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Mullvad API
treesmokah
Member
Hey,
Seems like Mullvad API servers exploded for some reason. Been unreachable all day without any information from the provider.
You are able to connect given your key hasn't expired, you are not able to generate new keys/add new devices.
Looking forward in to seeing what happened.
But speaking of a single point of failure of a commercial VPN provider, its surely API. I wonder if it was a system error or some kind of an attack.
edit;
some ppl talking about it on reddit, seems like all "core" backend is dead https://libreddit.tiekoetter.com/r/mullvadvpn/comments/129rxu9/website_malfunctioning_cannot_buy_more_credit/
Comments
It also applies to "am.i.mullvad" api which is used on the front page, you cannot see that you are using mullvad etc.
The api is hosted on 31173 servers/colo in Malmo;
https://ping.pe/45.83.223.193
Smells like pigs
Nothing on Swedish police page which appears to list just about anything going on there. But I'd imagine an action like that wouldn't be confirmed fast.
https://polisen.se/aktuellt/polisens-nyheter/?lpfm.loc=Malmö
also
ppl speculate its caused by that - https://libreddit.tiekoetter.com/r/mullvadvpn/comments/128pwvu/the_recent_arrest_of_pompompurin/
I spoke to IVPN which very recently added another govt request to their transparency page(and they also been included in these documents) - they refused to provide more information about their recent govt request but assured, pigs wouldn't get anything in return.
I'm thinking of switching back to IVPN.
Mullvad is pretty unstable recently, its not the first time their API went to shit(not to mention with server-specific issues).
IVPN is more expensive, and "smaller" but their quality is higher.
It very much does not.
www.31173.se is down
I think it's hosted in a normal office building, probably not redundant that is.
If that's it their server companions are partly:
Seems to be working for me. Only am.i.mullvad on their site not working.
Renting rooms in enterprise buildings is very common, you can get it redundant etc. they are meant for businesses, so they can hook u up with anything you really want.
Also the website is UP for me. ALSO, all Mullvad servers in Malmo are up(including the API which just sends invalid responses).
@PulsedMedia can likely speak a bit more about DC's in enterprise building, as from what I remember - they do it themselves.
It really depends with older buildings, I wouldn't be so sure.
Also, about 31173, they seem to be having issues because I can confirm that it's working with v4 but it's not with v6, try reaching 2a03:1b20:1:f104::1:109
Interesting: https://ping.sx/ping?t=2a03:1b20:1:f104::1:109
Yeah, only reachable from cognet.
https://ping6.ping.pe/2a03:1b20:1:f104::1:109
Seems like one of their routers flopped or some shit, other providers can reach ESAB(31173) but it doesn't go past their core routers, Cognet can connect directly it seems.
Try "mullvad tunnel wireguard key regenerate" in your CMD/Terminal.
I get "RPC failed: Unknown: REST error: Failed to deserialize data"
A bit off-topic but isn't it weird that Chrome dosen't try v4 if v6 isn't working?
No idea, I haven't daily driven Chromium in a very very long time.
My OS generally prefers IPv4 over IPv6(which I don't have natively, but can reach over a VPN which I use 24/7).
Also, previous Mullvad api downtime was https://nitter.tiekoetter.com/mullvadnet/status/1636080982796255233, coincidentally - it was the day Pom was arrested.
hmm... That command doesn't work for me either, but I can remove and add new devices.
Adding devices in app? It may be local, until you generate a key - those are likely not sent to Mullvad API.
The key does show up on the website and running the check command on terminal.
weird
I've been a long-time user of Mullvad. It's always have been solid for me. I use it daily, especially on mobile.
I still remember when IVPN first started, it was so expensive, and the performance was terrible. I might check it out again.
Its sadly not stable for me, especially on mobile.
You will love IVPN mobile apps though, they are superior to Mullvad ones.
You can even hit them up on Twitter or Reddit and they will give you a promo code for free to test their service. Their team is top notch.
