location of user crontab files?
Where are user crontab files stored in the file system? I used to create user crontab files and then load them with 'crontab name-of-cronfile', but then I got clever and discovered 'crontab -e'. The problem is, that doesn't give me the 'backup' of having a text crontab file. The system must store the info somewhere so it's available after a reboot, but where? I want to make sure this info is backed up. Thanks: John ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: toaster or do-it-myself?
there is a great guide for installing qmail: http://www.lifewithqmail.org/ Of course, it just explains the technical steps for installing qmail, not mailserver setups in general (nevertheless there are some links about relaying etc.) That's one of the docs that I was working from yesterday. I also have the O'Reilly Qmail book. Actually, I got qmail running fairly quickly using the procedures in the O'Reilly book. Unfortunately, it died and I then spent about 10 hours trying to figure out what the problem was. Well, I never did figure it out and I'm not ashamed to say that I've given up trying. Life's too short. I'm outsourcing the problem to a email service provider. I realized that running an email server properly is a full time job, and I already have 14 full time jobs. Eventually, you just have to say Enough! and let someone else handle some of the work. I've been hoping to have something useful to contribute to this forum. That's a lesson well worth passing on, I think! -- John ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
toaster or do-it-myself?
As part of my server recovery operation, I want to split off my mail server onto it's own server. I've never built a mail server before, so I'm debating how to go about it. The old mail server was built with a toaster, and frankly, I knew how to use it, but never understood how it worked. I'm in a hurry to get it up, so I'm tempted to use a toaster again, but I'm worried that I'll spend a lot of time on it, and it won't work because I don't understand what it has installed, etc. I need to use qmail because that's what was used on the old mailserver, and all my backups are in Maildir format. I don't have time to mess around converting all that mail to another format, so that's my one fixed requirement. My first goal is to just get mail working, but ultimately, I'll want spam filtering, a web interface, etc. So, my question: should I use a toaster? And if so, which one? The machine that it will run on will only have two apps on it: mail server and secondary dns (tinydns). Any advice, much appreciate. Thanks: John ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: toaster or do-it-myself?
Frack... qmail is impossible. I've been hacking at this for 14 hours and it's just not working. I must be stupid. ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: Fwd: Boot failure
Looks like your hardware is dying/dead. Sadly, I agree. Reset BIOS CMOS data (hardware jumper on motherboard) Enter RAID controller BIOS, (re)set your boot drive But it looks like a fundamental BIOS control issue is malfunctioning. Do you have a PCI Diagnostics card? One like the following? http://www.uxd.com/phdpci.shtml (I'm not saying that exact model, but rather a device that is able to see BIOS codes through the PCI bus that can tell very technical detail to tech support at the motherboard's vendor (you said Intel, right?).) Hardware rarely up and dies. Have you tried swapping RAM chips out, or re-ordering them to see if it might be a RAM problem? Maybe we're not passing POST, or that we're passing POST but the bootable device list is not finding bootable medium. These kind of issues intrigue me, because it is out of the norm, and why did it happen. I'd get to the point of swapping hardware one at a time until it fixes, or until you exhaust your options. Have any kind of support contract with the OEM? I do have a support contract and I'm going to dump this right in their lap. Two machines we bought from them -- pretty expensive ones -- and both have had hardware failures. And they are only a couple of years old. I'm not too happy with them at the moment. Well, I need to focus on getting my poor customers back online, so will have to put this problem aside for the weekend. As usual, thanks for the help and support from all. FreeBSD is the best OS, and this group is the best (by far) support group I've ever belonged to. I do appreciate it and I hope someday I'll know enough to give the kind of help I've gotten here. Brgds: John ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Fwd: Boot failure
