[Dxspider-support] Fwd: Max Spot per Minute (how to avoid flooding)

Sat Jan 25 22:19:43 GMT 2025

HamClock V4.13 has been modified as per my comments below, I’m running a beta build now and can confirm it’s working as I described.

It will send qra or location under two situations:

1) If the node asks for them
2) If the user changes them within the setup

It has slots for up to 12 DXCluster commands so if the user has all these filled, the most commands it will ever send on login is 14 at approximately half second intervals and then it won’t send any more commands at all while it’s connected.

And that’s it.   With these little new tweaks and with the changes that were made to HamClock to be less ‘chatty’ over a year ago, I hope nobody can object to it any more.

73 Keith.
On 24 Jan 2025 at 20:02 +0000, Keith, G6NHU via Dxspider-support <dxspider-support at tobit.co.uk>, wrote:
> Because client software is mentioned here, I thought I’d jump in.  As is known, I work closely with the HamClock developer and following this email, we’ve discussed what it sends to the node.
>
> At the moment, he sends set/qra and set/location each time HamClock connects to the cluster.   He’s going to change that so they’re only sent if they’re requested.  So if a new user sets up a HamClock, the first time it connects to a DXSpider, it’ll send set/qra and set/location and on all subsequent connections, it won’t send them.
>
> The ten minute inactivity ping timer he sends will be removed as well as that’s not needed.
>
> This means that the only commands a HamClock will regularly send to the node are the filter commands that the user sets up.  They’ll be sent each time a connection is made and with a forced delay between them to avoid hitting any flood timer.  The reason they’re sent every time is because a user may change them and they always need to be up to date.
>
> I can’t comment on any other client software but the HamClock developer is very happy to work with us and put as little load on the system as possible.   I don’t really see how he can reduce it any further.
>
> Rudy - You’re quite right, individual nodes may need different settings and that’s why there are two variables you can set which will overwrite the X = 16 and Y = 9 values that are the new proposed defaults.  If you need something different then you can adjust your node accordingly by setting $DXCommandmode::maxcmdcount and $DXCommandmode::cmdinterval (X and Y respectively) in /spider/scripts/startup.  This is already documented in /spider/Changes, see the entries for 24Mar23 and 25Mar23.
>
> 73 Keith.
>
> On 24 Jan 2025 at 13:38 +0000, Dirk Koopman via Dxspider-support <dxspider-support at tobit.co.uk>, wrote:
> > We seem to be starting to lose the "battle" between nodes <-> users on client programs issuing data (for whatever reason).
> >
> > The piece of code shown below was introduced in March 2023, together with the following comment underneath:
> >
> >    These default values are set generously deliberately to allow certain user
> >    programs to get with the program and reduce the number of cmds that they
> >    issue on connection down to something reasonable. For instance, I cannot
> >    see why things like name, qth, lat/long/QRA (amongst several other sticky
> >    user attributes that only need to be entered once) are sent on every login.
> >
> > It is clear to me that the situation has got worse and the time to tighten the defaults has arrived. In addition, I will add a general re-login delay so that programs cannot instantly reconnect and just carry on. Maybe with a second/other safeguard of recording the IP address rather than the callsign with an backoff timer after Z number of "fast" attempts to re-login. Or something like that (maybe a timed local IP address ban?).
> >
> > I will happily accept suggestions for "better" values for X = 16 and Y = 9 below. As well as other ways of discouraging this sort of behaviour.
> >
> > I fail to understand the point of spotting an entire FTx channel's decoded callsigns. You haven't worked them, your program just heard them, but you're probably drinking tea and working someone else OR you've simply left the computer on whilst going out for the day. This, incidentally, is why I won't, ever, gate out raw skimmer spots to users. Speaking of which: the FTx skimmer network will likely do a better job than your random user "skimmer" so why not just connect to that instead!
> >
