IBM Support

Starting and stopping IBM HTTP Server from the administrative console fails when the directory contains a space

Troubleshooting


Problem

The start and stop command in the process definition for IBM HTTP Server on the Microsoft Windows operating system is not correct. For example: []cmd.exe /c "C:\Program Files\IBM\HTTPServer\bin\apache.exe" -k start -n IBMHTTPServer7.0 -f "C:\ProgramFiles\IBM\HTTPServer\conf\httpd.conf"[]

Symptom

The following error might occur:
Windows Service name name on nodeName/ServerName Web server could not be started. View server logs for further details.

Diagnosing The Problem

Set node agent tracing:
*=info:
com.ibm.ws.management.nodeagent.NodeAgent=all:
com.ibm.ws.management.metadata.NodeAgentCollector=all:
com.ibm.ws.management.tools.GenericServerProcHelper=all:
com.ibm.ws.console.core.*=all
com.ibm.ws.process.*=all:
You should see the following command issued in the NodeAgent trace:
(cmd.exe /c "C:\Program Files\IBM\HTTPServer\bin\apache.exe" -k start -n IBMHTTPServer7.0 -f "C:\ProgramFiles\IBM\HTTPServer\conf\httpd.conf")

This tracing is correct, but the return value from LaunchProcess is false.

Set deployment manager tracing:
*=info:
com.ibm.ws.console.web.webserver.*=all:
com.ibm.ws.console.web.util.impl.ServerUtilImpl=all:
com.ibm.ws.console.web.webserver.ServerController=all:
com.ibm.ws.management.webserver.RemoteIhsWebServerControl=all:
com.ibm.ws.management.webserver.ManagedWebServerControl=all:
com.ibm.ws.management.webserver.WebServer=all:
com.ibm.ws.process.*=all:

The return value from LaunchProcess is false.

Resolving The Problem

Use one of the following methods to resolve this problem:

  • Install IBM HTTP Server to a directory that does not contain spaces.
  • If you must install IBM HTTP Server to a directory with spaces or if you need to use the default path, which is C:\Program Files\IBM\HTTPServer, modify the process definition for the Web server. Complete the following steps in the administrative console for WebSphere Application Server to modify the process definition:
    1. Click Servers, expand Server Types, and click Web servers > web_server_name.
    2. Under Additional Properties, click Process definition.
    3. In the Start command arguments field, delete the following code:
      -f "${WEB_INSTALL_ROOT}/conf/httpd.conf
      Be sure to leave the existing command arguments on separate lines.
    4. Repeat the same process for the Stop command arguments field.

If you need to run multiple IBM HTTP Servers on Microsoft Windows operating systems, create additional service names using the following Apache command:
apache -k install -n service_name -f full_configuration_path

The difference is that you must create the service with the -f full_configuration_path configuration arguments and then make the same change in the second method to delete the configuration arguments from the Start command arguments and Stop command arguments fields.

Note: Each Web server definition must have its own service_name variable defined.

Related Information

Release notes for Version 7.0

[{"Product":{"code":"SSEQTP","label":"WebSphere Application Server"},"Business Unit":{"code":"BU053","label":"Cloud & Data Platform"},"Component":"Administrative Console (all non-scripting)","Platform":[{"code":"PF033","label":"Windows"}],"Version":"7.0","Edition":"Network Deployment","Line of Business":{"code":"LOB45","label":"Automation"}}]

Document Information

Modified date:
06 June 2019

UID

swg21318146

Page Feedback