7.7 Upstreaming

Upstreaming is the process by which Radio moves information from your local computer to the server where your blog is located. The overall upstreaming process is controlled by an XML file named #upstream.xml stored in your www folder. This file contains configuration information specifying where your rendered HTML files are to be placed. Passwords are never placed in this file — they are stored in the radio.prefs.passwords table in Radio's object database.

There are three types of #upstream.xml files: xmlStorageSystem, FTP, and none. An xmlStorageSystem upstream file moves blog postings off to the radio.weblogs.com destination or to a Radio Community Server. An FTP upstream driver transfers files via FTP. A none type prevents information in the folder where it is located from being upstreamed at all.

The none type seems confusing but consider this example: you want to have a /www/images/photos directory that has all your photos; but there are two versions of photos — the high-resolution versions for print publication and the low-resolution version for on screen use. If you use an upstream of type none, you can prevent the high-resolution files from going up to your blog.

Here's a sample upstream file for FTP:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<upstream type="ftp" version="1.0">
 <username>fuzzygroup.com</username>
  <passwordName>ftp</passwordName>
  <server>ftp.fuzzygroup.com</server>
  <path>htdocs/ftpblog/</path>
  <url>http://www.fuzzygroup.com/ftpblog/</url>
  <mode>passive</mode>
</upstream>

Here's a sample upstream file for xmlStorageSystem:

<upstream type="xmlStorageSystem" version="1.0">
  <usernum>1015</usernum>
  <name>Dave Winer</name>
  <passwordName>default</passwordName>
  <server>radio.xmlstoragesystem.com</server>
  <port>80</port>
  <protocol>xml-rpc</protocol>
  <rpcPath>/RPC2</rpcPath>
  <soapAction>/xmlStorageSystem</soapAction>
</upstream>

Here's a sample upstream file for none:

<upstream type="none" version="1.0">
</upstream>

The real power of the upstreaming architecture becomes apparent when you use multiple upstream files concurrently. You can have #upstream.xml files in multiple locations in your www folder, and mix the three different built-in types to have one folder upstreamed with xmlStorageSystem, another upstreamed to an FTP server, and another folder with an #upstream.xml using the none type so it isn't upstreamed. This is a powerful content management feature in Radio.

For more on upstreaming, see:

http://radio.userland.com/stories/storyReader$6926