NAME

bcnu - bcnu network client program

SYNOPSIS

DESCRIPTION

bcnu is a network client program which connects to a bcnu server on port 6666 by default. It can be used to send/receive information and to show the status of the remote server.

It can also be used to connect to any TCP service port to check the status of the service i.e. to check if it is still running.

It also allows files to be sent to and from the server.

OPTIONS

bcnu accepts the following command line options:

-s port

The -s option allows the bcnu client to connect to a port other than the default of 6666. a numeric port, a service from /etc/services or BCNUHOME/etc/services can be used.

-f filename

The -f option allows the bcnu client to specify a filename which will be sent to the remote bcnu server when using the -a send option or will be received from the remote server when using the -a send option.

-n filename

The -n option allows the bcnu client to specify a filename which will be used on the remote bcnu server when using the -a send option. The remote server will create a file with this name subordinate to the BCNUHOME directory.

-h hostname

The -h option allows the bcnu client to log the information for a host other than itself. The default is the hostname of the current host.

-t type

The -t option allows the bcnu client to specify the type of server it is logging data for. The current values are:

        UNIX       1  (Default)
        NETWARE    2
        NT         3
        95         4
        ROUTER     20
        PRINTER    30
  APPLIANCE  40

-m message

The -m option allows the bcnu client to send a message to the remote bcnu server. This message should be enclosed in quotes if it contains spaces.

-e severity

The -e option specifies the severity of the message which is being sent to the remote server. The current values are:

        0       ok
        5       warning
        6       alert (generate an alert but not an error)
        9       error

        1       blackout

-a command

The -a option allows the bcnu client to send a number of action commands The current values are:

        reload  reloads agents from BCNUHOME/etc/agents file
        send    send a file to the bcnu server
        show    show status of the agents
        get     get a file from the bcnu server
        net     check connectivity to any tcp port

-x

The -x option tells the bcnu client to send extended protocol messages. This is the default.

-p

The -p carries out a bcnu ping of the remote server. A short status message will be returned indicating that the server is alive.

-d

The -d option switches on some debugging (not up to much yet!)

-v

The -v option switches on slightly more verbose output (not up to much yet!)

RETURN VALUES

bcnu quits with an exit value of 1 if there is an error. The error string is printed to stderr via perror(3).

An exit value of 0 is returned on success.

SECURITY NOTES

bcnu tries to be safe when sending and getting files. It will check the filename which is specified using the -n option for names like :

        ../../../etc/shadow

These will be flagged up and the program aborted.

-a reload requests will only be processed from the host defined as the master.

FILES

 Many and varied

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

 BCNUHOME               Set to a the bcnu home directory
 BCNUAGENT              Set to the name of the running agent
 BCNUHOST               Set to the hostname of the master system

AUTHOR

John Phillips

Please send all bugs, comments, and changes to jap@users.sourceforge.net

DISCLAIMER

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the Artistic License for more details.

CAVEATS

Security is weak at the moment. bcnu is designed to be easy to use, it has not been tested for all vulnerabilities.