dynupdater not seeming to do anything

[Paul Scott]

Can someone please help me diagnose why dynupdater is not seeming to
update my ip address so I cna access my local computer from somewhere else.

ps ax |grep dyn
   5237 ?        Sl   170:43 dyn_updater
   5269 ?        Sl     5:38 /usr/bin/dyn_updater --daemon start
 719685 pts/2    R+     0:00 grep dyn

TIA.

Paul

[to...@tuxteam.de]

I can't find a `dyn_updater' in any of the Debian repos. So tell us:

What /is/ dyn_updater? Where did you get it from? Does it have
documentation? A config file? Perhaps some logs?

Given the name and your description, the thing might update your
dyndns record (not your IP address: your ISP changes this one).
If this guess is correct, it'll depend on an external service.
May be this one is failing?

But that's only guesswork.

Cheers
--
t

[Paul Scott]

On 7/30/22 11:00 PM, to...@tuxteam.de wrote:
> On Sat, Jul 30, 2022 at 05:55:23PM -0700, Paul Scott wrote:
>> Can someone please help me diagnose why dynupdater is not seeming to update
>> my ip address so I cna access my local computer from somewhere else.
>>
>> ps ax |grep dyn
>>    5237 ?        Sl   170:43 dyn_updater
>>    5269 ?        Sl     5:38 /usr/bin/dyn_updater --daemon start
>>  719685 pts/2    R+     0:00 grep dyn
> I can't find a `dyn_updater' in any of the Debian repos. So tell us:
>
> What /is/ dyn_updater? Where did you get it from? Does it have
> documentation? A config file? Perhaps some logs?

I was using ddclient and it wasn't working for possibly the same reason
that dyn_updater isn't working.  I got dyn_updater from dyndns.org.

>
> Given the name and your description, the thing might update your
> dyndns record (not your IP address: your ISP changes this one).
> If this guess is correct, it'll depend on an external service.

If I understand this correctly ddclient and dyn_updater should tell my
subdomain at dyndns.org what my current IP address so I can connect to
my home computer.

Thank you,

Paul

[Timothy M Butterworth]

It is located here: https://help.dyn.com/updater/ It appears to update DNS records. I have never used it but it does come packaged for debian. It also runs on Ubuntu and Windows.

--

⢀⣴⠾⠻⢶⣦⠀
⣾⠁⢠⠒⠀⣿⡁ Debian - The universal operating system
⢿⡄⠘⠷⠚⠋⠀ https://www.debian.org/
⠈⠳⣄⠀⠀

[to...@tuxteam.de]

(Note that I havent't got that thing, so take with a grain of
salt)

The next question(s) would be: is it documented? Does it have a
config? a log file?

Perhaps, if you know which service it is contacting and how (it
most probably is some HTTP(S) endpoint, since people seem to have
forgotten how to move stuff around the intertubes in some other
ways). You could try to manually contact that service and see
whether the connection works, there is a response, etc.

Cheers
--
t

[Curt]

On 2022-07-31, <to...@tuxteam.de> <to...@tuxteam.de> wrote:
>
> The next question(s) would be: is it documented? Does it have a
> config? a log file?

https://help.dyn.com/linux-update-client-install-guide/

It's a GUI app so why he's trying to start it at the command line is
anybody's guess.

> Perhaps, if you know which service it is contacting and how (it
> most probably is some HTTP(S) endpoint, since people seem to have
> forgotten how to move stuff around the intertubes in some other
> ways). You could try to manually contact that service and see
> whether the connection works, there is a response, etc.

Doesn't it seem from the OP that the daemon doesn't
start?

> Cheers

[to...@tuxteam.de]

I interpret the process list in the original post as showing a
running dyn_updater:

> ps ax |grep dyn
>    5237 ?        Sl   170:43 dyn_updater
>    5269 ?        Sl     5:38 /usr/bin/dyn_updater --daemon start
>  719685 pts/2    R+     0:00 grep dyn

Cheers
--
t

[Curt]

On 2022-07-31, <to...@tuxteam.de> <to...@tuxteam.de> wrote:
>
>> Doesn't it seem from the OP that the daemon doesn't
>> start?
>
> I interpret the process list in the original post as showing a
> running dyn_updater:

You're right. I misread all that somehow. Documentation is
infuriatingly sparse, but mentions that the app's ( a *GUI* app) actvity
is logged to a file. Maybe the OP (who's disappeared anyway, as they
often do) should look there.

