Auto update

[briggers]

I've turned off auto updates but upcp still runs every day and carries out a number of what have been described as "normal housekeeping". Unless I know what these routines actually do and why they are run I do not want them to run. So can anyone explain exactly the purpose and reason for running each of these tasks. The output from upcp is shown below:
---
/scripts/upcp syntax OK
Running Futex Check/Fix......Done
Checking for main ip changes......Done
Checking mySQL to ensure we can connect......Done
Sending usage data (if enabled)...Anonymous usage data accepted [387] in 0s.
...Done
Validating cPanel system users...Homedir: /var/cpanel/userhomes/cpanel
...Done
Updating email whitelists......Done
Checking and Repairing System Package Setup......Done
Running Platform Specific Optimizations......Done
Checking and Repairing Nameserver Config......Done
Setting up ip startup...enable was successful
...Done
Configuring editors......Done
Creating symlinks for common binaries......Done
Setting Clock......Done
Running Env Auto Repair...quota test: check passed
Requesting script ... Done
Auto Repair is running...Running Auto Repair routines
Checking /usr/local/cpanel/perl/Net/SSLeay.pm
Finished running Auto Repair routines
...Auto Repair is done.
...Done
Running Cleanups...Hostname Virtual Host is already setup
...Done
Updating services & databases...PHP version file is up to date
Ftp Quota Check v1.7
Updating aaaaaaa: ...Done
Updating bbbbb: ...Done
Updating ccccc: ...Done
Updating ddddd: ...Done
...Done
Cpanel updates are coming from httpupdate.cpanel.net
Setting Up Crontab......Done
Setting Up update_db_cache Crontab......Done
Setting Up optimizefs Crontab......Done
Setting Up dcpumon Crontab......Done
Repairing Mailman Permissions......Done
Running Sanity Checks & Notifications...Using smartcheck config 5.x for smartctl(5.38)
Checking /dev/sda....S.M.A.R.T does not appear to be enabled for this device.
...Done
Running Named Checks......Done
Updating Virus Patterns......Done
.
[Spam assassin updates - I know what they are for]
.
Restoring compiler permissions...Compilers are disabled for unprivileged users.
...Done
Repairing mysql......Done
Optimizing Databases......Done
Automatic cPanel & WHM updates are not enabled, finalizing maintenance...Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/BitchX.sym ..Done
Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/bnc.sym ..Done
Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/eggdrop.sym ..Done
Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/generic-sniffers.sym ..Done
Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/guardservices.sym ..Done
Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/ircd.sym ..Done
Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/psyBNC.sym ..Done
Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/ptlink.sym ..Done
Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/services.sym ..Done
Kill Proc Enabled
Added Contact [...email address...]
Scanning for new mail senders.............Done
Notification => [...email address...] via EMAIL [level => 3]
Scanning suexec_log.Done
...Done
---

Thanks

 

[ThinIce]

You'll find an entry for upcp in your root crontab, if you want to prevent it running entirely you could delete / comment out this entry. YMMV in doing so, I'd have thought that cPanel is built expecting upcp to run every night and certain features may rely on it doing so (for example you'll notice some of the background process killer stuff in the output you've provided) and things like the spamassassin_dbm_cleaner are handy to have running on a regular basis...

 

[cPanelTristan]

If you aren't certain how to get into root crontab, either issue "crontab -e" to edit it or "vi /var/spool/cron/root" to edit it. I wouldn't remove the entry but simply comment out the entry using a # in front of the line with upcp in it, then save the crontab.

 

[briggers]

I know exactly how to edit the crontab. But before I disable upcp I want to know what its tasks do. I might want to keep some so that would mean editing upcp itself. Someone in cPanel must know what they are for or maybe someone sometime in the past thought they were a good idea.

So what does each one do - in detail please?

 

[cPanelTristan]

It would be a great deal easier if you pulled out those you aren't certain, since many are self explanatory. If you require the entire list, that is simply a repetition of many of them due to the fact many explain what they do by the actual log entry. Thus, please specify which you don't know what they are doing specifically and I would be happy to do those.