Just got a reply to an email I sent to Mullvad asking about the issue.
So much for the pigs
You must mean office buildings?
Yea a lot of companies build theirs in regular office buildings, warehouses etc. people really glorify datacenters and think every datacenter has to be in a glass palace with gazillion+2 redundancies
In reality, servers don't care. Like at all. All of that stuff just adds cost.
You put servers where your needs coalescent into right balance, if you even have that choice. Most don't, we are lucky because our next DC is going to be built exactly where we wanted it, but that entails digging fiber, renting dark fiber etc. overheads.
I could write a essay on the subject, but let's just say that 90+% of datacenters really are not as glorified as people think, it's very rare they are built as datacenters from get-go.
I know some operate from glass palaces, and have put major effort to look cool etc. Does people know what they are called? ... they are called stupid expensive
Albeit, when built to properly scale, the m2 area of a DC/building itself is rather cheap, but you first need to get there AND design for that.
Some operations who concentrate on looks don't get to that scale, and did not necessarily even have a server first approach, but human first approach.
Also you want those unassuming looks, what are chances that old basic office building has a datacenter with millions of euros worth of hardware?
Just look at the hetzner "datacenters" -- they are basic warehouses with some extra gear, and a bit more security than typical new building complex of that type. Google Hamina datacenter is also refurb old place which happens to have access to vast quantities of water.
Tho with Hetzner -> They work out rather expensive because they have so much backup levels, first there is battery backup for like 30minutes, then there are Genies N+1, double or triple grid feeds etc. All of that has probably tripled their electricity rate. AAAAND what's the most expensive component of a DC? Electricity. No it's not bandwidth, not the servers even, but electricity. At least when designing server first. This is also the reason why many of their DC buildings are half empty, only a few are full to the brim.
One DC i know you would have never guessed there is a higher end datacenter, no fence, no signs no anything obvious, only thing was that they had at the backyard(well sideyard depends on how you look at it), a fenced area with lots of chillers, but you had to look for it and realize what they are. You went in, you get to regular office building stairway. Once you found the correct unmarked door and opened it; they had designed their entrance like a spaceship. Very cool, and very cool looking place inside, but standard office building. This was a humans first design. also very expensive. Lab grade air conditioners, very expensive and would use electricity to heat water if air is too dry -- which is always in a DC environment with no economizers. Expense and efficiency was the last thing they worried about clearly.
The second DC we are working on is designed with server first approach, and going to the root of what the servers need to achieve. We'll probably talk more about this when we get this thing actually built finally, years in the making. So many questions and things to solve still, and some parts we might not be able to find contractors for, so i guess i'll get back to metal fabrication and grab that angle grinder, plasma torch and MAG welder myself, pour some of my own blood, sweat and tears into the construction
Oh and check this Maxnod datacenter out which just burned:
See it's next to a farm field, with no surrounding farm fields, regular industrial building but slightly funky looking -- or perhaps that's regular look around France i don't know.
Very unassuming.
LET Thread: https://lowendtalk.com/discussion/185430/maxnod-data-center-in-france-burns-down-battery-system-thought-to-be-at-fault#latest
Been with iVPN for around a year now thanks to pom, been super happy. Only thing that is annoying is the wireguard key rotation which kills my ssh connections sometime.
You can change the time after which the key is rotated.
Mullvad also rotates a key after 5 or 7 days, I don't remember(you can change the time with CLI though).
Yeah, I just like the one day key rotation but I might change it to a longer amount, one day might be a bit excessive. iVPN is supreme but I definitely hope Mullvad goes transparent about the current issues.
Are those the oh-so flammable lithium batteries difficult to put out when they light up?
Could be this too:
https://blog.torproject.org/releasing-mullvad-browser/
Suddenly tons of free users.
Chemical fires are always hard to put down. If you pour watter on them - contamination will spread into underground watter or explosion may happen.
Don't know about oxygen supression, but on lithium fires it should be efective.