Do you use cron?

[Lovechild]

I change my vote to yes.

I have cron jobs to update my hosts files, run prelink and other such nice things - cron is your friend.

[Stolz]

sys-apps/vixie-cron here.

I love it

[ba747heavy]

I use vixie-cron mostly to run my dailystrip comic grab at 6 am, so when I wake up I hit my nice pretty icon and I get to read my funnies. I love automation. I REALLY like automation when my windows addict mom says "can you make my windows do that? I want comics too". I just smile

Also, prelink, sync time, sync portage, empty trash, etc etc.

[electrofreak]

vixie-cron

It's very flexible.

[Sardien]

i'm a cron newbie trying out vixie-cron

[darkfolk]

Everything I run basically runs overnight, using vixie-cron.

*:30: Mail is checked. # I haven't got a suitable mail client yet, but this is my plan anyway.
*:* 7th of * month: Clear Trash Can. # going to make a script to do this
1:00AM: If computer is still running, run emerge -f world.
4:00AM: Prelink binaries.
5:00AM: updatedb

[tv]

Code: Select all

create ~ # crontab -l
### create:/etc/crontab
#
#     minute (0-59)
#    / hour (0-23)
#   / / day (1-31)
#  / / / month (1-12)
# / / / / weekday (0-6,0=sun)
#/ / / / / command

# sync clock
5 12 * * *      nice rdate -s ntp{0,3}.fau.de           &>~/.log/cron.rdate

# sync portage update esearch db and fetch sources while lunch
12 12 * * *     nice esync && nice emerge -fuD world    &>~/.log/cron.portage

# update manpages/slocate database
0 4 * * *       nice makewhatis && nice updatedb        &>~/.log/cron.databases

Code: Select all

tv@create ~ $ crontab -l
### create:~tv/.crontab

# fetch tv listings every monday morning
0 2 * * 1       tv_grab_de_tvtoday|tv_sort      >~/.tvtime/listings.xml

# fetchmail all 10 minutes
*/10 * * * *    fetchmail -am /usr/bin/procmail &>~/.log/fetchmail

# update orca states every hour
5 * * * *     /usr/local/bin/orca -o /home/http/orca/procallator.cfg  &>~/.log/orca

# update etc html files every hour
0 * * * *       ~/lib/indirect/cron.etc2html    &>~/.log/etc2html

# vim: ft=crontab

dcron here

[dontremember]

vixie-cron - mostly for a script that runs regularly (once-daily) to sync portage, then download the sources for any updates. That runs about mid-evening, then I take the laptop to work and have a bunch of other machines sync to it. There's two othe machines at home that sync to that laptop as well, just after the sync, making about 10 that get a sync feed off that one mid-evening sync.

[titan100]

vixie-cron, use it mainly to run an php script that checks sick teachers at my school and sends an sms with their names to me and some of my buddies

[reiman]

I use cron to update my system.. nothing fancy

[Vaporz]

is there a easier way i can backup all my ~ files, under a certain size? i've got games there too, 12GB, so i can't really tar the whole thing

Code: Select all

# /etc/crontab
#
# $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo-x86/sys-apps/fcron/files/crontab,v 1.7 2004/07/18 04:34:03 dragonheart Exp $

# fcron || dcron:
# This is NOT the system crontab! fcron and dcron do not support a system crontab.
# to get /etc/cron.{hourly|daily|weekly|montly} working with fcron or dcron do
# crontab /etc/crontab
# as root.
# NOTE: This will REPLACE root's current crontab!!
# 20 Apr 2002; Thilo Bangert <bangert@gentoo.org>

# check scripts in cron.hourly, cron.daily, cron.weekly and cron.monthly

0  *  * * *      rm -f /var/spool/cron/lastrun/cron.hourly
1  3  * * *      rm -f /var/spool/cron/lastrun/cron.daily
15 4  * * 6      rm -f /var/spool/cron/lastrun/cron.weekly
30 5  1 * *      rm -f /var/spool/cron/lastrun/cron.monthly
*/10  *  * * *      /usr/bin/test -x /usr/sbin/run-crons && /usr/sbin/run-crons

# update
0 */12 * * * chkrootkit -q
0 2 * * * nice makewhatis
15 2 * * * nice updatedb
30 2 * * * slocate -u
0 3 * * * emerge sync
30 4 * * * update		# alias for emerge world --newuse -uD

# cleanup
25 3 * * * ccache -C
30 3 * * * rm -R /var/tmp

# backup /etc, /var, /boot, /root, and configs in /home/gagt
* 4 * * * tar czf /shared/backups/important/etc /etc && tar czf /shared/backups/important/var /var && tar czf /shared/backups/important/boot /boot && tar czf /shared/backups/important/root /root && cp /home/gagt/.xinitrc /shared/backups/important/ && cp /home/gagt/.bashrc /shared/backups/important/ && cp /home/gagt/.bash_history /shared/backups/important/ && cp -R /home/gagt/.icewm /shared/backups/important/

[Ateo]

This is what fcron does for my servers

Code: Select all

10 * * * *      rm -f /var/spool/cron/lastrun/cron.hourly
10 3 * * *      rm -f /var/spool/cron/lastrun/cron.daily
40 3 * * 6      rm -f /var/spool/cron/lastrun/cron.weekly
10 4 1 * *      rm -f /var/spool/cron/lastrun/cron.monthly
*/15 * * * *    test -x /usr/sbin/run-crons && /usr/sbin/run-crons

5 3 * * 0       /root/utilities/cleanDist -d
5 3 * * *       /root/utilities/emergeSync
5 5 * * 6       /root/utilities/sysGetup
5 5 * * 1,3,5   /root/utilities/userGetup

Code: Select all

# ls -l /etc/cron.*
cron.daily:
total 8
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root root 588 Feb 11 16:54 chkrootkit
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root root 221 Feb 11 16:54 logrotate

cron.hourly:
total 0

cron.monthly:
total 0

cron.weekly:
total 8
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root root 394 Feb 11 16:55 cleanSpam
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root root 499 Feb 12 16:02 dbupdate

[dob]

fcron

Code: Select all

44 6 * * mon-fri  beep -f 2000 -r 3

It can be used as an alarm clock that doesn't wake you up on saturday mornings

[totencham]

I am a desktop user and I don't use any cron stuff - I don't even have any idea what for? For me it's just another memory-wasting daemon.

