Re: Need Help - My Mixminion server does not start anymore

[Runaway RemailerAdmin <runaway@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I am sorry, you are right is was a typo, I had mixed the upper/lower
case sequence. I checked again, the file is not empty, sorry for any
confusion.


Nevertheless, I tried it now again several times to start my mixminion
server but it does not work and produces the log with the error
messages. Since I have nothing changed on my system, neither the
mixminion set-up (mixminiond.conf), nor anything else, I do not have a
clue what the reason could be. I have meanwhile tested with both
versions (the standalone one and the one for users with Python23
installed. With both the server start procedure crashes with the same
error log. I am copying hereafter also my mixminiond.conf I hope
somebody can help.


Sincerely


Runaway Admin


Copy of my mixminiond.conf:

-----------------------------


# /etc/mixminiond.conf -- for use with mixminion 0.0.5
# C:\Python23\Lib\site-packages\mixminiond.conf
# $Id: mixminiond.conf,v 1.47 2004/03/23 00:06:12 nickm Exp $

#   This is a configuration file for the mixminion anonymous remailer.  Edit
#   this file, install it in /etc/ (or elsewhere, if you specify a
#   command-line argument for mixminion), and you're ready to go.
#
#   This file format will probably change between now and version 1.0. Watch
#   out.

[Host]

#   Uncomment this line to define a 'secure delete' command to overwrite
#   deleted files.  (This isn't as secure as you think: see the comment in
#   Common.py).
#
#   If you do not specify a value for this option, and we can't find
#   /usr/bin/shred, we fall back on an internal implementation.
#
#   This is the default command: we just zero out files and unlink them.
#   This choice protects against root (on a non-journaling filesystem), but
#   not against an attacker with deep hardware wizardry and resources.
#
#ShredCommand: /usr/bin/shred -uz -n0

#   Uncomment this line if your system uses a different entropy generator.
#   This file must be a character device that produces a truly random
#   bytestream.
#
#EntropySource: /dev/urandom

#   Ordinarily, Mixminion tries very hard to make sure all your file
#   permissions are reasonable.  Sometimes it is too paranoid for its
#   own good.  When this happens, you can either mark certain users
#   ('system', 'dev', and so on) as trusted, or disable file paranoia
entirely.
#
FileParanoia: yes
#TrustedUser: root

[Server]

#    Location of all mixminion keys and file queues.  You don't need to
#    create this directory; mixminion will do it for you.
#
#    Note that mixminion is fairly strict about its directory permissions:
#    its BaseDir below must be mode 700 and owned by whatever uid mixminion
#    runs as, and all directories above the BaseDir must be writeable by
#    nobody except mixminion and root.
#
#    Don't worry though: Mixminion should give you helpful error messages if
#    you get this wrong.
#
#    (This option used to be called 'Homedir'; either spelling will work.)
#
#BaseDir: /var/spool/mixminion
#BaseDir: /home/miniond/mixminion
BaseDir: C:\Python23\Lib\site-packages

#    By default, all mixminion-related files are stored in subdirectories
#    of 'BaseDir'.  You can override default placement with the options
below.
#    All relative paths are resolved with respect to 'BaseDir'.
#
#    Here are the defaults:
#
#KeyDir: ./keys
#WorkDir ./work
#QueueDir: ./work/queues
#PidFile: ./pid
#LogFile: ./log
#StatsFile: ./stats
#
#    Here is an alternative layout:
#
#BaseDir:   /var/lib/mixminion
#KeyDir:    /var/lib/mixminion/keys
#WorkDir:   /var/lib/mixminion/work
#QueueDir:  /var/spool/mixminion
#PidFile:   /var/run/mixminion/mixminion.pid
#LogFile:   /var/log/mixminion/log
#StatsFile: /var/log/mixminion/stats

#    Minimum severity of messages to include in log file.  Allowable values
#    are: 'NEVER', 'FATAL', 'ERROR', 'WARN', 'INFO', 'DEBUG', and 'TRACE'.
#    If you don't define this, it will default to 'WARN'.
#
#    Warning! If you use 'DEBUG' or 'TRACE', the log will contain messages
#    that could compromise anonymity.  Because mixminion is in alpha stage
#    right now, however, you may well want to log at one of these levels.
#
LogLevel: DEBUG

