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  • getting better at this!

    From Alpha@21:4/158 to all on Thu Jan 28 23:12:02 2021
    All,

    OK, I now have what I'd consider to be a solid early start to my Talisman
    BBS! Basics are all working. Added my 4th FTN network without any
    issue, 100% utilzing Postie.

    Turns out I also had a binkd problem -- when running via cron, I needed
    full paths. Once I echo'd to logs I found why I wasn't getting mail:

    FYI, this is my working cron:

    ---

    */5 * * * * /home/robbiew/bbs/ftn/poll_bink.sh > /home/robbiew/bbs/logs/cron.log 2>&1

    ---

    (that's all on one line when adding via 'crontab -e')

    Then my poll_bink.sh file:

    ---

    #!/bin/bash
    UPLINKS=("637:1/100@happynet" "21:4/100@fsxnet" "77:1/100@scinet" "1337:3/100@tqwnet")
    for uplink in "${UPLINKS[@]}"
    do
    /usr/local/sbin/binkd -p -P $uplink /home/robbiew/bbs/ftn/binkd.conf >
    done

    ---

    So, the next network I want to add is fidonet, but there are just to many
    echos to add these manually. Will probably need some sort of import
    script?

    Lastly, I just moved my BBS from a Pi in my home office to a robust
    Digital Ocean VM -- what a difference. I was getting garbled ANSI on
    my pi, probably due to connection issues with my crap DSL service, too
    many people using Zoom in the hours -- and with all the weather: power
    surges and blackout.

    But it only took me about 1/2 hour to go from a fresh Ubuntu 20.04 VM to a fully working Talisman BBS with echomail. Getting t
  • From Al@21:4/106.1 to Alpha on Fri Jan 29 23:20:50 2021
    Re: getting better at this!
    By: Alpha to all on Thu Jan 28 2021 03:12 pm

    Turns out I also had a binkd problem -- when running via cron, I needed full paths. Once I echo'd to logs I found why I wasn't getting mail:

    One thing to keep in mind when starting/running anything with cron is that the environment is *VERY* minimal. There is no path in the environment so you always have to use a full path to the executibles you want to run.

    In my cron script that starts binkd and the BBS it sets the environment from /etc/profile.

    . /etc/profile

    If you are using a script to start things from cron you can also set needed environments in it, but crons environment is almost bare.

    Ttyl :-),
    Al

    ... You can name your salary here, I call mine fred.
    --- SBBSecho 3.12-Linux
    * Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (21:4/106.1)
  • From Alpha@21:4/158 to Al on Sat Jan 30 07:40:08 2021
    One thing to keep in mind when starting/running anything with cron is
    that the environment is *VERY* minimal. There is no path in the
    environment so you always have to use a full path to the executibles
    you want to run.

    Yes, I had no idea this was the case. Wasn't until I started looking in
    the logs that I realized this.

    In my cron script that starts binkd and the BBS it sets the
    environment from /etc/profile.

    . /etc/profile

    Oh, so you are running that a command in crontab, or as part of an .sh
    file that launches the BBS and binkd?


    |04[] |11Alpha
    |03The Drunken Gamer |08/ |14TheDrunkenGamer.com:2323
    |07A Talisman BBS

    --- Talisman v0.10-dev (Linux/x86_64)
    * Origin: The Drunken Gamer BBS (21:4/158)
  • From Al@21:4/106.1 to Alpha on Sat Jan 30 23:43:54 2021
    Re: getting better at this!
    By: Alpha to Al on Fri Jan 29 2021 11:40 pm

    Oh, so you are running that a command in crontab, or as part of an .sh file that launches the BBS and binkd?

    It's a .sh file I run from cron like this..

    @reboot /usr/local/bin/start-binkd.sh

    So this script runs on reboot. The script looks like this..

    #!/bin/sh
    #
    # A shell script to start binkd.
    #
    . /etc/profile
    /usr/local/sbin/binkd -DC /usr/local/etc/binkd.conf
    cd /sbbs
    exec/sbbs

    On my slackware box the /etc/profile contains all the environment I need for binkd and the BBS.

    You might want another file like /home/user/.bash_profile.

    Ttyl :-),
    Al

    ... All real programs contain errors.
    --- SBBSecho 3.12-Linux
    * Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (21:4/106.1)
  • From Oli@21:3/102 to Al on Sun Jan 31 16:19:26 2021
    Al wrote (2021-01-30):

    Oh, so you are running that a command in crontab, or as part of an
    .sh file that launches the BBS and binkd?

    It's a .sh file I run from cron like this..

    @reboot /usr/local/bin/start-binkd.sh

    If you are running mainstream Linux, is there a reason to not use systemd?

    ---
    * Origin: . (21:3/102)
  • From Al@21:4/106.1 to Oli on Sun Jan 31 08:56:02 2021
    Re: getting better at this!
    By: Oli to Al on Sun Jan 31 2021 08:19 am

    @reboot /usr/local/bin/start-binkd.sh

    If you are running mainstream Linux, is there a reason to not use systemd?

    Yes, I used systemd under debian and it works well.

    I don't have systemd under slackware. Well, I might be able to install it but I haven't gone looking.

    Both binkd and sbbs are very stable so it has been enough for me to start them from cron on reboot and I don't need to worry about either of them.

    Ttyl :-),
    Al

    ... 75%, no, 72% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
    --- SBBSecho 3.12-Linux
    * Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (21:4/106.1)
  • From Alpha@21:4/158 to Oli on Sun Jan 31 16:19:08 2021
    If you are running mainstream Linux, is there a reason to not use
    systemd?

    I use systemd for binkd, but also requires me to CHOWN the /var/run/pid
    file on reboot.


    |04[] |11Alpha
    |03The Drunken Gamer |08/ |14TheDrunkenGamer.com:2323
    |07A Talisman BBS

    --- Talisman v0.10-dev (Linux/x86_64)
    * Origin: The Drunken Gamer BBS (21:4/158)
  • From Al@21:4/106.1 to Alpha on Sun Jan 31 23:27:26 2021
    Re: getting better at this!
    By: Alpha to Oli on Sun Jan 31 2021 08:19 am

    I use systemd for binkd, but also requires me to CHOWN the /var/run/pid file on reboot.

    I adjusted the location of the binkd.pid in binkd.conf to a location where I can read/write that file without chowning.

    Ttyl :-),
    Al

    ... Ask not for whom the bell tolls; let the machine get it.
    --- SBBSecho 3.12-Linux
    * Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (21:4/106.1)