Phusion Passenger "Web application could not be started"

[Tomas]

Hi there,

This is a rookie question. I do some front end development but I've got no familiarity with Phusion Passenger, but a friend of mine has a website hosted on the platform and it went down two days ago. Unfortunately, the webmaster who built the site for her passed away a few months ago, so I'm trying to see if I can salvage anything with the limited information that I've got at my disposal. That said, any information from anyone has received this error before or could point me in the right direction for why I might be getting it would be very helpful.

I've copied the error information below with usernames and domain name redacted, if that info can be of assistance I can provide it. Any help would be very appreciated. Just trying to find a good starting point for this.

Thanks in advance.

Error information text:

exit (SystemExit)
  ./config/boot.rb:66:in `exit'
  ./config/boot.rb:66:in `load_rails_gem'
  ./config/boot.rb:54:in `load_initializer'
  ./config/boot.rb:38:in `run'
  ./config/boot.rb:11:in `boot!'
  ./config/boot.rb:110
  /usr/lib/ruby/1.8/rubygems/custom_require.rb:31:in `gem_original_require'
  /usr/lib/ruby/1.8/rubygems/custom_require.rb:31:in `require'
  ./config/environment.rb:12
  /usr/lib/ruby/1.8/rubygems/custom_require.rb:31:in `gem_original_require'
  /usr/lib/ruby/1.8/rubygems/custom_require.rb:31:in `require'
  config.ru:4
  /usr/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/rack-1.2.1/lib/rack/builder.rb:46:in `instance_eval'
  /usr/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/rack-1.2.1/lib/rack/builder.rb:46:in `initialize'
  config.ru:1:in `new'
  config.ru:1

Application root

/home/redacted/websitename.info

Environment (value of RAILS_ENV, RACK_ENV, WSGI_ENV, NODE_ENV and PASSENGER_APP_ENV)

production

Ruby interpreter command

/usr/bin/ruby1.8

User and groups

uid=2849224(redacted) gid=467870(pg1737932) groups=467870(pg1737932)

Environment variables

GEM_HOME = /home/redacted/.gems
SHELL = /bin/bash
SSH_CLIENT = 10.3.67.107 43350 22
PASSENGER_DEBUG_DIR = /tmp/passenger.spawn-debug.XXXXKvAQWJ
USER = redacted
PATH = /home/redacted/.gems/bin:/usr/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/bin/:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/bin/X11:/usr/games
MAIL = /home/redacted/Maildir/
LC_COLLATE = C
PWD = /home/redacted/websitename.info
LANG = en_US.UTF-8
PS1 = [\h]$ 
HOME = /home/redacted
SHLVL = 3
LOGNAME = redacted
SSH_CONNECTION = 10.3.67.107 43350 10.232.38.145 22
GEM_PATH = /usr/lib/ruby/gems/1.8
IN_PASSENGER = 1
PYTHONUNBUFFERED = 1
NODE_PATH = /dh/passenger/node_lib
RAILS_ENV = production
RACK_ENV = production
WSGI_ENV = production
NODE_ENV = production
PASSENGER_APP_ENV = production
UNIQUE_ID = U5cyekWjgHYAAFoKNwAAAAAJ
ds_id_15080504 = 
SCRIPT_URI = http://www.websitename.info/main/gallery_image/217
SERVER_PROTOCOL = HTTP/1.1
DH_USER = redacted
SCRIPT_URL = /main/gallery_image/217
SERVER_SOFTWARE = Apache
DOCUMENT_ROOT = /home/redacted/websitename.info/public
SERVER_ADMIN = webm...@websitename.info
QUERY_STRING = page=15
SERVER_NAME = www.websitename.info
dsid = 15080504
REMOTE_PORT = 38995
REMOTE_ADDR = 37.58.100.177
SERVER_PORT = 80
REQUEST_METHOD = GET
SERVER_ADDR = 69.163.128.96
REQUEST_URI = /main/gallery_image/217?page=15

Ulimits

Unknown

System memory usage

             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:         32181      31754        427          0        228       8851
-/+ buffers/cache:      22674       9506
Swap:         3904        117       3787

General Ruby interpreter information

RUBY_VERSION = 1.8.7
RUBY_PLATFORM = x86_64-linux
RUBY_ENGINE = nil
RubyGems version = 1.3.7

Ruby configuration (RbConfig::CONFIG)