> > This person appears to have taken it upon himself (gender deliberately chosen) to become an FTx skimmer that gates his data out into the general spot pool. But he could not do this unless the CLIENT SOFTWARE he is using provides that facility. So the obvious solution to this is to try to identify the author(s) of the client software and persuade them to not allow this sort of thing to occur. Experience shows that authors are reluctant to change the behaviour of their creations (I can understand that) and simply ignore requests for changes from "outside" their user communities. It probably takes at least 15 years of full time professional programming before one truly believes that all software has bugs, or undesirable behaviours that have been discovered by users that require changes. Unfortunately many authors are hobby programmers and resistant to external pressure for change. Probably, because their software is written in a way that makes it too difficult to change. I remember that :-)
> >
> > As I have been writing this, I am starting to get a bit annoyed by the thoughtlessness of some authors and users. So I will implement an linearly increasing IP address ban time, together with message on login (with a fixed delay of say 10 secs before forced disconnect) saying something like "You are sending too many commands too quickly, you are banned from reconnecting until <date/time>". Obviously if they reconnect and do it again (within some interval) they will be have more time added - and - "good behaviour" over a period of time will reduce their penalty ban time.
> >
> > Your thoughts and suggestions for default values for these times / intervals will be gratefully received.
> >
> > 73 Dirk G1TLH
> >
> > On 21/01/2025 21:31, IZ2LSC via Dxspider-support wrote:
> > > I know there is the following knob, but if the originating node is not up to date (or is not a spider), then the flood is sent into the network.
> > >
> > >    Added cmd entry rate limiting. If a user sends X commmands in Y secs then
> > >    they are disconnected without notice. The defaults are X
> > >    ($DXCommandmode::maxcmdcount) = 16 and Y ($DXCommandmode::cmdinterval) = 9.
> > >
> > >
> > > Andrea, IZ2LSC
> > >
> > > -->
> > >
> > >
> > > On Tue, Jan 21, 2025 at 10:07 PM <ea3cv at cronux.net> wrote:
> > > > The only thing I can think of is to treat spotter+time as a duplicate variant within a 1s window.
> > > > I don't know if Dirk has something implemented.
> > > > I'll look tomorrow, I'm curious.
> > > >
> > > > Kin
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Enviado desde Outlook para Android
> > > >
> > > > De: Dxspider-support <dxspider-support-bounces at tobit.co.uk> en nombre de IZ2LSC via Dxspider-support <dxspider-support at tobit.co.uk>
> > > > Enviado: martes, enero 21, 2025 9:30:48 p. m.
> > > > Para: The DXSpider Support list <dxspider-support at tobit.co.uk>
> > > > CC: IZ2LSC <iz2lsc.andrea at gmail.com>
> > > > Asunto: [Dxspider-support] Fwd: Max Spot per Minute (how to avoid flooding)
> > > >
> > > > Hi sysops!
> > > > > I was reviewing my cluster stats when I noticed this spike in spot per minute (see attached image).
> > > > >
> > > > > <immagine.png>
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Looking at the logs I can see a flood of 55 spots coming in the same second from the same user, an extract below:
> > > > >
> > > > > 7074.4^DH2YBG^1737474360^FT8^KC9LFD^32^226^DB0ERF-5^28^14^8^4^^^204.93.149.214
> > > > > 7074.4^GM6URC^1737474360^FT8^KC9LFD^65^226^DB0ERF-5^27^14^8^4^^^204.93.149.214
> > > > > 7074.4^N5TLH^1737474360^FT8^KC9LFD^226^226^DB0ERF-5^7^4^8^4^^^204.93.149.214
> > > > > 7074.4^LA8ENA^1737474360^FT8^KC9LFD^123^226^DB0ERF-5^18^14^8^4^^^204.93.149.214
> > > > > 7074.4^P40AA^1737474360^FT8^KC9LFD^326^226^DB0ERF-5^11^9^8^4^^^204.93.149.214
> > > > > 7074.4^F5SJF^1737474360^FT8^KC9LFD^42^226^DB0ERF-5^27^14^8^4^^^204.93.149.214
> > > > > 7074.4^VK2WN^1737474360^FT8^KC9LFD^198^226^DB0ERF-5^59^30^8^4^^^204.93.149.214
> > > > > 7074.4^N1UL^1737474360^FT8^KC9LFD^226^226^DB0ERF-5^8^5^8^4^^^204.93.149.214
> > > > > 7074.4^KA9SOG^1737474360^FT8^KC9LFD^226^226^DB0ERF-5^8^4^8^4^^^204.93.149.214
> > > > > 7074.4^VK3YW^1737474360^FT8^KC9LFD^198^226^DB0ERF-5^59^30^8^4^^^204.93.149.214
> > > > > 7074.4^N9IBM^1737474360^FT8^KC9LFD^226^226^DB0ERF-5^8^4^8^4^^^204.93.149.214
> > > > > 7074.4^W5ORC^1737474360^FT8^KC9LFD^226^226^DB0ERF-5^8^5^8^4^^^204.93.149.214
> > > > > 7074.4^KP2BH^1737474360^FT8^KC9LFD^119^226^DB0ERF-5^11^8^8^4^^^204.93.149.214
> > > > > 3573.4^K8CW^1737474360^FT8^KC9LFD^226^226^DB0ERF-5^8^4^8^4^^^204.93.149.214
> > > > > 3573.4^P40AA^1737474360^FT8^KC9LFD^326^226^DB0ERF-5^11^9^8^4^^^204.93.149.214
> > > > > 3573.4^K1TAP^1737474360^FT8^KC9LFD^226^226^DB0ERF-5^8^5^8^4^^^204.93.149.214
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Is there a way to activate a sort of flooding protection?
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Thanks and 73
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Andrea, IZ2LSC
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
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