I'd get to the point of swapping hardware one at a time until it fixes, or until you exhaust your options. Have any kind of support contract with the OEM? I do have a support contract and I'm going to dump this right in their lap. Two machines we bought from them -- pretty expensive ones -- and both have had hardware failures. And they are only a couple of years old. I'm not too happy with them at the moment. Well, I need to focus on getting my poor customers back online, so will have to put this problem aside for the weekend. As usual, thanks for the help and support from all. FreeBSD is the best OS, and this group is the best (by far) support group I've ever belonged to. I do appreciate it and I hope someday I'll know enough to give the kind of help I've gotten here. Brgds: John ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Fwd: Boot failure
I'd give it an fsck or two (more than one has been needed once or twice), I was afraid to run fsck before backing up everything I might possibly need, so I spent most of last night mounting all the partitions and backing up things. I was able to manually mount all the partitions and all the data seemed fine. At this point, I'm ready to risk an fsck or pretty much anything. also has anything changed with the server (updates etc etc) for example why was it rebooted? Because of a stupid mistake on my part. I was trying to add an address to the NIC card, and rather than *add* the address to a long list of addresses (used for https websites), I made that the only address. I was only experimenting, so the file in /etc that I use to set up the addresses (using ifconfig) was unchanged. I figured a quick reboot would solve the problem, so I logged in via the console and did a clean shutdown. When I turned the machine back on, it would not boot. I seem to recall a verbose boot mode in the boot menu. does that give any hints beyond the freeze you see when you try and boot? It prints one line, which I cannot recall, unfortunately. Are you using the GENERIC kernel I don't know. This is the oldest freebsd machine that I run. I didn't install the OS, myself. It's a 6.2 machine that had been running in production mode without any updates for over a year when I took it over. I am embarrassed to say I never had the nerve to do any updates on it, either, because when I started on it, I didn't know enough about FreeBSD to risk the 40 websites that were running on it. I've been meaning to update it for awhile, but it is locked down tight with PF and has had zero problems up until now. Famous last words... if not have you tried it? No. I need to figure out how to do that, and I didn't have enough brain power last night after doing all those backups. After sleeping on it, I am wondering if I can kill two birds with one stone... by using 7.2 install CDs to upgrade the machine? I believe there is an 'upgrade' option on the install menu (I'm burning some 7.2 CDs right now to double check.) Or would it be safer to try to bring up the machine on it's own with a 6.2 generic kernel, first? -- John -- Identry, LLC Northport, NY 11768 Phone: (631) 754-8440 Fax: (631) 980-4262 Email: jalmb...@identry.com Member: ABA, ANA, ASDA, APS, ESA, The Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email, Long Island Web Developer's Guild. Visit us on the web at www.identry.com BUILDING YOU A BETTER ONLINE BUSINESS ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: Boot failure
Are you using the GENERIC kernel After more research, I think the answer to this is no. There is a directory called /boot/kernel.old. From my reading, I believe this is the original generic kernel? if not have you tried it? Not yet. Section 24.2.3 Major and Minor Upgrades of the Handbook says I can load the generic kernel by renaming /boot/kernel.old to /boot/GENERIC. I think this is what I need to do to boot the generic kernel? -- If the system was running with a custom kernel, use the nextboot(8) command to set the kernel for the next boot to /boot/GENERIC (which was updated): # nextboot -k GENERIC Warning: Before rebooting with the GENERIC kernel, make sure it contains all drivers required for your system to boot properly (and connect to the network, if the machine that is being updated is accessed remotely). In particular, if the previously running custom kernel contained built-in functionality usually provided by kernel modules, make sure to temporarily load these modules into the GENERIC kernel using the /boot/loader.conf facility. You may also wish to disable non-essential services, disk and network mounts, etc. until the upgrade process is complete. The machine should now be restarted with the updated kernel: # shutdown -r now --- So, it sounds like the safe move is to try to get the Generic kernel up and running, and then think about doing an upgrade. Unfortunately, I need to drive back to the server... another 2 hr commute. Gotta find a closer data center :-) Thanks: John ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: Boot failure
