Satellite

Version: 1.0.2 (changelog)
Last released: 25 Feb 2001
Requires: GNU dbm (found in most Linux distributions)
Download: satellite-1.0.2.tar.gz (52KB)
Package (external): FreeBSD

Satellite can track many remote machines with dynamic IP addresses in situations where public DNS services are inappropriate. It can log and alert an admin immediately when a site comes online or needs attention.

The Satellite archive also includes an RPM spec file. RPM users can build a binary package ready to install by running:

rpm -tb satellite-1.0.2.tar.gz

You will find the binary rpm under /usr/src/rpm/RPMS/i386 or /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/i386.

Reasons for Satellite

Public DNS services are often used to track clients with changing IP addresses, but DNS solutions suffer from several problems:

Failure

Public DNS servers regularly fail due to overloading and system administration problems.

No notification

There is no notification when a system goes online. Instead you must poll DNS regularly to see when a system comes online.

Latency

Updating can take from several minutes to several hours before the change is made public. On systems with small idle timeouts it is often impossible to find the current IP address via DNS.

No history

Public DNS services only keep track of the current address and don't record past times or changes in a central location.