RE: [Pan-users] Multiple Server support for PAN: Need a spec

[Gorwood, Steve]

> Is there a spec yet for multiple server support so we can
> start coding?
> The biggest issue will be the database format.

I have not looked at the code, but if you are willing to limit
the number of servers to a reasonable number (say 32) it is not clear
to me why it is more complicated than this:

1)  Assign each server a number
2)  Maintain a single composite list of newsgroups.  Each entry
in the list of newsgroups will have an added 32 bit field which
will have a bit set for each server which contains that newsgroup.
3)  When you download article headers for a group, maintain a single composite
list of article headers.  Each entry in the list of article headers
will contain a new 32 bit field which will have a bit set for each
server which contains the article.
4)  When trying to download the articles, try the valid servers in
sequence until the article is successfully downloaded.

Beyond the necessary cleanup issues (for example, when you delete
a server), why is it more complicated than this?

Regards,
Steven Gorwood
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