Whoiscart + RH9 + DA

[nebukazar]

Does anyone fixed the issue between whoiscart + RH9 + DA ?


Regards,

[DirectAdmin Support]

I may be wrong, but I thought I heard of someone using the IONcube version of the files (but still use Zend with apache).. just something that I remember hearing somewhere.

John

[Saeven]

The issue isn't with Whois.Cart(), but actually lies with segfaults caused by apache when using Zend Optimizer.

I've addressed this elsewhere, but I believe it to be a glibc error. My first suggestion would be to reinstall the glib components and recompile apache and try from there.

The error is a SIGSEGV11, which is a segmentation signal usually caused by bad pointers or version/platform mismatch. True however, that as worst case scenario, should RedHat not be able to solve running Zend Optimizer we'll have IonCube versions released with final version.

What's strange is that we have the same stuff as RH9 installed on our test rack. glibc2.3, latest apache 1.3.x, php 4.3.3 and everything works like a charm. Of course, you could always turf RH9 and get a real OS like Slackware! :)

Cheers.
A.

[ProWebUK]

Originally posted by Saeven
you could always turf RH9 and get a real OS like Slackware! :)


but then there would be no DA :D (or is slackware based around rh? - never used it before)

[hostpc.com]

Assuming the RH9 issue is still a consideration - I don't want to have to recompile, etc. I really like what I'm seeing in your product (assuming it handles paysystems and paypal recurring correctly - unlike "coin") - but do you have any anticipated date for final release?

I suppose if I had to, I could recompile apache, but I'd want to know that it's definately going to fix the issue.

thanks for any feedback you can offer.

Joe

[Saeven]

Well,

The issue for us is actually the contrapositive of what you state. The problem with RH9 and Zend is widespread, RH9 is new and relatively untested and Zend Optimizer works on stock components.

If Zend Optimizer doesn't work, the components it relies upon have definitely been modified. Zend has little system requirements:

glibc
apache
php


One of these has to be the culprit. I'm certain that DA doesn't have its fingers in glibc or php. Has DA altered apache in any manner? There's that side of the coin to explore as well.

In any case, we can infer and deduct as much as we want, the truth is that until someone takes the time to test a recompile from first-level source, there will exist no means for anyone to assert the reason why zend optimizer + apache segfaults on RH9 boxes running DA. Zend Optimizer does state that it supports RH9 :

http://www.zend.com/store/products/product_compatibility.php#id45

Perhaps DirectAdmin is the source after all? Someone should install RH9 by itself with apache and ZO to see if it works.

Regards.
A

[hostpc.com]

I've got a new 9.0 box here, that doesn't have DA installed yet.... I'll try installing ZO and see if I get any similar errors.

I may not be the best one to test it, but I'll give it a shot.

Joe

[Saeven]

I can help if you like, I have time over the next 45 minutes...(given it's connected)

[ProWebUK]

have a spare redhat 9 box with plesk 6 and zend, aswell as the system im using now. If you want to try whoiscart on either of them send me a pm ;)

Chris

[hostpc.com]

I'm getting errors with the default Redhat installs... so it's not DA, it's something between RH and ZO...

Thanks for your help...

I'm assuming there's no issues with 7.3 and whoiscart?

Joe

[Saeven]

Actually.

It works just fine on RH9 with no DA (this is a plesk box).

http://whois.chri5.co.uk/saeven_net_whois_cart_test/

So, we're definitely looking at a DA issue.

Thanks Chris.
A.

[hostpc.com]

I got seg faults up the wazoo... thats weird. 9.0 ?

Hopefully John (DA) will be able to check into this fairly quickly...

thanks for letting me know.

[ProWebUK]

im thinking the problem is with the preinstalled zend for some reason

[toml]

I just did the update from Apache 1.3.28 and php 4.3.3 to Apache 1.3.29 and php 4.3.4 and I am now getting the seg faults with the Zend optimizer. I can remove Zend, but of course my Whois.cart will stop working, but everything else will work fin. I was not getting them with the previous versions. I am going to try a few things to figure out exactly which one of the updates is causing the problem. It worked fine before the update, so it has to be either apache, php or the frontpage stuff. If all else fails, I will just have to try and bring myself back to the version that worked.

