Periodic tasks

Review root access

  1. Read the root access policy

  2. Update the ssh.root lists in Pillar files and the ssh.admin list in the pillar/common.sls file

  3. Deploy the affected services

Clean root user directory

  1. Run:

    ./run.py '*' cmd.run 'ls'

  2. Leave any post.install.log files

  3. Delete any index.html* files

    • These are created when a developer runs wget commands to e.g. test proxy settings.

Check drive usage

If ncdu is installed, change to the root directory, and run the ncdu command.

To clear space:

apt-get clean

Note

A cron job prunes Docker daily.

Check mail

Find saved messages across servers:

./run.py '*' cmd.run 'find /root /home/* -maxdepth 0 -name mbox'

Find mailboxes with mail across servers:

./run.py '*' cmd.run 'find /var/mail -type f -not -size 0'

Connect to a server, and open a mailbox:

mail -f /var/mail/root

You might see a lot of repeat messages.

Here are common commands:

  • number: open that message

  • h: show a screen of messages

  • z: go to the next screen

  • d 5-10: delete the messages 5 through 10

  • d *: delete all messages

  • q: save changes and exit

  • x: exit without saving changes

In most cases, all messages can be ignored and deleted. Relevant messages might include:

Failed cron jobs

Try to correct the failure

Failed attempts to use sudo

If the attempt is not attributable to a team member, discuss security measures

Auto-remove packages

To show the packages that were automatically installed and are no longer required:

./run.py 'docs' pkg.autoremove list_only=True

It is generally safe to remove these. Run:

./run.py 'docs' pkg.autoremove purge=True

You can omit purge=True to make it easier to restore a package.

To show the packages that were removed but not purged, run:

./run.py '*' pkg.list_pkgs removed=True

Upgrade Ubuntu

To determine the current releases, run:

./run.py '*' cmd.run 'lsb_release -a'

To check the long term support of the releases, consult the Ubuntu documentation.