Webmaster Inc - Newsletter

WebMaster Incorprated
ConferenceRoom NewsLetter
October 15, 2001

New Release
We are proud to announce that ConferenceRoom 1.8.7 is now available for all platforms! The new release features an improved manual and help system, along with various other updates. This upgrade is available from www.conferenceroom.com/updates/latestnews.htm and is available to all customers free of charge.

New Help Files
Release 1.8.6 included a new help engine. To enable it, use the AdminServ command "general set newhelp on". The new system has numerous improvements, including greater detail and background information. Customers who have heavily customized the files in the db/ directory may not wish to employ the new system, as their modifications will be overridden.

Apple OSX (Darwin)
Yes, we have developed and built the first version of ConferenceRoom that will run on a Macintosh. Though we have found the platform to be stable we are not recommending it for high volume use at this time. We will be running continuous load testing over the next few months and may upgrade our recommendation. Current load testing suggests that client loads of 1000 users or less have no issues.

Obsoleted Platforms
The following builds have been obsoleted, we supply builds for those customers that may still be using these Operating Systems. We do not recommend these builds for new customers:

IRIX (this build is under review, if we get enough customer requests we may fully support IRIX again)
OSF (Digital Unix)
Note: The latest version for OSF1 does not support SSL / Encryption

What's Next?
For the last year we have been working on new core code that will enable us to provide other high performance server software. In the next year we will be releasing a series of products for community, portals and internal communications. The servers below represent the first set of new servers and should be released this year. Early next year we will be releasing the first of our infrastructure storage and massaging servers we call MARS. (Message Application Routing & Storage) Information on the servers below will start to appear in Q4 2001. If you have specific needs or suggestions for the products listed below please don't hesitate to send an email to our team of engineers working on the products. They can be reached by emailing features@webmaster.com.

Support Server
This is actually what you might call a selfish project. We are a very support oriented company and in trying to provide better support we have gone through many different products for answering support email as well as an internal knowledge base system. Since we can't find anything we like we decided to build our own. We have most of the technology, so it's mostly just assembly and lots of testing. The support server gives you a single interface to manage internal and external knowledge base systems as well as email and chat support. Logs of the customer support sessions are handled as tickets and you can view a mixture of email and chat logs on the same page for a single ticket. When you close a session you can create a knowledge base article that can be designated for internal or external viewing.

Forum/Boards/NNTP Server
Web-based conferences include Linear or Threaded Conferences, Spell checker, Language Filter, Usenet news and NNTP client compatibility, unlimited forums and administratively definable user/group permissions. Flexible web-based templates let you customize the look and feel of the server to match your sites. Display options based on a per-Conference or Group basis. Support for Secret, Invitation Only and Private Conferences. Display and export options for XML. Includes a built-in web server and configurable Java client, or you can use pure HTML to display the forums. Full clustering support allows the server to scale and grow with your community. Online Backups and archiving can be done in real time without noticeable performance degradation.

Mail Server
The ConferenceRoom Mail Module provides a completely customizable web-based mail interface for users in addition to POP3 login capability. Other major features include complete Mailing List support, Spell Checking, Language Filtering, Account Concatenation, Heuristics Based Auto-Responders, anti-Spam tools with add-on modules for SSL (Encryption) and developer tools such as the source code to the included Java mail client and an external API's for the ultimate level of customization. ConferenceRoom includes easy to use web-based administration for user accounts, mailing lists, server setup and security.

Instant Messenger
ConferenceRoom already has the ability to act as a server for Instant Messaging, this is evident by our Buddy List code that is supported in the Enterprise Edition. We have extended support for this application and have just about completed the first in a string of peer to peer clients that includes Instant Messaging, File Sharing, White Boarding and other specialty applications that promote work group access. All of our Instant Messangers will have the ability to use Encryption to secure the communication between two peers and the peer and the server.

Chat Server
ConferenceRoom has been leading the chat field since 1996 when it was announced. There isn't another server that has proven itself capable of taking user load while maintaining stability. The feature set is extensive with more options and features then any other chat product available. ConferenceRoom was developed with and around the needs of our customers.

Scribe Module
Logs chat sessions to HTML dynamically. You can have an up to date log that displays the information that was just sent into the room. Chats can be scheduled to start and stop at specified times. Other features include command scripting to change your server's settings based on scripts that you write which can be fired at a specified time.

Developer Module
Want to modify the java client to do something special? The Developer Module includes both the java source code as well as server field support which allows you to place information on a user's account which can be shared with other users or kept for administrative access.

Encryption Module
Need to make sure that your conversations aren't intercepted? The encryption module adds SSL to both the chat and web servers. 128-bit encryption for clustered servers, SSL IRC clients and BlowFish encryption for java clients. This module requires the Enterprise Edition.

New Russian Engineering Center
WebMaster is opening an Engineering Center in Moscow! This adds to our Santa Clara, CA US and Toronto, Canada offices.

Andrej (Director of Engineering, Russia)
Oleg (Engineer, Russia)
Julia (Engineer, Russia)
Alexey (Engineer, Russia)
Dave (Technical Support, USA)
Alex (Quality Assurance, USA)
Erwin (Technical Support, Canada)

More Bandwidth
We're adding a 100Mb line from Cogent Communications. This will add to the two other DS3 circuits we currently have. More bandwidth will allow us to better support those clients that hosted on our network as well as provide better routes for our webchat network. This line should be installed in the next month.

