Mammoth Networks, the company we use for DSL back haul for CenturyLink circuits, will be rebooting a router at 2AM Saturday morning.  Connectivity will be affected for approximately 15 minutes.

We will be performing maintenance work early Saturday morning between just after midnight and about 2AM that will affect the main file server, shellx, mail, and ftp for about 20-25 minutes each which involves rebooting to make updates from Centos 6.4 to Centos 6.5 active, and imaging those machines so that if recovery is necessary, it will be to current software.

The main file server will affect all services and will be first, just after midnight, then the other services individually will be taken down to be imaged and rebooted.

At Xeno’s request, I’ve installed Ruby 2.0.0 on Shellx.  However, because there were 128 things dependent upon the existing ruby, rather than overwriting the system version, I’ve installed 2.0.0 in /usr/local, the executable is in /usr/local/bin.  If you want the newer version, either specify the full path or make sure that /usr/local/bin is before /usr/bin in your $PATH variable.

I removed a group that I didn’t realize was still in use and broke mail.  The group has been put back in place.

This morning some website CGIs and potentially other active content refused to execute.  This was caused by basically the same problem that affected the mail servers, idmapd not being properly configured and started.  In the case of ftp it was configured but not enabled.

For reasons that escape me, somehow nfsv4 was able to usually resolve id’s even with idmapd not running prior to the upgrade the weekend before last, but since that upgrade it is now working as documented and requires this daemon to run properly.

It is now enabled on the webserver.  This problem is resolved.

I have corrected an issue with telnet connections to shellx.eskimo.com from machines with firewalls blocking port 113 (auth).

If you were getting immediately disconnected, this was because shellx was attempting to use auth protocol to identify the originator and your firewall was blocking it.  I’ve removed this requirement so it will allow you to connect.

Ssh is still the preferred method because telnet does not encrypt traffic and your login and password are passed over the internet plain text.

If you are originating from a Windows machine, Putty will provide ssh capability and is free.

All servers are restored to service.  Maintenance activity that required servers being out of service has been completed.  There is still some activity that will result in a higher than normal load as backups are compressed but everything should be operational now.

We’ve got a 2-for-1 sale, bring a friend to Eskimo North when you renew your shell or web hosting account and give them an account for the same period free.

If you renew for a year, they can enjoy a year free.  This gives them the freedom to change their carrier without having to worry about changing their e-mail or web address as well.

It also gives them e-mail that isn’t mined to direct advertisements at you.  E-mail that is protected with encryption.  E-mail that can be accessed via web mail, imap or pop, and shell mailers like pine, elm, mutt, and many other popular mailers.

Our site is optimized to serve PHP and other dynamic content fast and securely so that applications like WordPress, Gallery, myBB, and Joomla will feel just like static content.

We also offer a free two-week trial so if you’d like to find out just how fast your application runs here, you can, at no risk or expense to you.

Sign up for a free trial at http://www.eskimo.com/shell/new.html.

If you have any questions about this offer or our service in general, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-246-6874 or 1-206-812-0051.  You can also e-mail support@eskimo.com.

I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

I am thankful for all of you who stuck with Eskimo through my 2-1/2 year imprisonment.  I am thankful for my wife and sons that have helped me through that period.

I am thankful for an excellent caring therapist I had in prison, the education I received while there, and the volunteers that came in and worked with us and helped me improve my life.

I am thankful for the people I’ve had help me make a better life for myself now.  I am thankful I had a home, at least part of a family, and all of you to return to.

I am thankful to the folks from Shoreline Covenant Church who have helped me adjust and recover.

I am thankful for my sister and how she took care of things after my mothers death and was kind to me.

I am thankful that my father is still with us.

I am thankful for God making his presence known while I was in solitary in a way that I absolutely couldn’t ignore or explain away.  I am thankful for him giving me life, love, and hope.

I am trying to live a life directed by love but I have to admit, sometimes I still let fear get the best of me, but nothing like before, and I am thankful for that.

I miss my mother but I am glad she is with God and no longer suffering and am thankful for that.

The maintenance scheduled for Saturday morning will be shorter than originally planned and will probably be completed by 1:30AM Pacific time.  This is because much of the work that was going to be done then was done today in an attempt to recover from the update induced problems.