Issue Plesk repair won't work

[Thor123]

Server operating system version

Debian 9.11 x86_64

Plesk version and microupdate number

Plesk Obsidian 18.0.44.3

I've been trying to fix plesk for some time (a white login page with no content began to appear). Today I messed up even more.


plesk repair all -v
/usr/bin/sw-engine: error while loading shared libraries: /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/sw/librdbmspp.so.2: invalid ELF header
exit status 127



Similar problem is when sw-engine try to start:

#service sw-engine start
...
#journalctl -xe
...
lut 10 18:13:53 ns3137965 sw-engine-fpm[28926]: /usr/sbin/sw-engine-fpm: error while loading shared libraries: /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/sw/librdbmspp.so.2: invalid ELF header
lut 10 18:13:53 ns3137965 systemd[1]: sw-engine.service: Main process exited, code=exited, status=127/n/a
lut 10 18:13:53 ns3137965 systemd[1]: Failed to start Startup script for Panel sw-engine.



Today I have done:
# apt-get upgrade

But even before sw-engine won't already started.

 

[Peter Debik]

The issue can be that Debian 9 is not supported.

Software Requirements for Plesk Obsidian

Read all about the software requirements, specifications and other important details to take full advantage of Plesk Obsidian.

docs.plesk.com

The best solution would be to spin-up a new server with an up-to-date debian, then install Plesk on it and then either try Plesk Migrator to migrate the old installation or to restore a full backup to the new server.

 

[Thor123]

This debian w/plesk is installed from OVH.com template "debian9-plesk17_64". It works fine few years.


Maybe new plesk installation should be done?

/usr/local/psa/admin/bin/autoinstaller

 

[Peter Debik]

Maybe new plesk installation should be done?

Yes, but not on Debian 9. This will not be possible.

 

[Thor123]

Excuse me, may I know why not?

These system template (debian+plesk) have been shipped by OVH.com and has been running since Jan 2020 without any problem.
Now when some next automatic update came in (to plesk_18.0.44) and the server made broke all of a sudden it shouldn't work?
For two years there were versions from plesk_18.0.20 to plesk_18.0.43 working well.

What can I do with it now?

 

[scsa20]

OVH probably has an updated image using a different flavor or Linux or an updated Debian build. Debian 9 has been EOL since January 2020 and was only in LTS until June 30th of last year. Since LTS ended last year, Plesk dropped the support of it. Which means if you want to reinstall you should look at upgrading the OS to one that is supported. Debian 10 is still a solid choice since there's currently no LTS but at the same time I can't recommend it because it was EOL as of August of last year so it would just be a matter of time until it reaches the end of LTS.

You can read the current software requirements (including current supported OSes) at Software Requirements for Plesk Obsidian

I would highly recommend spinning up a new server, get Plesk installed with the migrator and attempt a migration. Good thing about the migrater is that it should work even if Plesk is basically dead on the other server.

The alternative is if you've have snapshots of your VM (like you should if this is a production server where you need to make sure it's working) then restore from the snapshot before the whole issue.

But in either case, you really should spin up a new server and migrate off of Debian 9.

 

[Thor123]

Thanks a lot for all the quick replies. Unfortunately, they formed me that plesk is not a mature enough tool to be able to deal with it in natural conditions.
It took me a week to find all the workarounds to get the server back to full working order (to find all workarounds of broken plesk).

It cannot be that the user installs a product from the shelf and after some time there is no support (despite the fact that it still has a monthly salary by license).

The product broke itself due to automatic updates and I was left without support (despite working without any problems for 2 years).
I don't mind having to upgrade the system to higher versions, but it cannot be that automatic updates come in and disable everything. This should never happen.

Now i have to think about what to do next and consider if a newer system and a new plesk is the right choice in my case.

 

[Thor123]

Of course, I accept that there is "some" possibility to put a second machine and recreate the fallen plesk state. Is there an instruction how to do it?

 

[scsa20]

I don't know what you mean by Plesk not being a mature enough tool for what natural conditions nor who told you that. Plesk been around for years with new improvement with every updates. It's just the sad fact that when an OS reaches EOL that Plesk will not be able to provide full proper support. Mind you, Plesk support will still attempt to try to give you some help but it's limited in scope and is also based off of your license. If you bought your license directly through Plesk then the support is free, if you didn't bought your license through Plesk but through a third party reseller (such as buying the license through OVH) then the support is through them but you have the option to buy a support subscription with Plesk to get help directly through Plesk themselves. But, again, support will be limited due to unsupported OS.

Also, according to the change log, Debian 9 support was dropped in version 18.0.45

Change Log for Plesk Obsidian

Find out about changes, additions and updates to Plesk Obsidian on an iteration to iteration basis.

docs.plesk.com

By the way, I've had a Plesk server running on CentOS 7 for about 2 years with no issue, I've recently spin up and migrated everything over to an AlmaLinux 8 distro since CentOS 7 EOL is coming up next year and wanted to get ahead of it. Knowing when an OS's EOL is going to bed and planning for and getting ahead of it is always better then waiting a year after when something breaks and wonder why it's hard to get support for it =\ (just saying)

 

[Thor123]

There should be a lock preventing the update. If, for example a macOS update shows me up, I don't wonder if I'll be able to turn on my computer after it's done.
I define the immaturity of plesk as the lack of resistance to simple mistakes. In this case, there was a mistake by the developers of this system.
This should be undone with a single command.

 

[Peter Debik]

The best solution would be to spin-up a new server with an up-to-date debian, then install Plesk on it and then either try Plesk Migrator to migrate the old installation or to restore a full backup to the new server.

No need to spend a week trying difficult or non-functioning workarounds.