Re: what exactly is it I failed to understand?

On Mon, Oct 25, 1999 at 07:45:59PM +0200, Arvid Gregersen wrote:
> I have recently set up squid and there are some things that seems
> like everyday knowledge to you that I don't seem to get and as far as
> I can see isn't described in the squid.conf file. For example how to
> use route other requests from clients through the server machine. For
> example mail, ftp and icq.

  Squid is exactly as it describes itself: A caching web proxy.

  It doesn't say anything about routing, mail, FTP, or ICQ, precisely
because it doesn't do those.

  It's nice that Squid apparently has such a glowing reputation as to
make people think maybe it can do all those other things, but
unfortunately it doesn't.

> I'm beginning to find out that squid maybe can't do this, because I
> really don't think the squid.conf file is THAT selfexplaning but then
> what can? If there is a manual covering these things could you tell
> me where it is?

  To be honest, I'm not sure what your best recourse is for a general
proxy/routing solution. The TIS Internet Firewall Toolkit (fwtk) will
help you put some of these together, but it presumes the user knows
quite a bit about what they are doing. See:
<http://www.tis.com/research/software/>

  There's clearly a demand for something which handles proxying,
forwarding, and/or rerouting as many protocols as possible
transparently, with the minimum of configuration, but AFAIK (as far as
I know) there is no one program which will do all of that.

> (I really don't think the faq does it out for a manual(!)) -or lead
> me in the right direction at least.

No, it doesn't, but it's not really fair to expect it to either, given
that what you're asking about is precisely what the software doesn't
do! It's admittedly sketchy on coverage of how to do what Squid does
do, and can't reasonably cover all the things Squid doesn't.

  -- Clifton

-- 
 Clifton Royston  --  LavaNet Systems Architect --  cliftonr@lava.net
        "An absolute monarch would be absolutely wise and good.  
           But no man is strong enough to have no interest.  
             Therefore the best king would be Pure Chance.  
              It is Pure Chance that rules the Universe; 
          therefore, and only therefore, life is good." - AC