Support Hours Have Changed
Because of the increase in overseas sales we have moved our support hours to more easily accommodate our European client base.

New Hours:
Monday - 3:00 AM - 7:00 PM US Pacific Time (GMT-08)
Tuesday - 5:00 AM - 3:00 PM US Pacific Time (GMT-08)
Wednesday - 3:00 AM - 7:00 PM US Pacific Time (GMT-08)
Thursday - 5:00 AM - 3:00 PM US Pacific Time (GMT-08)
Friday - 5:00 AM - 3:00 PM US Pacific Time (GMT-08)

New Support Server
For years, we have provided CR support on irc.webmaster.com. Recently, we moved our support chat to a dedicated server in order to implement advanced features which could not be provided on an open network. We have also added additional documentation. The new location is http://support.conferenceroom.com.

Free Training isn't a myth...
We currently offer free training to ConferenceRoom owners and administrators. If you would like to attend one of these scheduled training sessions we need to know how many will be attending, and what edition of ConferenceRoom you have. Email training@webmaster.com for more information or to sign up for the next available class.

Basic Commands - 90 minutes
Channel Management - 90 minutes
Server Operator - 90 minutes
Server Administrator - 180 minutes
Advanced Java Topics - 90 minutes
Using Scribe - 120 minutes
Event Management - 60 minutes (Enterprise Only)
Advanced Topics (by request)

Training Schedule
Our training schedules are currently set for - Tuesday's at 7AM PST/ 10 AM EST

Private Training
Private Training for any of the above classes can be arranged for a small fee. This training is tailored around your specific needs and environment and can be scheduled at your convenience.

Lots of CR processes on Linux and FreeBSD4?
On Linux, ConferenceRoom uses the threading support (pthreads) that is built into glibc. This is a direct descendant of the original LinuxThreads code written by Xavier LeRoy. It uses the Linux 'clone' system call to create threads. The operating system treats these threads much like processes, except that all resources (vm, file descriptors, and so on) are shared. The number of processes you will see in 'top' will be one greater than the number of threads the process is using. This is because LinuxThreads creates one 'manager' thread that is invisible to the application. In our opinion, this is a defect in 'top'. Unless you specifically ask 'top' to show threads, each set of processes connected by parent/child relationships that fully shares both their entire vm and their file descriptor table should only show once, showing the PID of the ultimate parent of the set. Note: Our FreeBSD4 version uses the FreeBSD port of LinuxThreads, so this information applies to that platform as well.

Geek Speak
ConferenceRoom is written in platform-independent code that sits on top of a small operating system adaptation layer. This allows the server itself to be equally positioned on all operating systems without having to emulate any one operating system's functionality on another. This also allows low-level code, such as network I/O, to be fully optimized for each supported platform. On Windows NT and 2000, I/O completion ports are supported for optimized scheduling and maximum I/O performance as the Windows kernel reads and writes network data directly to and from the application's buffers without the usual faults and copies. On Solaris 7 and greater, the '/dev/poll' interface is supported for highly efficient socket discovery. On Linux, LinuxThreads is used without the usual cancellation wrappers that sap performance on many system calls.

New Server
We've added a new server to WebChat: apple.webchat.org This server is running on an Apple Macintosh dual G4/400 with 512Mb of RAM. As is our policy we run a client server of each of our supported platforms to allow us to measure performance characteristics of the specific OS. The person chosen to run this server for us is none other then 'Witch'. Some might think that we chose her because of her nickname but she was actually next inline to get a server. However, it is kind of fun to have the Witch and the Apple.

Users Count!!
WebChat was started as a test server on a modem line while we were testing out CR0.x servers. That small test server has turned into one of the largest chat networks in the world and now services almost 30,000 concurrent users every night. We wish to thank the staff of Administrators and Operators that make this possible.

BackPack Changes
Many of our current BackPack users are using the host address of irc.webmaster.com or 209.133.28.137. Everyone should change this to backpack.webmaster.com. This will affect the following lines in the BackPack source code and should read:


archive="http://backpack.webmaster.com/backpack/cr.zip" 
codebase="http://backpack.webmaster.com/backpack/"

Failure to make these changes in the next few weeks could mean that your BackPack will no longer function properly.

BackPack Customization
Did you know that most of our java parameters will work with BackPack code? All you have to do to customize your BackPack is to add the java parameters to your HTML. Take a look at our manual or the update site for a complete list of parameters that can be used to enhance your chat site. The java parameters can be found: http://manual.conferenceroom.com/

You are receiving this news letter either because you are a registered ConferenceRoom user or you have specifically requested to be added to our mailing list. Note: If you are receiving this e-mail more than once, you have duplicate accounts, and we encourage you to consolidate your accounts by contacting us at: listmaster@conferenceroom.com

This newsletter is for informational purposes only. WebMaster assumes no responsibility for its accuracy, and the information is subject to change without notice. Any use of, or actions taken based upon, any of the information contained in this newsletter is done entirely at your own risk.