To avoid surprises all nodes, and servers should be configured alike unless differences are introduced intentionally.
That is why BiWhy provides several ways to compare configurations including automated checks where possible.
Though automated checks are not flawless.
Problem:
Intermittent issue. More than half of users are getting errors, while others don’t.
Quick search by the error message brought among others: “…problem of unknown origination, probably connected to FIPS…”
It is perfect when an error message univocally defines the root cause, but those problems are usually fixed in the early stages and rarely reach us.
Other messages are either too general or might have multiple root causes, so the lead above could be just another red herring.
Not mentioning that it is uncertain about FIPS, doesn’t explain how to test and what is FIPS anyway?
But before moving further, type FIPS in BiWhy to check the configuration, and hurray! It is a flag and it is on some servers but not on others (missing for the whole host, as it is SIA parameter).
Read more about FIPS, restart SIA with FIPS flag, and the problem is solved.
The analysis took less than an hour.
BiWhy flow: it didn’t detect the absence of the flag (it should be either off or on everywhere), but it provides a convenient interface for the quick check!
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