Database Install blank page

[jblack]

Server

• FOG Version: 1.4.4
• OS: Ubuntu 16.04

Description

Issue: When the install tells me to go the webpage and install the database schema, there is not content. The headers are there but there is not button to install.

I was looking at this post describing the same issue. I moved /var/www, re-ran the installer and still same issue. So I looked at /var/log/apache2/error.log and whenever I connected this line was entered:
PHP Warning: ini_set() has been disabled for security reasons in /var/www/fog/lib/fog/fogcore.class.php on line 241
So then I found this which told me to enable ini_set. I did so by removing ini_set from the disabled list in /etc/php/7.0/apache2/php.ini. Rerun the installer and no luck. Now /var/log/apache2/error.log contains
PHP Warning: session_start(): open( /var/www/tmp/sess_...) failed: No such file or directory
I found that /var/www/tmp/ did not exist so I created it and chown-ed chgrp-ed it to www-data.
…and no go.

Now /var/log/apache2/error.log contains no more errors and I still can’t install the database.

Is there another log file I need to be looking at? Or what else could be causing the page to not load?

[jblack]

After some more testing this appears to be something with apache2. The script directs me to http://<ip address>/fog/management to install the database scheme. And this is where I get the blank page. But if I use the hostname, http://<hostname>/fog/management then the content does appear and I am able to install the database scheme and use fog. After that, I can use either hostname or IP but it seems that for the initial database install, I must use the hostname.

[Sebastian Roth]

@jblack This is kind of strange. Why does a default Ubuntu install make so much trouble I wonder. Maybe this is kind of a special install like a pre-configured container image?

Anyway, can you please try connecting to mysql on the command line, just to make sure connection details are correct. You find the mysql User and Pass in /var/www/fog/lib/fog/config.class.php file. Run this command from the shell: mysql -u <USER> -h localhost -p

[jblack]

@Sebastian-Roth I should have stated that this not completely a default Ubuntu install. My end goal is to install FOG from an ansible playbook. I install mariadb and apache2 from their playbooks. I tried reinstalling php and apache from the install script, but that results in an error 500 and no errors in /var/log/apache2/error.log. So I have stuck with my install of apache and php.

I can connect to mysql and create the database:

 # mysql -u fogdb -h localhost -p
Enter password: 
Welcome to the MariaDB monitor.  Commands end with ; or \g.
Your MariaDB connection id is 7536
Server version: 10.1.25-MariaDB-1~xenial mariadb.org binary distribution

Copyright (c) 2000, 2017, Oracle, MariaDB Corporation Ab and others.

Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the current input statement.

MariaDB [(none)]> CREATE DATABASE fog
    -> 

[Wayne Workman]

See the link in my signature, all clean & updated Ubuntu distributions are currently passing the installation tests.

My guess: installer isn’t being ran as root. Sudo is not enough, it’s gotta be root.

[Sebastian Roth]

@jblack said in Database Install blank page:

MariaDB [(none)]> CREATE DATABASE fog
->

There is a ; missing to complete this SQL query and make it actually run. But as we see the connection is fine I think we can at least rule out a general mysql/mariadb connection issue. Although this is no prove that PHP is actually able to connect.

[jblack]

After some more testing this appears to be something with apache2. The script directs me to http://<ip address>/fog/management to install the database scheme. And this is where I get the blank page. But if I use the hostname, http://<hostname>/fog/management then the content does appear and I am able to install the database scheme and use fog. After that, I can use either hostname or IP but it seems that for the initial database install, I must use the hostname.

[Sebastian Roth]

@jblack Great to hear you found and fixed this just by using the hostname. Though I am pretty sure this is something with your kind of special install method using ansible. Something in the apache conf I reckon.

Just open a new post and let us know if you run into another issue with this. Keeping my fingers crossed that things go fine now for you.