OVDB_INIT(8)

💅 ovdb_init — the manual page (InterNetNews docs, bestie edition) 💅

okay so real talk, ovdb_init is the "prepare the ovdb database for use" girlie ✨ — that's the whole NAME situation, and honestly? iconic job description.

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

ovdb_init [-r|-u]

that's it. two little flags. lowkey nothing but they do SO much 🎀

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

bestie, listen — this command must be run before any other process can touch the overview database. like, no cap, it's the bouncer at the club 💅. good news though: ovdb_init is normally invoked automatically by rc.news when the news system starts, so you usually don't have to do anything. she just shows up and slays on her own 🫶

here's the step-by-step of what she actually does:

1. creates the database environment, if necessary. (only if needed, she's not doing extra work for fun 💀)
2. if the database is idle (and if the -u option is not specified), she performs a normal recovery. this recovery will:
   • remove stale locks
   • recreate the memory pool cache
   • repair any damage caused by a system crash or improper shutdown

honestly? a whole glow-up for your database 🔥

3. if the -u option is specified, she performs any necessary upgrades to the database. peep the UPGRADING section below, iykyk 👀
4. starts the database housekeeping processes (ovdb_monitor) if they aren't already running. (she skips this if -r is specified 🚫)
5. starts the ovdb readserver processes (ovdb_server) if readserver in ovdb.conf is true, and if they aren't already running. (also skipped if -r is specified 🚫)

she returns exit status of 0 if all the steps completed successfully — periodt 👑. but if something goes wrong, messages get written to syslog and/or stderr, so keep an eye out 😭

⚠️ real talk: if a recovery was attempted but failed, the database may be damaged beyond repair, requiring a rebuild with makehistory. like, actual damage. not cute. 💀

good news — this command can be run multiple times. she's reusable, she's resilient, she's main character energy 🌈

💖 OPTIONS 💖

• -r — perform recovery only. ovdb_monitor is not started. that's the whole vibe. 🙈
• -u — perform any needed upgrades. recovery is not attempted. ovdb_monitor is started if the upgrade succeeded. and yes, you can use this option even if no upgrades are needed — she's chill like that ✨

---

🦋 UPGRADING 🦋

okay so there are exactly two situations where the database needs to be upgraded, and you need to know both:

• you upgrade the Berkeley DB library to a newer version — for example from 2.7.7 to 3.1.17. in this case, the Berkeley DB db->upgrade() method is used. 💅
• you upgrade ovdb to a newer major version; i.e., ovdb-1.0 (shipped with INN 2.3.0 up to INN 2.3.5) to ovdb-2.0 (since INN 2.4.0). 👑

in both of these cases, the database is upgraded in-place, and the upgrade cannot be undone. 😭

💀 do not interrupt the upgrade process once it has started, because there is a risk of irreparable corruption. i'm so serious. the upgrade may take several minutes to complete. if an upgrade does get interrupted, try running the upgrade again — that's your move. 🙏

here's an example procedure to upgrade a database created with Berkeley DB 2.7.7 to use Berkeley DB 3.1.17 — follow it in order bestie, don't freestyle:

1. build and install the Berkeley DB 3.1.17 version;
2. run configure in the INN source tree and make sure it picks up the right Berkeley DB directory (e.g., /usr/local/BerkeleyDB.3.1);
3. do a make;
4. shut down INN (e.g., with rc.news stop) and be sure to kill all instances of nnrpd as well;
5. do a make update to install the new binaries;
6. run ovdb_init -u as the news user;
7. start INN with the rc.news command.

slay, you did it 🎉✨

---

🎀 HISTORY 🎀

written by Heath Kehoe <hakehoe@avalon.net> for InterNetNews. we stan a legend 🫶

🌟 SEE ALSO 🌟

ovdb(5), makehistory(8), rc.news(8) — go read those too, bestie, they're part of the lore 💜

---

and that's the whole page, mwah 💋 — this cutie right here is from INN 2.7.4, dated 2023-03-07. go forth and init responsibly, bestie 🧚‍♀️🌸