#   Change this to 'yes' to make the server echo log messages to stdout.
#
#EchoMessages: no

#   Do we keep track of numbers of packets received and so on?  This is
#   on by default.
#
LogStats: yes

#   Over how long a time period do we aggregate statistics?  Every time this
#   interval elapses, all current statistics are flushed to a file.
#
StatsInterval: 1 day

#   How many bits should the server use for its long-lived 'Identity' keys?
#   Must be between 2048 and 4096.
#
#IdentityKeyBits: 2048

#   How often should the server rotate its public keys?  If you rotate
often,
#   you need less storage space for message hash logs, and messages sent
#   using your old keys are less vulnerable to compromise... but if you
rotate
#   too often, your server may drop messages that use out-of-date keys.
#
#   You can't rotate keys more than once a day.
#
PublicKeyLifetime: 3 weeks

#   How long after a key rotation should the old key still work?
#
#   (This should be fairly long, since messages can be delayed in the
#   network when servers go down.  If it's *too* long, however, you
#   enable delaying attacks.)
#
PublicKeyOverlap: 48 hours

#   Use this option to define a 'nickname' for this server that users will
#   use as a 'friendlier' version of your identity key.
#
Nickname: runaway

#   Use this option to define an administrative contact for the remailer.
#
#   This email address should probably be handled by a _different_
#   computer from the Mixminion server, so that you can get email when
#   the server is down.
#
Contact-Email: runaway@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

#   Use this field for information that users of your remailer may want to
#   have.  Must be no longer than 1024 characters.
#
#   NOTE: Users will not necessarily see this field before they use your
#     remailer.
#
Comments: This server has been running Mixminion since version 0.0.7.
   Of course, since Mixminion is still in alpha (or since we haven't
   edited our configuration file since Mixminion came out of alpha), you
   shouldn't trust us with your anonymity yet.

############
#   Use ONE of these sets of options to configure the pooling algorithm.
#
#   For now, I recommend option one below, even though it's the least
secure.
#   It will help us test the system, and distinguish node failure from
#   low volume.  By version 1.0, we'll change the default.
#
#   (1. A Timed mix sends out all messages in the pool every interval.
#       RECOMMENDED FOR TESTING.)
#
MixAlgorithm: Timed
MixInterval: 30 minutes
#
#   (2. A DynamicPool mix always keeps at least 'MixPoolSize' messages
in the
#     pool, and never sends out more than 'MixPoolRate' of the messages.)
#
#MixAlgorithm: DynamicPool
#MixInterval: 30 minutes
#MixPoolRate: 50%
#MixPoolMinSize: 5
#
#   (3. A BinomialDynamicPool mix is a randomized version of DynamicPool.
#       When a DynamicPool mix would send P of N messages, a
#       BinomalDynamicPool mix sends each message with probability P/N.)
#
#MixAlgorithm: BinomialDynamicPool
#MixInterval: 30 minutes
#MixPoolRate: 50%
#MixPoolMinSize: 5
############

#   Longest period of inactivity to wait before shutting down a connection.
#
#Timeout: 5 minutes

#   Should we start the server in the background?  (Not supported on Win32.)
#
Daemon: no

#   How much data are we willing to upload or download in a single second?
#   (If you don't set this, the bandwidth is limited only by your network
#   connection.)
#
#MaxBandwidth: 32K

#   OTHER VALUES FOR THESE OPTIONS ARE NOT YET SUPPORTED; don't edit this
#   line.
Mode: relay

[DirectoryServers]

#    When you are ready for other people to start using your server,
#    uncomment this line to publish your keys to the world.
#
#    After you uncomment this line, __do not__ delete your server's
#    keys, or else your new keys will not be recognized by the directory!
#
Publish: yes


[Incoming/MMTP]

#   Use this option to set your IP address.  We'll try to guess, but we
might
#   guess wrong, especially if you have multiple network interfaces.
#
#   NOTE: Older (pre-0.0.6) clients will use this value instead of the
#   hostname below, so please be sure it is correct. It will go away in
#   0.0.8.
#
IP: 213.146.112.207