Otherwise, I would have to spend approximately 30-60 minutes detailing about 50-60% that are already explained by the log entry. Since we cannot know which ones you aren't certain what they do, reducing the list to be a reasonable size so we know which you have a set question would enable me to answer your question. I am not able to do the full list because the time spent would be too great for 50-60% being self explanatory by the log entry.

Once you've reduced the list to those you aren't certain, again I would be happy to write up an explanation for those.

 

[briggers]

OK,
Running Futex Check/Fix - What is Futex & what does it do?

Checking for main ip changes - Which IPs are checked and for what

Checking mySQL to ensure we can connect - What would cause mysql to be unconnected that would not be seen as an error when it occured

Sending usage data (if enabled)...Anonymous usage data accepted [387] in 0s
...Done - What usage data is sent and to where

Validating cPanel system users...Homedir: /var/cpanel/userhomes/cpanel
...Done - What does this mean?

Updating email whitelists......Done - what are they updated with and why?

Checking and Repairing System Package Setup......Done - With no update there should not be anything to repair, so what does it do?

Running Platform Specific Optimizations......Done - What optimisations?

Checking and Repairing Nameserver Config......Done - What would damage the nameserver config and why does it need repairing?

Setting up ip startup...enable was successful
...Done - what does this do and why?

Configuring editors......Done - Which editors and why do they need configuring every day?

Creating symlinks for common binaries......Done - Why would they change?

Running Env Auto Repair...quota test: check passed - What is Env Auto Repair and what does it do?

Requesting script ... Done - What script and why?

Auto Repair is running...Running Auto Repair routines - What does autro repair repair and why would it need repairing.

Checking /usr/local/cpanel/perl/Net/SSLeay.pm - what for?
Finished running Auto Repair routines
...Auto Repair is done.
...Done

Running Cleanups...Hostname Virtual Host is already setup
...Done - what is cleanedup and why is it necessary?

Updating services & databases...PHP version file is up to date - update is turned off so why does it try to do this?

Ftp Quota Check v1.7
Updating aaaaaaa: ...Done
Updating bbbbb: ...Done
Updating ccccc: ...Done
Updating ddddd: ...Done
...Done - what ftp quotas are checked?

Cpanel updates are coming from httpupdate.cpanel.net

Setting Up Crontab......Done - What has changed in crontab and why?
Setting Up update_db_cache Crontab......Done - what & why?
Setting Up optimizefs Crontab......Done - what & why?
Setting Up dcpumon Crontab......Done - what & why?


Repairing Mailman Permissions......Done - why would they be broken and why is it necessary to repair them?

Running Sanity Checks & Notifications...Using smartcheck config 5.x for smartctl(5.38) - what sanity checks and modifications are these

Restoring compiler permissions...Compilers are disabled for unprivileged users.
...Done - who/what changed them and why?

Repairing mysql......Done - These should never be run automatically and certainly not daily
Optimizing Databases......Done

Automatic cPanel & WHM updates are not enabled, finalizing maintenance...Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/BitchX.sym ..Done
Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/bnc.sym ..Done
Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/eggdrop.sym ..Done
Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/generic-sniffers.sym ..Done
Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/guardservices.sym ..Done
Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/ircd.sym ..Done
Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/psyBNC.sym ..Done
Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/ptlink.sym ..Done
Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/services.sym ..Done - What are all these and why do they need to be reloaded?

Kill Proc Enabled - why is it disabled and by what?

Added Contact [...email address...] How many times does it need to be added?

Scanning for new mail senders.............Done - what and why?

Notification => [...email address...] via EMAIL [level => 3]

Scanning suexec_log.Done - scanning for what?

...Done

Of course if there was proper administrator documentation these questions would not be necessary

You can also describe how to disable each/any of these tasks so that I can continue to run those that are necessary, including the SpanAssassin update and not the others.

