From b73620c976e44913014c056200075aa312f939c3 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Jordan K. Hubbard" Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 04:26:42 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] Make some updates to the hardware guide, take some of Chuck Robey's comments regarding the source syncing section (sss!). --- share/doc/handbook/hw.sgml | 18 +++++----- share/doc/handbook/synching.sgml | 57 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--- 2 files changed, 61 insertions(+), 14 deletions(-) diff --git a/share/doc/handbook/hw.sgml b/share/doc/handbook/hw.sgml index ca32fdf5d517..a3787118445b 100644 --- a/share/doc/handbook/hw.sgml +++ b/share/doc/handbook/hw.sgml @@ -1,4 +1,4 @@ - + + Synchronizing source trees over the Internet @@ -7,15 +7,62 @@ -

There are various ways of using an Internet (or email) connection - to stay up-to-date with whatever collection of FreeBSD project sources - it is that interests you. The primary services we offer are: +

There are various ways of using an Internet (or email) connection +to stay up-to-date with any given area of the FreeBSD project sources, +or all areas, depending on what interests you. The primary +services we offer are CTM, SUP and CVSup (new). + +

It's been suggested by some that CTM obsoletes SUP. This isn't quite +true, in fact, because each tool was originally designed to serve a +different constituency and, although they have both undergone significant +improvement since first going into service, they take fundamentally +different approaches in trying to solve the source syncronization problem. +SUP was originally designed to support those who had dedicated (or at +least fast) Internet connections whereas CTM was originally aimed at +supporting those who's access was limited to email only. + +

SUP (Software Update Protocol) is a system that tracks a local +copy of the FreeBSD sources on your local disk and, using configuration files +the user sets up, makes requests over the network to fetch and update any +files which have changed on the FreeBSD master archive. + +

CTM, on the other hand, does not interactively compare +the sources you have with those on the master archive. +Instead, a script which identifies changes in files since its previous run +is executed several times a day on the master archive, any detected changes +being compressed, stamped with a sequence-number and encoded for transmission +over email (printable ASCII only). Once received, these "CTM deltas" can then +be handed to the ctm_rmail(1) utility which will automatically decode, verify +and apply the changes to the user's copy of the sources. This process is +far more efficient than SUP, and places less strain on our server resources +since it's a push rather than a pull model. + +

There are other trade-offs, of course. With SUP, you can also +inadvertantly wipe out portions of your archive and SUP will detect +and rebuild the damaged portions for you. CTM won't do this, and if +you wipe some portion of your source tree out (and don't have it backed +up) then you will have to start from scratch (from the most recent CVS +"base delta") and rebuild it all. + +

More recently, the waters have been muddied even more by +the introduction of the CVSup utility, a highly efficient +replacement for SUP which also offers access to any branch of FreeBSD +development from a single CVS repository (which, in turn, can also be +transferred non-destructively with CVSup - any local developer work on +independant branches is preserved). It overcomes many of SUP's shortcomings +and may be from our development server, where additonal documentation +is also provided. Both the CVSup client and server are compatible with +the sup and supfilesrv distribution file formats. + +For more information on SUP and CTM, please see one of the following +sections: ⊃ &ctm;