Skip to content

feature-highlights.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
130 lines (85 loc) · 3.79 KB

feature-highlights.md

File metadata and controls

130 lines (85 loc) · 3.79 KB

Feature Highlights

This page summarizes the features that make pyCluster more than a protocol-compatibility exercise.

Operator Experience

Cleaner Telnet UX

pyCluster keeps the familiar telnet interface, but improves:

  • prompt clarity
  • command discovery
  • human-readable replies
  • 80-column-friendly formatting
  • link and protocol visibility

Examples of improvements:

  • N0CALL-1> for normal users
  • N0CALL-1# for sysops
  • Password updated for N0CALL. instead of raw password=...
  • show/links and show/node focused on operator usefulness

Explicit System Operator Command Model

Legacy systems often blur normal-user and operator actions together. pyCluster does not.

pyCluster uses:

  • normal user commands for self-service
  • sysop/* for privileged operator actions

That keeps the mental model cleaner and avoids overloading normal user verbs.

Less Defensive Tuning

pyCluster tries to solve more network-protection problems in the core instead of expecting the sysop to hand-maintain elaborate defensive filters just to keep the node healthy.

That includes:

  • built-in duplicate and loop-resistant behavior
  • multi-link node connectivity that usually does not require hand-written defensive route filters just to be safe
  • protocol-health visibility and policy-drop accounting
  • peer cleanup and safer default link behavior
  • optional filters and policy controls for unusual cases, without making them mandatory for normal operation

Web Interfaces

Public Web UI

The public web UI gives normal users a first-class browser experience.

Highlights:

  • live spots with filters
  • rare-entity badge support
  • cluster overview
  • watch lists and profiles
  • operate tab for login and posting
  • in-browser profile editing

System Operator Web Console

The sysop UI is a real operational console, not just a stats page.

Highlights:

  • user management
  • access matrix editing
  • blocked-user handling
  • peer/link management
  • protocol thresholds and history
  • audit and security views
  • runtime and at-a-glance node state

Security and Abuse Resistance

pyCluster includes several security improvements that are often weak or ad hoc on legacy systems.

Highlights:

  • callsign blocking with reason tracking
  • per-user channel and posting controls
  • structured auth-failure logging
  • shipped fail2ban support for core auth, web auth, and fast telnet scanner attempts
  • current-ban and recent-failure visibility in the sysop UI

Operational Improvements

Deployment

pyCluster ships with a deployment path instead of expecting operators to invent one.

Highlights:

  • systemd services
  • install, upgrade, repair, and uninstall scripts
  • doctor script for host checks
  • supported nginx helper for public web and optional sysop reverse proxy on 80/443
  • validated deployment on Debian 12/13, Ubuntu 24.04/25.10, Fedora 42/43, and SELinux-enforcing EL-family hosts
  • Python 3.11+ baseline, with older distro generations intentionally left out of the supported path

CTY Data Management

Instead of relying on whatever CTY file happens to exist on a host:

  • pyCluster ships a bundled cty.dat
  • install/upgrade attempt a best-effort refresh
  • weekly refresh of CTY.DAT and wpxloc.raw is supported by pycluster-data-refresh.timer

Better Observability

pyCluster tries to make node operation visible instead of opaque.

Highlights:

  • audit view
  • security view
  • protocol summary/history
  • policy-drop visibility
  • link health and last-frame visibility

Compatibility Without Imitating Every Quirk

pyCluster aims to interoperate with legacy cluster software where needed, especially DXSpider-family behavior, without preserving every awkward UI behavior just because it is old.

The design goal is:

  • strict where wire behavior matters
  • better where user and operator experience can clearly improve