DDNS does not update (XHR request timed out)

[J.Reis]

Router is Zyxel NBG6817 running OpenWRT 21.02.2
DDNS provider is dynu.com

Recently realized that my ddns service wasn't getting updated. This could date back to upgrading from 21.02.1 to 21.02.2 which I completed on March 6th. Full disclosure I executed that upgrade with the "Keep Settings" option.

In any case the service isn't getting updated with new IP info, even though the luci interface was showing a "last update" time.

Additionally, if I use the 'reload' button in luci, the message "XHR request timed out" is eventually shown.

First confirmed with dynu.com that api.dynu.com remained the correct address and that my login credentials were correct. After that I tried deleting my ddns service entry then creating a new one with the same settings. I ssh'd in and copied /etc/config/ddns-opk over /etc/config/ddns to overwrite any old settings, then again tried making a new entry. Finally I tried removing then re-installing the luci-app-ddns package (which also appears to have removed then re-installed the ddns-scripts package), then made a new entry again all with the same result: XHR request timed out.

Lastly, in case it matters I just noticed that the "Last Update" time now being shown (after the package re-install, new dynu service entry and XHR time out) is actually in the future? Current time shown by my router in "Overview" is 2022-04-08 03:19:17 but the 'Last Update' column in Services > Dynamic DNS is 2022-04-08 04:29 … seems odd.

Any advice much appreciated, I've definitely hit the limit of my own meager knowledge.

[frollic]

The xhr is described here "XHR request timed out" after saving settings in Luci [Firefox bug] - #7 by jow

The date & time might be a time zone issue, but the diff would then be 1h exactly.

[J.Reis]

I'm not sure I'm fully understanding your post. Perhaps I'm missing something obvious, but I'm afraid I'm going to need a bit more to go on to get it through my stupid brain.

The thread you've linked (which I had actually already read after searching the forum for my XHR error) is reported by someone using Firefox. I'm not using Firefox. The op in that thread reports that it resolved itself. My issue has persisted over a period of weeks and survived restarts of my browser, my computer and my router. Finally, the thread you suggested is marked as solved but doesn't contain any kind of troubleshooting or a solution. Which makes sense as the op explained that he can no longer reproduce the issue. So … I'm just not sure exactly what I can do with the information from that thread. Please advise.

[frollic]

Well no, the solution might have been a silent browser update.

But I guess all the magic happens in the Bugzilla link.

You didn't tell us you weren't using FF, until now.
So far you've only told us which browser you don't use.

Threads are seldom marked as solved.

[giuliomagnifico]

I have the same "XHR request timed out" error from LuCI when I use the Reload button (also on Safari) but for me the ddns services are working, check the “Last and Next Update”

[J.Reis]

Apologies: "closed" rather than "solved."

Your post might as easily have read: "If you are using Firefox, this might be your issue" lol, that's a bit more my intellectual speed I'm afraid. Just imagine that you're conversing with a simpleton and we'll probably do a better job of not wasting each other's time.

Regardless, I can now confirm that my issue is present, with all the same characteristics, in Chromium, Google Chrome, Opera, Brave and Firefox. It even happens in both Brave and Firefox mobile (Android). So I think that covers all rendering engines (with some variety in interfaces) for all the operating systems I have access to.

[anon89577378]

@J.Reis

XHR request timed out

SSH in to the router and run the following from the command prompt -

time ubus call luci getInitList

Post the results in preformatted text, by using the icon highlighted in red...

[J.Reis]

Can do:

root@Sonoda-AP:~# time ubus call luci getInitList
{
        "log": {
                "index": 12,
                "enabled": true
        },
        "gpio_switch": {
                "index": 94,
                "enabled": true
        },
        "boot": {
                "index": 10,
                "enabled": true
        },
        "rpcd": {
                "index": 12,
                "enabled": true
        },
        "dropbear": {
                "index": 19,
                "enabled": true
        },
        "urngd": {
                "index": 0,
                "enabled": true
        },
        "led": {
                "index": 96,
                "enabled": true
        },
        "bootcount": {
                "index": 99,
                "enabled": true
        },
        "wpad": {
                "index": 19,here
                "enabled": true
        },
        "cron": {
                "index": 50,
                "enabled": true
        },
        "urandom_seed": {
                "index": 99,
                "enabled": true
        },
        "umount": {
                "index": 255,
                "enabled": false
        },
        "nlbwmon": {
                "index": 60,
                "enabled": true
        },
        "collectd": {
                "index": 80,
                "enabled": true
        },
        "network": {
                "index": 20,
                "enabled": true
        },
        "uhttpd": {
                "index": 50,
                "enabled": true
        },
        "ucitrack": {
                "index": 80,
                "enabled": true
        },
        "done": {
                "index": 95,
                "enabled": true
        },
        "sysntpd": {
                "index": 98,
                "enabled": true
        },
        "system": {
                "index": 10,
                "enabled": true
        },
        "sysfixtime": {
                "index": 0,
                "enabled": true
        },
        "odhcpd": {
                "index": 35,
                "enabled": true
        },
        "firewall": {
                "index": 19,
                "enabled": true
        },
        "sysctl": {
                "index": 11,
                "enabled": true
        },
        "ddns": {
                "index": 95,
                "enabled": true
        },
        "dnsmasq": {
                "index": 19,
                "enabled": true
        },
        "cpufreq": {
                "index": 15,
                "enabled": true
        },
        "luci_statistics": {
                "index": 79,
                "enabled": true
        }
}
real    0m 0.90s
user    0m 0.00s
sys     0m 0.00s
root@Sonoda-AP:~# 

