc (commonly referred to as a DCC bot).
It uses the DCC feature of irc to send files to other users. iroffer
will connect to an irc server and let people request files from it.
Unlike similar programs, iroffer is not a script, it is a standalone
executable written entirely in c from scratch with high transfer
speed and effeciency in mind.  iroffer has been able to sustain upto
50MByte/sec transfer rate over a gigabit ethernet link.

 --- Supported Platforms ---

Linux
FreeBSD, OpenBSD, BSD/OS, NetBSD
Solaris/SunOS
UP-UX
IRIX
Digital UNIX
MacOS X Server
MacOS X
AIX
Win95/98/NT/2000

All other platforms have not been tested, but will probabily work

 --- To Compile ---

Run the "Configure" script by typing "./Configure"
then type "make".
no errors or warnings should appear when compiling

A sample config file is provided.


 --- Why use iroffer to offer? ---

 - extremely fast dcc transfers
 - extremely low cpu usage, and reasonable ram usage
 - its a program not a script that is slowed by a bulky irc program
 - only completed transfers are counted
 - supports dcc resume
 - set max amount of transfers per hostname
 - user friendly error messages for users (no "clamp timeout")
 - allows a pack to be designated as a "high demand" pack which can
     have special limitations and its own separate queue
 - supports virtual hosts
 - auto-send feature, send a pack to someone when they say something
 - auto-saves xdcc information
 - remote administration via /msg or DCC CHAT
 - bandwidth monitoring, shows last 2 minutes bandwidth average
 - Allow sending of queued packs when using low amounts of bandwidth,
     comes in handy when all slots are filled with people transferring
     1k/sec, will keep sending out queued items while bandwidth usage
     is under a specified amount
 - Background or Foreground mode. background mode does not require
     screen and is cronable
 - Chroot support (run iroffer from inside a chroot'ed environment)
 - overall and pack minspeed
 - maximum bandwidth limiting, when set, iroffer will not use more than
     the set amount of bandwidth (keeps your sysadmin happy)
 - can set different maximum bandwidth limits depending on time of day
     and day of week (keeps your sysadmin very happy) 
 - logging
 - auto-ignores flooders
 - support for direct, bnc, wingate, and custom proxy irc server connections
 - ignore list


 --- What files can I offer? ---

 - Your channel's rules or FAQ
 - Pictures, Music, Programs, Shareware/Freeware, Programs you have
     written, etc... 
 - Help elevate overloaded ftp and http servers by mirroring content
     for your channel's members
 - Note: Be sure to consult and follow the appropriate copyright
   statement, distibution policy, and/or license agreement before
   offering any content you didn't create yourself


 --- How to let colors work while using screen ---

create a file in your home directory named ".screenrc", and put the
following lines in it:

termcap  vt100 'AF=\E[3%dm:AB=\E[4%dm'
terminfo vt100 'AF=\E[3%p1%dm:AB=\E[4%p1%dm'


 --- How To Use Cron ---

Edit the iroffer.cron file's iroffer_dir, iroffer_exec, and
iroffer_pid variables

then crontab -e and place the following line in the editor

*/5 * * * * /full/path/to/iroffer/iroffer.cron


 --- Signal Handling ---

iroffer will handle the following signal:

SIGUSR1 (kill -USR1 xxxx)  jumps to another server (same as admin command "jump")
SIGUSR2 (kill -USR2 xxxx)  re-reads config file    (same as admin command "rehash")
SIGTERM (kill xxxx)        shuts down iroffer      (same as admin command "shutdown")

 --- End of README ---

PMG