Try this: # strings /boot/kernel/kernel | grep ':/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/' # strings /boot/kernel.old/kernel | grep ':/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/' $ strings kernel/kernel |grep ':/usr/obj/usr/src/sys' r...@on.identry.com:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/INET_ON $ strings kernel.old/kernel |grep ':/usr/obj/usr/src/sys' r...@on.identry.com:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/INET_ON ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: Boot failure
If you did not touch the kernel, there is no need to boot GENERIC! Plus you have said that this box is running PF, which is not in the GENERIC kernel! Personally, I am interested in knowing why the system does not mount the root partition on its own when you can do it by hand and it does not complain. Me too. Did you by any chance change anyting in /etc/fstab? No, this has never changed since original install. What entries you do have in /etc/sysctl.conf? None. It is just the default file with some comments, but no uncommented lines. Please try fsck -y option first although I am not quite optimistic about it, given that mounting by hand works so far. Okay. If I were to upgrade, I'd go to 6.4-STABLE first and wait there while thinking about the next move. Right... I'm going to try getting this machine up first, before fussing with upgrades. What does your /etc/rc.conf contain? $ cat rc.conf #$Id: rc.conf,v 1.4 2008/03/31 23:44:10 root Exp root $ # -- sysinstall generated deltas -- # Sat Dec 1 16:23:45 2007 # Created: Sat Dec 1 16:23:45 2007 # Enable network daemons for user convenience. # Please make all changes to this file, not to /etc/defaults/rc.conf. # This file now contains just the overrides from /etc/defaults/rc.conf. defaultrouter=66.111.0.193 hostname=on.identry.com keyrate=fast moused_enable=YES monit_enable=YES ntpd_enable=YES ntpd_program=/usr/sbin/ntpd ntpd_config=/etc/ntp.conf ntpd_sync_on_start=YES ntpd_flags=-p /var/run/ntpd.pid saver=green pf_enable=YES pf_rules=/etc/pf.conf pf_flags= # additional flags for pfctl startup pflog_enable=YES pflog_logfile=/var/log/pflog pflog_flags= # additional flags for pflogd startup sshd_enable=YES #inetd_enable=YES usbd_enable=YES mysql_enable=YES apache22_enable=YES apache22_flags=-DSSL apache22_http_accept_enable=YES sendmail_enable=NONE spamd_enable=YES spamd_flags=-v -x -u vpopmail courier_authdaemond_enable=YES courier_imap_imapd_enable=YES courier_imap_imapdssl_enable=YES courier_imap_imapd_ssl_enable=YES courier_imap_pop3d_enable=YES courier_imap_pop3dssl_enable=YES courier_imap_pop3d_ssl_enable=YES clamav_clamd_enable=YES clamav_freshclam_enable=YES svscan_enable=YES snmpd_enable=NO pureftpd_enable=YES autossh_enable=YES mongrel_cluster_enable=YES mongrel_cluster_config=/usr/local/etc/mongrel_cluster # added by xorg-libraries port local_startup=/usr/local/etc/rc.d ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: Boot failure
So I guess the question now is, if I can mount it manually, why doesn't it mount during the boot process? I'd give it an fsck or two (more than one has been needed once or twice) So I've been thinking about how to run fsck... At the moment, I have to boot from an install cd, go into fixit mode, and mount filesystems by hand. I am mounting them to a mount point like /mnt/root and /mnt/home, etc. Do I just do a command like: fsck /mnt/root Should I use any flags? Should I mount the filesystems read write or read only? Thanks: John ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: Fwd: Boot failure
Realize that if you upgrade to 7.x, you'll have to remove and reinstall all ports because the version number of shared system libraries will have changed. Yes, I've decided this is way too complicated. Or would it be safer to try to bring up the machine on it's own with a 6.2 generic kernel, first? Seeing as how you can mount the partitions on the drive perfectly by hand, maybe it was just a glitch. Have you tried rebooting again? Yes. It won't even boot into single user or safe mode. It hangs when it tries to mount the root partition. If it still doesn't work, try getting into the boot menu and see if the drive looks OK from there. Not exactly sure what you mean... How can I see what the drive looks like from the boot menu? Sorry if this is a total newbie question... -- John ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: Boot failure
