Azure Test Environment for Software upgrades

SpaceNut · 2024-04-24 17:07:25

I see that you were able or it finally took some of my changes to the admin options form that save the fluxbb sites addres.

I did go into this again tonight to change the annoument for registration to open it up on the phpbbs test flux site.

here is whaat I got upon the savfe or submit

Warning: Undefined array key "webmaster_email" in /var/www/html/forums/FluxBB/admin_options.php on line 71
Warning: Undefined array key "forum_subscriptions" in /var/www/html/forums/FluxBB/admin_options.php on line 72
Warning: Undefined array key "topic_subscriptions" in /var/www/html/forums/FluxBB/admin_options.php on line 73
Warning: Undefined array key "smtp_host" in /var/www/html/forums/FluxBB/admin_options.php on line 74
Warning: Undefined array key "smtp_user" in /var/www/html/forums/FluxBB/admin_options.php on line 75
Warning: Undefined array key "smtp_ssl" in /var/www/html/forums/FluxBB/admin_options.php on line 76
Warning: Undefined array key "regs_allow" in /var/www/html/forums/FluxBB/admin_options.php on line 77
Warning: Undefined array key "regs_verify" in /var/www/html/forums/FluxBB/admin_options.php on line 78
Warning: Undefined array key "regs_report" in /var/www/html/forums/FluxBB/admin_options.php on line 79
Warning: Undefined array key "rules" in /var/www/html/forums/FluxBB/admin_options.php on line 80
Warning: Undefined array key "rules_message" in /var/www/html/forums/FluxBB/admin_options.php on line 81
Warning: Undefined array key "default_email_setting" in /var/www/html/forums/FluxBB/admin_options.php on line 82
Warning: Undefined array key "announcement" in /var/www/html/forums/FluxBB/admin_options.php on line 83
Warning: Undefined array key "announcement_message" in /var/www/html/forums/FluxBB/admin_options.php on line 84
Warning: Undefined array key "maintenance" in /var/www/html/forums/FluxBB/admin_options.php on line 85
Warning: Undefined array key "maintenance_message" in /var/www/html/forums/FluxBB/admin_options.php on line 86

above the newmars header loogo.

SpaceNut · 2024-04-24 18:57:06

After a refresh to restart the main page the Announcement was up data on the flux site.

Tried to change the Admin user group but I am getting this error

40.75.112.55 can't currently handle this request.

It must be due to the hard force of the tables that made changes to the options of the site and emails.

The table that contains the fluxbb_users_202311121622 has the flag for the user group assigned with in it change the 2 to a 1 and reload to make you a board admin

tahanson43206 · 2024-04-24 19:13:14

For SpaceNut ... re #127 ... thanks for reporting this result!

Thanks for reporting this surprise!

I'll add it to the work list.

FYI ... I wrote to kbd512 in hopes he might be able to change the Registration message.

He's super busy with a demanding job and family, so it might be a while.

Thanks again for trying!

(th)

SpaceNut · 2024-04-24 19:18:13

I did see an error before it refreshed the web page after making a post within your new member topic registering but it went away.

tahanson43206 · 2024-04-24 19:28:22

Hi SpaceNut!

Thanks for this additional report! I know of an error in core.php that flashes just like that. I'll try to get that cleaned up tomorrow.

We have a surprising amount of the forum working, but these remaining defects are going to take a bit more work.

FYI ... if you run into another flashing report like that, you can catch the line number of the error and the php file, by repeating the command that causes it. I had to repeat about 10 times before I caught "core.php" and whatever the line number was. If you can repeat the command, you might be able to figure out where it's coming from. I don't need the text of the message. Inteliphense is able to tell me what is wrong if we can point it at the failing php file.

(th)

SpaceNut · 2024-04-24 20:17:38

I also made a few posts, and the forums home page is counting the posts which was good to see.

it appeared to be line 125 but I am not able to stop it....

topic counter is also working.

tahanson43206 · 2024-04-24 20:25:48

For SpaceNut re #131

Thanks for the hint the problem you are seeing might be on line 125 ... It may be a warning of deprecated php code. Or it could be more serious. Please keep trying to catch the php file name to go with the 125...

I just logged into the work station to begin preparing for more cleanup ... it is to late for much ... I'll resume tomorrow.

I'm here to post an article about poverty ... the essence of the article is that wealth accumulation is normally a multi-generation process, and the author reports on several efforts to encourage the process. There is no quick fix, unless a person wins the lottery, and apparently even then, lack of long training in the needed skills insures the instant wealth is soon gone.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2024-04-24 20:50:08

For SpaceNut ... I think I know how to turn off the queries.

The solution worked in the development PC, so I'll try it on Azure.

Update ... the queries are gone from Azure as well. The documentation in the config.php file was wrong.

