Re: flexfax: patch for hfaxd reverse DNS problem together with WHFC client.

[Ron Arts <raarts@netland.nl>]

darren@hylafax.org wrote:
> 
> In message <369CADFF.7B15C4C5@netland.nl>, Ron Arts writes:
> >This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
> >--------------72AC40C550FB5090CFB5E87B
> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
> >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
> >
> >Hello,
> >
> >Attached you'll find a patch for hfaxd. It solves the following problem:
> >
> > When a client connects to hfaxd, but it's IP address does not resolve
> > properly both ways, the hfaxd issues the message:
> >
> > 130 Warning, no inverse address mapping for client host name blabla
> >
> > Just before saying:
> >
> > 220 bla.bla.nl server (HylaFAX (tm) Version 4.0pl2) ready.
> >
> > This confuses the WHFC client utterly.
> > I patched hylafax to log this error to syslogd instead of
> > to the client (why does he need to know anyway?)
> 
> UGH, I actually think the client SHOULD be informed that their reverse 
> DNS is broken. Perhaps the correct fix here is to document HylaFAX's 
> behavior on the much-needed client-server protocol technical 
> specification and ask WHFC to be more tolerant of such warnings?

Well, I forgot to mention that I *did* inform the maintainer of WHFC
of this deficiency. I advised him to correct this problem in his
code.

Probably best would be to make this 130 message an option,
because for many people DNS is a tough beast to configure,
and I for one wouldn't want end-users to be bothered with
cryptical messages like this. Mail the FaxManager, or root.
Or syslog-it like I did.

Ron Arts

> 
> Anyone want to volunteer to document the C/S protocol?
> 
> -Darren