PACKAGE_VERSION = 
INSTALL_SCRIPT = /usr/bin/install -c
DEFS = 
GREP = /bin/grep
sharedstatedir = /usr/com
COMMON_LIBS = 
EXPORT_PREFIX = 
AR = ar
target_alias = 
PACKAGE_STRING = 
host_os = linux-gnu
RDOCTARGET = 
MANTYPE = doc
build = x86_64-pc-linux-gnu
AS = as
PACKAGE_URL = 
DLDFLAGS = 
build_os = linux-gnu
PATH_SEPARATOR = :
PACKAGE_NAME = 
LIBRUBYARG = -lruby1.8
RUBY_INSTALL_NAME = ruby1.8
LN_S = ln -s
EXTSTATIC = 
EXEEXT = 
mandir = /usr/share/man
YACC = bison -y
LIBPATHENV = LD_LIBRARY_PATH
oldincludedir = /usr/include
psdir = /usr/share/doc/$(PACKAGE)
sitearch = x86_64-linux
DLEXT2 = 
LIBS = -lpthread -lrt -ldl -lcrypt -lm 
bindir = /usr/bin
localedir = /usr/share/locale
rubyw_install_name = 
RUBY_SO_NAME = ruby1.8
OBJDUMP = 
ECHO_C = 
optflags = 
arch = x86_64-linux
NROFF = /usr/bin/nroff
libexecdir = /usr/lib/ruby1.8
CC = gcc
cflags =  
OUTFLAG = -o 
STATIC = 
PREP = miniruby
build_vendor = pc
debugflags = 
htmldir = /usr/share/doc/$(PACKAGE)
sitedir = /usr/local/lib/site_ruby
YFLAGS = 
MAKEFILES = Makefile
STRIP = strip -S -x
MINOR = 8
LIBRUBYARG_SHARED = -lruby1.8
MAKEDIRS = mkdir -p
LIBRUBY_LDSHARED = gcc -shared
LDFLAGS = -L.  -rdynamic -Wl,-export-dynamic
vendorarchdir = /usr/lib/ruby/vendor_ruby/1.8/x86_64-linux
includedir = /usr/include
infodir = /usr/share/info
NM = 
target = x86_64-pc-linux-gnu
ENABLE_SHARED = yes
DLLWRAP = 
vendorlibdir = /usr/lib/ruby/vendor_ruby/1.8
CFLAGS = -fno-strict-aliasing -g -g -O2  -fPIC  
host = x86_64-pc-linux-gnu
INSTALL_DATA = /usr/bin/install -c -m 644
INSTALL_PROGRAM = /usr/bin/install -c
DLEXT = so
PACKAGE_BUGREPORT = 
exec_prefix = /usr
sysconfdir = /etc
TEENY = 7
CPP = gcc -E
ALLOCA = 
LIBEXT = a
libdir = /usr/lib
LIBRUBY = libruby1.8.so.1.8.7
build_alias = x86_64-linux-gnu
prefix = /usr
target_vendor = pc
target_cpu = x86_64
ECHO_N = -n
rubylibdir = /usr/lib/ruby/1.8
sbindir = /usr/sbin
docdir = /usr/share/doc/$(PACKAGE)
dvidir = /usr/share/doc/$(PACKAGE)
host_vendor = pc
TRY_LINK = 
SOLIBS = -lpthread -lrt -ldl -lcrypt -lm 
configure_args =  '--build=x86_64-linux-gnu' '--prefix=/usr' '--includedir=/usr/include' '--mandir=/usr/share/man' '--infodir=/usr/share/info' '--sysconfdir=/etc' '--localstatedir=/var' '--libexecdir=/usr/lib/ruby1.8' '--disable-maintainer-mode' '--disable-dependency-tracking' '--disable-silent-rules' '--srcdir=.' '--program-suffix=1.8' '--enable-pthread' '--enable-shared' '--enable-ipv6' '--with-lookup-order-hack=INET' '--disable-rpath' '--disable-install-doc' '--with-sitedir=/usr/local/lib/site_ruby' '--with-default-kcode=none' '--with-dbm-type=gdbm_compat' '--with-tklib=tk8.4' '--with-tcllib=tcl8.4' '--with-tcl-include=/usr/include/tcl8.4' '--with-bundled-sha1' '--with-bundled-md5' '--with-bundled-rmd160' 'build_alias=x86_64-linux-gnu' 'CFLAGS=-fno-strict-aliasing -g -g -O2' 'LDFLAGS=' 'CPPFLAGS='
vendordir = /usr/lib/ruby/vendor_ruby
target_os = linux
GNU_LD = yes
CP = cp
EXTOUT = .ext
MAINLIBS = 
SET_MAKE = 
datarootdir = /usr/share
pdfdir = /usr/share/doc/$(PACKAGE)
LIBRUBYARG_STATIC = -lruby1.8-static
RUBYW_INSTALL_NAME = 
WINDRES = 
archdir = /usr/lib/ruby/1.8/x86_64-linux
ruby_version = 1.8
LINK_SO = 
ECHO_T = 
RPATHFLAG = 
SHELL = /bin/bash
LDSHARED = gcc -shared
RANLIB = ranlib
DLDLIBS =  -lc
build_cpu = x86_64
host_alias = 
ASFLAGS = 
INSTALL = /usr/bin/install -c
sitearchdir = /usr/local/lib/site_ruby/1.8/x86_64-linux
ARCHFILE = 
LIBRUBY_DLDFLAGS = -Wl,-soname,libruby1.8.so.1.8
OBJEXT = o
datadir = /usr/share
DESTDIR = 
LIBRUBY_ALIASES = libruby1.8.so.1.8 libruby1.8.so
CCDLFLAGS =  -fPIC
RM = rm -f
host_cpu = x86_64
setup = Setup
CPPOUTFILE = -o conftest.i
topdir = /usr/lib/ruby/1.8/x86_64-linux
localstatedir = /var
LIBPATHFLAG =  -L%s
cppflags = 
sitelibdir = /usr/local/lib/site_ruby/1.8
ruby_install_name = ruby1.8
CPPFLAGS =   
MAJOR = 1
EGREP = /bin/grep -E
LIBRUBY_SO = libruby1.8.so.1.8.7
PACKAGE_TARNAME = 
LIBRUBY_A = libruby1.8-static.a
COMMON_MACROS = 
ARCH_FLAG = 
COMMON_HEADERS = 