[to...@tuxteam.de]

GUI apps don't need no stinkin' documentation. They are discoverable.
Or something ;-)

Cheers
--
t

[Paul Scott]

I haven't disappeared.  We're probably in different time zones and have
different sleep schedules.

I don't know about the GUI part of dyn_updater.  It just site in my task
bar and doesn't do anything when I click it.

I expect either dyn_updater or ddclient to be daemons catching any
change in IP address and sending the change to dyndns.org.

I would be just as happy to have ddclient working.  I only have
dyn_updater because ddclient didn't seem to be working.

Thanks,

Paul


>

[David]

Hi, I haven't used any of these tools, but FYI in case you are unaware:
The Debian project exists to strongly advocate the use of free
software, see here:
[1] https://www.debian.org/intro/philosophy
[2] https://www.debian.org/social_contract
Where "free" means "freedom" to share, build and modify,
among other things.

If ddclient is packaged by the Debian project, it is truly "free"
software per the DFSG in [2] above, and any issues you are
having with it are certainly on-topic for this mailing list.

dyn_updater on the other hand appears to be associated
with some kind of commerical product and have some kind
of restrictive End User Licence Agreement, making it the kind
of software that the Debian project expressly forbids and
avoids. So if you need help with it, you might have more
success by asking whoever supplied it to you.

[Curt]

On 2022-07-31, Paul Scott <water...@ultrasw.com> wrote:
>
> On 7/31/22 04:50, Curt wrote:
>> On 2022-07-31, <to...@tuxteam.de> <to...@tuxteam.de> wrote:
>>>> Doesn't it seem from the OP that the daemon doesn't
>>>> start?
>>> I interpret the process list in the original post as showing a
>>> running dyn_updater:
>> You're right. I misread all that somehow. Documentation is
>> infuriatingly sparse, but mentions that the app's ( a *GUI* app) actvity
>> is logged to a file. Maybe the OP (who's disappeared anyway, as they
>> often do) should look there.
>
> I haven't disappeared.  We're probably in different time zones and have
> different sleep schedules.

That's good.

> I don't know about the GUI part of dyn_updater.  It just site in my task
> bar and doesn't do anything when I click it.

That's probably abnormal behavior. Or maybe not. Who knows? As far as
the GUI aspect, I looked it up, but it would be preferable if we knew
exactly what it was, where you got it, how you installed it, where it's
documented, etc. etc.

> I expect either dyn_updater or ddclient to be daemons catching any
> change in IP address and sending the change to dyndns.org.

For purposes of troubleshooting, your problem description is woefully inadequate.

> I would be just as happy to have ddclient working.  I only have
> dyn_updater because ddclient didn't seem to be working.

Maybe they're both not working for the same reason, but it's impossible
to tell, because beyond telling us they don't work, you don't give us
anything to go on.

What about the log file? Those things are usually something to go on.

> Thanks,
>
> Paul
>
>
>>
>
>


--

[Paul Scott]

I may have gotten ddclient to work with a configuration supplied by
dyndns.org .  I won't know for a while because I haven't successfully
changed my IP address by reseting my cable modem.

Thank for the information and help.

Paul


>

[rhkr...@gmail.com]

On Sunday, July 31, 2022 05:44:25 AM Curt wrote:
> It's a GUI app so why he's trying to start it at the command line is
> anybody's guess.

I'm anybody (I think) so I'll take a guess -- if you start a gui type app from
the command line, I think, at least in many cases, you see various status and
error messages at that command line that you might not see otherwise
(although, presumably, they go to a log).


--
rhk

If you reply: snip, snip, and snip again; leave attributions; avoid HTML;
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Writing is often meant for others to read (legal agreements excepted?) -- make
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If someone else has already responded to a question, decide whether any
response you add will be helpful or not ...

