Avid INEWS V5.1 Administration Guide I News 5.1 NEWSv51 AG EN
User Manual: avid iNews - 5.1 - Administration Guide Free User Guide for Avid iNews Software, Manual
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Avid iNEWS
Administration Guide
Legal Notices
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Footage
Arri — Courtesy of Arri/Fauer — John Fauer, Inc.
Bell South “Anticipation” — Courtesy of Two Headed Monster — Tucker/Wayne Atlanta/GMS.
Canyonlands — Courtesy of the National Park Service/Department of the Interior.
Eco Challenge British Columbia — Courtesy of Eco Challenge Lifestyles, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
Eco Challenge Morocco — Courtesy of Discovery Communications, Inc.
It’s Shuttletime — Courtesy of BCP & Canadian Airlines.
Nestlé Coffee Crisp — Courtesy of MacLaren McCann Canada.
Saturn “Calvin Egg” — Courtesy of Cossette Communications.
“Tigers: Tracking a Legend” — Courtesy of www.wildlifeworlds.com, Carol Amore, Executive Producer.
"The Big Swell" — Courtesy of Swell Pictures, Inc.
Windhorse — Courtesy of Paul Wagner Productions.
Arizona Images — KNTV Production — Courtesy of Granite Broadcasting, Inc.,
Editor/Producer Bryan Foote.
Canyonlands — Courtesy of the National Park Service/Department of the Interior.
Ice Island — Courtesy of Kurtis Productions, Ltd.
Tornados + Belle Isle footage — Courtesy of KWTV News 9.
WCAU Fire Story — Courtesy of NBC-10, Philadelphia, PA.
Women in Sports – Paragliding — Courtesy of Legendary Entertainment, Inc.
News material provided by WFTV Television Inc.
GOT FOOTAGE?
Editors — Filmmakers — Special Effects Artists — Game Developers — Animators — Educators — Broadcasters — Content
creators of every genre — Just finished an incredible project and want to share it with the world?
Send us your reels and we may use your footage in our show reel or demo!*
For a copy of our release and Avid’s mailing address, go to www.avid.com/footage.
*Note: Avid cannot guarantee the use of materials submitted.
Avid iNEWS v5.1 Administration Guide • 9329-65311-00 Rev B • Created 8/21/14 • This document is
distributed by Avid in online (electronic) form only, and is not available for purchase in printed form.
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Contents
Using This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Symbols and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
If You Need Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
...With the Syntax of Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Avid Training Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Chapter 1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Overview of iNEWS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
System Administrator Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Chapter 2
Connect Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Network Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Dialogs for Connect Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Building a Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Dialog Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Dialog Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Adding System Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Setting up the Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Console Connect Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Chapter 3
Database Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Establishing Security Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
User Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Checking Password Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Forcing Individual Users to Change Their Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
. . . At an iNEWS Workstation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Tracking User Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Tracking User Login Activity and Date Created . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
. . . At an iNEWS Workstation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
. . . At the Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Listing Users Currently Logged in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Recording Logins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
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Using Group Security to Control System Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Chapter 4
Database Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Monitoring Free Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Understanding Database Storage Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Monitoring the Free List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Understanding How the System Copies Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Tracking Database Space over Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Using the hogs Command to Obtain Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Using dbserver and dbfree to Obtain Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Increasing Database Space for Immediate Use. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Maintaining the Database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Checking the Database for Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Cleaning the Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Cleaning Your Database Offline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Cleaning Your Database with Online Dbvisit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Chapter 5
Avid System Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Using SNMP Monitoring on the iNEWS Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Installing and Enabling the SNMP Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Chapter 6
Backing Up the iNEWS System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Tape Operations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Establishing Policies for Backup Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Backing up the iNEWS Database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
The dbdump Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Backing up the Entire Database to Tape. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Tapeless Database Backup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Backing up Individual Queues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Notes on Backing up the Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Restoring Data to the iNEWS Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
The dbrestore Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Restoring a First-Level Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Listing Tape Contents and Backup Dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Listing Contents of a Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Listing Items Dumped on a Particular Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
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Listing the Date of Each Backup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Searching a Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
The searchtape Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Searching a Tape for Stories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Searching a Tape by Word(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Searching a Tape by Word and Date Range. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Searching a Tape by Word and Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Searching a Tape by Word and Month . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Specifying a Maximum Number of Stories to Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Checking for Free Space on a Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Adding Blocks to the Free List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Restoring the Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Disaster Recovery Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Disaster Recovery Dbdump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Create Minimal dbdump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Backing up Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Backing up System Site Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
The sitedump Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Chapter 7
Disconnects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Normal System Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Disconnects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Detecting a Disconnect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Types of Disconnect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Causes of Disconnects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Disconnect Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Recovery Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Chapter 8
Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
iNEWS Workstation Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
A User Cannot Log in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
A User Cannot Establish a Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
A User Cannot Access an Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
9
Group Permissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Busy Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Wire Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Data Receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Locked Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
How to Check Process Status (ps Command) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Power Failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Network Failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
netstat -i Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Output Errors (TX-ERRs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Input Errors (RX-ERRs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
iNEWS and FTS Connectivity (ftsdebug Command) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Checking Communication between iNEWS and FTS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Appendix A
Command References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Programs Invoked by iNEWS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Commands Used by Avid Personnel Only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Linux Commands Used in iNEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Console Server Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
broadcast. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
configure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
connect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
ctraits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
dbclean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
dbclose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
dbdev and dbsize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
dbdump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
dbfree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
dblines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
dboriginal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
dbpurge
(Superuser conditional) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
dbrestore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
10
dbserver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
dbsort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
dbtraits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
dbvisit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
dictionary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
diskclear
(Superuser only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
diskcopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
doc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
ed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
enter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
force
(Superuser only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
grpcheck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
gtraits
(Superuser only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
hogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
idiff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
list B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
