Apache not loading 1

[CaptKirk]

Hi all,
After a power outtage, my 2 (Novell 6.5) servers shut down and restarted when the power came back on. Server 1 is fine but server 2 boots up without Apache loading. So the iprint printers are not working as to be expected. I rebooted it twice. Same results.

One more thing, the logger screen said to
a) Load NDLAP, which by the way was already loaded
b) Execute sys:/tomcat/4/bin/startup - config sys:/adminsrv/conf/admin_tomcat.xml (I could not do it.)

My question is: Is it better to restore the Apache2 folder(or more) or reload Apache2 from the Novell CD?
In either case please advise exactly what to do? What folders to restore or how to go about the CD reload.

Thanks.

 

[marvhuffaker]

Ken, when Ldap services fail, it's usually a lot deeper problem than Apache. All of your Web based services rely on Tomcat, which in turn rely on LDAP to be working. If LDAP fails, it breaks the whole chain. Even if LDAP loads, it doesn't mean it's working. This is verified by your statement about A) Load NLDAP.

You may need to dig into your eDirectory and see if there is corruption. Maybe your LDAP configuration got whacked or something. Also you should definitely get some better UPS's, if that is an option. I know that schools are on tight budgets, but it will save you in the long run.

Just to add to and clarify what I said earlier, restoring Apache2 will not fix this problem. Your troubleshooting needs to begin with LDAP.

Marvin



Marvin Huffaker MCNE, CNE
Marvin Huffaker Consulting

http://www.redjuju.com

 

[marvhuffaker]

For the record, and to expand on my previous notes...

Tomcat will fail to load if it can't properly communicate with the LDAP services. However, it requires secure LDAP communication. In the testing I have done, it won't work on port 389 (unsecured). It will only work on the secure port 636. So knowing this, what do you do next?

If LDAP is not working and Tomcat fails to load, a good place to start troubleshooting is with the SSL Certificates for the server in question. The certificates are stored in NDS as PKI Key material objects. They are called "SSL CertificateDNS" or "SSL CertificateIP" by default and have the server name appended to them. They should be in the same container as the server.

You can run the utility PKIDIAG.NLM from the server, which will diagnose and repair any problems it finds with the certificates. Before running PKIDIAG, it's important to check the ETC\HOSTNAME and ETC\HOSTS file to make sure that you have the ip address and name of the server correct. PKIDIAG uses these files to generate the certificates.

Once you have resolved the certificate errors, you can unload and reload NLDAP.NLM and then try to restart Tomcat. Although not 100%, there is a very good chance that this will fix it. If it still fails, there are tids specific to troubleshooting LDAP that are very useful.

Another point -- it's important to check the LDAP SERVER and LDAP GROUP objects to make sure they are configured on port 636, they are configured with a certificate, and that the SSL configuration is not disabled.

Marvin Huffaker MCNE, CNE
Marvin Huffaker Consulting

http://www.redjuju.com

 

[ITsmyfault]

Check tomcat's ssl connectivity. There are a bunch of tids on this. It does an LDAP verify before it loads and if it fails the whole thing comes apart. (ask me how I know!) there are some things to do for tomcat to get ssl happy again. PKIDIAG is also a great tool..
see TID's 10087091 10091686 2969539 10090732

if the stuff on your logger screen scrolls by, you can pg up or arrow up to read it. Hit F2 and it will save as a text file on your DOS partition (one way to capture the boot up messages..)