Thanks

 

[cPanelTristan]

**Running Futex Check/Fix - What is Futex & what does it do?

Futex does have documentation online. It's a locking system - Futex - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

** Checking for main ip changes - Which IPs are checked and for what

Checking for the main IP and if there were changes from the prior main IP. Sometimes, people change the main IP from the last run and this checks if the main IP has changed.

**Checking mySQL to ensure we can connect - What would cause mysql to be unconnected that would not be seen as an error when it occurred.

This isn't an answerable question. There are a multitude of reasons MySQL might not be working. If it isn't working, then it is going to error on the check and the error is entirely dependent on why it isn't connecting. There is no way for me to provide every single reason or every single error that might occur. MySQL is being checked if it is working period. If it cannot connect, it isn't working and MySQL scripts that would update any rpms (if you have it set to auto update MySQL but not cPanel) won't work.

**Sending usage data (if enabled)...Anonymous usage data accepted [387] in 0s
...Done - What usage data is sent and to where

The usage data at /home/username/.cpanel location is sent if enabled to provide that data in WHM > Tweak Settings > Send anonymous usage data to cPanel area.

**Validating cPanel system users...Homedir: /var/cpanel/userhomes/cpanel
...Done - What does this mean?

cPanel is valdiating that the system user homedirectory at /var/cpanel/userhomes/cpanel is properly set. For cPanel, the system user for cpanel's directory path is /var/cpanel/userhomes/cpanel location.

**Updating email whitelists......Done - what are they updated with and why?

These are the whitelists in WHM > Exim Configuration Editor. Asking why they are checked isn't something I would even know. Why shouldn't they be checked? What issue is that going to cause?

**Checking and Repairing System Package Setup......Done - With no update there should not be anything to repair, so what does it do?

This is not true. The package system is "yum update" and this does need checked for the other options you might have set to update. If you have FTP, Courier or Dovecot, etc. set to automatic updates but do not have cPanel set to auto update, then you are asking the system to check nightly for whether yum package system is working. If it is not working, then those packages for cannot update automatically when new rpms are available. In fact, your system is in pretty dire straits if it cannot update packages, since you will end up with old, insecure rpms, including old kernels. Good luck if you don't have a working package system.

** Running Platform Specific Optimizations......Done - What optimisations?

I have no idea on this one. I know that the VPS has some set optimizations over a dedicated machine, so this might be part of the check for the type of platform (VPS or dedicated) to determine if VPS-based optimizations are required.

**Checking and Repairing Nameserver Config......Done - What would damage the nameserver config and why does it need repairing?

The nameserver configuration is at /etc/named.conf and this checks it is properly setup for the syntax.

**Setting up ip startup...enable was successful
...Done - what does this do and why?

IP startup has to be ipaliases to ensure the IPs are properly configured for reboot to startup. You have boot levels for ckconfig that determines if IPs can start on boot or not. If your IPs don't start on boot, then dedicated IPs will be down whenever your machine reboots.

** Configuring editors......Done - Which editors and why do they need configuring every day?

I don't know on this one. The editors that I know are vi and nano and editors are needed to handle editing files.

** Creating symlinks for common binaries......Done - Why would they change?

They might change because a user messed with them and we need to ensure cPanel will work. If someone messes with the needed binaries for cPanel to work, then it won't work. People constantly move or remove symlinks that are necessary for the system to function.

** Running Env Auto Repair...quota test: check passed - What is Env Auto Repair and what does it do?

This is a quota check to see if the quota system is functioning. If the quota system isn't functioning, then quotas can't be reported on the system.

**Requesting script ... Done - What script and why?

It's part of the quota check, likely repquota to repair the system quotas if there are any issues.

** Auto Repair is running...Running Auto Repair routines - What does autro repair repair and why would it need repairing.

I've already answered this above. It is the quota check.

