#6 Send an "I'm still alive" email

[John]

Currently, a full run of checksum checking takes over 50 hours on our Windows repository (as opposed to less than 17 hrs on Linux, but that is a different kettle of fish) The length of time taken for a full run will only increase as more files are added to the repositories (just call me Captain Obvious)

One thing I do not know when I check the notification email regularly and do not see any new mail is "Is checksum checker still running on the server?" If the server has been rebooted and CC not restarted, I would not know. If CC dies silently (as it has on occasions), I would not know. If the server spontaneously combusts, CC may not be running (although I might notice the smell of the smoke when I entered the room)

Obviously, the longer it takes to be aware of a problem, the greater the risk that files are damaged. If checksum checker is not running, it will take almost an eternity to notice that something is wrong with a checksum. of course, our sysadmin may notice something wrong, but it would be nice for the users to know.

Could checksum checker please send an email at regular intervals - maybe every 24 hours - to say that it is still alive and kicking? If the email could say that it has checked X AIPS out of a total of Z, that might give the user added confidence that something is happening behind the scenes.

Even if a new checksumming regime was introduced, some sort of regular notification would still be useful

[margotc]

investigate validity of this based on current system architecture.