A picture is worth a thousand words -- divide by 10 for each minute of video
(or audio) or create a transcript and edit it to 10% of the original.

[rhkr...@gmail.com]

On Sunday, July 31, 2022 07:50:54 AM Curt wrote:
> Maybe the OP (who's disappeared anyway, as they
> often do) should look there.

Hmm, what's the criteria for determining a missing OP? Looks like his first
post was at 10:55 last night, so when you wrote this, he hadn't been heard
from or seen in about 9 hours, so the police won't take a missing persons
report yet.

To me, one of the advantages of email is asynchronous communitication.

Have a good day (I have a headache today, so I may be (probably am) more
gurmpy than usual.)

[David Wright]

On Sun 31 Jul 2022 at 06:28:18 (-0700), Paul Scott wrote:
> On 7/31/22 04:50, Curt wrote:
> > On 2022-07-31, <to...@tuxteam.de> <to...@tuxteam.de> wrote:
> > > > Doesn't it seem from the OP that the daemon doesn't
> > > > start?
> > > I interpret the process list in the original post as showing a
> > > running dyn_updater:
> > >

> > > > ps ax |grep dyn
> > > >    5237 ?        Sl   170:43 dyn_updater
> > > >    5269 ?        Sl     5:38 /usr/bin/dyn_updater --daemon start
> > > >  719685 pts/2    R+     0:00 grep dyn

> > You're right. I misread all that somehow. Documentation is
> > infuriatingly sparse, but mentions that the app's ( a *GUI* app) actvity
> > is logged to a file. Maybe the OP (who's disappeared anyway, as they
> > often do) should look there.
>
> I haven't disappeared.  We're probably in different time zones and
> have different sleep schedules.
>
> I don't know about the GUI part of dyn_updater.  It just site in my
> task bar and doesn't do anything when I click it.

I'm just intrigued by how expensive dyn_updater is to run. Admittedly,
the machine has been up long enough to churn through 719685 processes,
but almost three hours CPU time to tell a daemon to spend five seconds
doing something; is everything OK?

> I expect either dyn_updater or ddclient to be daemons catching any
> change in IP address and sending the change to dyndns.org.
>
> I would be just as happy to have ddclient working.  I only have
> dyn_updater because ddclient didn't seem to be working.

Cheers,
David.

[Curt]

On 2022-07-31, rhkr...@gmail.com <rhkr...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sunday, July 31, 2022 05:44:25 AM Curt wrote:
>> It's a GUI app so why he's trying to start it at the command line is
>> anybody's guess.
>
> I'm anybody (I think) so I'll take a guess -- if you start a gui type app from
> the command line, I think, at least in many cases, you see various status and
> error messages at that command line that you might not see otherwise
> (although, presumably, they go to a log).
>

Right, as a general rule.

But I guess this specific case is one of the exceptions to that rule,
because there seemed to be nothing to learn from the succinct
command-line output shown in the OP.

[Curt]

On 2022-07-31, rhkr...@gmail.com <rhkr...@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Sunday, July 31, 2022 07:50:54 AM Curt wrote:
>> Maybe the OP (who's disappeared anyway, as they
>> often do) should look there.
>
> Hmm, what's the criteria for determining a missing OP? Looks like his first
> post was at 10:55 last night, so when you wrote this, he hadn't been heard
> from or seen in about 9 hours, so the police won't take a missing persons
> report yet.
>
> To me, one of the advantages of email is asynchronous communitication.

Well, we already had epistolary communication and carrier pigeons, so
for me it's the rapidity. But that's really not what I was getting on
about. Sometimes people ask a question here and are never heard of
again. It happens. But not this time.

He'll disppear eventually, though. Not that I want him to, mind you.

[to...@tuxteam.de]

On Sun, Jul 31, 2022 at 02:16:30PM -0500, David Wright wrote:
> On Sun 31 Jul 2022 at 06:28:18 (-0700), Paul Scott wrote:
> > On 7/31/22 04:50, Curt wrote:
> > > On 2022-07-31, <to...@tuxteam.de> <to...@tuxteam.de> wrote:
> > > > > Doesn't it seem from the OP that the daemon doesn't
> > > > > start?
> > > > I interpret the process list in the original post as showing a
> > > > running dyn_updater:
> > > >
> > > > > ps ax |grep dyn
> > > > >    5237 ?        Sl   170:43 dyn_updater
> > > > >    5269 ?        Sl     5:38 /usr/bin/dyn_updater --daemon start
> > > > >  719685 pts/2    R+     0:00 grep dyn
>
> > > You're right. I misread all that somehow. Documentation is
> > > infuriatingly sparse, but mentions that the app's ( a *GUI* app) actvity
> > > is logged to a file. Maybe the OP (who's disappeared anyway, as they
> > > often do) should look there.
> >
> > I haven't disappeared.  We're probably in different time zones and
> > have different sleep schedules.
> >
> > I don't know about the GUI part of dyn_updater.  It just site in my
> > task bar and doesn't do anything when I click it.
>
> I'm just intrigued by how expensive dyn_updater is to run. Admittedly,
> the machine has been up long enough to churn through 719685 processes,
> but almost three hours CPU time to tell a daemon to spend five seconds
> doing something; is everything OK?

It seems to be from Oracle [1]. Possibly a Java abomination.

Cheers

[1] https://help.dyn.com/updater/ (Search for copyright and look
at the small print at the page's bottom)

--
t

[to...@tuxteam.de]

On Sun, Jul 31, 2022 at 08:10:44PM -0000, Curt wrote:

[...]

> He'll disppear eventually, though. Not that I want him to, mind you.

If all of us are as snarky, the prophecy might be self-fulfilling.

If I were you, I'd adjust my timeout period to a (small, positive,
nonzero) multiple of 24 hours, given that, most probably the world
is round and things.

But I'm not you, so...

Cheers, anyway
--
t

[Reco]

Hi.

Nope. It's CPython + QT. But then again, it's totally possible to write
in Python in such way that users will think it's written in Java :)

The package they provide embeds its own copy of libssl (version 1.0 with
multiple known vulnerabilities), QT 4 (ditto), and libpython3 (version
3.3, ditto) so I would advise against using this particular utility for
any reason.

Reco

[to...@tuxteam.de]

On Mon, Aug 01, 2022 at 01:52:20PM +0300, Reco wrote:
> Hi.
>
> On Mon, Aug 01, 2022 at 06:50:27AM +0200, to...@tuxteam.de wrote:

[...]

> > It seems to be from Oracle [1]. Possibly a Java abomination.
>
> Nope. It's CPython + QT. But then again, it's totally possible to write
> in Python in such way that users will think it's written in Java :)

Thanks for actually looking it up and... for shattering my prejudices :)

> The package they provide embeds its own copy of libssl (version 1.0 with
> multiple known vulnerabilities), QT 4 (ditto), and libpython3 (version

> 3.3, ditto) [...]

... the common euphemism for that nonsense being "vendoring".

> so I would advise against using this particular utility for
> any reason.

Tha'd be my take, too.

Cheers
--
t

[David Wright]

On Sun 31 Jul 2022 at 20:10:44 (-0000), Curt wrote:
> On 2022-07-31, rhkr...@gmail.com <rhkr...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > On Sunday, July 31, 2022 07:50:54 AM Curt wrote:
> >> Maybe the OP (who's disappeared anyway, as they
> >> often do) should look there.
> >
> > Hmm, what's the criteria for determining a missing OP? Looks like his first
> > post was at 10:55 last night, so when you wrote this, he hadn't been heard
> > from or seen in about 9 hours, so the police won't take a missing persons
> > report yet.
> >
> > To me, one of the advantages of email is asynchronous communitication.
>
> Well, we already had epistolary communication and carrier pigeons, so
> for me it's the rapidity. But that's really not what I was getting on
> about. Sometimes people ask a question here and are never heard of
> again. It happens. But not this time.
>
> He'll disppear eventually, though. Not that I want him to, mind you.

I guess twenty years just doesn't suffice to be considered as an
ordinary subscriber.

Cheers,
David.