** Checking /usr/local/cpanel/perl/Net/SSLeay.pm - what for?

/usr/local/cpanel/perl/Net/SSLeay.pm handles SSLs on the machine. If /usr/local/cpanel/perl/Net/SSLeay.pm doesn't work, then https won't work for cPanel services.

** Running Cleanups...Hostname Virtual Host is already setup
...Done - what is cleanedup and why is it necessary?

It is checking for the hostname for the virtual host to ensure it is properly setup such as /etc/hosts file.

**Updating services & databases...PHP version file is up to date - update is turned off so why does it try to do this?

cPanel update is turned off, but do you have all the other updates turned off for FTP, MySQL and so on? If not, then update isn't turned off.

** Ftp Quota Check v1.7
Updating aaaaaaa: ...Done
Updating bbbbb: ...Done
Updating ccccc: ...Done
Updating ddddd: ...Done
...Done - what ftp quotas are checked?

The FTP account quotas are checked.

**Setting Up Crontab......Done - What has changed in crontab and why?

Unless it's a major version change, nothing changed in the crontab. cPanel always checks and updates the crontab for any new crons. An example would be in the past when MySQL and PostgreSQL quota checks were added into the crontab. It cannot "periodically" check the crontab for changes. It has to do the check each time and update it when it has changes to make.

**Setting Up update_db_cache Crontab......Done - what & why? -

This cron handles the MySQL and PostgreSQL quotas. It is updating it if there were any changes.

**Setting Up optimizefs Crontab......Done - what & why? -

This cron handles the optimizefs option which sets noatime (-A) on set files for speeding up loading. If you don't know what the atime attribute happens to be, I suggest "man chattr" or reading online about the attribute. It is documented for the -A flag.

**Setting Up dcpumon Crontab......Done - what & why? -

This cron handles the WHM > Daily Process Logs and is necessary to track that usage for high using accounts.

** Repairing Mailman Permissions......Done - why would they be broken and why is it necessary to repair them? -

It might be broken because a user changed them. Many many times these repairs are to fix cPanel due to people changing file and folder permissions.

** Running Sanity Checks & Notifications...Using smartcheck config 5.x for smartctl(5.38) - what sanity checks and modifications are these

This is documented as it is smartctl for S.M.A.R.T. drives. It's just the basic check that it performs. You can read a discussion of a user running the command directly on a drive:

advise me on this smart check error - Web Hosting Talk

These checks determine the system integrity to see if they are going to possibly fail.

** Restoring compiler permissions...Compilers are disabled for unprivileged users.
...Done - who/what changed them and why?

Again, users change permissions. Compilers are required for root user to run many services. If a user changed the root compiler permissions, the system won't properly run. If they are disabled for non-root users, the system ensures that they remain disabled. This is a necessary step to ensure your system works.

** Repairing mysql......Done - These should never be run automatically and certainly not daily
Optimizing Databases......Done

If you don't believe it should run, disable MySQL updates in WHM > Update Preferences area.

** Automatic cPanel & WHM updates are not enabled, finalizing maintenance...Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/BitchX.sym ..Done
Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/bnc.sym ..Done
Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/eggdrop.sym ..Done
Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/generic-sniffers.sym ..Done
Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/guardservices.sym ..Done
Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/ircd.sym ..Done
Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/psyBNC.sym ..Done
Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/ptlink.sym ..Done
Loading Symbol Table... /usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/services.sym ..Done - What are all these and why do they need to be reloaded?

These are the checks for WHM > Background Process Killer to kill malicious services in that area.

** Kill Proc Enabled - why is it disabled and by what?

This is for the same area mentioned above of WHM > Background Process Killer area. If you have services enabled to be killed, it is going to kill those processes.

** Added Contact [...email address...] How many times does it need to be added?

Please remember that this is a very long list that I've taken the time to provide answers to questions for you and keep those questions to ones that you legitimately need information about. I'm not certain how this question could be answered.

** Scanning for new mail senders.............Done - what and why?

I don't actually know on this one.

