Server outrages - Page 42

gd_barnes · 2016-03-06, 10:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdettweiler

Gary, just to confirm - your Windows desktop is connected directly to the back of your router, right? (not to one of the downstream Ethernet switches like the Linux boxes are?) And it's getting Internet right now, connected through the router?

That is correct. That's the way it's always been and the way it is now. But...just to experiment with things, I tried plugging everything directly into the new modem since there are 4 slots in it. This made no difference whatsoever. The Windows7 desktop would connect but nothing else would. This confirmed to me that it isn't the router. After finding that it made no difference, I changed everything back to the way it was with one exception: For now I'm leaving the crunching boxes disconnected from the router. (In case it was some issue with bandwith or something like that.) Only the Windows7 machine and Jeepford, our server, are currently plugged into the router.

S485122 · 2016-03-06, 19:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by gd_barnes

...
But...just to experiment with things, I tried plugging everything directly into the new modem since there are 4 slots in it. This made no difference whatsoever. The Windows7 desktop would connect but nothing else would.
...

I suppose your Windows desktop has DHCP and you said your Linux boxes have a fixed IP. If the "internal network" address of the modem has changed form 192.168.2.1 to f.i. 192.168.0.1 only your desktop will be able to connect to the internet.

What would help is the network configuration of your desktop (IP address, netmask, default router...) You can get those by asking the properties of the connection or by opening a command prompt and issuing the command "ipconfig /all".

Jacob

gd_barnes · 2016-03-06, 22:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by S485122

I suppose your Windows desktop has DHCP and you said your Linux boxes have a fixed IP. If the "internal network" address of the modem has changed form 192.168.2.1 to f.i. 192.168.0.1 only your desktop will be able to connect to the internet.

What would help is the network configuration of your desktop (IP address, netmask, default router...) You can get those by asking the properties of the connection or by opening a command prompt and issuing the command "ipconfig /all".

Jacob

It's interesting that you mention all of that. I think we're getting on the right track. Max (mdetweiller) requested my IPconfig page already and I have sent it to him. There does appear to be a change as you suggested above in the "DHCP server". Max has mentioned that it might be a change from IPV4 to IPV6 protocol.

I don't want to post a lot of specific info. publicly here. I have sent my router config and my IPconfig to Max and Dave and hopefully we can get it worked out today or on Monday.

mdettweiler · 2016-03-06, 23:18

Now that I've seen Gary's ipconfig dump, I should mention that IPv6 is definitely not the cause of the problem. That was a bit of a red herring. (I must say, if this really was an IPv6 issue, this would be the single weirdest network issue I've ever diagnosed! It's not, though.)

I concur that Jacob's idea is on the right track. I came to the same conclusion when I saw the ipconfig dump. I had missed the subtle difference between 192.168.2.1 and 192.168.0.1 in the info posted on the forum.

I think there's more to it than just the static IPs being in the wrong range, because the wireless gadgets also can't connect - and they all have dynamic IPs.

We should be able to get the rest of this worked out privately, without airing any more of the "network dirty laundry" out on the forum. Thanks everyone for the tips and suggestions!

rebirther · 2016-03-06, 23:53

If they changed the protocol from IP4 to IP6 (DS-Lite) you are not able to get access to your home network from outside anymore. I had this one time after an update so I called my provider to fix it.

mdettweiler · 2016-03-07, 08:19

The server is back online! I spent the last couple of hours on the phone with Gary and we got his new Arris router set up to replace the Belkin.

I'm still not 100% sure what caused the problem in the first place, but at any rate, it's fixed now.

Since the noprimeleftbehind.net IP address has changed, it may take a couple of hours for the update to propagate through the DNS system. It's already updated for me, but it might take a bit longer for people on the other side of the globe.

AMDave · 2016-03-07, 10:34

Excellent work Max and Gary.
I'm monitoring.
DNS is updating again.
First new results have reported and gone through ok. Stats updated.
The server is busy handing out new work.
A few people are going have some warm bedrooms tonight ;)

High-fives all round.

AMDave · 2016-03-13, 01:41

NPLB backups restored successfully to DR server - Last update: 2016-03-11 02:05:51
... and all is well.

gd_barnes · 2016-04-04, 00:23

The server machine went down about two hours ago. It may be a hard drive failure because it goes into a boot sequence but cannot complete it. I'll keep working on it tonight and tomorrow. It is backed up regularly so there should be little loss of data.

AMDave · 2016-04-04, 01:39

Time to upgrade that OS.

Just don't grab the HDD out of humpford - that's where a copy of yesterday's backup should be sitting :)

DR is running Ubuntu 14.04 LTS and the backup restore process works fine.
DR is currently at "2016-03-25 02:07:56" so that's a worst case of 10 days.

Now is the time for that OS upgrade.
Max suggested you'd like Mint.
Add the sshd and create my account then I can reconfig the web services DynDSN etc, run all the setup scripts & the restore the backups including your desktop setup.
You'll be up and running with the latest and greatest real quick. (as long as I can get yesterday's backup copy from humpford)

mdettweiler · 2016-04-04, 03:33

As Dave said - if the hard drive is indeed dead and needs to be replaced, then this is definitely the time to install a new operating system, instead of just using one of the old Ubuntu CDs you have around. I already sent you a download link for this in an email last month, if you end up needing to do this.

Dave has the backup/restore procedure very well-oiled, so all you would need to do is run through the standard install from the live CD, create accounts for Dave and I, and install the SSH server (just run "sudo apt-get install openssh-server" from the terminal) so we can log in remotely.

