Bowl.fysh.org: Difference between revisions

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'''NB''': ''All the information provided here-in about the fysh.org services is made available on a best-effort basis.  If you're in in doubt as to if the information provided here is up to date please check the History link at the top of the page.''
'''NB''': ''All the information provided here-in about the fysh.org services is made available on a best-effort basis.  If you're in in doubt as to if the information provided here is up to date please check the 'last modified' entry at the bottom of, or the History link at the top of, the page.''


== Introduction ==
'''bowl.fysh.org no longer exists.  We decommissioned it on 17th April 2008 to ensure we could securely erase all user data prior to losing access on the 20th April 2008.'''


bowl.fysh.org is currently a dedicated machine rented from and hosted by [[http://uk2.net/ UK2]].  This is paid for via subscriptions charged to the principal users of the machine.  Any queries about payments, or obtaining an account, should be directed to [[Mike Ashton]].
This page exists merely for historical reference.


The machine generally runs the current Stable version of the [[http://www.debian.org/ Debian]] distribution of [[http://www.linux.org/ Linux]]. The majority of the software installed on it is that which is directly supported by Debian, as this makes day-to-day administration and keeping things up to date very easy.  We will, however, install software by hand if sufficient need is demonstrated.  Our aim is to offer a ''stable'' service first and foremost, so don't necessarily expect cutting-edge versions of software.
= The Fysh Server Called Bowl =


== Services ==
bowl.fysh.org is currently a dedicated machine rented from and hosted by [http://uk2.net/ UK2].  This is paid for via subscriptions charged to the principal users of the machine.  Any queries about payments, or obtaining an account, should be directed to [[Mike Ashton]].


bowl.fysh.org hosts a wide range of services, ranging from email and web pages, through hosting of domains to the more esoteric such as [[http://www.goteamspeak.com/ TeamSpeak]] servers.
The machine generally runs the current Stable version of the [http://www.debian.org/ Debian] distribution of [http://www.linux.org/ Linux]. The majority of the software installed on it is that which is directly supported by Debian, as this makes day-to-day administration and keeping things up to date very easy.  We will, however, install software by hand if sufficient need is demonstrated.  Our aim is to offer a ''stable'' service first and foremost, so don't necessarily expect cutting-edge versions of software.


If you have a problem with, or a query about, any of the services on bowl.fysh.org, or would like to request an additional service, please send email to [[mailto:root@fysh.org The Fyshy Admin]].
Between bowl.fysh.org and [[www.fysh.org]] we provide a wide range of services, ranging from email and web pages, through hosting of domains to the more esoteric such as [http://www.goteamspeak.com/ TeamSpeak] servers.


=== Mail ===
If you have a problem with, or a query about, any of the services on fysh.org, or would like to request an additional service, please send email to [mailto:root@fysh.org The Fyshy Admin].


bowl.fysh.org hosts the primary MX for fysh.org itself and any other domain configured to deliver locally on it.  In addition we have agreements with operators of other servers to provide secondary MX capability.
Current Supported Services:


We currently use [[http://www.exim.org/ exim4]] as the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mail_transfer_agent MTA]] that handles all the email.  This is configured to allow relaying only for [[Email/SMTP#Auth|authorised users]] and also employs a number of [[Email/Spam#Counter_Measures|Anti-Spam Countermeasures]] to help protect our users from the deluge that is the norm on the Internet today.
* [[Mail|Mail]]
* [[Shell Accounts|Shell Accounts]]
* [[DNS|DNS / Domains]] on [[dns.fysh.org]]
* [[News|Usenet / NetNews]]
* [[FTP|FTP]]
* [[Databases|Databases]]


In addition we provide both POP3 and IMAP access for remote retrieval of email, both of which are accessible using SSL/TLS encryption.  Users can opt to use a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mail_user_agent MUA]] locally through a shell login if they prefer.
Note that the following services are now on separate machines:


=== Shell Accounts ===
* [[Web|Web Services]] on [[www.fysh.org]]
By default any user account on bowl.fysh.org has shell login enabled.  This principally means you can make use of [[SSH]] to login to the account with full access to your own files and all software installed on the machine.  A few accounts are restricted to only using remote services like POP3 and IMAP for email, but this is far from the norm.
----
=== WWW ===
Any user with an account on fysh can create a page on the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_wide_web WWW]] simply by placing the requisite files in a directory called public_html in their home directory.  This will yield a URL of http://www.fysh.org/~username/ for example.


Additionally we will host the web pages for any domain that a user owns or controls and can get the DNS changed to point to our IP.
= History =
Initially fysh.org was intended to be primarily for the benefit of certain graduates from [http://www.warwick.ac.uk The University of Warwick]'s [http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/ Department of Computer Science] who were just some of the self-proclaimed [[Fysh]].  Indeed it was initially hosted, as the server crucigera.fysh.org, in the office of a friendly member of Warwick DCS staff. Since then it's been hosted for free on various DSL lines (even before those were offered publically in the UK) and at the premises of a few companies with which one of the Fyshy Admin had associations at the time before finally settling down as a paid-for dedicated server rented from [http://www.uk2.net/ UK2.net].


