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Subject: Re: How hard is it to setup an ICS?

Author: Gian-Carlo Pascutto

Date: 11:40:02 01/02/00

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On January 02, 2000 at 12:27:46, O. Veli wrote:

[...]
>I think I need a PC (not too much power is necessary, a plain
>Pentium or even a 486 is supposed to be enough)

Certainly for a small server with few users. I run one on my local
network to test interfaces. A 486DX33 with 4M Ram and its whole
filesystem mounted over NFS. Performance is very good.

[...]
>source code,

This might be a bit harder to come by. Unless you don't mind running
an outdated, buggy version.

>24-hour connection to the Internet with a dynamic IP.

Dynamic ip ? Hmmm...that's certainly not ideal for a chess server.
What happens to the online users when you IP changes ? (It often
does even if you don't reconnect.)

>How much computer power is really necessary?

Nearly nothing if the number of users stays small.

>Is memory size important?

Not really...you're not expecting hundreds of users after all.
You'll want 4 or 8MB, but more is better of course.

>Can I run the source code at the FICS site (http://freechess.org) with Linux?

Yes, but mind you that's an old version which lacks some of the
features you and your potential users might be used to.

>I am not familiar with Unix or Linux. Would this be a big problem?

Yes. I suspect that would be a major problem.

>If run with X-windows, is Linux similar to Windows?

No, not at all, and you certainly don't want to run X-Windows on
your server machine.

>As I understand the FICS programmers have improved the source code, which they
>give away, a lot. I heard that it is a GNU. If so, can I get latest version >from them? They do not seem to like the idea.

No you can't, although one of the admins promised me he would bring it up
on the next board meeting. The code being GNU doesn't force them to distribute
anything. This is a common misunderstanding.

>What is the cheapest way to have 24 hour connection to Internet? I assume I can
>get this type of connection from a PC company or a university. Are there any
>other sources where I can get this type of connection for as cheap as possible?

No idea :(

>How hard is it to setup an ICS? I would appreciate any help in this matter.

If you find someone who can provide your connection, I would be more than
willing to lend my experience in setting such a server up. It would be
a great opportunity to extend my experience with administrating a Unix system.

--
GCP



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