
Linup
=====


About Linup
-----------

Linup is a client for the Uptimes Project, written specifically
for Linux.

While other clients exist, they are generally big, slow, hard to
install, etc.

Linup was made to be simple, small and efficient.

It doesn't work on any other Unix system, just under Linux. This
is due to the methods it uses to fetch certain system information
such as the Uptime and the Idle uptime.


Installing
----------

Installing Linup is very simple.

Just uncompress the archive in some directory (if you are reading
this file, you must have already done that).

Then, type 'make' to compile the program.

Finally, simply copy the executable file 'linup' to your chosen
directory.

Then, you just add it to your crontab (see below).


Running
-------

To run Linup, you don't need any administrator privileges (eg.
'root' access).

Just run it with one of the two arguments that are mandatory:

	-a <key>

	This tells Linup to use the authorization key that you
	supply on the command line to identify itself to the
	Uptimes server.

	-f <file>

	This tells Linup to read a key from the file you specify
	on the command line. The file should contain nothing more
	than the key itself on a single line, with no leading
	spaces or tabs.

If you want to use the old version of the protocol (4.20), use
the "-o" flag.

If you are using the old protocol, you can also use Linup's
ability to communicate to the Uptimes server through a proxy,
using these arguments:

	-p <proxy>

	Tells Linup to use the proxy you supplied on the command
	line. If you don't specify a port to connect with the
	'-l' argument, Linup will connect to the port 3128.

	-l <port>

	Specify the proxy port to which Linup should connect.

	-u <username>:<password>

	If your proxy requires you to authenticate, insert your
	username and password here, with a colon (':') between
	them.

If you want, you may add Linup to your crontab, so it runs every
n minutes. The uptimes protocol tells that the update interval
should be no more than 10 minutes, and no less than 30 seconds.

So, use the 'crontab -e' command to edit your crontab and add
this line to it:

	*/5 * * * * /path/to/linup [...options]

This would run Linup every five minutes.

Some example Linup runs:

	/path/to/linup -a 0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef

	The above line tells Linup to use the authorization key
	'0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef'.

	/path/to/linup -f /path/to/some/file

	The above line tells Linup to read the auth key from some
	file.

	/path/to/linup -f /some/file -o -p proxy.isp.com -l 8080

	The above line tells Linup to read the key from a file
	and to use the 'proxy.isp.com' proxy, connecting to port
	8080, using the old (4.20) protocol.

	/path/to/linup -f /some/file -o -p 1.2.3.4 -u user5:doggybear

	The above line tells Linup to read the auth key from the
	specified file and to connect to the proxy '1.2.3.4'
	(connecting to port 3128), using 'user5' as the username
	and 'doggybear' as the password, using the old (4.20)
	protocol.


Getting Linup
-------------

The latest version of Linup should always be available from:

	ftp://ftp.smux.net/people/sena/linup/


Copyright Information
---------------------

Copyright (C) 2002  Joao Sena Ribeiro


    This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
    it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
    the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
    (at your option) any later version.

    This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
    but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
    MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
    GNU General Public License for more details.

    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
    along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
    Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA

    For more information, read the 'COPYING' file.


Author Contact
--------------

The author can be reached through:

	* Electronic mail:

		sena@smux.net

	* Postal mail:

		Apartado 591
		2796-801 Carnaxide
		Portugal