** Scanning suexec_log.Done - scanning for what?

I don't actually know on this one.

 

[briggers]

Thanks for the reply.

Some of your answers are incorrect, eg yum does not update apache, exim, etc they are specifically excluded from yum update because you use cp hacked versions and others you did not read/answer the question, eg I asked about mysql optimisation and repair not update.

Also you did not answer the key question of how do I disable some of these tasks from the daily run, but keep them available for running when we do a manual update of cp/whm

 

[cPanelTristan]

Your prior response

Some of your answers are incorrect, eg yum does not update apache, exim, etc they are specifically excluded from yum update because you use cp hacked versions

My response
I apologize about the yum one for mentioning courier or dovecot. You are right that they are in the /etc/yum.conf exclusion line. The command still runs the yum update, though, and I'm not incorrect in the gist of what it does. I didn't mention Apache or exim for it.

Your prior response

and others you did not read/answer the question, eg I asked about mysql optimisation and repair not update.

My response
I don't see anything about MySQL optimization in this question:

Checking mySQL to ensure we can connect - What would cause mysql to be unconnected that would not be seen as an error when it occured

Nor in this one, which isn't about MySQL but non-defined optimizations

** Running Platform Specific Optimizations......Done - What optimisations?

Nothing was asked about optimization or repair in this one:

** Repairing mysql......Done - These should never be run automatically and certainly not daily
Optimizing Databases......Done

You only stated it shouldn't be done but did not ask about repair nor about optimization. If you don't ask the question, then it isn't possible to answer it. Please show me above where you asked about MySQL optimization or repairs, or please ask the question next to the log entry this time and I'll try to answer it. If there are others that I didn't answer that were asked, please point out the question (other than those I specifically indicated that I did not know).

Your prior response

Also you did not answer the key question of how do I disable some of these tasks from the daily run, but keep them available for running when we do a manual update of cp/whm

My response
You actually didn't ask about disabling them in your last reply before this one:

You can also describe how to disable each/any of these tasks so that I can continue to run those that are necessary, including the SpanAssassin update and not the others.

This states I can perform the task and is not a question. If you want to ask a question, certainly feel free to do so.

 

[briggers]

Tristan,
I have not the time energy or inclination to play silly games with the semantics of my question. In my first post of this thread I asked for "...exactly the purpose and reason for running each of these tasks". In my second post (#4) I asked again "So what does each one do - in detail please? ". In my third post (#6) I listed each item, as you requested, and tried again.

I am astonished that your company should regard your reply - post #9 as an acceptable way of dealing with customers!

So, I'll try again.
1. Please tell me exactly what each task in the list of tasks in post #1 above do and why does it do it?
2. It seems as though one of those tasks is to send data, collected by some other process to cPanel on a daily basis. It does this without asking for permission from either the server owner or the individual account owners. Nor is there any explanation as to how the data collection and sending can be stopped. That is at the very least discourteous, could be an infringement of privacy and possible even illegal in some countries with data protection regulations. That mechanism could be used to collect private and personal data from websites and databases and the user would not know. I wonder if a server with such a big security hole can be considered PCI DSS secure. If I had plastic card data on my server I'd turn it off right now!!
So what data is currently harvested?
3. How do I disable some of those tasks from the daily upcp leaving others, such as the SpamAssassin update in place but still be able to run them, if I chose to, when doing an update to cp itself.

Thank You

 

[cPanelDavidG]

Let's start with what seems to be the most urgent inquiry in your most recent post: anonymous data. As documented at Tweak Settings - this data is anonymized and lets us know how often specific cPanel&WHM features are used. As implied by the word anonymous, none of this data is personally identifiable. It's best thought of as "On a server, the FTP Accounts button was clicked 42 times and the Simple DNS Editor was clicked 0 times." If you do not want to share this data, that is okay, just configure your server to not send us this data. As stated in our documentation, this can be done by going to WHM -> Server Configuration -> Tweak Settings and in the System tab, set "Send anonymous usage data to cPanel." to Off.

