Re: windows update cache

2007-09-28 Thread Seth Mattinen


Adrian Chadd wrote:

On Fri, Sep 28, 2007, Seth Mattinen wrote:


Great if you're running a windows IT type LAN; crap if you're running an
ISP!

Why? It talks TCP/IP.


How's it find the WSUS server again?



Key Name: 
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate


Value 0
  Name:WUServer
  Type:REG_SZ
  Data:http://secret.server:8530

Value 1
  Name:WUStatusServer
  Type:REG_SZ
  Data:http://secret.server:8530


Works for me at $dayjob without AD and I don't need to play with weird 
solutions. (Disclaimer: I am not a windows expert, it's my weak point 
actually, so I have no idea if this is portable, I'm just saying it uses 
standard TCP/IP to talk to WSUS.)


~Seth


Re: windows update cache

2007-09-28 Thread Seth Mattinen


Steve Gibbard wrote:

On Fri, 28 Sep 2007, Seth Mattinen wrote:



Adrian Chadd wrote:

On Fri, Sep 28, 2007, Joe Johnson wrote:
Windows Software Update Services doesn't require the end-user to be 
part

of a domain to get updates. You just need to define the WSUS server as
the source for updates by changing a few registry entries and make sure
the server is available via HTTP or HTTPS to your customers. You can
read more at Microsoft's site.

Also, WSUS is free to run on any Windows server.


Great if you're running a windows IT type LAN; crap if you're running an
ISP!


Why? It talks TCP/IP.


This seems like a question of how much control ISPs have over customers' 
PCs at this point.  In my day (when we had to push packets up hill 
through 28.8 kbps modems, both ways...), we used to send out CDs to all 
our customers that would install web browsers and mail clients, and 
change the computers' dial-up networking settings to match our network.  
Changing some registry strings for Windows Update would have been trivial.


The ISPs I've dealt with recently as an end user tend to just send out a 
cable or DSL to ethernet bridge and let DHCP do the rest.  This is 
progress, as it means devices can move from place to place and just 
work, but I don't think it provides a way to change registry settings.




One could try to transparently proxy requests to windows update over to 
the WSUS server. No idea if that'll work though. I'm no windows expert, 
nor was I trying to provide some total solution, I was just trying to 
point out it uses TCP on port 8530 and one could try to use that to 
their advantage.


~Seth


Re: windows update cache

2007-09-28 Thread Seth Mattinen


Adrian Chadd wrote:

On Fri, Sep 28, 2007, Joe Johnson wrote:

Windows Software Update Services doesn't require the end-user to be part
of a domain to get updates. You just need to define the WSUS server as
the source for updates by changing a few registry entries and make sure
the server is available via HTTP or HTTPS to your customers. You can
read more at Microsoft's site.

Also, WSUS is free to run on any Windows server.


Great if you're running a windows IT type LAN; crap if you're running an
ISP!



Why? It talks TCP/IP.

~Seth


Re: windows update cache

2007-09-28 Thread Robert Bonomi

> From [EMAIL PROTECTED]  Fri Sep 28 13:05:54 2007
> Cc: Seth Mattinen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, nanog@nanog.org
> From: Warren Kumari <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: Re: windows update cache
> Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007 13:32:36 -0400
> To: Steve Gibbard <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
>
>
> On Sep 28, 2007, at 1:05 PM, Steve Gibbard wrote:
>
> >
> > On Fri, 28 Sep 2007, Seth Mattinen wrote:
> >
> >>
> >> Adrian Chadd wrote:
> >>> On Fri, Sep 28, 2007, Joe Johnson wrote:
>  Windows Software Update Services doesn't require the end-user to  
>  be part
>  of a domain to get updates. You just need to define the WSUS  
>  server as
>  the source for updates by changing a few registry entries and  
>  make sure
>  the server is available via HTTP or HTTPS to your customers. You  
>  can
>  read more at Microsoft's site.
>  Also, WSUS is free to run on any Windows server.
> >>> Great if you're running a windows IT type LAN; crap if you're  
> >>> running an
> >>> ISP!
> >>
> >> Why? It talks TCP/IP.
> >
> > This seems like a question of how much control ISPs have over  
> > customers' PCs at this point.  In my day (when we had to push  
> > packets up hill through 28.8 kbps modems, both ways...), we used to  
> > send out CDs to all our customers that would install web browsers  
> > and mail clients, and change the computers' dial-up networking  
> > settings to match our network.  Changing some registry strings for  
> > Windows Update would have been trivial.
> >
> > The ISPs I've dealt with recently as an end user tend to just send  
> > out a cable or DSL to ethernet bridge and let DHCP do the rest.   
> > This is progress, as it means devices can move from place to place  
> > and just work, but I don't think it provides a way to change  
> > registry settings.
>
> And, even if it did, once the customer leaves and goes to another ISP  
> they would likely still be pointing at your server -- this means that:
> a: their windows updates would break or
> b: you would carry on servicing them and paying for BW, etc

Silly idea: can one plug in _two_ servers in the registry item for WSUS
and will windows update try the second one ifit can't contact the first one?

If so, set up  local server in RFC 1918 space, make it the preferred one, with
MS's"real" server as the alernate.

If _not_, one could play the same game through DNS -- with a 'wsus.{isp}.com'
that resolves differently for queries from inside your address-space than it
does for queries from outside your space.  for an 'inside' query, it returns 
an A for the local server, for an 'exteral'query, it returns a CNAME pointing 
to MS's real server.

In both scenarios, the customer system keeps working without requiring any
further changes when the customer is 'no longer a customer'.  In the first
there is a query delay, while it fails over to te 2nd adress -- as upate
tends torun in background "no huhu" applies.  In the 2nd case, you take an
"occasional" hit from a former  customer doing a DNS query.  With a _large_
TTL on the CNAME record, this should be 'way down in the noise'

Has the potential to get a bunch of traffic off upstream links. 






Re: i think the cogent depeering thing is a myth of some kind

2007-09-28 Thread tariq biziou
> since i appear to be reaching the aforementioned web server by a path that
> includes cogent-to-nlayer, i think this part of the plain text is
inaccurate.
route-views has no paths showing cogent/limelight and cogent/nlayer.

> 7  p6-0.core01.sjc04.atlas.cogentco.com (66.28.4.234)  4.183 ms
> 8  g3-3.ar1.pao1.us.nlayer.net (69.22.153.21)  2.637 ms
is someone in paix-pa(?) helping nlayer out?

-- 
--tariq