SABnzbd+

SABnzbd+ is another Usenet .nzb download tool, very similar to hellanzb which I've been using for a while now. Both are written in Python, both can run as daemons, and both are suitable for use on a server. However, it is the differences that are more interesting.

First, SABnzbd+ has a built in web user interface whereas hellanazb requires you to install additional software to get more than a command line interface. When started from a terminal, by default SABnzbd+ starts lynx, a text web browser, as the user interface. For some reason this didn't work consistently for me, but I'm not sure why. Accessing the web interface from Firefox has worked perfectly, so I've been using that instead. I haven't checked but maybe the web interface needs JavaScript.

The second difference is that SABnzbd+ is a threaded design while hellanzb depends on Twisted to handle multiple connections. Neither threads nor Twisted provides any advantage, so that is not the issue here! But, the threaded design allows (or forces?) SABnzbd+ to use the Python socket library which, of course, is fully IPv6 capable. Tada! Unlike hellanzb, SABnzbd+ can directly access all the free IPv6 Usenet servers (assuming you have access to the IPv6 internet, of course).

And, finally, SABnzbd+ is still under active development while hellanzb is not. In the long run this is likely the most important difference. Consequently, I've switch to SABnzbd+ completely, since I can't see any reason to continue with hellanzb any more.