xinetd starting a simple service - why doesn't it work?

[bahadir]

Hi,

I'm trying to run the simplest tftp daemon via xinetd and I couldn't get it to work so far. Could you please help.

here's my /etc/xinetd.d/tftp

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service tftp
{
    protocol    = udp
    socket_type = dgram
    wait        = yes
    user        = nobody
    group       = nobody
    server      = /usr/sbin/in.tftpd
    server_args = /tftpboot
    log_type        = SYSLOG authpriv info
    log_on_success  = HOST PID USERID
    log_on_failure  = HOST
    disable     = no
}

and here's my /etc/xinetd.conf

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defaults
{
	only_from       = localhost
	instances       = 60
	log_type        = SYSLOG authpriv info
#    log_type        = FILE /var/log/servicelog
    log_on_success  = HOST PID
	log_on_failure  = HOST
	cps             = 25 30
}

includedir /etc/xinetd.d

Here's /var/log/daemon.log when I start xinetd:

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May 11 15:36:16 gentoo xinetd[7578]: Reading included configuration file: /etc/xinetd.d/chargen-tcp [file=/etc/xinetd.conf] [line=18]
May 11 15:36:16 gentoo xinetd[7578]: Reading included configuration file: /etc/xinetd.d/chargen-udp [file=/etc/xinetd.d/chargen-udp] [line=13]
May 11 15:36:16 gentoo xinetd[7578]: Reading included configuration file: /etc/xinetd.d/cups-lpd [file=/etc/xinetd.d/cups-lpd] [line=14]
May 11 15:36:16 gentoo xinetd[7578]: Reading included configuration file: /etc/xinetd.d/cvspserver [file=/etc/xinetd.d/cvspserver] [line=13]
May 11 15:36:16 gentoo xinetd[7578]: Reading included configuration file: /etc/xinetd.d/daytime-tcp [file=/etc/xinetd.d/daytime-tcp] [line=14]
May 11 15:36:16 gentoo xinetd[7578]: Reading included configuration file: /etc/xinetd.d/daytime-udp [file=/etc/xinetd.d/daytime-udp] [line=13]
May 11 15:36:16 gentoo xinetd[7578]: Reading included configuration file: /etc/xinetd.d/echo-tcp [file=/etc/xinetd.d/echo-tcp] [line=14]
May 11 15:36:16 gentoo xinetd[7578]: Reading included configuration file: /etc/xinetd.d/echo-udp [file=/etc/xinetd.d/echo-udp] [line=13]
May 11 15:36:16 gentoo xinetd[7578]: Reading included configuration file: /etc/xinetd.d/swat [file=/etc/xinetd.d/swat] [line=14]
May 11 15:36:16 gentoo xinetd[7578]: Reading included configuration file: /etc/xinetd.d/tftp [file=/etc/xinetd.d/tftp] [line=17]
May 11 15:36:16 gentoo xinetd[7578]: Reading included configuration file: /etc/xinetd.d/time-tcp [file=/etc/xinetd.d/time-tcp] [line=14]
May 11 15:36:16 gentoo xinetd[7578]: Reading included configuration file: /etc/xinetd.d/time-udp [file=/etc/xinetd.d/time-udp] [line=13]
May 11 15:36:16 gentoo xinetd[7578]: removing chargen
May 11 15:36:16 gentoo xinetd[7578]: removing chargen
May 11 15:36:16 gentoo xinetd[7578]: removing printer
May 11 15:36:16 gentoo xinetd[7578]: removing cvspserver
May 11 15:36:16 gentoo xinetd[7578]: removing daytime
May 11 15:36:16 gentoo xinetd[7578]: removing daytime
May 11 15:36:16 gentoo xinetd[7578]: removing echo
May 11 15:36:16 gentoo xinetd[7578]: removing echo
May 11 15:36:16 gentoo xinetd[7578]: removing swat
May 11 15:36:16 gentoo xinetd[7578]: removing time
May 11 15:36:16 gentoo xinetd[7578]: removing time
May 11 15:36:16 gentoo xinetd[7578]: xinetd Version 2.3.13 started with libwrap loadavg options compiled in.
May 11 15:36:16 gentoo xinetd[7578]: Started working: 1 available service

I use netkit-tftp. xinetd starts ok. but when I do

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% ps aux 

tftp daemon doesn't show up (i.e. no name like tftp). Is each daemon started as connections are made? Don't they start as xinetd starts? What is the best way to get evidence that a daemon has started? I tried to use these log_on_success and log_on_failure in tftp configuration to see if they made any difference in terms of tftp-specific output in the logfile above. But nothing shows up for tftp. All I can see is this logfile, I tried using server_args=-d for debug/verbose output but it didn't work (it counts as a parse error in config file). How do I get verbose messages?

I also tried the commented out:

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#    log_type        = FILE /var/log/servicelog 

option in xinetd.conf, in that case only a /var/log/servicelog is created but when you cat it there's nothing in it.

I'm really out of ideas. Hope you can help.

Thanks,
Bahadir

[MrPyro]

xinetd doesn't start a service until it recieves a connection on the port that service is supposed to run on. So you won't see an ftp service running unless you actually have an ftp client attached at the time.

From the log you've posted, I'd say that the ftp service was detected correctly by xinetd: I can see it closing down every service except the ftp one, then saying that it has one service running.

Have you tried telneting to the FTP port and seeing what error message you get?

[bahadir]

OK. I got it working. I want to let people know, just in case anyone wants to use a simple tftp and doesn't want to go through the hassle I had. Use tftp-hpa. Very easy to use.

All I did was:

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% emerge tftp-hpa
% mkdir /tftpboot
% cp linux-image /tftpboot
% chown -R nobody:nobody /tftpboot
% /sbin/in.tftp -l -p /tftpboot

Thats it. Also to test it, as simple as the previous

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% tftp
% connect hostname
% get /tftpboot/linux-image

I think this is really how things should be.

[adaptr]

No, it's not.
You're starting an xinetd service as a standalone, which is overkill for a service that gets called once every blue moon.
Also, you have never shown that xinetd doesn't work - although I can virtually guarantee you that it wouldn't have, because you have:

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only_from       = localhost 

set as the default in xinetd.conf.
Meaning it won't respond to network calls.

Read the xinetd(.conf) manpages to figure out what to do next time.

[kashani]

No, it's not.
You're starting an xinetd service as a standalone, which is overkill for a service that gets called once every blue moon.

Running a 39k standalone binary, atftp in my case, instead of a 143k super daemon makes perfect sense to me. I never got xinetd to work properly with tftp so I ended installing atftp and running it standalone when I needed it.

kashani

[adaptr]

Sure - that's absolutely true if it's the only service you run through xinetd.