On Tuesday night at around 5.30 BST a folder (of type 'Plone Folder') vanished from within a plone instance on my zope server. None of the users with sufficient privilege to do this will own up... Nothing unusual so far, right? Looking through the access logs I can see successful requests for the folder and its contents up to a certain point, then a couple of minutes later we start serving errors instead. The aspect of this which is spooking me is that I can find no reference to any relevant folder deletion - or indeed any activity in that area of the site at all - in the undo information (btw - is there any way of searching undo records other than by hand through the tabs in the ZMI?) The folder seems to have simply vanished. I'd be very grateful for any suggestions about how such a thing might happen - or how I might discover more about the sequence of events. Thanks, Rupert PS: For your Information: We are running: Zope Version (Zope 2.6.1 (binary release, python 2.1, linux2-x86), python 2.1.3, linux2) Python Version 2.1.3 (#1, Sep 19 2002, 13:15:46) [GCC egcs-2.91.66 19990314/Linux (egcs-1.1.2 release)] CMF 1.3.1 Plone 1.0.3 And a host of products - details available if anyone thinks it might help. The zope server restarts cleanly without any unfamiliar errors :-) I have tried removing/regenerating the Data.fs.index I have tried packing the database (on a backup copy of the Data.fs) - (I read somewhere this might help with a POSkey error?) I am attempting to examine the Data.fs with fsrecover.py and fstest.py but they are new to me so I'm treading gently...
Rupert Redington wrote:
On Tuesday night at around 5.30 BST a folder (of type 'Plone Folder') vanished from within a plone instance on my zope server. None of the users with sufficient privilege to do this will own up... Nothing unusual so far, right?
Click the undo tab of the root of your Zope instance. Look for actions which may have deleted a folder...
Looking through the access logs I can see successful requests for the folder and its contents up to a certain point, then a couple of minutes later we start serving errors instead.
Was the ZODB packed around this time?
The aspect of this which is spooking me is that I can find no reference to any relevant folder deletion - or indeed any activity in that area of the site at all - in the undo information (btw - is there any way of searching undo records other than by hand through the tabs in the ZMI?)
Sadly not :-S
Zope Version (Zope 2.6.1 (binary release, python 2.1, linux2-x86),
That would suffer from pack bugs. It also has security vulnerabilities, you realyl should upgrade...
I have tried removing/regenerating the Data.fs.index I have tried packing the database (on a backup copy of the Data.fs) - (I read somewhere this might help with a POSkey error?)
Do you HAVE a POSKeyError? cheers, Chris -- Simplistix - Content Management, Zope & Python Consulting - http://www.simplistix.co.uk
Chris Withers wrote:
Was the ZODB packed around this time?
Nope, the database had not been packed for some time before this event, I can see edits going on in the missing folder up untill a few hours before its dissappearance.
Zope Version (Zope 2.6.1 (binary release, python 2.1, linux2-x86),
That would suffer from pack bugs. It also has security vulnerabilities, you realyl should upgrade...
I know - we're moving up and onto an new machine in the next few days - just my luck that this should happen beforehand... Would the vunerabilities enable this particular outcome (the deletion of a folder without storing undo information)?
I have tried removing/regenerating the Data.fs.index I have tried packing the database (on a backup copy of the Data.fs) - (I read somewhere this might help with a POSkey error?)
Do you HAVE a POSKeyError?
Not as far as I know - but I'm not clear as to how I would find out... I'm still wrestling to understand the ZODB diagnostic scripts... Thanks for your thoughts Rupert
On Thu, May 20, 2004 at 06:13:37PM +0100, Rupert Redington wrote:
Do you HAVE a POSKeyError?
Not as far as I know - but I'm not clear as to how I would find out... I'm still wrestling to understand the ZODB diagnostic scripts...
If you had one, you would probably see it in one or more of the following: - your zope logs - output of fsrefs.py - output of fsrecover.py -v Note that fsrecover.py was buggy in some early 2.6.x version(s), search the list archives and be sure you have a version of fsrecover.py that actually works. -- Paul Winkler http://www.slinkp.com
Rupert Redington wrote:
Nope, the database had not been packed for some time before this event, I can see edits going on in the missing folder up untill a few hours before its dissappearance.
Very odd. Like Dieter said, I'd go hunting for a non-local cause. Have a look at the entries just before you start getting errors for the object being missing. See if one of those entries could have deleted the object as a side effect...
Would the vunerabilities enable this particular outcome (the deletion of a folder without storing undo information)?
Nope, don't think so.
Not as far as I know - but I'm not clear as to how I would find out...
You'd know if you had one ;-) cheers, Chris -- Simplistix - Content Management, Zope & Python Consulting - http://www.simplistix.co.uk
Rupert Redington wrote at 2004-5-20 10:20 +0100:
On Tuesday night at around 5.30 BST a folder (of type 'Plone Folder') vanished from within a plone instance on my zope server. None of the users with sufficient privilege to do this will own up... Nothing unusual so far, right?
You use which Zope version? Zope 2.6's packing algorithm could loose data...
... - in the undo information (btw - is there any way of searching undo records other than by hand through the tabs in the ZMI?)
You can use "fsdump" and then use a text editor...
The folder seems to have simply vanished.
I'd be very grateful for any suggestions about how such a thing might happen - or how I might discover more about the sequence of events.
Provided, you have not yet packed your "Data.fs", the folder is still there (just not accessible from Zope) and the history information in "Data.fs" will reveal the events that led to its deletion. I once analysed a mysteriously disappeared folder. Turned out that a colleage had deleted a whole subtree (including this folder) and then imported a similar subtree again (but without the folder). Just to tell you, that a disappearing folder may have non-local causes... -- Dieter
participants (4)
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Chris Withers -
Dieter Maurer -
Paul Winkler -
Rupert Redington