Disappearing hosts from host list

[Junkhacker]

@foglalt if an imaging task is taking place, the database is updated by the computer being imaged with the progress. you know the progress bar that says how complete the task is? that’s in the database.

[Wayne Workman]

I don’t understand how changing a MAC address while it’s being deployed could cause this though. I’ve still not tried to replicate the issue yet though.

[Foglalt]

@junkhacker oh, there you got the score! Totally forgot this btw, it writes to a host data using host id or uses mac for lookups? If later, it may cause issue, am i right?

[Foglalt]

@Wayne-Workman the issue happened again preparing the log that the script generated and i send it to you in mail again for analysis.

[Wayne Workman]

@foglalt Ok, I’ll go over it this evening. Also, have you considered updating to 1.5.2 ? I think 1.3 is so old now that it’s probably a waste of time to worry too much about it.

[Foglalt]

er, mine active is not 1.3, since it was first happening, it was about 1.2 or so. then as time passed, we tried in many ways, upgrades, etc. not too long ago mine was most uptodate one (1.4.4), then ofc as developing is going (happily see that btw), ofc it “grew older”. but this happened to me on every single uptodate versions so i think the true reason is far more deep than it is at first glance. i have hope in your script

[Wayne Workman]

@foglalt I think the issue has been present for a long while. As soon as we know enough about it and can reproduce it, I would expect that a fix can be created quickly. The problem is knowing what’s causing it and knowing how to reproduce it. We were grasping at straws, So I wrote this script to grasp at straws more efficiently lol.

[Wayne Workman]

@foglalt What is the MAC address’ of the host with hostID 43?

[Wayne Workman]

@developers I have found a pattern - not sure what it means but I wanted to share to get your eyes on it.

These next two code blocks are from the first log the script provided:

Date & time: 2018. febr. 28., szerda, 09:29:01 CET
Found hostID '5' without a primary MAC.

From the history table, there are some events about one hour earlier with the same hostID.

[2018-02-28,08:28:10],Host,ID: 5 NAME: laci1 has been successfully updated.	laci	2018-02-28 08:28:10	10.10.36.124
[2018-02-28,08:28:10],MACAddressAssociation,ID: 131 has been successfully updated.	laci	2018-02-28 08:28:10	10.10.36.124
[2018-02-28,08:27:45],Host,ID: 5 NAME: laci1 has been successfully updated.	laci	2018-02-28 08:27:45	10.10.36.124

These next two blocks are from the recent log the script provided.

Date & time: 2018. ápr. 10., kedd, 09:52:01 CEST
Found hostID '43' without a primary MAC.

Again, we have an event in the history table from about one hour earlier with the same hostID.

[2018-04-05,08:53:10],Host,ID: 43 NAME: laci6 has been successfully updated.	laci	2018-04-05 08:53:10	146.110.36.124

Could it be that the timestamps from the history table are just wrong and these events actually happened at the same time? If so, I’m betting that changing the name of a host can somehow - sometimes - cause this primary MAC missing issue.

[Tom Elliott]

@wayne-workman The timestamps are accurate. The event you’re showing is from February 28th, vs April 5th. I don’t know if the timestamps are in UTC or correct to the timezone the user is in.

[Wayne Workman]

@tom-elliott The timestamps are from whatever is set on his server. You see the 1-hour pattern though in both occasions? Makes no sense to me. Only thing I can think of is a problem in an hourly ran service. This is the script he’s running every minute via cron: https://github.com/FOGProject/fog-community-scripts/blob/master/troubleshootingTools/monitor-missing-primary-mac.sh

[Foglalt]

Tomorrow or later tonight i send you another. Yes, again it happened. Maybe it van be same pattern at least. Btw host is not renamed. But mac is changed. All time!

[Wayne Workman]

@foglalt When you say the MAC is changed, are you changing it via the GUI or is this something that’s happening that is not supposed to happen? Please elaborate.

[Foglalt]

@wayne-workman It is simply the following:

• pc1 comes in for reinstallation/installation, its mac is registered in a “dummylikehost” (for example “laci1”).
• image selected, task set to deploy, pc1 finishes, turned off
• pc2 comes in for same purpose, host “laci1” got a mac overwrite (mac gui field selected, typed in the new mac, update button).

the missing host is detected by your script, or previously it was detected when pc3 comes in for processing.

this is why i asked before how others do massive cloning. colleagues do this method cos with it you dont need to remake cloning groups (no image update? so you dont need to change image name). it is like another 5 pc came, you put them on the table, put cables in, register new macs and launch process of cloning. we normally never keep hosts in database, as you may saw in our database before. we only have a few in them. few dedicated ones (like image creators machine and some other).

[Foglalt]

One more thing about yesterdays instance of the problem: during the host update the new mac was registered on the host (this time laci2, to name it as in log you may see) and when the task start was prepared (those hosts are in a group for mass deploy) colleague ralised that group has less member than needed. voila, missing host. so it was disappeared after host update (or during)

[Wayne Workman]

@foglalt So is it accurate to say “When an existing host’s MAC address is changed to something else, sometimes the primary MAC address is lost.” ?

Also, you know you can image without registering, right?

[Foglalt]

@wayne-workman what do you mean by this? we do this cos of easily possible mass actions (multicast is done with registered hosts, etc or did i miss something?)

[Wayne Workman]

@foglalt said in Disappearing hosts from host list:

multicast is done with registered hosts, etc or did i miss something?

This thread suggests it’s possible:
https://forums.fogproject.org/topic/9669/image-multicast-without-host-registration-ipxe-input-output-error

[Foglalt]

@wayne-workman but how? Anyway it doesnt change the mysterious disappearing sadly

[Wayne Workman]

@developers the pattern I thought I found earlier no longer holds with this 3rd log.