Updating MaxMind GeoIP database

This article walks through updating our copy of the MaxMind GeoIP database.

1. Log in to https://www.maxmind.com

   (See the Handbook Appendix for credentials)

2. Download the updated database:
   • Navigate to “Download Files” under the “GeoIP2 / GeoLite2” heading on the left side
   • Download “GeoIP2 City” as a GZIP and unzip it, it should be a folder with a file named GeoIP2-City.mmdb

3. Upload the file to S3, we have separate buckets for sandbox and production.

   Set up some variables

   export sandbox_bucket=[see handbook appendix]
   export prod_bucket=[see handbook appendix]
   export local_maxmind_path=[path from step 2]

   To update the file in the sandbox:

    # sandbox
    aws-vault exec sandbox-power -- \
      aws s3 cp "$local_maxmind_path" "s3://${sandbox_bucket}/common/GeoIP2-City.mmdb"
   

   Updating the files in production:

    # prod
    aws-vault exec prod-power -- \
      aws s3 cp "$local_maxmind_path" "s3://${prod_bucket}/common/GeoIP2-City.mmdb"
   

4. Verifying MaxMind database metadata

   In a Rails console, run this command to look up the timestamp associated with the MaxMind database. It should correspond to the date of the file downloaded in step 2.

    Time.at(Geocoder::Query.new('8.8.8.8').lookup.instance_variable_get(:@mmdb).metadata['build_epoch'])
    => 2021-01-18 20:21:47 +0000