See article #115794 for the general description of File Manager.

Symptoms

The common symptoms for File Manager problems are:

  • Opening File Manager in CCP, the pages loads for too long, resulting in error:

    Unable to connect to backend.
    

    or:

    WebExecutor logon : Connection to webserver failed. Server response: "Connection failed"
    

    or:

    Invalid backend response. Data is empty.
    
  • File Manager produces "Service Unavailable" page.

Common problems with Linux File Manager Service in OA are:

  • Failed/pending background tasks - File Manager configuration files were not updated properly

  • Services not started - FTP access to webspace does not work

  • Firewall configuration - FTP access to webspace does not work

Troubleshooting Linux File Manager service

Follow the steps below to troubleshoot the Linux File Manager service in OA.

  1. Use web browser developer tools to determine the request URL that doesn't load or gives the error while opening File Manager page. The example of request URL: https://cp.domain.com/webfilemanager/1001/

  2. Login to the web server with the branding webspace (make sure the chosen brand is correct and correlates with the used OA CP URL). Navigate to the webspace directory and locate the .branding_htaccess file. Search for webfilemanager lines inside of it, e.g.:

    # grep webfilemanager .branding_htaccess
    RewriteRule ^webfilemanager/1001/(.*)$ http://192.0.2.2:1299/$1 [P]
    
  3. Test connection to the mentioned IP address and port from the branding and UI nodes:

    # telnet 192.0.2.2 1299
    

    In case there is no connectivity on port the mentioned port, check that it is not blocked on the network firewall.

    If there is restrictive iptables configuration on the web server with File Manager service, make sure incoming connections on port 1299 are allowed. Add the following rule if no entry is present:

    # iptables -I INPUT -p tcp -m state --state NEW -m tcp --dport 1299 -j ACCEPT
    # service iptables save 
    

    For NG cluster: verify that port 1299 is added on load balancer iptables configuration. Add the following entry in case it is absent:

    # iptables -t mangle -I PREROUTING -p tcp -m state --state NEW -m tcp --dport 1299 -j MARK --set-mark 0x64
    # service iptables save
    

    Reference: Linux File Manager Firewall configuration guide

    Check connection using CURL

    # curl http://192.0.2.2:1299
    <html><script language='javascript'>document.location='Login.html';</script></html>
    

    In case the page content is returned - File Manager itself is available. Otherwise proceed with services health check below.

  4. Log in to the File Manager server 192.0.2.2 by SSH as root. File Manager can be installed on a separate Apache web server or as an NG cluster service. In the latter case, it's needed to check the service state on each web server in cluster.

  5. Check that Apache is running and (re)start it if required:

    Apache NG:

    # service httpd status
    # service httpd restart
    

    Legacy Apache:

    # service pemhttpd status
    # service pemhttpd restart
    
  6. Check that HTTP server processes are running (no output means no processes are running):

    # ps axf | grep httpd | grep -v grep
    
  7. [For OA version < 5.5] Check that the 'mono' process is running (File Manager uses Mono software):

    # ps ax | grep mono
    3177 ?        Ssl    0:02 /usr/bin/mono /usr/lib/mono/2.0/mod-mono-server2.exe --filename /tmp/mod_mono_server_global --nonstop --master
    

    Restart the Apache service if the 'mono' processes are not running.

  8. Check that port 1299 is being listened to by the httpd process:

    # netstat -antp | grep :1299
    tcp        0      0 :::1299                     :::* LISTEN      12689/httpd
    
  9. Check that the FTP service is up and running on the Linux Shared Hosting server where the customer's webspace is located (since File Manager connects to webspace using FTP). Use the following commands on the server where the webspace is located:

    # /etc/init.d/proftpd status
    # ps axf | grep proftpd
    

    Check that the File Manager host can connect to the Linux Shared Hosting server where the customer's webspace is located using FTP. Use the telnet utility on the Linux File Manager host:

    # telnet LSH_SERVER 21
    

    Replace LSH_SERVER with the actual hostname or IP address of the Linux Shared Hosting server where the problem webspace is located. Correct the firewall configuration if necessary.

    Try to connect to the web server via ftp and user the website FTP user credentials:

    # ftp LSH_SERVER
    

    In case of FTP login problems, check /var/log/proftpd.log on the corresponding web server.

  10. Check Apache log /var/log/httpd/error_log for possible errors generated by the File Manager website.

    For OA version < 5.5: check the /var/log/webfm.log file on the File Manager host for error messages.

To summarize, the following requirements must be satisfied for Linux File Manager to work:

Network connections:

  • From the OA UI and branding hosts to the Linux File Manager host using port 1229.

  • From the Linux File Manager host to all Linux web servers using port 21 (FTP).

Services:

  • Apache must be running on the Linux File Manager host.

  • The FTP service must be running on all Linux Shared Hosting servers.

Related information

Main Linux File Manager service article:
Website Hosting: Linux File Manager service

Main Web Hosting hub article:
Website Hosting: General information, Best Practices and Troubleshooting for more information.

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