Public Discussions > General Discussion

Hobbes directory structure re-organization

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Ian Manners:
FYI,

I do have a complete FTP mirror of hobbe's that is updated every month,
I also use to FTP mirror leo, so I have an almost complete copy, I just cant vouch for any files put on the month before it vanished.

I don't make these directories available via os2site.com simply because all the files are already integrated into the os2site.com/sw/
directory structure but I can probably add them for OS/2's access if there is interest now that I've greatly reduced the load on my
home server.

Ian Manners:
Hi Martin,

os2site's directory structure is :-

http://www.os2site.com/0.dir.list  if you or anyone else would like to compare or look at for ideas.

I dislike deleting older files so tend to move them to an 'old' sub directory, and yes, moving file URL's is an issue but many people
will simply go back to root and work up a new tree, or use hobbes search facility. os2site.com though does still get hits for old
links for files from 2000...

Occasionally I will get a request to remove a file, in which case they are moved to my swc section so they are not publicly available

os2site's file structure started off identical to hobbes, then mutated when I assimilated Leo, and like all living things, it's evolved over
the past 13 odd years.

I'll go over your structure file shortly.

On another note, the internal links issue with hobbes wasn't picked up on the test site so it wasn't listed to be fixed, apologies, I missed that one but now we have the option to say something :)

Doug Bissett:

--- Quote from: Martin Iturbide on May 31, 2013, 03:18:24 pm ---Doug, do you know the skills of the people involved at hobbes today? or you are just telling about your experience some time ago. I don't think we must disqualify nobody, specially when it is a community effort and nobody is paying hobbes to be online. 

--- End quote ---

No, I don't know, for sure, but it is pretty obvious that at each semester change, there is a new person learning the ropes. Sometimes, HOBBES goes for a whole semester with nothing happening. I expect that there is an overall supervisor who makes sure that nothing too serious happens. The actual person in charge is probably the guy who asked for contributions, to upgrade the system, a few years ago.

Your structure looks okay, but there are probably a lot of different ways to do it, and all of them would be equally acceptable. Something that follows the current setup would probably be the easiest to implement. Some cleanup would help more.


--- Quote ---Shame they don't have a LEO archive as that was the other large OS/2 repository before they lost everything in a crash
--- End quote ---

Hopefully, HOBBES has a good backup plan in place. Since HOBBES itself is only a small part of the whole site, I expect that it is well looked after. It is reassuring that there are a couple of mirror sites.


--- Quote ---The classic example is the link Return to homepage at the bottom of each webpage which does *not* return to homepage
--- End quote ---

Hmmm. I never noticed that, since I never use it. Yes, things like that should be fixed.


--- Quote ---I can probably add them for OS/2's access if there is interest
--- End quote ---

Ian, you have a great site, but general access is a bit awkward, although not difficult. I think your site could be used as a template for any changes at HOBBES, but I still question whether such changes are actually necessary (some cleanup would be nice).

While we discuss backups, and mirrors, I assume that you have a good backup plan in place, but what happens if  a small asteroid clobbers your residence? Is there anyone mirroring your site? (I know it is "forbidden", but exceptions can be made). It would be a shame to lose your site too.

Ian Manners:
Hi Doug,


--- Quote ---Ian, you have a great site, but general access is a bit awkward, although not difficult. I think your site could be used as a template for any changes at HOBBES, but I still question whether such changes are actually necessary (some cleanup would be nice).
--- End quote ---

It's awkward on purpose unfortunately.

The simplicity of hobbes is its beauty and as much as I wish to say add things like directories to store older versions to tidy up current directories, I'm worried that will mean a human needs to look after it, that's the hard bit, getting someone who understands the software, our naming convention etc. We could send them a list of files once a year or blue moon of files to archive off, possibly.


--- Quote ---While we discuss backups, and mirrors, I assume that you have a good backup plan in place, but what happens if  a small asteroid clobbers your residence? Is there anyone mirroring your site? (I know it is "forbidden", but exceptions can be made). It would be a shame to lose your site too.
--- End quote ---

The executor of my will is on the other side of Australia, as is my backup server I left in Melbourne that mirrors my main server every week.

In the event of my death (possibly by asteroid strike) then a short 'item' will be posted on os2world.com if still running, and in the OS/2 newsgroups as well as a couple of other places asking for expressions of interest in becoming the new owner of the os2site.com server(s), if both servers survive then the preference is that each one goes to individuals/entities at different locals.

The Australian National Library also has an almost complete copy of os2site.com and all my Digital Equipment Corporation software and information.

By the time the post is made, any of my current users would have copies of there data from the server, and that data removed.

There are also rotating local backups to 1TB USB drives where I am currently located, and two spare servers which are DSync'ed when I remember to do so.

If both servers and all backups are destroyed, I think anyone else in the world that survives will have other things to worry about :o)

Bit overboard I know, just something that's evolved.

[edited for speeling]

Others can mirror os2site.com but it would have to start with me sending them DVD's to preload, otherwise that's a lot of data to download depending on if they want all the IBM ftp stuff as well.

[Added as an idea]

Doug Bissett:

--- Quote ---We could send them a list of files once a year or blue moon of files to archive off, possibly.
--- End quote ---

Hopefully, it won't be necessary to use such crude methods.  8)


--- Quote ---Bit overboard I know, just something that's evolved.
--- End quote ---

It seems that you have the situation well under control. May you, and your servers, live a long and happy life.  ;D


--- Quote ---Others can mirror os2site.com
--- End quote ---

It might be a good idea to have a mirror outside of Australia (no, I am not volunteering, at the moment), but I can't think of any really good reason to do that, other than diversity.


--- Quote ---and two spare servers which are DSync'ed when I remember to do so.
--- End quote ---

Could I suggest changing that to an RSYNC copy operation? I used DSync for a while, and it worked well, but RSync does just as well, and it is a LOT faster, mostly because it doesn't just copy the files. It does a smart copy, which reduces the amount of data to be handled (after the first time, of course). Currently I am handling about 10 times the amount of data, in half the time that DSync required. I use it for my nightly backups to my USB drive, as well as to my home built NAS box (eCS 2.1) across my Gbit network. If you do something through the internet, it can also ZIP data for transmission, if that helps (it depends on the speed of the link).

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