The logic changed and no one went back to correct the documentation. That's not uncommon in IT.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2024-04-24 21:46:43

More updates for SpaceNut ...

The MySQL server went down while I was working on it this evening. ChatGPT4 figured out that I don't have enough memory in my Azure partition ... it is only 1 Gb, and I have 8 Gb in the development PC, so I never see an Out of Memory condition.

The MySQL server restarted and it is running now. The log shows it has stopped many times over the past month ... over 70 times at last count. That explains the Missing Database error messages we've been seeing.

***
I updated the Register message... Click on the Register button and you'll see.

That is the message I'm hoping kbd512 will have time to create for our production forum.

***
I'll work on more deprecated code messages tomorrow.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2024-04-25 11:22:18

For SpaceNut re Azure test account ....

Here is a report on usage to date and prediction for the rest of April:

ACTUAL COST (USD)
$9.83
FORECAST: CHART VIEW ON
$12.11

I looked at the invoice display to try to get a sense of what charges our present activity has incurred.

The question of how to add RAM to the Virtual Machine remains unanswered ... The Azure system is designed for multi-national corporations and for entities such as the US Department of Defense. It is somewhat daunting to deal with configuration when operating at our present level.

(th)

NewMarsMember · 2024-04-28 06:38:13

Microsoft is offering learning opportunities if anyone in the NewMars audience is interested...

We have a live Azure demo working now, and you have a live Azure users to talk to, if you are interested ...

Here is a screen scrape of a list of learning opportunities...

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(th)

SpaceNut · 2024-04-28 08:42:18

That change seems to have worked as the table of profiles that are possible is present will now change you to admin in your profile on the clone so you can see what I see.
Since I do not have web master or site admin I am not able to get to the actual files that are the backbone to the forums. So, I am rallying on all of the source code sights and web browsers development tools to be able to see the code.

Apparently, I was already able to make that change in the username profile even while it was broken.

I will look at the other functions later.

tahanson43206 · 2024-04-29 06:32:18

For SpaceNut ...

This is inside baseball, so this post is just FYI...

The Azure account was not responding this morning... I looked at the account using the Microsoft Azure login, and found status as "Not Ready". The diagnostic tool was unable to find a problem. I decided to stop the virtual machne and restart it. The process took a minute or two, indicated by "deallocating". I then clicked "Start" and the status is shown as "running".

The site is back up! However, MySQL was not up (to begin with) and I got this ugly error:

AISE objected to the original text .... I figure that makes sense since there are (or were) file directories ...

Fatal error: Uncaught mysqli_sql_exception: No such file or directory in (removed paths) config.php on line 23

Refresh corrected the issue with MySQL and the site responded.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2024-04-29 06:57:55

For SpaceNut ...

Here is a report from the Azure control panel for the recent outage:

Start Virtual Machine
Succeeded
18 minutes ago
Mon Apr 29 2024 08:32:11 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time)
Azure subscription 1
newmarsmember@gmail.com
Deallocate Virtual Machine
Succeeded
20 minutes ago
Mon Apr 29 2024 08:30:00 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time)
Azure subscription 1
newmarsmember@gmail.com
Health Event Activated
Active
23 minutes ago
Mon Apr 29 2024 08:27:28 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time)
Azure subscription 1
Install OS update patches on virtual machine
Failed
6 hours ago
Mon Apr 29 2024 03:08:23 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time)
Azure subscription 1

I suspect I am trying to run with insufficient ram ... the allocation is 1 Gb. MySQL takes half of that just for a minimal operation.

Update ... for SpaceNut ... if you are interested, here is a conversation with Gemini about how to increase the size of the Virtual Machine.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JV- … sp=sharing

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2024-04-30 07:18:13

For SpaceNut re Azure pricing...

I ventured into the Size section of the Azure portal today...

The two rows of the options table that are most pertinent to our situation are:

This is the next level up:
B2s
General purpose
2
4 RAM
4
1280
8 (SCSI)
Supported
$30.37
Below is where we are now:
B1s
(free services eligible)
General purpose
1
1 RAM
2
320
4 (SCSI)
Supported
$7.59

We are currently operating at the $7.59 introductory level, which includes free software for one year.

The next step up is for 4 Gib of RAM at $30 per month, and software is NOT free.

That jump is out of reach for me, so we'll stay at the level where we are for as long as I can sustain the investment.

The actual cost I will see each month is the base of $8 plus charges for actual use of the account during the month.

The account appears to be working for it's primary purposes ....

1) Prove the software is running and to find any remaining bugs.
2) Provide a convenient source for updated software when kbd512 is ready to install it at Mars Society
3) Provide learning opportunities for Admins and members
4) Provide evaluation opportunity for phpBB3 forum

In return, Admins and members have to put up with slow response to requests, and occasional restarts of MySQL because it runs out of memory.

