CSO nameserver (Qi/Ph phonebook) server
Dave Elbon <sysdave@ukcc.uky.edu>
University of Kentucky
 
 
Foneserv 3 Distribution
 June 1996
 
Foneserv is our CSO Nameserver (Qi/Ph) protocol interface to our
campus directory.  Our Whois server (available separately and
completely unrelated to and incompatible with the Whois services on
the Internet) can search and update the data, Foneserv can only search
it.  However it isn't necessary to run Whois to use Foneserv.  You
just need something to build and maintain a simple flat file with your
data.  Available separately are our Filemaker and Index commands that
we use.
 
Foneserv needs the FONESERV EXEC and FONESERV PARMS files to run.  The
FONESERV PARMS file describes the data files.  In our setup it uses:
 
 WHOIS DATA      (the WHOIS directory file)
 xxxx  INDEX     (index file for the xxxx field in WHOIS DATA)
 xxxx  LEXICON   (list of all words appearing in xxxx)
 xxxx  SYNONYMS  (list of nicknames and alternate spellings)
 xxxx  SOUNDEX   (soundex encoding of words in xxxx)
 
The INDEX, LEXICON, and SOUNDEX files are built by WHOIS each night.
If it is available, the server will also use a file containing a list
of other servers in this format:
 
  site:University of Kentucky
  server:ukcc.uky.edu
 
There are comments in FONESERV PARMS describing it in more detail.
 
FONESERV requires class B for the MSGNOH command.  We run it in an 8
meg VM, which has been more than adequate.  We are currently running
five FONESERV virtual machines which are quite easily handling over
100,000 requests a month.  Here are the relevant lines from our TCPIP
configuration file:
 
    FONESERV password    ; CSO Nameserver
    FONESER2 password    ; CSO Nameserver
    FONESER3 password    ; CSO Nameserver
    FONESER4 password    ; CSO Nameserver
    FONESER5 password    ; CSO Nameserver
     ...
   105 TCP FONESERV            ; CSO Nameserver
   105 TCP FONESER2            ; CSO Nameserver
   105 TCP FONESER3            ; CSO Nameserver
   105 TCP FONESER4            ; CSO Nameserver
   105 TCP FONESER5            ; CSO Nameserver
 
Foneserv uses our Spelling Checker (supplied separately) for guessing
and several of the modules supplied as part of our "CMS Office
Utilities" package.  It uses RXSOCKET and REXXWAIT (available from
Arty Ecock at CUNY) to handle its network communications.
 
We are also running copies of Foneserv in other machines using ports
other than 105 for access to a number of databases - it isn't limited
to phonebook-style information.
 
For a CMS client we've been using the PH EXEC by Nick Laflamme (once
of Notre Dame) which works with Rick Troth's (Rice University) CMS
Gopher client.  We also have a simple PHQ EXEC.  Foneserv talks nicely
with Web browsers, including Charlotte.  We also have a CGI interface
we use with our VM Web server.
 
We are currently running Foneserv under VM/ESA 2.2 and CMS 8.
 
There is, of course, no warranty.
 
 
 Dave Elbon
 University of Kentucky Computing Center
 128 McVey Hall
 Lexington, KY  40506-0045
 USA
 
 Phone:   606 257.2230
 E-mail:  sysdave@ukcc.uky.edu