Microsoft NNTP Service Release Notes

The following sections are included in this document:
Welcome to Microsoft NNTP Service
Using Microsoft NNTP Service Product Documentation
Hardware and Software Requirements
Installation
Client Software
Known Issues
Copyright Information

Welcome to Microsoft NNTP Service

Welcome to this Microsoft NNTP Service release. NNTP Service makes it easy for users to engage in discussions about any given topic. They can read articles from others who have similar interests, post articles, and join conversation threads about particular topics. This release features:

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) support.
Open, cross-platform, Internet-based NNTP client support.
Secure authentication using NNTP security extensions that do not send user passwords in clear text over the network.
Secure authentication that allows encrypted passwords to be transmitted over the Internet.
Local, remote, and moderator-approved article posting.
Built-in support for control messages that can automatically create or delete newsgroups as well as cancel postings.
Support for both private and public newsgroups.
Transaction logs for offline processing to collect usage statistics, track messages and transactions, and examine usage patterns.
Newsgroup searching.
Support for Microsoft Index Server. For more information about Microsoft Index Server see http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/search/

Using Microsoft NNTP Service Product Documentation

Context-sensitive help is available by clicking the Help button in a property sheet or in a dialog box. Additional documentation for Microsoft NNTP Service can be reached by selecting Product Documentation in the Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) program group.

Hardware and Software Requirements

This version of Microsoft Microsoft NNTP Service has the same minimum hardware requirements as Windows NT Server version 4.0 and Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) version 4.0. It is important that you plan thoroughly before building your news service.To install and run Microsoft NNTP Service, the following software must be installed:

Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0
Microsoft Windows NT Service Pack 3 (or later), available in the \Support\qfe directory on the installation compact disc or from http://www.microsoft.com/ntserversupport/

Installation

Microsoft Microsoft NNTP Service is installed as part of Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) 4.0. After Windows NT Service Pack 3 is set up, follow the installation instructions included with IIS 4.0. As part of the installation, select the "Microsoft NNTP Service" check box.

Client Software

You can use any NNTP-compatible client, such as the Microsoft Internet Mail and News component of Microsoft Internet Explorer version 3.02 or 4.0. To enable security, you must use a client that supports secure sockets layer (SSL) or Windows NT Challenge/Response, such as Internet Mail and News.

You can download Microsoft Internet Explorer from http://www.microsoft.com/ie. Be sure to download the Typical version of Internet Explorer, which includes Internet Mail and News. If you already have Internet Explorer but you are missing the Internet Mail and News reader, you can download it separately by following the features and components link.

Known Issues

RPC Locator Service Must be Started

The Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator service must be started if you are using the Internet Service Manager administration program.

To start the RPC Locator service:

From the Start menu, choose Settings and Control Panel.
Select the Services application.
In the Service box, select Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator, and then choose Start.

Unattended Option Pack Installation For Installing Microsoft NNTP Service

If you are using Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) on an intranet, you can copy the Unattend.txt file from the Windows NT Option Pack compact disc to a folder on the local computer and perform unattended installations from that folder. This is useful because Microsoft NNTP Service is not a default component during Setup. The Unattend.txt file is located on the compact disc in the \CPU type\inetsrv\directory, where CPU type is the processor on the computer where IIS will be installed.

To start unattended setup

Copy Unattend.txt to your local drive and make any necessary changes to install the appropriate components.
Edit the [Components] section to include iis_nntp = on and iis_nntp_docs = on.
At a command prompt, change to the directory on the compact disc that contains Setup.exe and enter the following command: setup/u:drive:path\Unattend.txt
where drive is the drive and path is the full path on the local computer where Unattend.txt is located. For example:
setup/u:c:\temp\unattend.txt

Using Moderated Newsgroups and SMTP

Postings to moderated newsgroups are sent to the moderator using SMTP with an empty Mail From: envelope line. For these messages to be received, the SMTP server must have an account set up to accommodate the requests.

NNTP Service Manager (HTML)

If NNTP Service Manager (HTML) does not start, type the following URL in your Web browser:
http://localhost/news/admin/default.htm

Virtual Directories Terminology

Windows NT Server event logs use the term "virtual roots" to refer to virtual directories.

Using WINS and Host Tables for Intranet Service

Although Domain Name System (DNS) is required to deploy Microsoft NNTP Service on the Internet, WINS or host tables can be substituted for DNS when using Microsoft NNTP Service on an intranet.

Naming Newsgroups

It is recommended that you use 7-bit (lower ASCII) characters for newsgroup names.

Registry Keys

The following preferences cannot be changed in the administration user interface. They can, however, be modified through the Windows NT Server registry. The Microsoft NNTP Service settings are located under the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NNTPSvc\Parameters

Settings that are not listed below should not be modified. The following is a brief description of the settings.

Key	Description	Type	Default
NewsCrawlerTime	Frequency of expiration cycle	REG_DWORD	30 minutes
RejectGenomeGroups	If TRUE, reject groups with funny names	REG_DWORD	FALSE
HistoryExpiration	Time limit on message IDs in the history table	REG_DWORD	3 weeks
HonorClientMessageIDs	If TRUE, honor client message IDs on POSTs	REG_DWORD	TRUE
GenerateErrFiles	If TRUE, move bad articles received into .err files	REG_DWORD	TRUE
HonorApprovedHeader	If TRUE, validate approved header for moderated posts	REG_DWORD	TRUE

Web Administration Authentication

An authenticated connection is required to administer Microsoft NNTP Service using a Web browser. The default authentication mechanism is Windows NT Challenge/Response. If you use a browser that does not support Windows NT Challenge/Response, IIS server settings for the Web administration directory must be changed.

Copyright Information

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