[zieloo]

You're damned right - whatever you're called:P. But note 'cron-stuff' may be extremaly usefull under certain circumstances.

[trbecker]

I use dcron:

AT Home:
weekdays
12:00 - emerge --sync
12:30 - emerge -uDpv world
13:00 - makewahtis and updatedb
14:00 - chrootkit
*/30 minutes - check email

weekends
*/30 - check mail
3:00 - emerge --sync

AT work:

Code: Select all

0       0       *       *       *       ntpdate l000
5       0       *       *       *       nice -n -19 emerge-webrsync > /dev/null 2>&1
20      0       *       *       *       nice -n -19 emerge -upv world > ~/docs/last_updates 2>&1
#22     0       *       *       *       nice -n -19 emerge -u world > /dev/null 2>&1
#0      3       *       *       *       nice -n -19 /usr/bin/run_queued_emerges

0       4       *       *       *       /usr/sbin/tmpwatch 72 /tmp
0       4       *       *       *       /usr/sbin/tmpwatch 72 /var/tmp

0       4       *       *       *       mv ~/docs/chkrootkit ~/docs/chkrootkit.last
15      4       *       *       *       /usr/sbin/chkrootkit > ~/docs/chkrootkit
30      4       *       *       *       /usr/bin/diff ~/docs/chkrootkit.last ~/docs/chkrootkit > ~/docs/chkrootkit.diff.${DATE}
0       5       *       *       *       rm ~/docs/chkrootkit.last

0       3       *       *       *       nice -n -19 updatedb > /dev/null 2>&1

[Omega21]

I know vixie cron is started at boot, but I dont know how to configure it...

[dylix]

dcron ownz j00

[Suicidal]

Hells Yeah, vixie-cron here as well.

Logwatch
mrtg << best to add all crons to one script or you end up with alot of parallel mrtg processes if you have alot of devices like I do ~150
One special one that stops snort parses my snort logs and rm's the alert file then moves the web output to /snort/snort$(date +%Y%m%d) and restarts snort
Portage sync on my rsync server
nessus scans
update-nessus-plugins
backup web dirs and rsync them to another server

cron is your friend.

[edudlive]

I use vixie-cron, all I have it do is 'emerge sync' at 4am.

I should probably add rm -rf /usr/portage/distfiles/* to it too

[ZmiyGorinich]

Only vixie-cron

[Fizzer]

vixie-cron...

Don't ask why or how, it was in the handbook..

Yes I am one of those that voted

What is cron?

BUT I am not Alone

[RBH]

Once a day for:

* updatedb
* mysql backup
* emerge --sync

Once a week for:
* ntp syncing

Vixie-cron, purely because that's what the guide suggested when I first installed Gentoo, and I haven't ever needed to change it.

[Sourcecode]

I´m using Vixie Cron

These are my Cronjobs :

Code: Select all

#########Lets Create the Master Console and backup the last Masterconsole for 1 day#########

59 23 * * * mv /var/log/masterconsole /var/log/masterconsole.old
0 0 * * * touch /var/log/masterconsole

#########misc#########

0 12 * * * /usr/sbin/logrotate /etc/logrotate.conf
0 12 * * * /usr/bin/webalizer

#########Lets update the system and some programs#########
20 * * * * nice -n 19 /bin/yasuc
0 8 * * * /usr/sbin/makewhatis -u -v
30 8 * * * nice -n -5 /usr/sbin/fixpackages
0 9 * * * nice -n -5 /usr/bin/fc-cache -fv
0 10 * * * nice -n -5 /usr/sbin/prelink -afmR
0 11 * * *  /usr/bin/slocate -u
15 11 * * * nice -n -5 /usr/sbin/eix-sync
1 12 * * * /usr/local/sbin/nessus-update-plugins
10 12 * * * /usr/bin/bdc --update
11 12 * * * /usr/bin/rkhunter --update

#########Lets Check for Viruses and Rootkits#########
15 12 * * * /usr/bin/bdc --all / >> /var/log/masterconsole
0 13 * * * /usr/bin/rkhunter -c --cronjob --dislpay-logfile >> /var/log/masterconsole

#########Now iam back from Work, gimme some Infos #########
15 * * * * nice -n 19 netstat -a >> /var/log/masterconsole
2 * * * * nice -n 19 w >> /var/log/masterconsole
0 18 * * * /usr/sbin/logwatch.pl
30 18 * * * nice -n 10 /usr/bin/emerge -unDpv world >> /var/log/masterconsole
0 19 * * * nice -n 19 /usr/bin/ccache -s >> /var/log/masterconsole
5 19 * * * nice -n 10/usr/bin/glsa-check -l | grep '\[N\]' >> /var/log/masterconsole

[Goalie_Ca]

vixie-cron here.
Mostly to do things like clear, sync, and remind me of things.