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Operating System

From NeoWiki

This page should serve as a reminder on how to setup a server for potential server operators. I probably missed a lot of things.

[edit] Choosing an OS (Distribution)

The following operating systems have been previously (or are currently) used to run servers on the NeoturbineNET IRC network. Any OS that can compile UnrealIRCd (or provides Unreal packages) should work fine but we generally prefer free (as in speech) operating systems. The ones listed below also are available free (as in beer) from the Internet.

Use the mirror geographically closest to you for fastest download. Please note that all these operating systems are also distributed via BitTorrent. If your ISP does not discriminate against this protocol please use it as it will allow you to obtain the OS very quickly and will also reduce load on mirrors.

Debian
- Various avenues of Support
- Latest stable Debian Install Guides
- HTTP/FTP Mirror Listing for CDs
- Members: sargas, trevorjay, rickb
CentOS (RHEL)
- Various Documentation for Release 5
- Mirror Listing
- Members: sargas
Slackware
- Various avenues of Support
- Installation Help for latest version
- Latest version Mirror Listing
- Members: fry
Gentoo
- Various avenues of Support
- Latest Gentoo Install Guides
- Mirrors
- Members: sargas, trevorjay, stiv2k, eli
Arch
- Support is available through Forums, Wiki, Mailing List, IRC, and Bug Tracker
- Latest Install Guide
- Download via BitTorrent or HTTP/FTP Mirrors
- Members: eric, Stars
FreeBSD
- Support can be found in the FreeBSD handbook, the FreeBSD diary, forums, mailing lists, in addition to many other ways.
- Getting FreeBSD from HTTP/FTP mirrors and torrents is possible.
- Members: Stars

[edit] Keeping Time

It is necessary to keep good time on your server if you wish to prevent netsplits. Installing and configuring an ntpd should be sufficient to keep your time correct. You can also set up a cron script to run ntpdate.

time zone

Before we even begin to mess with your time you must make sure that we are in the right time zone. How to Change the Timezone in Linux over at WikiHow lists a pretty good way to generally change your timezone through the command line. However, as the article states some distributions prefer to use non-standard methods. In Arch you can easily modify the timezone inside the core configuration file of rc.conf.

ntpdate

This method has the added advantage of being super easy to setup. Of course, its extremely stupid and should be avoided at all costs (wink, wink.) [1]

Make sure that you have the ntpdate package installed on your system
1. which ntpdate is an easy way to see if you have a ntpdate binary.
2. man ntpdate will get you to the manual page for ntpdate.
Modify the server's main crontab to update the time using a timeserver near you.
1. 0.us.pool.ntp.org is rrdns to the fastest US ntp servers [2].
2. read Gentoo Linux Cron Guide for information on crond and setting up cron jobs (most of the information contained in the guide is not Gentoo-specific).
rejoice!

ntpd

This is great if you want to keep good time for all the computers on your LAN. If you find a page that has a really good description on how to set up ntpd please update this page.