Confluence-6.10.1 causing Linux Debian Stretch to hard-lock during setup
Asked by V R:

Hello,

I am attempting to run Confluence in a freshly created Linux container (lxc) on a Quad-Core i7 machine, 8GB of RAM with hardware that has been running for years without issue. OS is Debian Stretch, kernel 4.9.0-6, all the latest updates, etc.

I create a new Linux container, install PostgreSQL and then invoke the Confluence installer. After installation is done, I access the default site on :8090 , the installer gets to the point (after creating the admin account) that it asks to create a Space.

As soon as I put a name in and hit create, the machine hard-locks. I've deleted the Linux container and started from scratch several times and the results are reproducible.

The container is not running any other services and when doing the install, there's nothing else running in the background. I even modified setenv.sh to -Xms4096m -Xmx4096m on a subsequent setup, with no difference.


Answers:
author: V R
body: 1. Confluence 6.10.1 as stated in the subject thread

2. PostgreSQL 9.6 from the Debian repositories

I will attempt to re-setup and watch the Confluence logs ; system logs don't show anything since the system is hard locked (as in a power cycle is needed).

comments: author: V R
body: After some more work, I can get past the installer / default Space creation issues by using jdk1.8.0_172 and changes below. I think someone from Confluence team should file a bug report ; the problem is reproducible. Since I have "only" bought the 10-license version I cannot file a bug report.

1. In /opt/atlassian/confluence I renamed the bundled jre folder (1.8.0_162) and created a symbolic link to jre from the unpacked JRE1.8.0 that I placed in /opt/jdk1.8.0_172.

2. I also commented out the following lines in setenv.sh:

#CATALINA_OPTS="-XX:-PrintGCDetails -XX:+PrintGCDateStamps -XX:-PrintTenuringDistribution ${CATALINA_OPTS}"  
#CATALINA_OPTS="-Xloggc:$LOGBASEABS/logs/gc-\`date +%F_%H-%M-%S\`.log -XX:+UseGCLogFileRotation -XX:NumberOfGCLogFiles=5 -XX:GCLogFileSize=2M ${CATALINA_OPTS}"


author: Shannon S
body: Hi there,

Thank you for confirming. Apologies for missing that you mentioned your Confluence version in the title!

Can you let me know what version JDK you were using to start with? Confluence 6.10\* only supports Java 1.8.

I can certainly file the report for you or see if there's an existing bug. I'll need to know exactly how we can replicate it in order to do so.

Regards,

Shannon


author: V R
body: Hello Shannon,

On initial setup, I was using the bundled JRE/JDK which is "1.8.0_162".

I spent a lot more time trying to debug this situation and even with a newer JDK I eventually experienced hard lock-ups. I also updated the kernel version Debian 4.17.8-1\~bpo9+1 which still did not help.

Right now I've moved the Confluence installation to a dedicated computer (which is also running Debian Stretch) but installed directly into the host rather than in an lxc container. So far, that Confluence instance seems to work.

At this point, I think there is some compatibility issue with JRE/JDK 1.8x \& running under an lxc container.

I would still advocate for a support ticket being opened ; I bought the 10-user license to get the set up going, but the goal is to scale for a much larger customer.


author: Shannon S
body: Thank you for the in depth investigation you've done so far. It's very helpful!

I would agree a support ticket is needed here. We'd love to be able to work with the log files from your instance as well as other things that are best sent in a private ticket.

I've created it now for you, and you should be receiving an email shortly.

A member of the Confluence Server team will be able to assist you shortly.

As soon as the issue resolved, it would help us if you could reply here with the resolution so that it may help users in the future. I'll be keeping an eye on your ticket as well.

Take care,

Shannon


author: Shannon S
body: Hi there,

I would start here for troubleshooting the hanging:

* [Troubleshooting Confluence hanging or crashing](https://confluence.atlassian.com/confkb/troubleshooting-confluence-hanging-or-crashing-163415613.html)

As fr your instance, you confirm your Confluence and PostgreSQL versions? What error messages are occurring in the Confluence logs when your instance locks?

Regards,

Shannon


Tags: confluence-server

server