How to Configure and Check Feed Sync Timing in Greenbone Docker Container?

Getting Started
1

Hi everyone,
I’m currently running Greenbone in a Docker container and need some help regarding the feed sync process.

  1. Viewing the Feed Sync Time: I’d like to know where I can check the specific time when the feed sync happens within the Docker container. Is there a log or configuration file that shows when the last sync occurred and when the next one is scheduled?

  2. Setting a Manual Feed Sync Time: Additionally, I’d like to configure or edit a custom time for the feed sync to occur. Is there a way to manually specify when the sync should happen (e.g., via a cron job or a system setting in the container)?

Any guidance on how to manage these tasks would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance for your help.

2

Hi @ApiDevMarc,

Seems like you are asking about the Community Containers default feed sync process. However, there isn’t a automatic or default sync process. The Greenbone Community Containers need to be synced manually.

This may not be 100% obvious because the documentation says:

After the Greenbone Community Containers have been started, the running daemons will always pick up the feed content and load the data automatically.

However, this is referring to the fact that the running containers will automatically import the new feed data AFTER it has been synced from the Greenbone servers.

Here is the documentation for performing that syncronization. Note that the process is different than the source-code install or Kali native package installation.

You are free to create a cronjob to perform the feed-sync such as:

0 0 * * * docker compose -f /path/to/docker-compose.yml -p greenbone-community-edition pull notus-data vulnerability-tests scap-data dfn-cert-data cert-bund-data report-formats data-objects && docker compose -f /path/to/docker-compose.yml -p greenbone-community-edition up -d notus-data vulnerability-tests scap-data dfn-cert-data cert-bund-data report-formats data-objects

You can view the current feed status from the web-interface feed-stats page which will indicate how old the current feed is, and the current feed version, which includes the date of the feed.

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Thank you. I’m going to give this a try. I’m thankfully on the comeback trail after significant medical interventions and 2 years away from the tools. It appears Greenbone has seen significant enhancements - very impressive tool.

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