list C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
list c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
list d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
list g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
list p . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
list q . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
list s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
list sq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
list u . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
logout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
makemontab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
makeshift (Super user only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
maketab
11
(Superuser only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
mapcheck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
msgclean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
offline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
online. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
otod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
reconnect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
remove . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
rename
(Superuser only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
reorder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
restart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
searchtape. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
send. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
sendlong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
shutdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
sitedump
(Superuser only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
siterestore
(Superuser only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
stop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
su. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
unbusy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
utraits
(Super user only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
wholockedit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Job List Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
at . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
blockmode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
bpoll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
bscan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
12
charset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
dup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
every. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
extension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
fast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
ignore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
ignore-del . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
local . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
mailto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
move. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
open . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
passive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
poll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
publish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
put . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
quiet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
remove . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
replace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
scan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
send-del . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
sendform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
sendpassword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
source. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
validate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Dialog Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
capture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
delay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
diag. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
13
echo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
escape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
expect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
heol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
mapin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
mapout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
pause. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
stop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
timer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
wait . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Appendix B
System Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
/etc/hosts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
/site/config . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
/site/system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
SYSTEM.CLIENT.WINDOWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
SYSTEM.COLORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
SYSTEM.CONFIGURE.301-ACTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
SYSTEM.GROUPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
SYSTEM.INTERPLAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
SYSTEM.LISTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
SYSTEM.MAP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
SYSTEM.MOS-MAP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
SYSTEM.RESOURCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
SYSTEM.WIRES.DISTRIBUTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
SYSTEM.WIRES.KEYWORDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
SYSTEM.WIRES.KEYWORDS-AP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
SYSTEM.WIRES.KEYWORDS-AP2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Appendix C
Standard Dictionaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Using Dictionaries to Define Messages and Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
14
Customizing Dictionaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Changing Default Dictionary Values. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Restoring Dictionary Defaults. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Utility Messages Dictionary (/site/dict/messages) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
DBServer Program Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Disconnect Program Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Category and Keyword Check Program Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Keyboard Check Program Messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Keyboard Check Program Messages for Macros. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Grpcheck Messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Wire Program Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Mail Server Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Map Check Program Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Validation (Action) Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Seek Server Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Last Login Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Print Server Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
dbtraits Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Save Error (Workstation) Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Queues Dictionary (/site/dict/queues) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Words Dictionary (/site/dict/words) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Keyboard Macros Dictionary (/site/dict/keymacros) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Case-shifting Dictionary (/site/dict/shift) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
MCS Dictionary (/site/dict/mcs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Device Types Used by Monitor Servers and Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Special Strings Recognized by the Monitor Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Error Messages for the Monitor Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Status Reported in Device Status Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Job List Command Dictionary (/site/dict/joblist) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
D Messages Dictionary (/site/dict/dmessages) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
S Messages Dictionary (/site/dict/smessages) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Appendix D
Environment Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Registry Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
15
Environment Variables (Registry Values). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
CCColor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
DestinationOrder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
MailLookup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
MsgMailAlert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
PIColor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
RGB Hexadecimal Color Chart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
ShowTimingBar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
SyncToServer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
VT Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
DisableCommandLine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Environmental Variables for Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Appendix E
Managing Traits at the Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Viewing User Traits from the Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Modifying User Traits from the Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Changing a User’s Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Listing Users Who Do Not Have Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
User Traits Console Command Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Managing Database Traits from the Console. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Getting Basic Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Getting Detailed Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Changing Database Traits from the Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Changing a Parent Directory Only. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Database Traits Console Command Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Sortfield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Changing a Queue’s Sort Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Starting the Queue Sort Function from the Console. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Purge Interval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Mailbox Attribute. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
The dis Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
FTSindex Attribute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Interplay Attribute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Managing Group Traits at the Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
16
Read Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Write Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Editorial Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Notify Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Restricting Access Using Read and Write Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Removing Directory or Queue Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Appendix F
The Line Editor, ed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Starting ed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Specifying Lines to Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Searching the File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Searching Tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Editing Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Saving Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Quitting ed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
17
18
Using This Guide
Congratulations on your purchase of your Avid iNEWS system. It is a vital part of the Avid
news system solution that integrates with other Avid systems and third-party equipment to
provide an ideal nonlinear workflow and optimize the news production process.