This is where all the setup we did on the new router last month will pay off...you don't need to do anything special with IP addresses or network configuration on jeepford after a reinstall. As long as the motherboard hasn't changed (which means the MAC address of the Ethernet interface won't change), then the router will assign it the correct IP address and all the current port forwards will drop into place.

That said, it is also possible that the hard drive is not the point of failure here...could be the motherboard/CPU (though I think that is less likely given the symptoms you describe). You might want to try booting jeepford up using one of the Ubuntu live CD's you have laying around; if that works fine (i.e. you boot up into a desktop without problems), then the problem is almost certainly the hard drive.

Also - if you see any error messages come up on screen when it fails to boot, could you send those to Dave and I? (Maybe take a picture of the screen, since copy/paste is clearly not an option here?) Please send it by email to Dave and I rather than post in the forum.

This doesn't really come at a good time for me as I have a fair amount on my plate, but I'll try to keep up best I can. Between Dave and I we should be able to get you back up and running soon.

2016-04-04, 01:39	#461
AMDave Jan 2006 deep in a while-loop 2×7×47 Posts	Time to upgrade that OS. Just don't grab the HDD out of humpford - that's where a copy of yesterday's backup should be sitting :) DR is running Ubuntu 14.04 LTS and the backup restore process works fine. DR is currently at "2016-03-25 02:07:56" so that's a worst case of 10 days. Now is the time for that OS upgrade. Max suggested you'd like Mint. Add the sshd and create my account then I can reconfig the web services DynDSN etc, run all the setup scripts & the restore the backups including your desktop setup. You'll be up and running with the latest and greatest real quick. (as long as I can get yesterday's backup copy from humpford) Last fiddled with by AMDave on 2016-04-04 at 01:45

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2016-03-06, 23:18	#455
mdettweiler A Sunny Moo Aug 2007 USA (GMT-5) 3×2,083 Posts	Now that I've seen Gary's ipconfig dump, I should mention that IPv6 is definitely not the cause of the problem. That was a bit of a red herring. (I must say, if this really was an IPv6 issue, this would be the single weirdest network issue I've ever diagnosed! It's not, though.) I concur that Jacob's idea is on the right track. I came to the same conclusion when I saw the ipconfig dump. I had missed the subtle difference between 192.168.2.1 and 192.168.0.1 in the info posted on the forum. I think there's more to it than just the static IPs being in the wrong range, because the wireless gadgets also can't connect - and they all have dynamic IPs. We should be able to get the rest of this worked out privately, without airing any more of the "network dirty laundry" out on the forum. Thanks everyone for the tips and suggestions!

2016-03-06, 23:53	#456
rebirther Sep 2011 Germany 2⁴·167 Posts	If they changed the protocol from IP4 to IP6 (DS-Lite) you are not able to get access to your home network from outside anymore. I had this one time after an update so I called my provider to fix it.

2016-03-07, 08:19	#457
mdettweiler A Sunny Moo Aug 2007 USA (GMT-5) 14151₈ Posts	The server is back online! I spent the last couple of hours on the phone with Gary and we got his new Arris router set up to replace the Belkin. I'm still not 100% sure what caused the problem in the first place, but at any rate, it's fixed now. Since the noprimeleftbehind.net IP address has changed, it may take a couple of hours for the update to propagate through the DNS system. It's already updated for me, but it might take a bit longer for people on the other side of the globe.

2016-03-07, 10:34	#458
AMDave Jan 2006 deep in a while-loop 1010010010₂ Posts	Excellent work Max and Gary. I'm monitoring. DNS is updating again. First new results have reported and gone through ok. Stats updated. The server is busy handing out new work. A few people are going have some warm bedrooms tonight ;) High-fives all round.

2016-03-13, 01:41	#459
AMDave Jan 2006 deep in a while-loop 2×7×47 Posts	NPLB backups restored successfully to DR server - Last update: 2016-03-11 02:05:51 ... and all is well.

2016-04-04, 00:23	#460
gd_barnes May 2007 Kansas; USA 10279₁₀ Posts	The server machine went down about two hours ago. It may be a hard drive failure because it goes into a boot sequence but cannot complete it. I'll keep working on it tonight and tomorrow. It is backed up regularly so there should be little loss of data.

2016-04-04, 03:33	#462
mdettweiler A Sunny Moo Aug 2007 USA (GMT-5) 3×2,083 Posts	As Dave said - if the hard drive is indeed dead and needs to be replaced, then this is definitely the time to install a *new* operating system, instead of just using one of the old Ubuntu CDs you have around. I already sent you a download link for this in an email last month, if you end up needing to do this. Dave has the backup/restore procedure very well-oiled, so all you would need to do is run through the standard install from the live CD, create accounts for Dave and I, and install the SSH server (just run "sudo apt-get install openssh-server" from the terminal) so we can log in remotely. This is where all the setup we did on the new router last month will pay off...you don't need to do *anything* special with IP addresses or network configuration on jeepford after a reinstall. As long as the motherboard hasn't changed (which means the MAC address of the Ethernet interface won't change), then the router will assign it the correct IP address and all the current port forwards will drop into place. That said, it is also possible that the hard drive is not the point of failure here...could be the motherboard/CPU (though I think that is less likely given the symptoms you describe). You might want to try booting jeepford up using one of the Ubuntu live CD's you have laying around; if that works fine (i.e. you boot up into a desktop without problems), then the problem is almost certainly the hard drive. Also - if you see any error messages come up on screen when it fails to boot, could you send those to Dave and I? (Maybe take a picture of the screen, since copy/paste is clearly not an option here?) Please send it by email to Dave and I rather than post in the forum. This doesn't really come at a good time for me as I have a fair amount on my plate, but I'll try to keep up best I can. Between Dave and I we should be able to get you back up and running soon.