Regarding your inquiry about everything upcp does, this is probably handled better by our team of Linux Technical Analysts who have more resources they can devote to researching and definitively addressing your inquiry than our Forum Analysts can devote to your very in-depth inquiry. This isn't a matter of trying to obscure information, you are welcome to update this thread with information you learn from that thread. If you PM me your ticket number once this inquiry is submitted, I'll flag that ticket such that our documentation team knows to use your inquiry and the responses you receive as the basis for formal documentation of the upcp process since no documentation on this specific topic currently exists. I also believe entering this into formal documentation will be beneficial to many system administrators who prefer to understand everything that is happening on their servers. You can submit a ticket to us at http://go.cPanel.net/supportrequest

Regarding not updating cPanel&WHM (not to be confused with /scripts/upcp being run -- we're into deeper technical discussion now and this is an important distinction to make), I personally would take the approach of configuring my cPanel&WHM servers to have cPanel&WHM never update in this scenario. This is much less kludgey than hacking apart cron entries and since things were designed around people using WHM to configure updates, it's very unlikely to break. Just go to "Update Preferences" in your WHM interface (it's the link below Tweak Settings) to do this. It also means you can continue to run upcp but without risking cPanel&WHM being updated.

SpamAssassin updates come in two flavors: updates to the SpamAssassin rules and updates to the SpamAssassin software itself.

Since SpamAssassin software updates are tied to cPanel&WHM updates, we do not support a means of allowing SpamAssassin software updates without also updating cPanel&WHM. This is not to say it cannot be done, just that we provide no assistance with doing so and it is very likely to break things if attempted.

However, you can still have some things be updated even when cPanel&WHM updates are disabled and /scripts/upcp is in crontab running daily, including updating SpamAssassin rules. You can read about this in our documentation at:

Update Preferences

At this point, I recommend setting cPanel&WHM updates to NEVER (since you do not want them ever run, not even triggered by third party apps), changing your other update settings on that screen to fit your preferences re-enabling /scripts/upcp in crontab.

 

[briggers]

DavidG

Thanks for a reasoned replay - at last.

I will raise a ticket as you suggest. In the meantime I'd make a couple of points.

anonymous data. As documented at Tweak Settings - this data is anonymized and lets us know how often specific cPanel&WHM features are used.

The documentation does not make it clear what data is sent.
It cannot be anonymous since it is sent with a http call thus providing the IP which can then easily be traced back to an individual server owner an ultimately individual sites. And maybe it does not at this moment but the mechanism could collect almost any data from individual sites and/or databases if cp chose to include that since it runs with the highest level of privileges.
I think both points should be made clear on the Tweak page otherwise it looks like spyware.

Updates
This is all very confused. (I don't mean I am confused, i mean the upcp routine). cp has jumbled up into one script 4 different things which ought to be treated quite independently except where there are specific dependencies:
- General housekeeping (the subject of my ticket)
- Data set (like SA rules) updates
- Package (incl. cp, apache, bind etc)
- OS

Spamassassin rules do need to be updated at least daily but it looks as though that can be achieved only by running upcp which then runs a number of other processes which I may or may not want to be run. It would be better if SA rules updates had its own cronjob in the same way as clamav virus sigs have their own task (as far as I can see)

Most of the packages used in cp, like sa, apache, exim, ftp, etc are updated only very occasionally by their writers and much less frequently than cp has updates. There really does need to be separation of the packages updates and the cp updates, it is after all just another package or collection of scripts.

Anyway we will see what your experts say.

 

[briggers]

cpanelDavidG said:

Regarding your inquiry about everything upcp does, this is probably handled better by our team of Linux Technical Analysts who have more resources they can devote to researching and definitively addressing your inquiry than our Forum Analysts can devote to your very in-depth inquiry. This isn't a matter of trying to obscure information, you are welcome to update this thread with information you learn from that thread.

