cfengine not doing job when network is down...

[Christian Pearce]

I get the following error.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
 * (Changing context state to: update) *
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
 
Looking for an input file /var/cfengine/inputs/update.conf
cf:cfengine::/var/cfengine/inputs/update.conf:87: DNS lookup failure.
Unknown host
Culprit: pearce.commnav.com
Make sure that fully qualified names can be looked up at your site!
i.e. www.gnu.org, not just www. If you use NIS or /etc/hosts
make sure that the full form is registered too as an alias!
gethostbyname: : No such file or directory

Now many of you may be thinking, well you don't have the right hostname
to connect.  So just put it in /etc/hosts.  That might be a good work
around.  But the problem was discovered while trying to fix the whole
set Auto-negotiate off and 100 Mbit Full Duplix.  We have a script that
will check to make sure these settings are ok.  If they are not it will
fix it.  The problem is if the settings are wrong it can't get out to
the network.  As a result cfengine cannot lookup the FQDN and it fails. 
Cfengine does not finish processing so the settings never get fixed.  If
we put the FQDN in /etc/hosts the host times out and everything is
cool.  Now I can understand why we might want to produce such an error. 
But why do we prevent cfengine from continuing?  Isn't the whole point
of cfengine is that it will continue to operate in the absence of the
network.

Can we change this?

Also why does gethostbyname give an error of "No such file or
directory".

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Christian

-- 
Christian Pearce
http://www.commnav.com
http://www.perfectorder.com