GWebCache Readme

What is GWebCache?

GWebCache is a simple but powerful web-based distributed host caching system to support the Gnutella network. It was originally developed with Gnucleus (a popular Gnutella client and the basis of the new version of Morpheus), but since it is a simple, open system, we invite anyone to use it.

GWebCache was written and is maintained by Hauke Dämpfling and it lives at the the GWebCache website. It is licensed under the GPL.

How do I use it?

...for Website Administrators who would like to run a copy of GWebCache:

Requirements:
- A web server with PHP4 support and a permanent (i.e. 24/7) connection to the Internet
- Knowledge of how to put files on your web server and how to change file permissions (for UNIX servers)
- No knowledge of PHP or anything else is required

The bandwidth consumed by running a GWebCache is minimal - see our statistics for a bit more detailed information.

Note: Different versions of PHP tend to be incompatible with each other - GWebCache was written with PHP 4.1.2. It has been shown to work with 4.0.6, 4.1.0, 4.1.1, 4.1.3-dev, and 4.2.0.

Simply download the package, unpack it, and upload the .php, .txt and .lock files to your server. In UNIX environments, set the file permissions of the .txt and .lock files to world-read and writeable (aka file mode 666).

For servers equipped with suEXEC: Set the script's file mode to 755, and the .txt and .lock files to 644.

Note: In case you rename the gcache.php file or any of the data files, make sure to open gcache.php in a text editor and change the $url_* and $file_* variables to reflect the new filenames! The .lock files must have the same names as the corresponding text files!

Once you have installed the script and tested it by opening the script's URL in your browser - please make sure that it is functional! - go to the Help menu in Gnucleus, then to "Report Web Cache".

...for Developers to include the functionality in their clients:

Please read the specifications. You can also check out the latest Gnucleus source (which can serve as a reference implementation for your client) as well as the Test Form that will show you the format of the requests and responses of the script.

Where do I get it?

Get the latest version here.

Note that in case we release simple updates to the PHP script, they will appear in the download directory with a version number and .TXT extension. Download them and rename them to gcache.php, then replace the original file on your server.

Help! and: Bugs?

If you are having trouble or just have comments or questions, your best bet is to write a message in the Gnucleus forums, where GWebCache has its own forum. Bug reports should go there too - be sure to include specific information like what version of GWebCache, what server environment (Operating system, Web server, PHP Version), and a description of how to reproduce the error you are getting.

How does it work?

A GWebCache keeps two sets of data: a list of Gnutella nodes and a list of the URLs of alternate caches. Clients (Gnutella clients) retrieve these lists using normal HTTP (just like web browsers), and also send information about working Gnutella nodes and other caches back to the GWebCache scripts. That way, the information on all GWebCaches and Gnutella clients can be kept "fresh".

For more detailed and technical information, see the specifications.

GWebCache Home
http://www.zero-g.net/gwebcache/
Copyright (c) 2002 Hauke Dämpfling. Licensed under FDL.
See also: http://www.gnucleus.net/