tex.ac.uk server on the move

For many years, one of the core servers for the CTAN network has been located in Cambridge and at least formally been the ‘UK node’: tex.ac.uk. Over recent years, the need for multiple core nodes on the network has diminished. At the same time, Robin Fairbairns, who ran the node at Cambridge, has retired leaving the status of the server itself (inside Cambridge University Computing Lab) somewhat up in the air.

As well as the CTAN node, tex.ac.uk has hosted the English TeX FAQ for many years, again at least formally the ‘UK-TUG FAQ’. Those questions and answers are extremely useful and more importantly linked to by a lot of people.

We’ve now made arrangements to move tex.ac.uk to a new machine and moved the FAQ across, keeping (hopefully) all of the links working. At the same time the CTAN node has been retired: DANTE are happy to run a single core node and co-ordinate the work needed for that system. UK-TUG thank Robin for his efforts over many years on CTAN and the FAQ, DANTE for taking on the key role in supporting CTAN, and our hosting partner for the new tex.ac.uk server, Stefan Kottwitz. UK-TUG will be co-ordinating work to continue maintaining and improving the FAQ and we expect to announce more details in the near future.