Ste Packaging

After my post yesterday, I had several people ask me how much bandwidth and so on that the site uses. Here’s a run-down on the site:

The repository is made up of 4 servers.

1. Server: thetis.dreamhost.com
• Site: http://psmxy.org/iphone-apps/
• Function: Serves the repository’s XML file (approximately 456K and gradually growing) to Installer.app
• Bandwidth: Approximately 165GB per day (average) and gradually growing
• Hits: Approximately 478K per day and gradually growing
• Connections: Approximately 6 per second and gradually growing
• Other: Also home to this blog you are reading (http://blog.psmxy.org)
2. Server: calypso.dreamhost.com
• Site: http://ste-pkg.org/iphone-apps/zips/
• Function: Serves approximately 3/4 of the repository’s package zip files to Installer.app
• Bandwidth: Approximately 189GB per day (average) and gradually growing
• Hits: Approximately 390K per day and gradually growing
• Connections: Approximately 5 per second and gradually growing
3. Server: hestia.dreamhost.com
• Site: http://smxy.exploit.org/iphone-apps/zips/
• Function: Serves approximately 1/8 of the repository’s package zip files to Installer.app
• Bandwidth: Approximately 31GB per day (average) and gradually growing
• Hits: Approximately 73K per day and gradually growing
• Connections: Less than 1 per second and gradually growing
4. Server: s.natetrue.com
• Site: http://ste-repo.natetrue.com/iphone-apps/zips/
• Function: Serves approximately 1/8 of the repository’s package zip files to Installer.app
• Bandwidth: Approximately 28GB per day (average) and gradually growing
• Hits: Approximately 69K per day and gradually growing
• Connections: Less than 1 per second and gradually growing

While it’s thetis that DreamHost is currently complaining about, I’m sure they’ll be complaining about calypso soon. Thetis and calypso are accounts I have with DreamHost. The other two are under the accounts of two other folks, who have graciously allowed me to leech bandwidth from them, which is why I have them handle only a small amount of the traffic, as I don’t wish to abuse my welcome there. All four are accounts that I can ssh to, so that I can push packages to them via scp and pull the logfiles with rsync. The logs for each are important so that I can generate the daily site and download statistics.

-ste

My hosting provider, DreamHost, has just officially informed me that my repository is preventing other customers, on the shared server I am on, from using their sites. This because my site is using every available connection to the server, leaving nothing for visitors to the sites of their other customers.

They have told me that I must reduce the number of connections to my site or move to their Private Server plan.

I can’t reduce the number of connections. The only facility I have to do this, is by blocking entire IP address ranges of countries in a .htaccess file. However, by the time the .htaccess file is invoked, the connection to my server has already been made and all I would do is prevent the connecting IP address from downloading anything - this does not reduce the connections though, which is the problem.

I cannot afford to move to their Private Server plan. I am unemployed and have been since April 12, 2007. I received my last unemployment check just over two weeks ago and in about two months I will be in grave danger of defaulting on my mortgages, credit cards and all my other bills, which will lead to my credit being ruined and I (and my beloved 3 cats) without a home. I absolutely cannot spend any more money on the repository at this time (I’ve already spent just shy of $600, getting it set up with DreamHost).

The repository is, essentially, falling victim to its own success.
So, either I can shut down the repository, or DreamHost will. The only other option is that someone steps up to pay for the  Private Server option, or that someone provides me with free adequate hosting elsewhere. I’m not even certain that the Private Server option is a viable one, even if a way to pay for it was found. The number of connections to my site would either overwhelm the host server that my virtual server ran on, or DreamHost would limit the number of connections allowed to my virtual server, which would be detrimental to the repository. A dedicated server or two may be the only option. It may also be necessary to have a provider place a firewall in front of the server, to reject connections from much of the world - and let them find their own “Ste”. I just don’t see how one server can be expected to handle the entire world downloading from it at virtually the same time.

I am open to ideas - let’s brainstorm - as to how I can keep this going. But if something doesn’t happen very quickly, DreamHost will simply turn my site off.

-ste

The repository “Silver Repo”, with a maintainer of “Mikey”, a category of “Cool” and a URL of “http://www.jmwiki.com/repo” is malicious. Remove this Source from Installer as fast as you can.

Note: the problem app was originally found by an IRC user named “DeathHobbit”. Another IRC user, named “Francis”, figured out what Source that app came from and the original warning to the public was posted on the “ModMyiFone” forums, here. My thanks to all involved!

He has several malicious apps:

One is called “Important UPDATE”, with a description of “An important system update.”. It’s not clear, from looking at the plist file, if it will show up in the “System” category or the “UPDATES” category.

Another is called “iPhone firmware 1.1.3 prep”, with a description of “An important system update. Install this before updating to the new 1.1.3 firmware.” As with the other, it’s not clear, from looking at the plist file, if it will show up in the “System” category or the “UPDATES” category.

Both of these packages are BOGUS. What they do is download the zip file of Erica’s Utilities, version 0.53, from one of *my* mirrors. It then installs it. If you uninstall his package, it will uninstall the files it installed. What this means is that if you had Erica’s Utilities installed already, it will overwrite them, during installation and uninstall them during uninstallation, but Installer will think the Erica’s Utilites are still installed - but it’s files will have been ripped out from under it. Any other app that uses any of the files in her package will break too. If you didn’t have Erica’s Utilites installed, then installing and removing either of these packages will do no harm.

He has a third package called “Jo Mama”, with a description of “Potatoes are burning to the ground”, in the “JMCO Apps” category, that installs/uninstalls an old version of my OpenSSH app. This will conflict with any other ssh app you have installed. The zip file, in this case, comes from Nullriver’s site, where they once briefly hosted it for me.

The plist files for all three of these apps are lifted directly from me, with the name, description and category changed.

I’ve looked up the owner of the domain and called and left a message for him.

More, as I get it.

UPDATE: New information suggests this might be the prank of an 11 year old boy, heh.

UPDATE: Yes, it was a kid, I’ve spoken to his dad and the site will be coming down. End of story.

-ste

DreamHost is having an issue with the fileserver that serves the cluster that three of my four repository servers live on. Consequently, the repository has been down for almost two hours now. They are working on it, but I don’t know when it will be back up.

I’m about to go to the dentist and will check on this when I return.

UPDATE: 2:22 PM - All seems well now.

-ste

One of my mirror servers was experiencing DNS issues yesterday, as its IP address changed. While the new address propagated around the world, some of you could get to it and some of you couldn’t.  It all looks fine now, from where I sit. Sorry for the headaches.

-ste