[Saeven]

I can confirm that it works with:

- glibc 2.3.2
- apache 2.0 filter
- php 4.3.4
- zend optimizer 2.1.0

and

- glibc 2.3.2
- apache 1.3.8
- php 4.3.4
- zend optimizer 2.1.0

[hostpc.com]

If I purchase this now, install it on an Ensim 3.1.x server -

1) will it work
2) will it be transferrable to another server later? (DA)

Thanks

[Saeven]

Can transfer to any server you like - domain name has to match is the only restraint.

[toml]

Originally posted by Saeven
I can confirm that it works with:

- glibc 2.3.2
- apache 1.3.8
- php 4.3.4
- zend optimizer 2.1.0

So far, I have tried all combinations
apache 1.3.28 and 1.3.29
php-4.3.3 and 4
zend optimizer 2.1.0a and b

I have not touched my glibc.

All are seg faulting now.

I had a version that was working, and I can't seem to compile it to that state again. I may just have to use my backups.

Sure is a pain. I really hope Zend fixes this problem. It's not like RedHat 9.0 is some obscure version of Linux. I know you mention the glibc version and it would certainly make a difference, but have you or Zend actually tried using Zend on RedHat 9.0 with their version of glibc and apache built with their compiler? I do know RedHat tends to "tweak" a lot of stuff, and not always for the better.

[Saeven]

RedHat isn't the problem I don't believe. We above deducted that on a RH9 + Plesk6 machine, everything worked. I believe the problem to be DA. It is the only thing that remains constant among the troublesome boxes.

[DirectAdmin Support]

Hello,

The only thing I'm confused is that *all* other OS's work other than RH9.. so.. something is different where the compile of apache/php doesn't like zend on rh9, but it works for other OS's.. this quite the conundrum. I agree that zend states it supports redhat 9. It could very well be that something in the method we use to compile apache is at fault, but I do not know what it is/could be.. but again, it works on the other OS's.. :confused:

John

[Saeven]

RH9 + Plesk6 works however.

[ProWebUK]

unless zend compiles itself differently with redhat 9 ?

[ProWebUK]

has anyone tried the obvious? remove zend recompile zend?

[DirectAdmin Support]

That's the problem. Zend only comes in a precompiled binary. The same binary is used for all versions of linux. But zend *does* work when used with php not through apache:

ie:php index.php

but when accessed through apache, it segfaults. So it's most likely an apache compile setting.

John

[toml]

I have SuSE 9.0 on my laptop and I am going to try compiling apache/php exactly the same way, and see if I run into the same problem, it too uses glibc 2.3.2. I also have another RH9 system on my home computer, to play around with more (if I can kick my wife off it :-) ). I just don't want to keep messing with my production system.

The problem could also be one of the modules that DA compiles/Loads, that Zend has not tested with. I am sure they just use the stock RH web server and say it works.

[ProWebUK]

tom: we have already tried another redhat 9 system running plesk and it works fine..... as we have discovered the problem must be something to do with DA, with a likely cause being apache since it works when the php is executed through shell.

Chris

[toml]

I know it will work with RedHat 9, I had it working fine with the original Apache I installed with DA. It stopped working only when I upgraded yesterday. As I said before, I don't think it has anything to do per se, with DA, but perhaps with a module that is configured to load by default.

I use DA, RH9 and Zend, I need them all to work, and because of that I need to figure out exactly where it is going wrong. Everyone can point fingers at each other, but noone has said or figured out exactly where the problem is coming from.

I don't want to be afraid of patching my system in the future, if I can narrow it down to one module (besides Zend) that makes a difference, the at least I can take it to Zend and have them figure out a way to fix it.

The only difference against the stock apache code, is the frontpage patches. I removed remove them and it still failed. The php is not patched. So it has to be a module that is loaded, I need to remove them one by one until I find the culprit.