This guide is part of a two-book set designed to keep pace with current advances in the Avid
system’s news production capabilities. The set—made up of this book and the Avid iNEWS
Setup and Configuration Guide—is a comprehensive resource of all administrative
information you will need to take advantage of the many options available to you.
This guide will lead you through even the most complex procedures with task-oriented
instructions. The information provided here builds on basic news production procedures
described in the help system and other user-based guides, while adding a complete
explanation of all of the tools and techniques required to manage the newsroom computer
system, including useful tips, shortcuts, and custom options.
n
The documentation describes the software features and hardware related to the iNEWS
newsroom computer system, which is extremely customizable. Your system might not contain
certain features and/or hardware that are covered in the documentation.
Symbols and Conventions
Avid documentation uses the following symbols and conventions:
Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action
n
A note provides important related information, reminders,
recommendations, and strong suggestions.
c
A caution means that a specific action you take could cause harm to
your computer or cause you to lose data.
w
>
A warning describes an action that could cause you physical harm.
Follow the guidelines in this document or on the unit itself when
handling electrical equipment.
This symbol indicates menu commands (and subcommands) in the
order you select them. For example, File > Import means to open the
File menu and then select the Import command.
This symbol indicates a single-step procedure. Multiple arrows in a list
indicate that you perform one of the actions listed.
(Windows), (Windows
only), (Macintosh), or
(Macintosh only)
This text indicates that the information applies only to the specified
operating system, either Windows or Macintosh OS X.
Bold font
Bold font is primarily used in task instructions to identify user interface
items and keyboard sequences.
Italic font
Italic font is used to emphasize certain words and to indicate variables.
Courier Bold font
Courier Bold font identifies text that you type.
Ctrl+key or mouse action
Press and hold the first key while you press the last key or perform the
mouse action. For example, Command+Option+C or Ctrl+drag.
| (pipe character)
The pipe character is used in some Avid product names, such as
Interplay | Production. In this document, the pipe is used in product
names when they are in headings or at their first use in text.
If You Need Help
If you are having trouble using your Avid product:
1. Retry the action, carefully following the instructions given for that task in this guide. It
is especially important to check each step of your workflow.
20
If You Need Help
2. Check the latest information that might have become available after the documentation
was published:
-
If the latest information for your Avid product is provided as printed release notes,
they ship with your application and are also available online.
-
If the latest information for your Avid product is provided as a ReadMe file, it is
supplied on your Avid installation CD or DVD as a PDF document
(README_product.pdf) and is also available online.
You should always check online for the most up-to-date release notes or ReadMe
because the online version is updated whenever new information becomes
available. To view these online versions, select ReadMe from the Help menu, or visit
the Knowledge Base at www.avid.com/readme.
3. Check the documentation that came with your Avid application or your hardware for
maintenance or hardware-related issues.
4. Visit the online Knowledge Base at www.avid.com/onlinesupport. Online services are
available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Search this online Knowledge Base to find
answers, to view error messages, to access troubleshooting tips, to download updates,
and to read or join online message-board discussions.
...With the Syntax of Commands
If you are at the console and are unsure about the function of a command, use the help
command.