fsck is run when all file systems are unmounted! If you can, choose single use mode, press enter when it says something like /bin/sh (I don't remember the wordings) and then on the subsequent prompt,, # fsck -y [Press enter here] That is all you need. Once it completes, it will bring back the prompt (the hash prompt). If there are no major problems detected, you can simply go ahead and type exit at the prompt and press enter and see what happens. But it doesn't boot into single user mode, so I can't just do fsck -y. And I'm wondering if -y is too dangerous. -- John ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: Boot failure
Should I use any flags? Should I mount the filesystems read write or read only? You should never fsck a filesystem when its mounted! Ah... glad I asked. I think you should start by reading the manual pages for fsck and fsck_ffs. I would start with 'fsck_ffs -fp /dev/yourdevicenode'. Okay, that makes sense, and is simpler than what I was planning. I have a long train ride, so I'm going to print out and read those man pages, and whatever I can find in the Handbook, and maybe there's some info in my Absolute FreeBSD book... If this command quits with errors, you might try fsck_ffs without flags, or 'fsck_ffs -y' to have it try and repair all damage that it finds. Excellent. Thanks for all your advice Roland. ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: Boot failure
I think you should start by reading the manual pages for fsck and fsck_ffs. I would start with 'fsck_ffs -fp /dev/yourdevicenode'. Okay, back in the data center. I ran fsck_ffs -fp on my root file system and it returned with no errors. It just printed some information about number of files, used, free space, etc., ending with the interesting fact of .3% fragmentation. Then I reran it without the -fp and it printed Phase 1 - Phase 5, no errors, and again some info on the files. So, it looks like there is nothing wrong with the root partition. Which again raises the question, why won't it mount during the boot process? I'm going to try booting with verbose logging and see what that last line printed is... -- John ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: Boot failure
Non-printable-character (NPC) NPCs may be a culprit for a file that used to work, now doesn't. Or a inode oddity. I've been following this thread but haven't chipped in because of timing (you driving to the datacenter). Here's what I'd consider: # mv /etc/fstab /etc/old-fstab and recreate a fstab from hand. Example: /dev/mfid0s1a / ufs rw 1 1 I guess I could use the existing fstab as a model... just retype it using vi. I checked the date on fstab... it hasn't been changed since the server was installed, but I guess it's worth a try. Thanks for the idea. I doubt controller or disk problems, since a livecd can mount it. a fsck -y on a clean filesystem won't report anything. You were right about this. -- John ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: Boot failure
Okay, back in the data center. I ran fsck_ffs -fp on my root file system and it returned with no errors. It just printed some information about number of files, used, free space, etc., ending with the interesting fact of .3% fragmentation. Then I reran it without the -fp and it printed Phase 1 - Phase 5, no errors, and again some info on the files. So, it looks like there is nothing wrong with the root partition. Which again raises the question, why won't it mount during the boot process? I'm going to try booting with verbose logging and see what that last line printed is... Well, something got worse. After running fsck_ffs with no errors, I tried to boot the machine. It got to the point where it printed: snip Booting from BIOS Partition 0 PS2 keyboard detected PS2 mouse detected and it just hangs at that point. -- John ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: Boot failure
Well, something got worse. After running fsck_ffs with no errors, I tried to boot the machine. It got to the point where it printed: snip Booting from BIOS Partition 0 PS2 keyboard detected PS2 mouse detected and it just hangs at that point. Worse and worse... The machine won't boot from the CD anymore. I can't even get it into SETUP. It just hangs on this screen: (I had hit F2 to enter setup) Version 1.17.1057 Copyright 2005-2007 American Megatrends, Inc Entering SETUP Bios Version: S5000.86B ... etc Platform ID: S5000PAL 8 GB system memory found Current Memory Speed: 667 MT/s (333 MHz) Intel Xeon CPU E5345 @ 2.33Ghz Intel Xeon CPU E5345 @ 2.33 Ghz Booting from BIOS Partition 0 PS2 keyboard detected PS2 mouse detected hang The same thing happens if I don't hit F2, except it says Hit F2 to enter SETUP at the top. Well... I guess we are back to hardware problem? I'm not sure what else to try at this point. -- John ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Boot failure
