Man page edits and updates

 * Clarifications, less obscure or Erlang-centric language
 * Link to relevant doc guides
 * Prefer "mirror" or "follower" over "slave"
 * Reduce the number or archaic versions mentioned

1 files changed, 30 insertions, 22 deletions

diff --git a/docs/rabbitmq-server.8 b/docs/rabbitmq-server.8
index 381bc62652..8882ce62c7 100644
--- a/docs/rabbitmq-server.8
+++ b/docs/rabbitmq-server.8
@@ -14,12 +14,12 @@
 .\" The Initial Developer of the Original Code is Pivotal Software, Inc.
 .\" Copyright (c) 2007-2019 Pivotal Software, Inc.  All rights reserved.
 .\"
-.Dd April 25, 2017
+.Dd January 25, 2019
 .Dt RABBITMQ-SERVER 8
 .Os "RabbitMQ Server"
 .Sh NAME
 .Nm rabbitmq-server
-.Nd start RabbitMQ AMQP server
+.Nd starts a RabbitMQ node
 .\" ------------------------------------------------------------------
 .Sh SYNOPSIS
 .\" ------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -28,47 +28,55 @@
 .\" ------------------------------------------------------------------
 .Sh DESCRIPTION
 .\" ------------------------------------------------------------------
-RabbitMQ is an implementation of AMQP, the emerging standard for high
-performance enterprise messaging.
-The RabbitMQ server is a robust and scalable implementation of an AMQP
-broker.
+RabbitMQ is an open source multi-protocol messaging broker.
 .Pp
 Running
 .Nm
-in the foreground displays a banner message, and reports on progress in
-the startup sequence, concluding with the message
-.Qq broker running ,
-indicating that the RabbitMQ broker has been started successfully.
-To shut down the server, just terminate the process or use
+starts a RabbitMQ node in the foreground. The node will display a startup
+banner and report when startup is complete.
+To shut down the server, use service management tools or
 .Xr rabbitmqctl 8 .
 .\" ------------------------------------------------------------------
 .Sh ENVIRONMENT
 .\" ------------------------------------------------------------------
 .Bl -tag -width Ds
+.It Ev RABBITMQ_CONFIG_FILE
+Defaults to 
+.Pa /etc/rabbitmq/rabbitmq.conf .
+Node configuration file path.
+To learn more, see the
+.Lk https://www.rabbitmq.com/configure.html "RabbitMQ Configuration guide"
 .It Ev RABBITMQ_MNESIA_BASE
 Defaults to
 .Pa /var/lib/rabbitmq/mnesia .
-Set this to the directory where Mnesia database files should be placed.
+Node data directory will be located (or created) in this directory.
+To learn more, see the
+.Lk https://www.rabbitmq.com/relocate.html "RabbitMQ File and Directory guide"
 .It Ev RABBITMQ_LOG_BASE
 Defaults to
 .Pa /var/log/rabbitmq .
 Log files generated by the server will be placed in this directory.
+To learn more, see the
+.Lk https://www.rabbitmq.com/logging.html "RabbitMQ Logging guide"
 .It Ev RABBITMQ_NODENAME
 Defaults to
-.Qq rabbit .
-This can be useful if you want to run more than one node per machine -
+.Qq rabbit@ .
+followed by the computed hostname.
+Can be used to run multiple nodes on the same host.
+Every node in a cluster must have a unique
 .Ev RABBITMQ_NODENAME
-should be unique per erlang-node-and-machine combination.
-See the
-.Lk http://www.rabbitmq.com/clustering.html#single-machine "clustering on a single machine guide"
-for details.
+To learn more, see the
+.Lk https://www.rabbitmq.com/clustering.html "RabbitMQ Clustering guide"
 .It Ev RABBITMQ_NODE_IP_ADDRESS
-By default RabbitMQ will bind to all interfaces, on IPv4 and IPv6 if
-available.
-Set this if you only want to bind to one network interface or address
+By default RabbitMQ will bind to all IPv6 and IPv4 interfaces available.
+This variable limits the node to one network interface or address
 family.
+To learn more, see the
+.Lk https://www.rabbitmq.com/networking.html "RabbitMQ Networking guide"
 .It Ev RABBITMQ_NODE_PORT
-Defaults to 5672.
+AMQP 0-9-1 and AMQP 1.0 port. Defaults to 5672.
+To learn more, see the
+.Lk https://www.rabbitmq.com/networking.html "RabbitMQ Networking guide"
 .El
 .\" ------------------------------------------------------------------
 .Sh OPTIONS