To view instructions about using a command:
t
Use the following command: help
For instance, type: help dbvisit for an explanation of the dbvisit command.
The following data appears:
dbvisit - [-r or -c name] [-s] [-l] [block# ...]
‘r’ for read only
‘s’ for “slow” to eliminate cache usage
‘c’ use checkpoint partition (forces “-s”)
‘i’ to just validate isam files
‘l’ to list link count distribution
n
Lengthy console displays might be edited to emphasize only the most important information
in this guide. An ellipsis (...) represents portions of the console display not shown in the text.
Also, because of the margin limitations of this guide, command lines might appear wrapped
21
to multiple lines. This does not necessarily indicate the need to press an Enter key. Unless
otherwise indicated, commands should be typed on a single line, allowing the computer to
wrap the text whenever the command line stretches beyond the screen margin.
22
Avid Training Services
Avid Training Services
Avid makes lifelong learning, career advancement, and personal development easy and
convenient. Avid understands that the knowledge you need to differentiate yourself is always
changing, and Avid continually updates course content and offers new training delivery
methods that accommodate your pressured and competitive work environment.
To learn about Avid's new online learning environment, Avid Learning Excellerator™
(ALEX), visit http://learn.avid.com.
For information on courses/schedules, training centers, certifications, courseware, and
books, please visit www.avid.com/training or call Avid Sales at 800-949-AVID
(800-949-2843).
23
24
1 Introduction
The iNEWS newsroom computer system is an integrated digital news production system, which
provides journalists, producers, directors, writers, and technical personnel with an array of tools
to make their jobs easier.
This chapter contains the following main sections:
•
Overview of iNEWS
•
System Administrator Tasks
-
Basic Tasks
-
User Tasks
-
Database Tasks
-
Security Tasks
-
Customizing the System
-
Storage Maintenance Tasks
-
Device Tasks
-
Reviewing Default Settings
-
Troubleshooting
Overview of iNEWS
An iNEWS newsroom computer system provides:
•
News gathering from text sources
•
News production, including:
•
-
Story creation and script editing
-
Association of machine control items to script
-
Show planning and creation
-
Show archiving
-
Contact organization and scheduling
News to air, including:
-
On-air playback control
-
File exporting
-
Internet publishing
Some primary components of iNEWS include:
•
Linux-based computers running the iNEWS Server software. In this guide, these host
computers are referred to as the iNEWS Servers, or individually as server A, server B,
and so forth.
•
A Windows-based computer running the PuTTY Command Sender program. This
computer is known as the console.
•
Windows- or Vista-based computers running the iNEWS client software. These
computers are known as iNEWS Workstations.
•
Windows-based computers running the iNEWS Data Receiver software, which is used
to ingest wires and other text-based research material
•
Other peripherals, such as printers and teleprompters.
Additionally, the iNEWS system is capable of interfacing with a wide variety of production
devices. Avid iNEWS Command provides a central point of control for numerous video
servers and graphics devices, or MOS protocol may be used to send playlists to
MOS-compatible playout controllers.
System Administrator Tasks
System Administrator Tasks
The following sections describe common system administrator responsibilities and tasks.
Basic Tasks
Before you can customize or maintain the iNEWS newsroom computer system, you must learn
several basic tasks, which include:
•
Start up or shut down iNEWS Server software, which includes logging out users and taking
the system offline.
•
Back up a site file before making file modifications.
•
Send system administrator commands from the console to one or more of your system’s
computers.
•
Become a console superuser, capable of performing actions that are only accessible to users
with superuser permissions.
User Tasks
A user is anyone who can log in to the database and use iNEWS NRCS. Your responsibilities
regarding users are:
•
Monitor user information, such as users’ access privileges and which users are currently
logged in.
•
Customize the traits of users’ accounts to enable users to more effectively use the system.
•
Provide a new employee access to the information stored in the iNEWS NRCS database by
creating a new user account.
•
Remove user accounts of former employees to prevent improper access to the iNEWS
NRCS database.
Database Tasks
The iNEWS system database contains the information your organization needs to function. A
system administrator’s tasks associated with the database include:
•
Design forms (that is, story templates) to display important information about stories in a
queue.
•
Monitor changes to files and queues in the database.
•
Unlock or delete any item in the database, and recover items that were accidentally deleted
or corrupted.