Going beyond simple static content we support use of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_gateway_interface CGI]]s written using any of the installed development languages and PHP scripts
bowl.fysh.org took over from crucigera.fysh.org in June 2001 after repeated hardware problems with the latter. The main server kept that name through another hardware change or two, including the move to the current rented machine from UK2.net (where the hard disks have had to be moved to fresh hardware at least once).
----
=== DNS ===
We'll happily either host the master DNS for any domain a user owns or controls, or provide secondary DNS service for a domain held elsewhere. Please email all pertinent details to [[mailto:hostmaster@fysh.org Hostmaster]] ''before'' doing anything else so we can be sure to inform you of the correct hostname(s) to use when specifying nameservers to your domain registrar.
----
=== News ===
bowl.fysh.org hosts an INN-powered news server. However it currently only carries a very small subset of newsgroups due to past bandwidth restrictions and lack of interest.  This may be reviewed in future but anyone wanting full [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet Usenet/Netnews]] access should first check with their ISP for what service they offer.


Note that important announcements about fysh.org services have in the past been made on the newsgroup fysh.announce which is ''only'' carried on nntp.fysh.org.  These are the same announcements as you'll see, when there's a new one, upon logging into a bowl.fysh.org shell account.
In November 2007 we suffered a successful hack attack against bowl, and as a result started running services in VMware instances.  We renamed the machine itself to [[tank.fysh.org]] and brought up an initial four VMware instances: [[bowl.fysh.org]], [[www.fysh.org]], [[dns.fysh.org]] and [[surfers.fysh.org]].  This rapidly proved to be too much for the hardware to cope with.  We put Surfers back on [[bowl.fysh.org]] along with DNS (now chrooted) so as to run only two VMware instances.  However this was still too much for the machine to cope with and things were further exacerbated when [[tank.fysh.org]] developed new hardware problems.  This gave us the final push to move to [http://www.panix.com/ PANIX].
----
=== Miscellaneous Services ===
'''FTP'''
The FTP service on bowl.fysh.org is principally as an additional means (beyond [[SCP]] or [[SFTP]]) for a user to get files onto the machine.


There is a small anonymous FTP area which does also allow uploads in /incoming but no-one but system administrators can get at the files in there via FTP (so the server can't be used as a dead-drop by undesirables).  HTTP is a much better option if a bowl.fysh.org user needs to host a file for others to pick up without logging in.
bowl.fysh.org will disappear on, or shortly after, 20th April 2008, when payment with UK2 cease.  If you wish to subscribe to the new service on [[pond.fysh.org]] please [mailto:root@fysh.org contact us via email].
----
 
== History ==
bowl.fysh.org is not the first 'main server' for fysh.org as it was the replacement for crucigera.fysh.org which in various forms shouldered the load from fysh.org's inception until June 2001.
 
Initially fysh.org was intended to primarily be for the benefit of certain graduates from [[http://www.warwick.ac.uk The University of Warwick]]'s [[http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/ Department of Computer Science]] who were just some of the self-proclaimed [[Fysh]].  Indeed it was initally hosted, as the server crucigera.fysh.org, in the office of a friendly member of Warwick DCS staff.

Latest revision as of 23:27, 10 September 2010

NB: All the information provided here-in about the fysh.org services is made available on a best-effort basis. If you're in in doubt as to if the information provided here is up to date please check the 'last modified' entry at the bottom of, or the History link at the top of, the page.

bowl.fysh.org no longer exists. We decommissioned it on 17th April 2008 to ensure we could securely erase all user data prior to losing access on the 20th April 2008.

This page exists merely for historical reference.

The Fysh Server Called Bowl

bowl.fysh.org is currently a dedicated machine rented from and hosted by UK2. This is paid for via subscriptions charged to the principal users of the machine. Any queries about payments, or obtaining an account, should be directed to Mike Ashton.

The machine generally runs the current Stable version of the Debian distribution of Linux. The majority of the software installed on it is that which is directly supported by Debian, as this makes day-to-day administration and keeping things up to date very easy. We will, however, install software by hand if sufficient need is demonstrated. Our aim is to offer a stable service first and foremost, so don't necessarily expect cutting-edge versions of software.

Between bowl.fysh.org and www.fysh.org we provide a wide range of services, ranging from email and web pages, through hosting of domains to the more esoteric such as TeamSpeak servers.

If you have a problem with, or a query about, any of the services on fysh.org, or would like to request an additional service, please send email to The Fyshy Admin.

Current Supported Services:

Note that the following services are now on separate machines:

History

Initially fysh.org was intended to be primarily for the benefit of certain graduates from The University of Warwick's Department of Computer Science who were just some of the self-proclaimed Fysh. Indeed it was initially hosted, as the server crucigera.fysh.org, in the office of a friendly member of Warwick DCS staff. Since then it's been hosted for free on various DSL lines (even before those were offered publically in the UK) and at the premises of a few companies with which one of the Fyshy Admin had associations at the time before finally settling down as a paid-for dedicated server rented from UK2.net.

bowl.fysh.org took over from crucigera.fysh.org in June 2001 after repeated hardware problems with the latter. The main server kept that name through another hardware change or two, including the move to the current rented machine from UK2.net (where the hard disks have had to be moved to fresh hardware at least once).

In November 2007 we suffered a successful hack attack against bowl, and as a result started running services in VMware instances. We renamed the machine itself to tank.fysh.org and brought up an initial four VMware instances: bowl.fysh.org, www.fysh.org, dns.fysh.org and surfers.fysh.org. This rapidly proved to be too much for the hardware to cope with. We put Surfers back on bowl.fysh.org along with DNS (now chrooted) so as to run only two VMware instances. However this was still too much for the machine to cope with and things were further exacerbated when tank.fysh.org developed new hardware problems. This gave us the final push to move to PANIX.

bowl.fysh.org will disappear on, or shortly after, 20th April 2008, when payment with UK2 cease. If you wish to subscribe to the new service on pond.fysh.org please contact us via email.