#   Use this option to set the DNS name that clients will use to look up
your
#   IP address.  We'll try to guess, but we might guess wrong.  Newer
clients
#   and servers will send you messages based on your hostname, but older
ones
#   will still use your IP, so make sure that both fields are correct.
#
#   You can use an IP address here instead, if you are _completely certain_
#   that your server's IP address will never change.
#
#   NOTE: If you can, you should probably make this name point to a separate
#   DNS entry for your mixminion service.  That way, you can move your
#   remailer to a different server in the future without changing this entry
#   and disrupting traffic.
#
Hostname: erhard-wittig.de

#########################
######## NOTE: If you're running a middleman server, and you don't have an
########       unusual configuration, you probably don't need to edit
anything
########       below this line.
#########################

#   Port that clients should connect to.
#
Port: 48099

#   Use these options if the address above that you tell clients about
is not
#   actually the address you want to listen on.  You only want to do this if
#   you're using some kind of port forwarding scheme.  Otherwise, ignore
#   these options.
#
ListenIP: 192.168.0.9
ListenPort: 48099

# OTHER VALUES FOR THESE OPTIONS ARE NOT YET SUPPORTED
Enabled: yes
#Allow: *

[Outgoing/MMTP]
#   How often should we try to deliver packets if the recipient can't be
found
#   or delivery fails for some other transient reason?
#
#   Note: No matter how frequent a retry interval you specify, we only retry
#   messages every time a MixInterval has elapsed.  Thus, if you say
"every 5
#   minutes for 1 day", but MixInterval is 30 minutes, we only retry every
#   half hour.
#
#   By default, we retry every 60 minutes the first day, and every 7 hours
#   for the next 5 days thereafter.
#Retry: every 1 hour for 1 day, every 7 hours for 5 days
#
#   You can specify more complex retry intervals.  Uncomment this line to
#   retry after 1 hour, then after 2 hours, then every 4 hours for a
#   week, then every day for half a month.
#Retry: 1 hour, 2 hours, every 4 hours for 1 week, every 1 day for .5 months

#   How many outgoing connections will we open at a time?  If no value is
#   given, we might potentially have an open connection to every other
#   Mixminion server.
#
#MaxConnections: 16

# OTHER VALUES FOR THESE OPTIONS ARE NOT YET SUPPORTED
Enabled: yes
#Allow: *

###############
#   Uncomment this section to enable 'MBOX' delivery, using a local SMTP
#   server to deliver messages to a set of preconfigured addresses.  Put
#   the addresses in some address file, in the format:
#          mysteryfred: fred@xxxxxxxx
#   Then, users can send messages to these users as
#          "mbox:mysteryfred@yourserver's-nickname".
#
#[Delivery/MBOX]
#Enabled: yes
#AddressFile: <path to address file>
#ReturnAddress: <"From:" address to use>
#RemoveContact: <Address to use as a contact>
#SMTPServer: localhost
#Retry: every 7 hours for 6 days
#  Note that 'MaximumSize' is calculated for uncompressed messages, before
#  base-64 encoding.
#MaximumSize: 100K
#  Should we allow clients to set the username portion of the 'From' address
#  at all?  (Note that this only allows them to set the 'USER' part of the
#  address "[Anon] USER" <ReturnAddress>.)
#AllowFromAddress: yes

###############
#   Uncomment this section to enable delivery of SMTP messages via a local
#   SMTP server.  Watch out!  This may violate your ISP's terms of service.
#
#   If you want to block outgoing mail to certain addresses, you will need
#   to install a blacklist file.  There's a template in etc/blacklist.conf
#   to get you started.
#
[Delivery/SMTP]
Enabled: yes
SMTPServer: 192.168.0.9
#
#   Default subject line to use when the user doesn't supply one.
SubjectLine: Type III Anonymous Message
#
#   String to prepend to any user-supplied From address.
FromTag: [Anon]
#
#   Replace these next two entries with reasonable defaults.
BlacklistFile: C:\Python23\Lib\site-packages\blacklist.txt
ReturnAddress: noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
#
#  (Note: all lines but the first must be indented to get a multi-line
message)
#
Comments: This is a Type III anonymous message, sent to you by the Mixminion
          server at runaway-anon.net  If you do not want to receive
anonymous
          messages, please contact runaway <at> identicloak <dot> com
#
Retry: every 7 hours for 6 days
#
#  Largest allowable message size. Calculated for uncompressed messages,
before
#  base-64 encoding.
#
#MaximumSize: 100K
#
#  Should we allow clients to set the username portion of the 'From' address
#  at all?  (Note that this only allows them to set the 'USER' part of the
#  address "[Anon] USER" <ReturnAddress>.)
#
AllowFromAddress: yes