Update: This is an opportunity for us (Admins and Members) to let Mars Society know how much we appreciate the high quality of Internet service they have been providing for NewMars as a free service, all these years.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2024-05-03 11:02:47

For SpaceNut (and anyone who may be interested in Azure as an environment)...

In recent days I've been trying to install a capability of Python, to capture a file into the local machine clipboard memory. The purpose is to compare the php files we are using in the Azure clone, with the corresponding files in my development machine.

The attempt to install the clipboard python module has been unsuccessful so far.

The entire virtual machine locked up when I tried again today...

A few days ago I was successful in stopping and restarting the virtual machine, using the Azure control panel.

However, today the Stop is taking longer than was the case last time.

The status is reported as "Deallocating"

I may have made the restart more difficult by clicking on [Restart] and then clicking on [stop]

I ** think ** the first time I tried this I used [Stop] and ignored [Restart]

The stop completed and then I used Start.

The lesson appears to be to use one or the other, and then let the system take as long as it needs.

***Well! We have a Stopped message at last!

I clicked on [Start]....

Status is now showing as running ...

Both test websites are back....

I think I'll give up on trying to install the Python Clipboard feature...

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2024-05-04 11:51:20

For SpaceNut and anyone else who may be interested in the Azure experiment...

I gave up on trying to use Python to capture text to the clipboard... multiple attempts to install pyperclip failed.

Today I asked ChatGPT 3.5 for advice, and it suggested scp (which is a relative of ssh used for file transfer over a secure pathway).

After a few tries, we got the mechanism to work, and I quickly confirmed that the search_idx.php on Azure was not up to date. I then used the existing pathway to update the version of search_idx.php on Azure with the clean one from the development PC.

It will take a while to clean and update all the modules in FluxBB 1.5.11 to 1.5.12, but no one seems to be in a hurry.

search_idx.php is the first module to be put through the process.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2024-05-04 18:29:36

For SpaceNut ....

The count of php files to be reviewed is on the order of 100....

I ran some procedures today to try to compare the development PC collection to the Azure test site.

After removing the files in the cache folder, the sets of names are the same.

The cache folder is empty at installation time, and it fills up as members use the system.

Fortunately we don't seem to be in a hurry to roll out the updated version. I'll try to clear more than one file a day, but this process might take 100 days.

Meanwhile, it is ** good ** to see the forum active with a wide variety of posts by a number of members!

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2024-05-05 06:55:36

The Azure test account seems unusually sleepy this morning....

It was working normally last night, but none of the test sites are responding this morning.

I'll check the Control Panel to see what the status might be.

****
OK ... we show "running" as the state, but the log shows failure to install OS patches 4 hours ago.

I'll perform a restart... I've learned to perform Stop first, because it takes some time...

12:36:30 at start of Stop command ....
The time needed can range from 2 minutes to 90 minutes (according to the documentation)
12:41:30 still working (I hope) five minutes
12:44:30 still working (?) 8 minutes
12:46:30 Still working (?) 10 minutes
At this rate we might reach that full 90 minutes for a multi-national installation
This is like watching a pot heating to boiling....
It sure is a good thing we are not depending upon this service.
12:49:30 Still working (?) 13 minutes
12:51:30 Stopped - 15 minutes ... well! That's better than 90 minutes
Restarting at 12:52:30 ...12:53:04 running >> 34 seconds
phpBB3 is back
FluxBB is back
***
The sensible thing to do would be to find out why the OS updates are failing...
I've attempted updates via the terminal connection and most seem to have worked, but something is clearly failing with the automated update process.
(th)

tahanson43206 · 2024-05-05 07:10:46

Update a few minutes .later ... the Azure applications ** seemed ** to be responding, but that may have been an illusion caused by loading from cache...

The sites are not responding when tested on a different computer...

I'll log back into the Control Panel to try to find out what is going on (or not going on) ...

At 13:06 I'm getting the MySQL missing error on both computers...

Restart was initiated at 12:52 and we have the MySQL error at 13:06 so 14 minutes ...

At 14 minutes the OS is responding...

at 13:08 the MySQL server is running and the FluxBB clone is back ready for logins.

And the phpBB3 forum is ready for logins ...

So! 13:08 (UTC) everything is back up....
and 12:36 (UTC) started recovery ... over half an hour to restore normal operation

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2024-05-08 07:33:11

The Azure environment was unresponsive again this morning ... The Azure control panel log did not show anything specific as the cause.

I ** was ** working on the site last night, and it was working when I signed off.

The Stop operation took 12 minutes and the Start took a minute.

Both web sites appear to be operating normally.

The bottom tier service costs $8,00 per month plus charges for usage.

The next tier up costs $30 per month. I can afford the bottom tier, so we'll just have to live with restarts occasionally.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2024-05-09 06:38:52

The Azure environment was unresponsive again this morning.

The Azure control panel reports that OS patches were attempted last night and they failed again.