Well, the bad day has come... My primary server won't boot. I have backups of databases and user directories, but I need to try to get this server back up again. During the boot sequence, it freezes at the statement: Trying to mount root from ufs:/dev/mfid0s1a I tried booting into single user mode, but same issue (of course). I don't want to just start hacking at this for fear of making things work... what is my best, most conservative next step? -- John ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: Boot failure
Try downloading and booting the livefs environment (I think you need cd1 and the livefs cd or just the DVD) and see if you can mount it from that, if not it could be a controller issue. If you can then its probably your OS/kernel but at least you now have access to your data/configs etc etc not to mention you could try extracting the GENERIC kernel from the install media (use the install.sh script in the kernels directory.) Well, I am in the data center (2 hr drive, unfortunately)... This is an Intel mother board. The front panel light labeled '!' is lit. It isn't lit on the working server. I'm googling right now for the meaning of this light, but if anyone knows off hand, please let me know... I have the cd1 and cd2, but not the livefs cd. I'm going to try to find that right now. Thanks: John ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Expert in Manhattan?
___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Need FreeBSD troubleshooting expert in Manhattan
I have a server in Manhattan (NYI.net) that isn't booting. I'm trying to fix it (not making any changes until I'm absolutely sure I know what the problem is and how to fix it), but I have the feeling that this problem may be beyond my relatively limited admin skills. If you are a very experienced FreeBSD admin, close to lower Manhattan, please contact me off list at identry(at)gmail.com. Thanks: John ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: Boot failure
Identry wrote: During the boot sequence, it freezes at the statement: Trying to mount root from ufs:/dev/mfid0s1a Try downloading and booting the livefs environment (I think you need cd1 and the livefs cd or just the DVD) and see if you can mount it from that, if not it could be a controller issue. If you can then its probably your OS/kernel but at least you now have access to your data/configs etc etc not to mention you could try extracting the GENERIC kernel from the install media (use the install.sh script in the kernels directory.) I've booted the install CD1 and found something called 'fixit' mode. I've been googling, but can't seem to find any info on 'fixit'. Is it possible to use this instead of a livefs disk? BTW, this is a 6.3 system. -- John ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Freebsd expert in Manhattan?
I've got a server in lower manhattan (at NYI.net datacenter) that hangs when trying to mount the root partition. I'm working on it right now, but have a feeling this may be beyond my limited admin skills, and I really need this server back online ASAP. Might be time to hire a professional. Can anyone recommend an experienced admin in the NYC area? Or if you are available yourself, please contact me off list at iden...@gmail.com Thanks: John ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: Boot failure
Try downloading and booting the livefs environment (I think you need cd1 and the livefs cd or just the DVD) and see if you can mount it from that, if not it could be a controller issue. If you can then its probably your OS/kernel but at least you now have access to your data/configs etc etc not to mention you could try extracting the GENERIC kernel from the install media (use the install.sh script in the kernels directory.) Okay! Good news, I think. I used the 'fixit' mode, that is available through the installation disk, to mount the disk that fails to mount during boot up. What I did was: mount /dev/mfid0s1a /test It mounts successfully and I can see everything in that partition. So I guess the question now is, if I can mount it manually, why doesn't it mount during the boot process? -- John ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
