server priorities vs primary backup

[mysteryman]

It seems that altbinz is only capable of two levels of server priorities, moreover that it appears that to have an overall backup, you would need to add each backup to every primary. Is this correct, or have I missed an option?

I have been using newsleecher for a while, and have grown accustomed to server "priorities" where, the lower the priority number, the higher the priority. When downloading an article, it will first attempt to download from the priority 1 servers, if it is not available on any priority 1 server it will move to priority 2 servers, then priority 3 and so on. If the final level does not have the article, it finally gives up.

You probably are thinking... well we have backup servers already, what more could you need. Well currently I have a number of servers. I have unlimited newshosting from my isp but slow, and I have unlimited hitnews by subscription. I use these two for the vast bulk of my downloads (priority 1). I then have a number of free servers at priority 2 (teranews, ipv6 test servers) that are well... free, they may not always be able to bail out priority 1 servers, but every MB is one less I pay for. If none of those servers have it, I have a block account at astraweb that barely gets used (a few dozen mb/mo) at priority 3, and eu astraweb server added as priority 4.

The unlimited servers are in priority 1, they are fast, and have unlimited bw. The free servers are not as fast, don't have great retention, but they are preferred to block accounts because, well, they're free. And finally, I want my block accounts to last as long as humanly possible, because when they run out, I have to pay for them again. I also have both the us and eu astraweb servers added, because there is occasionally things missed on one or other, but not too often, so eu has priority 4 to avoid the lower speed (not that it matters as a backup with this number of servers .

Anyway, unless I am missing something, to get the same result from alt-binz, i would need dozens of servers added, and also have a secondary backup button (which doesn't exist, and add as backup does not add multiple levels). I think the way newsleecher does it is greatly preferred. However if there is a way please tell me, if there isn't a way, please move to requests.

[Hecks]

You are correct that Alt.Binz does not not have a server priorities system, and that it's advisable to add each primary as a backup for every other primary.

Something more like the Newsleecher way has been requested a few times before.  Here's an oldie:

https://www.altbinz.net/forum/index.php?topic=312.0

That contains some pointers that should help you, I think (see posts by Rdl). 

Edit: It's perhaps more accurate to say that Alt.Binz uses implicit priorities in a backup 'daisy-chain' config.  The chain is limited by the number of threads being determined by the primary server at its head, though. 

[Watcher]

Maybe this should be moved to Bugs so RDL will comment on it (and perhaps fix it). It's really a bug. The program is not honoring the max connections of the backup setver. I've been struggling with this over the past week until I decided to check the forum and see what others are doing.

In my case, I have an unlimited primary sever where I need 4 connections for efficient use. My backup server allows only 1 connection. I have each server configured accordingly. However, if there are 2 (let's say) sequential articles missing on my primary server, alt.binz will go ahead and try to grab both simultaneously from my secondary server (using 2 connections, not the "max 1" I've configured). Soon, the secondary server bans my IP completely for repeatedly trying to use too many connections and all the files I would have been able to fill from the secondary server are instead incomplete.

RDL?