Reply from Ticket

Paul Trost says:
April 1st, 2011 at 07:04 AM


Hello, thank you for contacting cPanel.


I can't detail for you every single task that upcp runs. The tasks it runs are going to change from version to version as items are added and removed based on a certain need. There are many tasks run that will probably always be there, for example "Checking mySQL to ensure we can connect". There are services that depend on MySQL like Roundcube and Horde. Since upcp might update those programs, it needs to know that MySQL is responsive before an update can be done.

There are other tasks like "Checking /usr/local/cpanel/perl/Net/SSLeay.pm" that are checking for a specific problem, maybe where we noticed that a certain file that we expect to be on the system hasn't been on systems.

Providing in itemized description of every task that upcp runs is going to be beyond the scope of our support. Additionally, there will be major changes to the product upcoming in the 11.30 as the upgrade system is being rewritten.

Regards,

--
Paul Trost
Technical Analyst
cPanel, Inc.

Translations

I can't detail for you every single task that upcp runs

= "can't be bothered" and "don't want to tell you"

The tasks it runs are going to change from version to version as items are added and removed based on a certain need

= "when we think we have screwed up an update we'll put in a test to check it out"

There are many tasks run that will probably always be there, for example "Checking mySQL to ensure we can connect". There are services that depend on MySQL like Roundcube and Horde. Since upcp might update those programs, it needs to know that MySQL is responsive before an update can be done.

= "no one is going to notice that a service like mySQL has stopped so we need to check for them"

There are other tasks like "Checking /usr/local/cpanel/perl/Net/SSLeay.pm" that are checking for a specific problem, maybe where we noticed that a certain file that we expect to be on the system hasn't been on systems.

= "our last update might have deleted/broken this so we might need to put it right"

Additionally, there will be major changes to the product upcoming in the 11.30 as the upgrade system is being rewritten

= "not really supporting 11.28 any more"

Oh well, draw your own conclusions

 

[Mario-cPanel]

briggers perhaps we should have a phone call setup next week to discuss the concerns you have brought up here in our forums. While we certainly would continue our discussions at times we feel it is best to setup a quick phone call to have a better understanding of your situation.

What would be a good number and time to contact you? You may send that information to me via private message.

Attentively,

 

[Infopro]

I'm not sure a defensive posture here is warranted. I don't have a full clear idea of what most all of the software I run and use on a daily basis on my server and on my local rigs, does during updates, other than what change logs reveal to me. Does anyone, really?

cPanel updates is a complex setup, I'm sure you'd agree. System checks, software version checks, anon data telling the developers what version of software and OS you're running for statistical reasons, checking that all files and services needed are up and present, etc. Maintenance stuff.

I think Tristan did a fine job in covering many of the items you see during an update in the log. Your query is a tall order (IMHO) for a forum setting like this. I'm not sure a trouble ticket would be an ideal place to find out more about the cPupdate routine either.

Your question is more of a developers query into the inner workings of cPanel update routine itself. Many of the items listed in the update log are understood by System Administrators I think and others are understood to be needed, if not fully understood.

I have no idea what firefox does during an update, as an example, I read the 'whats changed', list like everyone else. I can read that before or after the update, its my choice to update. Like cPanel updates, you can disable updates, and even the cron completely, if you like.

Whats happening during updates from cPanel is what we want. Automated updates and checks to make sure your system is up to date and operating within expected parameters.

This is one of the main reasons to use cPanel. They take good care of the system and make changes during updates we require, whether we know we need to update to prevent a security issue, or not. cPanel has got us covered and is taking care of things automated giving us more time to sell hosting.

I for one have no urge to do all those different checks and updates manually on one server let alone 100's.

This thread has been shut down since I started to post this, but I'm pushing it out all the same.

Get together with Mario and keep asking the questions you want answered. Can or will they all be answered? I've got no clue. It's a tall order to ask about an update routine of software as complex as cpanel, I think.