[Saeven]

Good luck! I'm definitely interested in your results!

[The Prohacker]

I'll try to get a VPS tonight and work out something...

[toml]

So far, I tar'd up the customapache directory, moved it to a SuSE 9.0, and built a version of apache/php/zend using the build script. It was built exactly like on the server, only this one works. The versions used were:
Apache 1.3.29
php 3.3.4
Zend Optimizer 2.1.0a

Next is to start working with my RH 9 system.

[toml]

I had a version working on my laptop with RH9, when I didn't load the mod_frontpage module, but for some reason that change didn't work the same on my server. Of course I reloaded SuSE back on my laptop, and now don't have it to work with again. I will have to try it on my home system. RH9 just doesn't like my laptop too much.

I do have everything working exactly the same on my SuSE System, the only difference, is that I had to change the IP addresses and remove the virtual server includes.

I guess I still have a little more work to do to find the problem.

[toml]

After a lot of trying, I was able to compile a system that will run ZendOptimizer without seg faulting.

I was not able to compile it on my server for some reason, but my home computer was able to do it, so I just tar'd up the server files and put them on the server.

I can't seem to figure out what the difference is between the two, they are both running RedHat 9 with all the current updates. The only difference is the kernel, I have a modified 2.4.22 on my server and a stock RedHat 2.4.20-latest_redhat_extension on my home computer. Other than that, same compiler, same glibc (which was recently updated this weekend from RedHat), same binutils, ... I used a duplicate customapache build directory on each system and one would work and the other would not. One of these days when I have more free time, I will investigate this further.

I was just happy that I was able to get it to work again. Now, I just have to monitor it, to make sure that it really is working and not causing intermittent seg faults.

[toml]

After a lot of debugging, it appears as though the problem with Zend and Seg faults is due to the zlib being compiled as a static library in DA. When I recompiled zlib as a shared library then Zend started working again.

I think the customapache build script needs to add 'configure --shared'/make/'make install' for zlib so that both a static and a shared library get built and installed.

[Saeven]

If this is true! This would solve much guessing and deserve a medal!

[nebukazar]

Great work toml !!

I'm trying to recompile zlib right now :)

[toml]

Originally posted by nebukazar
Great work toml !!

I'm trying to recompile zlib right now :)
Let me know if that was the problem. By looking at the symbols in a libphp4.so that worked and didn't work, the only thing I noticed was that the one that didn't work had all the gzip symbols defined, where the one that worked had them undefined. The should have never been defined, it if was using the shared library. Also, that would explain why php was dying in php_deflate_string function in php when Zend was loaded.

The last thing I remembered doing on both my systems before it started to work was recompiling zlib. Each time I noticed that it only created the static library, so I reconfigured it again as shared and it started working. That is why I am pretty sure that is what fixed it.

[nebukazar]

Defitively, it seems to be a problem with the zlib. I recompiled as shared and, wow ! it's working !! :D

[Saeven]

three cheers!

[DirectAdmin Support]

Thanks a lot toml!

I've changed the build script to use --shared for zlib.

To update, just run the following:
cd /usr/local/directadmin/customapache
./build clean
./build update
./build zlib
./build php
service httpd restart

Note to select "n" to recompile all php supporting libararies (eg mcrypt, zlib, libpng, gd etc.)

:)

John

[ProWebUK]

Just noticed your thread on the zend forums while looking for other information :D

Good job with getting the information and sharing it :)

Chris

[FarCry]

WOW! this problem also plagues RH 8.0, ty so much for the fix!

[toml]

After figuring out what the problem was, I am amazed it did not affect more systems. The only reason I can think of that would cause it to work on most other systems, was if it was using the OS installed zlib which usually supplies both a static and shared library, and linkers will always choose a shared library over a static if both exist.

Glad I could help, and I'm glad that I can now rebuild on my server, instead of building on my home computer and uploading to the server. Plus I learned a good lesson, always test the updates on a non-production system. Being a software developer, I should know this, cause all of our big customers do this and for a good reason. Of course when I write software it is always in a non-production environment.