I'll Stop and Restart the service.

Yesterday Stop took 12 minutes.

Starting Stop at 12:26 UTC .... >> System was back running at 12:55 UTC (just under 30 minutes).
Statius Deallocating at 12:27
Expecting stopped status at 12:38
Actual stopped status: 12:37:21

Now restarting...at 12:30:00 UTC
Status: running: 12:38:33

Note: it takes additional time for MySQL to restart... The PHP pages show up immediately after restart, but a login will take longer than usual, because MySQL does not restart automatically.

The behavior today differs from previous restarts.... the forums are not accepting login ....

At 12:53, I have an error message about the MySQL restart:

Fatal error: Uncaught mysqli_sql_exception: No such file or directory in /var/www/html/forums/FluxBB/config.php:23 Stack trace: #0 /var/www/html/forums/FluxBB/config.php(23): mysqli->__construct() #1 /var/www/html/forums/FluxBB/include/common.php(38): require('...') #2 /var/www/html/forums/FluxBB/misc.php(13): require('...') #3 {main} thrown in /var/www/html/forums/FluxBB/config.php on line 23

This means (or I ** think ** it means) that the MySQL request was submitted by the PHP pages, but MySQL was not available, and the PHP page timed out.
And now, at 12:55, the site is back up. Total elapsed time was 29 minutes.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2024-05-09 20:40:45

For SpaceNut re Azure environment...

Because the test environment has become unusable twice in the recent past, due to failed automatic software updates, I decided to turn off the automatic update feature. I don't think it is needed, and I'd like the environment to be stable at least until we have collected the updated software for installation at Mars Society.

The change made today was implemented in a text file that (I gather) controls automatic updates. What I don't know is whether I changed the correct line.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2024-05-10 06:39:52

For SpaceNut re Azure environment...

The Azure sites are non-responsive again this morning.

I started a manual OS update last night. That might have failed

The Azure control panel did not show any errors.

The restart took only 2 minutes this time.

All services were running at 13:22 UTC.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2024-05-11 06:15:38

For SpaceNut ... Azure is non-responsive again. The invoice for April arrived...

Azure woke up eventually. It is now responsive.

Review your Microsoft invoice for Thomas Hanson
Your statement is ready for review (see attached). Sign in to view it. If you’ve already paid, disregard this email.
If paying by credit card, we'll automatically charge the card we have on file within two days of the billing date.
Invoice number: G047481635
Amount: $6.02 USD
Billing period: April 1, 2024 - April 30, 2024
Billing date: May 9, 2024
Due date: May 9, 2024

Update ... restart was not required.

(th)

New Mars Forums

Announcement

#126 2024-04-24 17:07:25

Re: Azure Test Environment for Software upgrades

#127 2024-04-24 18:57:06

Re: Azure Test Environment for Software upgrades

#128 2024-04-24 19:13:14

Re: Azure Test Environment for Software upgrades

#129 2024-04-24 19:18:13

Re: Azure Test Environment for Software upgrades

#130 2024-04-24 19:28:22

Re: Azure Test Environment for Software upgrades

#131 2024-04-24 20:17:38

Re: Azure Test Environment for Software upgrades

#132 2024-04-24 20:25:48

Re: Azure Test Environment for Software upgrades

#133 2024-04-24 20:50:08

Re: Azure Test Environment for Software upgrades

#134 2024-04-24 21:46:43

Re: Azure Test Environment for Software upgrades

#135 2024-04-25 11:22:18

Re: Azure Test Environment for Software upgrades

#136 2024-04-28 06:38:13

Re: Azure Test Environment for Software upgrades

#137 2024-04-28 08:42:18

Re: Azure Test Environment for Software upgrades

#138 2024-04-29 06:32:18

Re: Azure Test Environment for Software upgrades

#139 2024-04-29 06:57:55

Re: Azure Test Environment for Software upgrades

#140 2024-04-30 07:18:13

Re: Azure Test Environment for Software upgrades

#141 2024-05-03 11:02:47

Re: Azure Test Environment for Software upgrades

#142 2024-05-04 11:51:20

Re: Azure Test Environment for Software upgrades

#143 2024-05-04 18:29:36

Re: Azure Test Environment for Software upgrades

#144 2024-05-05 06:55:36

Re: Azure Test Environment for Software upgrades

#145 2024-05-05 07:10:46

Re: Azure Test Environment for Software upgrades

#146 2024-05-08 07:33:11

Re: Azure Test Environment for Software upgrades

#147 2024-05-09 06:38:52

Re: Azure Test Environment for Software upgrades

#148 2024-05-09 20:40:45

Re: Azure Test Environment for Software upgrades

#149 2024-05-10 06:39:52

Re: Azure Test Environment for Software upgrades

#150 2024-05-11 06:15:38

Re: Azure Test Environment for Software upgrades

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