rwhoisd 1.5.0
02/01/98

README

This is a release of the Referral Whois (RWhois) server developed 
by the Network Solutions, Incorporated, Directory Services group.  The 
documentation for RWhois will continue to be updated to reflect 
enhancements to RWhois.  Additional documentation will be available 
throughout the evolution of RWhois and as RWhois is deployed on a 
larger scale.

This server is a reference implementation of the server side of the 
RWhois protocol, first described in RFC 1714.  This server attempts to 
implement concepts and practices in accordance with version 1.5 of the 
protocol, described in doc/rfc2167.txt. This server should work 
on most versions of UNIX.

The primary difference between this server and previous versions is 
the treatment of authority areas.  The server now supports multiple 
authority areas and is more strict in its management of those 
authority areas.  The inclusion of multiple authority areas has forced 
a marked change upon the location and usage of the rwhoisd 
configuration files.  Please see the operations guide
(doc/operations-guide.txt) for further information.  See the
doc/UPGRADE file for notes on upgrading from the 1.0 server.

Please read the installation instructions (INSTALL) and the operations 
guide (doc/operations-guide.txt).  You may also wish to read the 
protocol spec itself (doc/rwhois-1.5-spec.txt).

----------

The following list highlights the primary differences between
rwhoisd-1.5.0 and rwhoisd-1.0B9.

* It conforms to Version 1.5 of the RWhois protocol.

* The code has been largely rewritten.

* It supports multiple authority areas per server.

* Indexing is improved (index files should be about half of their
  previous size) and the indexer is easier to use.

* The indexer will now perform a number of syntax checks on the 
  data as it indexes.

* The indexer and the search engine can now handle intelligent IP
  address matching (CIDR index and searching).

* rwhoisd in daemon mode (the default) will now automatically put
  itself in the background and disassocate itself from the 
  controlling terminal (daemonize).

* It includes syslog (or fake-syslog to files) support.

* It has a more consistent and complete query language parser.

* The search engine handles moderately complex queries more efficiently.

* The Whois-compatible display code has been removed and replaced with a 
  more general, parsable output format (dump).

* The register directive now works reliably, conforming to the 1.5 
  register methodology.

* It contains support for the Guardian authentication model.

-------------

Other files and directories in this distribution include the following.

INSTALL:                  the primary installation instructions
INSTALL.gen:              the generic autoconf instructurions
Makefile.in:              the top-level makefile
README:                   this file
LICENSE:                  the use conditions and warranty (or lack thereof)
common:                   common routines used by rwhoisd and other utils.
config.h.in:              an autoconf-generated header file
configure:                the autoconf-generated configuration script
configure.in:             the source to configure
doc:                      the rest of the server documentation
doc/operations-guide.txt: the main server documentation
doc/UPGRAGE:              some notes on upgrading from 1.0 to 1.5
mkdb:                     the MKDB database code
regexp:                   the regular expression package used by rwhoisd
sample.data:              a sample installation
server:                   the main part of the server source code
tools:                    utilities, etc.
tools/rwhois_indexer:     the source for the command line indexer
tools/rwhois_deleter:     the source for a command line record deleter
tools/rwhois_repack:      the source for a command line mkdb index repacker
tools/scripts:            some shell and perl scripts that might be useful
tools/install:            some scripts used during installation
tools/tcpd_wrapper:       tcpd_wrapper 7.6_ipv6.3 by Weitse Venema

