Infrastructure

Revision as of 01:30, 3 June 2009

Thank you for your interest in helping DareNET!

We greatly appreciate your interest in helping DareNET grow and your willingness to contribute to that process. However, we feel it is necessary to point out, and that you realize, that DareNET is not a convential IRC network.

Regardless, hosting a DareNET server helps the network and the community and we appreciate that you are considering it.

Hardware & Connectivity Requirements

The listed hardware and connectivity requirements are extremely generous. Our goal is to ensure that each server exhibits the best possible connectivity and responsiveness.

• Minimum Bandwidth. The server must NOT be running on a broadband or dial-up connection. Preferably, it should be on a multihomed network, in order to ensure high reliability and low latency. We must also be able to verify that your server is on a multihomed network, via BGP announcements.

• Processor. A 1GHz processor or better. Generally, Intel or other compatible hardware is preferred and makes life a bit easier for our Server Management team, but it is not a hard and fast rule.

• Memory. 512MB or more of RAM is required.

• Disk Space. Space usage for logs may vary from system to system, and on what all you actually intend to log. In general, it is best to leave appreciable amounts of free space.

• Hours of Operation. 24-7, 365 days, reliable operation is a must.

• Multiple Uses. Dedicated servers are generally preferred; although, we do not require that the machine be dedicated. However, all server must adequately address any and all security concerns and be sufficient to properly run ircd. We advise against running critical applications on the same host; if you do, please plan to monitor resource usage (including allocation of memory and processor time). We make every effort to provide timely notification of problems, but we're a volunteer organization running a 24-7 network and staff may not always be available as needed.

• Disallowed Hosts. Unfortunately, due to unreliable performance or just plain bad customer service, we cannot accept paid links from the following providers at this time: FDC Servers, Santrex.net and Managed.com.

Software-related Requirements

The folowing list details the software-related requirements for DareNET servers. Again, we have tried to pay particular attention to providing room for expansion with minimum effort on the part of server administrators / hosting organizations.

• FreeBSD or GNU/Linux. Our current servers run either FreeBSD or GNU/Linux. While other excellent open source / free software operating systems exist and have been shown to work with our server software, the use of these two operating systems simplifies network operations. FreeBSD 5.x or later or the Linux 2.6 kernel are required.

• The bash shell. Shell scripts for server operations assume the availability of this shell.

• GNU Awk (gawk). The awk utility interprets a special-purpose programming language that makes it possible to handle simple data-reformatting jobs with just a few lines of code. Our lsync program assumes the availability of this utility.

• Screen. The GNU screen utility is frequently used to run sessions which can be detached automatically at disconnection. Our Server Management team frequently uses this utility.

• Perl 5.x. Perl 5.6+ is preferred.

• Compile toolchan facilities. These should include gcc and gdb, as well as any required binary utilities. We currently require gcc 3.2.

• A slection of editors. Joe, ar and vi are highly preferred. Emacs may be helpful.

• Network time daemon. Preferred daemons are either xntpd or nptd, with local access via {x}ntpdc to get server status. The server host should be synced to a time server at all times, and should have backup servers. It is recommended you specify groups of three servers (with a minimum of at least one such group) to sync time from. It is essential you start up ntpd in your init scripts. It is also essential that you run ntpdate, part of the package, at startup before starting ntpd.

• Account access. The server daemon (ircd-darenet) runs as a user program under a vanilla end-user account (frequently called "darenet"), with no setuid or special privilege. We require that our Server Management team (e.g. server managers) have access to the account via password, and ssh public key. Root access to the machine is highly desirable, since it makes it easier for us to double-check initial configuration and resolve problems in an emergency; although, this is not required.

• Opensshd dameon. We require a recent opensshd daemon, ssh2 protocol only; account access via ssh and scp. All access to the server account will use ssh. The scp program is required to transfer files. Access to the account by public key should be allowed, as should access by password.

• OpenSSL toolkit. Our servers support SSL client connections using the OpenSSL toolkit.

• SVN. Our ircd code base is consistently evolving and changes are applied to the network on a rapid basis; therefore, we require SVN be installed to aide in easily updating servers.

Applying to Link

Before applying to link a server to DareNET, you should take the time to read over our current policies. You, and any of your staff, should be in agreement with our current policies and practices. Additionally, you may find it helpful to consult with our Server Management team (#routing or routing@darenet.org). They will be able to answer any questions or concerns you might have, and guide you through the linking process.

Regardless, the formal application process is begun by completing and submitting a server link application, which is available at http://www.darenet.org/linkapp.