#################
#   Uncomment this section to enable delivery of SMTP messages via the
Type II
#   ("Mixmaster") network.  This when only be useful while we're
bootstrapping
#   the Type III network, and don't have a lot of people who can run
long-lived
#   SMTP exit nodes.
#
#   You must install the Mixmaster client locally to use this module.
#
#[Delivery/SMTP-Via-Mixmaster]
#Enabled: yes
#   Path to the Mixmaster binary
#MixCommand: /home/minion/Mix/mix
#   Server (or comma-separated list of servers) to use as our relay.
#Server: lcs
#SubjectLine: Type III Anonymous message
#FromTag: [Anon]
#
#Retry: every 7 hours for 6 days
#MaximumSize: 100K
#AllowFromAddress: yes

#################
#   Uncomment this section to enable server-side reassembly of fragmented
#   messages.
#
[Delivery/Fragmented]
Enabled: yes
#  This size is calculated _before_ message uncompression.
MaximumSize: 100K
#  How long do we wait to receive enough fragments before we give up
#  and drop the message.
MaximumInterval: 3 days


Colin Tuckley wrote:

> Runaway RemailerAdmin wrote:
>
>   
>> I went with my browser to the
>> http://www.mixminion.net/Directory/directory.gz and downloaded the gz file.
>> manually. Looking at is it was empty.
>>     
>
> The file should be 64k in size - not empty.
>
> I notice you have the URL wrong - it's "directory/Directory.gz" with a
> *lowercase* "d" followed by an uppercase one.
>
> If that was just a typo then I don't know what else could be wrong - but an
> empty directory.gz will stop mixminion.
>
>   
I am sorry, you are right is was a typo, I had mixed the upper/lower
case sequence. I checked again, the file is not empty, sorry for any
confusion. Nevertheless, I tried it now again several times to start my
mixminion server but it does not work and produces the log with the
error messages. Since I have nothing changed on my system, neither the
mixminion set-up (mixminiond.conf), nor anything else, I do not have a
clue what the reason could be.
>> Nov 04 13:07:49.280 +0100 [DEBUG] Initializing directory client
>> Nov 04 13:07:49.296 +0100 [INFO] Downloading directory from
>> http://mixminion.net/directory/Directory.gz
>> Nov 04 13:07:51.468 +0100 [INFO] Validating directory
>> Nov 04 13:07:51.468 +0100 [FATAL] Exception while configuring server
>> Nov 04 13:07:51.468 +0100 [FATAL] Traceback (most recent call last):
>>     File "mixminion\server\ServerMain.pyc", line 1215, in runServer
>>     File "mixminion\server\ServerMain.pyc", line 729, in __init__
>>     File "mixminion\ClientDirectory.pyc", line 147, in updateDirectory
>>     File "mixminion\ClientDirectory.pyc", line 165, in downloadDirectory
>>     File "mixminion\ClientDirectory.pyc", line 229, in _downloadDirectory
>>     File "mixminion\ServerInfo.pyc", line 560, in __init__
>>     File "mixminion\Common.pyc", line 1438, in readPossiblyGzippedFile
>>     File "gzip.pyc", line 217, in read
>>     File "gzip.pyc", line 276, in _read
>>   error: Error -3 while decompressing: incomplete distance tree
>> Nov 04 13:07:51.468 +0100 [FATAL] Shutting down because of exception:
>> zlib.error
>>     
>
> Hmm... Nick probably ought to look at that - it shouldn't kill the program,
> something should catch that and output a sensible error message.
>
> Colin
>
>