[PLUG] My mail server is down for the moment...

Ronald Chmara ron at Opus1.COM
Tue Jul 18 04:05:47 UTC 2006


On Jul 17, 2006, at 12:52 PM, Alan Olsen wrote:
> Remember the conversation about remote administration and being able 
> to see
> the boot process?
> I wish I had that now.
> I updated my mail server to the latest kernel for FC4 and rebooted.
> It did not come back up.  I won't know why until tonight, when I can 
> look at
> the console.
> Sigh.
> Well, at least I am supposed to get my laptop back today.  Hopefully 
> they
> fixed it.  (And not like a vet fixes a cat.)

I know it's not much help now, but I have a *very* small list of things 
I *never* do remotely:
1. kernel upgrades (if it bonks on the BIOS level, no remote daemon can 
save you... the only fix would be a magic box that tunneled raw VGA 
output, raw PS2/USB input, etc. over TCP/IP... is there such a beast?)
2. RAID juggling (if /boot is on a SCSI RAID 5, for example)
3. For that matter, anything SCSI. Requires waaaay too many goat 
sacrifices when *at* the console to even consider doing remotely. (Or, 
alternately, really good high end cables and terminators, which I 
*never* seem to see IRL.)
4. Any crypto library changes, or pam changes, if my sole admin access 
is ssh. (Want to know how to make an sshd session work when the daemon 
dies because libraries have changed? So do I.)
5. ifconfig changes (without a crond/atd backup script to restore 
settings) on single NIC machines.
6. For that matter, ipchains/iptables/ipfw changes (without a crond/atd 
backup script to restore settings) on even multi-NIC machines.

Anybody else have warnings to add to the historical pool of "Ooops", so 
future admin folks can spend less time pounding their heads mercilessly 
into keyboards?

-Bop
--
Ronald Chmara
4245 NE Alberta Ct.
Portland, OR 97218
503-282-1370




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