•
Create new folders or queues in the iNEWS system database to meet your organization’s
expanding needs—including setting up rundowns.
27
System Administrator Tasks
•
Remove a directory or queue from the database, if it is no longer used.
•
Change the name or traits of an existing directory or queue.
•
Assign the mailbox trait to queues for configuring automatic story distribution into and out
of queues.
Security Tasks
There are many ways to ensure the security of your iNEWS system. Your responsibilities
regarding system security include:
•
Monitor and change passwords or force users to change them by setting up system checks
and modifications.
•
Monitor user login activity to guard against unauthorized use of the iNEWS system.
•
Assign security to a directory or queue, limiting access to a specific group of users.
•
Restrict database access by placing users into security groups based on job roles and need
for information.
Customizing the System
Your responsibilities regarding customization include:
•
Customize command names, message text, and other items by changing their entries in your
system’s dictionary files.
•
Create templates for the CG Title Entry tool.
•
Design and assign custom keyboards for users with a unique set of keyboard macros.
Storage Maintenance Tasks
You will want to monitor the database regularly to ensure adequate storage. Storage maintenance
tasks include:
•
Monitor how much free space is available in the database and, if necessary, increase the
amount to prevent the system from running out of space.
•
Perform preventive database maintenance by periodically running certain utility programs
that can find and fix minor problems before they become serious.
•
Backup the entire database or portions of it onto tape, so if necessary, the information can be
restored to the database later.
•
Make a backup copy of files any time you make important changes.
28
System Administrator Tasks
Device Tasks
A device is any kind of hardware or software that performs a specific function when it is set up
on the iNEWS system. Your responsibilities regarding devices include:
•
List the parameters of any device running on your system or list all devices of one type.
•
Add any type of device to your system, if you have the capacity and license permission.
•
Edit site-specific files, to change the setup information for a device in your system’s
configuration file.
•
Reconfigure the system so it recognizes any changes you make to your system’s devices.
•
Set up printer styles so users can print stories or queues in predetermined formats. For
example, a director rundown only showing specific rundown fields.
•
Set up servers, which are utility programs automatically performing various actions on the
database.
•
Change wire distribution and sorting of data coming into your database from a wire service
to queues based on their category codes or content.
•
(Optional) Write dialogs—lists of instructions—for each connect service to automate the
connection process. A connect service is a device that connects a user to a remote computer
system.
Reviewing Default Settings
Your responsibilities regarding system profiles, default settings, and command syntax include:
•
Changing a system profile setting to change your system’s operation.
•
Reviewing default settings of all system profile parameters.
•
Reviewing command syntax for edit, console, and job list commands.
Troubleshooting
Your troubleshooting responsibilities include:
•
Transfer system activities from a halted computer to other system computers. If a computer
connected to the system has been halted, bring the system back to operation using the
remaining computers
•
Reconnect a computer that has been halted. Following routine maintenance, reintegrate a
computer into your system’s operation.
29
2 Connect Services
Connect services are utilities you can set up to enable iNEWS users to connect to other
computers or information services over the network, such as a remote console for your iNEWS
newsroom computer system.
This chapter contains the following main sections:
•
Network Services
•
Adding System Services
•
Console Connect Sessions
Network Services
Network Services
It is useful to set up a service to let you connect to your iNEWS Servers. For instance, setting up
network remote connect services lets you perform many administrative tasks from your iNEWS
Workstation rather than from the console.
Dialogs for Connect Services
A dialog is a script that tells the service what prompts to expect from the device it connects to,
and provides the service with appropriate responses for each prompt. Using any service involves
some routine activities, such as logging in, that you do each time you use that service. You can
create a dialog for any service to handle these routine activities.
Building a Dialog
This section explains how to design and create a simple dialog that logs a user in to an
information service. Once logged in, the dialog yields control to the user until he/she is ready to
close the connection. Then the dialog logs the user out of the service and closes the connection.
When you design a dialog, it is helpful to turn on the capture connect command and perform
the procedure you want to incorporate into the dialog. This way, steps in that procedure are
captured to a story that you can refer to while designing the dialog; each line in the dialog is built
as a line of the story.
This process includes the most commonly used dialog commands.