[anon89577378]

@J.Reis

time ubus call luci getInitList

Time looks good.

Sometimes custom "init" scripts can cause the issue.

Have you seen this on the Dynu support forum?

Dynu

[J.Reis]

Ah, I hadn't tried using that template from Dynu. I've only attempted solutions from within luci.

So I deleted my existing entry then ssh'd in and edited /etc/config/ddns directly to add that "service" block. Adding in my info where indicated. The only all-caps items I didn't change were the [DOMAIN], [IP], [USERNAME] and [PASSSWORD] block in the 'option update_url' entry … hopefully that is correct. Saved and rebooted.

The result was luci showing Configuration Error in the Lookup Hostname Registered IP column. Perhaps there is a log I should review for more details? I'm not sure what I should try changing next.

[anon89577378]

@J.Reis

Lookup Hostname Registered IP

Should be your public FQDN.

Run nslookup on it

[J.Reis]

Apologies, I just meant that the table in luci that lists the configured ddns services was showing the text "Configuration Error"

If the service was working, I assuming it would display the hostname of the service and either its IP, or perhaps my own IP that had been registered with said service. Indeed, it used to display something like:

Am I misunderstanding? Should I run the nslookup you mentioned and enter something from its output somethere? If so, what hostname should I look up and where should I enter the resulting information?

[anon89577378]

I ran an nslookup on the IP in the screenshot, and it's OK.

I saw some mention about Port 80 forwarding on the Dynu support forum.

There are some threads here on Dynu that may or may not be helpful.

https://forum.openwrt.org/search?q=dynu

It's clearly telling you there is a configuration error somewhere.

I would suggest reconfiguring the DDNS configs from scratch.

[J.Reis]

Ok, I have re-configured the ddns from scratch a couple of times. Both through luci and by editing /etc/config/ddns directly. As I mentioned in my op, I've also deleted /etc/confg/ddns all together and copied over the ddns-opk version which I understand is the un-modified version included with the package at installation. I've even removed the ddns package completely and re-installed it through opkg.

To be clear, the "Configuration Error" message only shows when I try to use the configuration from the thread you linked to from the dynu support forum. All the other configurations I've tried have appeared to work just fine, with the "Lookup Hostname/Registered IP" column appearing as in my second screenshot. Of course, all of the configurations I've tried produce the XHR request timed out message when I try the 'reload' button and none of them actually update the ip at dynu (according to dynu's own log in my control panel).

In the hopes of eliminating variables at this point I'm planning to flash to default and manually reconfigure everything, but that will take me some time. Hopefully tomorrow. Thanks for trying to help me out! I'll post any results when I have them.

[anon89577378]

A couple of things you could do...

Pursue the Dynu configuration issue on the Dynu support site.

Roll back to OpenWrt 21.02.1 or 21.02.0, and see if it resolves one or both issues.

[J.Reis]

Good thoughts, I do have a support ticket out with dynu. Their initial response was that their logs indicate that their servers aren't being contacted and thus the problem must be on my end. The whole set-up does work if I use their software client for updating my IP, but that isn't nearly as good a setup for me as having my router handle it.

Rolling back to 21.02.1 would be a good test and something I should try before I go through the hassle of re-configuring everything so I don't end up doing that twice! So, thanks for the heads-up, appreciate it.

[J.Reis]

My issue with getting my IP registration updated was resolved on Dynu's end after I convinced them to actually do something rather than continue claiming the issue had to be on my end. As for what they actually did, I couldn't say. Indeed, they didn't bother to explain. But after their intervention my ddns service is working just fine using the default settings used when creating the ddns service entry through luci. No special tweaking required, no direct editing of the config file.

For what it's worth. Rolling back to 21.02.1 did seem to fix the odd (future) timestamps shown in OpenWRT's DDNS tab as well as the XHR time out notice. Both of these odd little issues returned when I moved back to 21.02.2 … even when I manually reconfigured everything instead of attempting to migrate my settings. Beats me! Regardless, all the important bits are working now on 21.02.2 so I'm marking this as solved, even if there are still a few mysteries left.

Thanks very much for all the suggestions!