awstats 6.5 on Plesk 8.0 woes

[chrisco23]

Hello,

I attempted to install awstats on 12/10 on my recently-acquired Plesk 8.0 dedicated server, to monitor stats for a single domain.

The symptoms of my problem are that:

1. awstats ran once (from my command-line execution of updateall at the time of install) and made a record for 12/10. I have not been able to get any updated records of anything since 12/10. I created a subdomain for awstats which runs OK but will not show me anything more current than 12/10. running awstats_updateall.pl seems to process records but I am not seeing any more recent data.

2. furthermore plesk-stat no longer runs, so I have no stats.

-----

I should state that I am primarily a LAMP (PHP) web developer and not an expert sysadmin by any stretch, but not a total newb either, and I am asking for help.

I have read 3 hours of forum pages, the best I can find (via Google etc.). One page began by saying awstats will drive a sysadmin to drink. Another page said it was the "beginner's guide" before it turned into an extremely long thread consisting of possibly dozens of similar but different problems.

Some things I've read have suggested that the modifications made to httpd.conf might be overwritten (although I don't actually see this happening).

In short this has become quite the nightmare.

Can anybody help me get back on track with updating awstats (I attempted to set an hourly update in the crontab, which is also something I'm just learning more about).

The provider of my dedicated server would possibly help restore at least plesk-stats, probably to the tune of some serious cash that's rather a stretch for me right now; besides I'd rather understand this for myself.

Can anyone point me towards a page that might help explain my problem installing awstats on Plesk 8 (ideally without destroying plesk-stat), a page of info that doesn't ask more questions than it answers?

Thank you for your time,
Chris

 

[blank_page]

Hello,


Download the awstats and unzip it.

PLace the following files and folders in cgi-bin:

awredir.pl
awstats.conf
awstats.pl
lang
lib
plugins

chown them to the user.psacln
chmod them to 755

PLace the following files somewhere in httpdocs:

classes css icon js

same permissions and ownerships.

Create folder data.
Set up permissions so apache can write.

Edit awstats.conf and change it according to your domain.
There is an option there (EnableUpdateFromBrowser set to 1).

chmod statistics to 755

Try to update it manually see if it gives errors.

Crontab command :

/usr/bin/perl /path/to/domain/cgi-bin/awstats.pl -config=domain.com -update >/dev/null 2>&1

That should be it.

 

[blank_page]

You should also check when statistics run.
Try to place the cronjob before statistics run so you have minimal data loss because of the log rotation.

 

[chrisco23]

Thanks and clarification questions

Thank you blank_page.

Since my first attempt caused several problems, I want to make sure I understand exactly before I proceed.

My first attempt of installing awstats ran once (from the command line) and never since the install Dec. 10. Worse, it has caused plesk-stat to also not update since Dec. 10.

1. the cgi-bin
I attempted to install awstats as a subdomain of the main domain I want stats on (the only domain other than another subdomain I call "dev"). Do you mean the cgi-bin for this subdomain ("awstats.my-main-domain.com") or are you suggesting the cgi-bin of the domain I want stats on ("my-main-domain.com")? If the latter, isn't that a security risk?

2. my first awstats install attempt added 20 lines to httpd.conf. Now I am getting the impression that I should never modify httpd.conf in the Plesk environment (outside of changes made by the Plesk control panel), but only "vhost.conf". Is that a true statement? And that means I should remove those 20 lines?

3. when I type "locate awstats.pl" I get two versions:
/usr/local/awstats/wwwroot/cgi-bin/awstats.pl
/usr/share/awstats/wwwroot/cgi-bin/awstats.pl

but my domain (and subdomains) have all been in /var/www/vhosts/[my_domain].

Should I remove the two aforementioned versions and/or take other steps to uninstall the failed awstats install I made on Dec. 10?

-----

Thanks again for your time and patience as I'm learning Plesk and awstats and a little more Linux admin all at once here.


Chris

 

[blank_page]

Hello,


There is no special awstats install needed.
This is installed /domain.

The awstats would be visible like:

http://domain/cgi-bin/awstats.pl

Why would it be a security risk? You can always password protect it.

 

[blank_page]

Hello,

MAybe the data file, but that can be placed in the root of the domain.

 

[chrisco23]

Plesk 8.1 solved me

Blank_page,

Thanks for the tips. We've been through a lot of things and I was waiting to reply until something settled into place.

What finally happened is my dedicated server host upgraded us to Plesk 8.1 which thankfully includes the option to choose between Webalizer and Awstats.

I'm all set finally!

Shouldn't I be able to retrieve stats on the last 1-2 months of logs though? It only shows me the stats for since they got it working, yesterday.



Thanks,
Chris