To build a dialog:
1. Create a dialog queue.
Each dialog must be in a separate queue in the SYSTEM.DIALOGS directory. The first step
in creating a new dialog is to go to SYSTEM.DIALOGS and create a queue to hold it. The
name you give this queue is also the name of the dialog, so choose a queue name that
describes what the dialog does, such as Console, for a dialog used during connect sessions to
the console. See the iNEWS Setup and Configuration Guide for more information about
adding new directories, queues or stories.
2. Open a new story in the queue and build the dialog.
3. Type a message that will be displayed on the user’s workstation, indicating the connection is
being established, using the following format:
message text
The message dialog command displays on the user’s screen whatever text you enter in place
of the text parameter.
4. Type: wait CONNECT
31
Network Services
When you use a modem to make the connection, you want the dialog to wait until the
modem sends the word CONNECT to the workstation, signaling it has made the connection.
If necessary, use these additional commands to accommodate the login procedure:
Command
Description
delay nn
Use this command to pause the dialog while the service continues connect
and login processes.
(nn is the number of seconds you want the dialog to pause before continuing
to the next command)
type text
Use the type command to send a text message to the device to which the
workstation is being connected.
5. To send your login data, such as an account number, type type text with text being the
account number.
6. Type pass to yield control to the user after login is complete.
This command instructs the dialog to pass whatever the user enters to the device to which the
service has connected.
Use pass x to include a character the user can enter to cue the dialog to resume. The x
should be a character or symbol, such as the at symbol (@), he or she will not normally use.
Use pass alone to instruct the system to accept what the user enters until he/she closes the
connection.
7. Type commands to log out of the service.
When the user exits a connection using the quit connect command, the dialog resumes and
performs the logout process and closes the connection.
8. Attach the dialog to the service by placing the dialog’s name in the service’s dialog
parameter in the service table, located in the SYSTEM.SERVICE queue.
9. Type the configure -s command to incorporate this change into the service.
Dialog Commands
Available dialog commands are flexible enough to script entire connect sessions. For instance, a
dialog could be constructed to automatically log in to the remote console and “unbusy” a
rundown if desired.
The available dialog commands are reviewed in “Command References” on page 497.
32
Adding System Services
Dialog Examples
Here are a few examples of dialogs for remote console connect services:
In the example, and are used to indicate a “carriage return” and “line feed.”
Adding System Services
A service consists of two parts:
•
A network resource, set up as a device in the configuration file (/site/config).
•
The service, set up in the service table in the database file (SYSTEM.SERVICE); it uses the
resource to make a connection.
To add a new service to your system, you must design and build the service and select a
network resource for the service to use. If an appropriate resource does not exist, create one.
Setting up the Service
To set up the service and its resource:
1. Determine whether the service and its resource exists.
Try connecting to a service you want. If it works, then the necessary programs are installed.
If you cannot find the service, or one does not work, call Avid for help.
33
Adding System Services
2. Choose a device number for the resource and a name for the service. In the following
examples, the service name is console.
Check your configuration file (/site/config) to determine the appropriate device number for
your new resource. For a network resource, choose a number in the range you have reserved
for services, servers, and similar devices. Ensure the number you choose is out of the range
used for normal devices.
n
See the iNEWS Setup and Configuration Guide for more information on the Site Configuration
file and selecting servers via the PuTTYCS application.
3. Add the resource to the configuration file on each server in your system.
n
a.
Add the device number of the network resource to the reslist line in the server’s host
definition.
b.
To keep the network resource available if you bring down one of the system servers, add
this line to any appropriate alternate host definitions.
The following steps use ed to modify system files. If you are unfamiliar with this line editor, see
“The Line Editor, ed” on page 679.
c.
Use ed (line editor) to open the configuration file. The display will look similar to:
NRCS-A$ ed /site/config
1356
The general format for a network resource configuration line is:
resource
Parameter
Description
device #
Identifies resource’s device number.
resource name
Name you want to give to the resource. Network resources can share the
same name; services choose the first available resource of the correct kind.
In the following example, we call the resource net.
device name
Resource’s device name. If you do not want to give it a name, put a hyphen
in this position.
For instance, our new network resource configuration line would look like this:
resource
220
net - ; net connect
4. Add the service to the service table in the database.
34
Adding System Services
Each service installed in your system is defined on a separate line in your system’s service
table, which is the first story in SYSTEM.SERVICE. Each service defined in the service
table consists of a few parameters that determine how the service behaves. It does not matter
where in the service table you add the new line.
A service line has six parameters in this general format: