[Solved]Network Restart Necessary to Get Ports Working

[mark9117]

Greetings folks,

I am seeing something that makes no sense to me. I was hoping someone here could enlighten me.

I have a backup server in my bedroom closet. It's connected to the network via wifi - don't start, I understand that one should not connect a server to the network via wifi, but this server isn't mission critical and it's working just fine except for this one thing.

The thing is that I have implemented a headless VLC instance on this machine to provide audio from my file server to my bedroom. Which is all you need to know about my motivation. This VLC instance is controlled by an application called Remote VLC on either my iPad mini or my Android phone. Unfortunately when I go to the bedroom at night, I invariably find that I have to restart the network interface on that machine. The kinky thing is, any service that originates from the backup server finds the network just fine. Also, restarting the network is easily done over a persistent ssh connection on my desktop, but can't be done over the ipad or the phone because the ipad or phone can't connect to the backup server until the network is restarted on that server.

The persistent connection to that server from my desktop is there along with all the other machines providing services on my home network (which at this point, exists almost entirely to support my HTPC). That ssh connection virtually always starts on command, and I don't recall it ever failing for any unspecified reason (power failure, reboot, non-computer related firearm or sexual mishap) since I installed that hardware.

I figured the issue had something to do with the ipad, and I'm hardly an Apple guy. The ipad was a prize from a work thing. I don't want to talk about it. However, when scanning that server for open ports with nmap, the other Linux machines on the network are unable to see anything more than:

Code: Select all

Starting Nmap 6.47 ( http://nmap.org ) at 2016-10-09 00:15 MDT
Note: Host seems down. If it is really up, but blocking our ping probes, try -Pn
Nmap done: 1 IP address (0 hosts up) scanned in 0.60 seconds


Restart the network and nmap detects ports as expected. There is a firewall running and I have opened necessary ports. They appear to be open even when nmap disagrees. Dropping the firewall makes no difference, the ports are not found with an nmap scan.

I have considered running a cron job that just restarts the network at some convenient time, but that's an awfully stupid way to deal with the situation. I'd rather properly troubleshoot and fix it. Does anybody have any idea where to start with this? Anybody have a suspicion about what's happening? Is there something simple that I'm missing?

Edit: Meant to mention that netstat shows those ports listening as expected before and after network restart.

Any help appreciated.

Thanks.

Mark

[doktor5000]

It would be helpful if you could explain why you need to restart the network interface in the first place ... ?

[mark9117]

It would be helpful if you could explain why you need to restart the network interface in the first place ... ?

I did kind of gloss over that, didn't I.

At some point, it becomes impossible for Remote VLC (the app on the ipad) to find the server. It simply sees no server running VLC anywhere on the network despite the fact there is a VLC instance running on that server; the server is connected to the network doing it's backup thing (BackupPC is the application doing the backing up) and it is very well connected to my desktop via SSH. Also, there seems to be no trouble with any other machine successfully connecting to that server via SSH. It's just the ipad for some reason. Restarting the network service ("systemctl restart network.service" as root) makes it trivial to connect to that machine via SSH and to connect Remote VLC to the VLC instance running on it.

I've tried remotely restarting the network service on the server with the ipad. Since I'm standing there with the ipad in my hand I should be able to do that, but I can't connect to that server via SSH with any of the four or so terminal apps that I have installed on the tablet, therefore, I can't get Remote VLC to connect. If I go back to my desktop and restart the network via the persistent SSH instance running on that desktop, then Remote VLC has no problem finding the server and connecting to it via SSH.

I would like to blame Apple® but the fact is, and I described this above, an nmap port scan of that server issued from my desktop yields a "host is down" response from the backup server. I assume that other Mageia machines on my network are able to somehow assert themselves to connect to the SSH port on the server in a way that the ipad can not. Once the network is restarted, I am able to get a proper nmap scan response, connect the ipad via SSH, or connect Remote VLC from my ipad.

I hope that helps. More questions welcome.

Edit: Meant to mention that the server responds to pings from my desktop just fine.

Mark

[wintpe]

you haven't mentioned what the hardware is, and i can see why you would discount it being a hw issue,
but im relating to a problem i had with a set of asrock motherboards with onboard nic, where
the latest bios fixed an intermittent network issue, just like you are describing.

1.30 6/24/2015 Instant Flash 589.70KB Improve onboard LAN

http://www.asrock.com/mb/NVIDIA/N68-GS4 ... ad&os=BIOS

even though you might have a different motherboard, if you have the same atheros lan , that that MB had its possibly related.

check whatever MB manufacturers site , and make sure theres no updated bios, that has a fix
in it to fix network stability/reliability.

just a thought.

regards peter

[doktor5000]

Restart the network and nmap detects ports as expected. There is a firewall running and I have opened necessary ports. They appear to be open even when nmap disagrees. Dropping the firewall makes no difference, the ports are not found with an nmap scan.

Can you provide some more details on this, how did you check, how did you drop the firewall and which? iptables, shorewall, ... ?

[jiml8]

Obviously the problem is on the backup server. What OS are you running there? What version? What hardware (particularly what wifi access point)? What driver? What do the logs say on that box?

Have you tried to use the Android Wifi Analyzer app? Does it see the server when the Ipad does not?

The problem could be as simple as the SSID broadcast stopping, so the ipad can't find the box, while the persistent connections have no problem because they are already in place.

[mark9117]

you haven't mentioned what the hardware is, and i can see why you would discount it being a hw issue,
but im relating to a problem i had with a set of asrock motherboards with onboard nic, where
the latest bios fixed an intermittent network issue, just like you are describing.

1.30 6/24/2015 Instant Flash 589.70KB Improve onboard LAN

http://www.asrock.com/mb/NVIDIA/N68-GS4 ... ad&os=BIOS

even though you might have a different motherboard, if you have the same atheros lan , that that MB had its possibly related.

check whatever MB manufacturers site , and make sure theres no updated bios, that has a fix
in it to fix network stability/reliability.

just a thought.

regards peter

I hadn't thought of that. The mobo is a Biostar H61MGV3. There is no onboard wifi. The wifi card is a Qualcomm Atheros AR93xx. It's a generic whitebox device that, as near as I can tell, works flawlessly.

The support page at Biostar shows no fewer than 45 downloadable files for this hardware. None of those downloads are actually identified, nor are they in anything but Windows compatible blobs.

It was a good thought and I'll be keeping it in mind, but the outboard wifi adapter throws another factor into the equation. I don't know that it's not somehow the adapter that's causing the issue.

Makes one go, "Hmmm."

Mark

[mark9117]

Restart the network and nmap detects ports as expected. There is a firewall running and I have opened necessary ports. They appear to be open even when nmap disagrees. Dropping the firewall makes no difference, the ports are not found with an nmap scan.

Can you provide some more details on this, how did you check, how did you drop the firewall and which? iptables, shorewall, ... ?

Sure, I configured the firewall in MCC Security. I believe that's the Shorewall frontend for iptables. I have used MCC Security (drakfirewall) to select "Everything" and provide no firewall protection. I've also used systemctl to stop iptables. Neither method allows nmap scans to see anything - "Host seems down...." This might be because such a change requires a network restart to take effect.

If so, that still leaves me where I started - I have to restart the network to get through the ports.

Still looking.

Mark

[mark9117]

Obviously the problem is on the backup server. What OS are you running there? What version? What hardware (particularly what wifi access point)? What driver? What do the logs say on that box?

Linux adamsmdk 4.4.16-desktop-1.mga5 #1 SMP Tue Jul 26 09:23:40 UTC 2016 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

*-network
description: Wireless interface
product: AR93xx Wireless Network Adapter
vendor: Qualcomm Atheros
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:03:00.0
logical name: wlp3s0
version: 01
serial: 7c:c3:a1:b5:d4:41
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list rom ethernet physical wireless
configuration: broadcast=yes driver=ath9k driverversion=4.4.16-desktop-1.mga5 firmware=N/A ip=192.168.1.100 latency=0 link=yes multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11abgn
resources: irq:16 memory:f7c00000-f7c1ffff memory:f7c20000-f7c2ffff

lsmod shows this loaded - ath9k 110592 0

The access point is my Buffalo AC-1900 router connected to my fiber connection.

See above for the mobo and wifi card information.

The logs aren't much help. If I make a change with drakfirewall I can see that change reflected in the log, but beyond that, I don't even know what I should be querying for.

This appears to be the log entry after a reboot.

Code: Select all

Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: Compiling /etc/shorewall6/zones...
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: Compiling /etc/shorewall6/interfaces...
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk kernel: bridge: automatic filtering via arp/ip/ip6tables has been deprecated. Update your scripts to load br_netfilter if
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: Determining Hosts in Zones...
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: Locating Action Files...
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: Compiling /etc/shorewall6/policy...
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk kernel: xt_addrtype: ipv6 does not support BROADCAST matching
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: Compiling TCP Flags filtering...
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: Compiling MAC Filtration -- Phase 1...
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: Compiling /etc/shorewall6/rules...
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: Compiling /etc/shorewall6/conntrack...
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: Compiling MAC Filtration -- Phase 2...
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: Applying Policies...
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: Compiling /usr/share/shorewall6/action.Drop for chain Drop...
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: Compiling /usr/share/shorewall6/action.AllowICMPs for chain AllowICMPs...
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: Compiling /usr/share/shorewall6/action.Broadcast for chain Broadcast...
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: Generating Rule Matrix...
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: Compiling /usr/share/shorewall6/action.Reject for chain Reject...
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: Creating ip6tables-restore input...
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: Shorewall configuration compiled to /var/lib/shorewall6/.start
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: Starting Shorewall6....
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: Initializing...
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: Processing /etc/shorewall6/init ...
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: Setting up Proxy NDP...
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: Preparing ip6tables-restore input...
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: Running /sbin/ip6tables-restore...
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: Processing /etc/shorewall6/start ...
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: Processing /etc/shorewall6/started ...
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk logger[2079]: Shorewall6 started
Jul 30 21:17:35 adamsmdk shorewall6[1591]: done.


This is what happens when I toggle the firewall with drakfirewall:

Code: Select all

]# journalctl /usr/bin/drakfirewall
-- Logs begin at Thu 2015-07-30 21:17:14 MDT, end at Tue 2016-10-11 00:25:11 MDT. --
Aug 02 12:26:30 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: ### Program is starting ###
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/rpm -q --qf %{name}
                                               apache apache-mod_perl boa lighttpd thttpd bind dnsmasq mydsn openssh-server ftp-server-krb5 wu-ftpd
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/mountpoint -q /sys/fs/cgroup/systemd
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: Detected systemd running. Using systemctl introspection.
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --no-legend --no-pager --full --all list-units
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled acpid.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled alsa-restore.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled alsa-state.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled alsa-store.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled backuppc.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled chronyd.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled cpupower.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled crond.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled dbus.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled display-manager-failure.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled emergency.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled fedora-autorelabel-mark.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled fedora-autorelabel.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled fedora-import-state.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled fedora-loadmodules.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled fedora-readonly.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled fedora-storage-init-late.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled fedora-storage-init.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled fedora-wait-storage.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled gkrellmd.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled httpd.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled ip6tables.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled iptables.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled irqbalance.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled kmod-static-nodes.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled ldconfig.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled mandi.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled mandriva-everytime.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled mandriva-save-dmesg.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled mga-bg-res.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled monit.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled msec.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled network-up.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled network.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled nscd.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled partmon.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled plymouth-quit-wait.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled plymouth-quit.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled plymouth-read-write.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled plymouth-start.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled polkit.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled postfix.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled prefdm.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled preload.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled rc-local.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled rescue.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled resolvconf.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled shorewall.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled shorewall6.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled sshd.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-ask-password-console.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-ask-password-plymouth.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-ask-password-wall.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-binfmt.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-firstboot.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-fsck-root.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-initctl.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-journal-catalog-update.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-journal-flush.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-journald.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-logind.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-modules-load.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-networkd.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-random-seed.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-reboot.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-remount-fs.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-resolved.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-shutdownd.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-sysctl.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-sysusers.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-timesyncd.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-tmpfiles-clean.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-tmpfiles-setup-dev.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-tmpfiles-setup.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-udev-hwdb-update.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-udev-settle.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-udev-trigger.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-udevd.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-update-done.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-update-utmp-runlevel.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-update-utmp.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-user-sessions.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled systemd-vconsole-setup.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled upower.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --quiet is-enabled vncserver.service
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /bin/systemctl --no-legend --no-pager --full list-unit-files
Aug 02 12:26:32 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: running: /sbin/chkconfig --list --type xinetd
Aug 02 12:26:39 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: default cancel_clicked
Aug 02 12:26:39 adamsmdk drakfirewall[25827]: ### Program is exiting ###

If you know of any other queries to run against journalctl, lay them on me. I'll post results.

Have you tried to use the Android Wifi Analyzer app? Does it see the server when the Ipad does not?

Wifi analyzer sees the network. "Smart" TV sees the network. Backup server sees the network. Network is all good. The trouble is that the iPad can't see the server on the network. Something about the way Apple products interact with the network?

The problem could be as simple as the SSID broadcast stopping, so the ipad can't find the box, while the persistent connections have no problem because they are already in place.

By ip address ping, the iPad can see all of the wired devices connected to my router. When pinging wireless devices, It can see itself and my television but fails to see my phone or the backup server.

Happy to provide any more information, just ask.

Mark

[wintpe]

now that im clearer about how you are using this, i do ask why are you running a server using wifi.

you might think thats an odd question, but your server is supposed to be a reliable solid connection, as anything
that is a server is.

if you plug the server via cat 5 into the router, it will still be seen by all wifi devices, only they will get to it , via wifi, down the cat 5 rather than, via wifi to the access point and then to the server from the access point wifi to the servers wifi.

it will also help to prove that the problem is intermittent wifi access issue.

regards peter

[mark9117]

now that im clearer about how you are using this, i do ask why are you running a server using wifi.

you might think thats an odd question, but your server is supposed to be a reliable solid connection, as anything
that is a server is.

Again, thanks for the time and attention.

As I said before, this server is not mission critical. I appreciate what you're telling me about wiring it, but I'm not going to do what it would take to drag cat 5 through three rooms to deal with this issue. Frankly, I'm also lazy enough that I don't want to move the server to the router. Stop judging me.

I suspect I will wind up dealing with this as a software issue and cobbling together a more sophisticated shell script and my old friend cron. This is not the only issue I'm dealing with on this box. I want to find a way to get this vlc instance to make itself available on boot as well as persist through the course of the day. If I have to boot the server with an auto login, I can do that but I've got a few things to learn about the nuance of running scripts at startup. I'm partially there, I just haven't been able to spend the quality time. on it.

Again, I appreciate the time and attention. Gotta' go earn money to support this hardware.


Mark

[doktor5000]

Stop judging me.

Nobody judged you, Peter just gave some good advice.

[mark9117]

Stop judging me.

Nobody judged you, Peter just gave some good advice.

Oh come on, admit it. You did judge me, didn't you?

Not even just a little bit?

Really?

T'was said in jest. I appreciate the advice, but in terms of "what works for me" I'm not going to run cable to my bedroom.

I recognize that best practices exist. I understand that to ensure reliability Ethernet should be favored over wifi. I would wish that some folks here could appreciate that my personal backup server which, and I've said this before, exists solely to serve my entertainment, has no requirement to survive the rigors of a professional server installation. Frankly, I can't understand why I'm not getting any credit for even attempting to run a backup server in these circumstances.

This network in my home is an avocational enterprise -- a hobby. It's very gratifying for me to run, experiment with, break and fix these things. I learn a lot from screwing this stuff up. Historically, I have learned a lot from this community. And this community used to have a sense of humor about it. The old regime did some stupid things, but one thing they did right was put Adam Williamson in charge of community relations. It was great working with him despite the missteps incurred by his employer.

I have generally found this community helpful. These days I show up with my hand out asking for help relatively infrequently. I have certainly not maintained my relationship with folks, but that's because a) I have less time to break stuff and then ask for help fixing it, and b) I tend to break less and fix more with only my own resources. I owe the community here, and in other communities if I'm honest, for a lot of my basic competency, such that it is.

So, why am I writing all this in my own defense? Probably to try and clear some of the air where this stuff is concerned. It's unfortunate that this forum is not as welcome as I believe it has been in the past, nevertheless, it's still a valuable source of support for my favorite Linux distribution and I'll continue to show up here with my hand out from time to time to learn what it takes to make this stuff work for me.

And just to put a cherry on top, somebody in the VLC support forum suggested that I start VLC without the http-host option. So far, this appears to have helped the situation.

My next step is to find a way to get VLC to survive a reboot without having to log in and start it manually.

As always, any help appreciated.

Thanks again.


Mark

[doktor5000]

So, why am I writing all this in my own defense? Probably to try and clear some of the air where this stuff is concerned. It's unfortunate that this forum is not as welcome as I believe it has been in the past, nevertheless, it's still a valuable source of support for my favorite Linux distribution and I'll continue to show up here with my hand out from time to time to learn what it takes to make this stuff work for me.

Well, about clearing the air in defense for this forum ... You asked about an issue, and were given some good advice, then you mention something about not judging you (even when in jest, remember this is mostly plaintext communication only so other people may not really get your mood or your intent) and then you mention this forum is not as welcome as you believe it was Where's the relation, and how does that fit together at all ?

[mark9117]

Well, about clearing the air in defense for this forum ... You asked about an issue, and were given some good advice, then you mention something about not judging you (even when in jest, remember this is mostly plaintext communication only so other people may not really get your mood or your intent) and then you mention this forum is not as welcome as you believe it was Where's the relation, and how does that fit together at all ?

I'm really not looking to start a fight here. I like this Linux distro. Planning on sticking with it. As far as it all fitting together, I guess I'm just an idiot. Feel free to ignore me as you see fit.

Mark