Activated Ruby gems

activerecord => 2.3.5
rails => 2.3.5
rake => 0.8.7
rack => 1.2.1
actionpack => 2.3.5
i18n => 0.4.2
activesupport => 2.3.5

Ruby load path ($LOAD_PATH)

/usr/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/rack-1.2.1/bin
/usr/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/rack-1.2.1/lib
/home/redacted/.gems/gems/i18n-0.4.2/bin
/home/redacted/.gems/gems/i18n-0.4.2/lib
/usr/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/rake-0.8.7/bin
/usr/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/rake-0.8.7/lib
/usr/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/activesupport-2.3.5/bin
/usr/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/activesupport-2.3.5/lib
/usr/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/activerecord-2.3.5/bin
/usr/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/activerecord-2.3.5/lib
/usr/local/lib/site_ruby/1.8
/usr/local/lib/site_ruby/1.8/x86_64-linux
/usr/local/lib/site_ruby
/usr/lib/ruby/vendor_ruby/1.8
/usr/lib/ruby/vendor_ruby/1.8/x86_64-linux
/usr/lib/ruby/vendor_ruby
/usr/lib/ruby/1.8
/usr/lib/ruby/1.8/x86_64-linux
.

Ruby loaded libraries ($LOADED_FEATURES)

enumerator.so
/dh/passenger/lib/phusion_passenger.rb
rbconfig.rb
etc.so
fileutils.rb
tmpdir.rb
/dh/passenger/lib/phusion_passenger/utils/tmpio.rb
/dh/passenger/lib/phusion_passenger/platform_info.rb
/dh/passenger/lib/phusion_passenger/platform_info/operating_system.rb
/dh/passenger/lib/phusion_passenger/platform_info/ruby.rb
/dh/passenger/lib/phusion_passenger/platform_info/binary_compatibility.rb
/dh/passenger/buildout/ruby/ruby-1.8.7-x86_64-linux/passenger_native_support.so
/dh/passenger/lib/phusion_passenger/native_support.rb
rubygems/defaults.rb
thread.so
thread.rb
rubygems/exceptions.rb
rubygems/version.rb
rubygems/requirement.rb
rubygems/dependency.rb
rubygems/gem_path_searcher.rb
rubygems/user_interaction.rb
stringio.so
yaml/error.rb
syck.so
yaml/ypath.rb
yaml/basenode.rb
yaml/syck.rb
yaml/tag.rb
yaml/stream.rb
yaml/constants.rb
rational.rb
date/format.rb
date.rb
yaml/rubytypes.rb
yaml/types.rb
yaml.rb
rubygems/platform.rb
rubygems/specification.rb
rubygems/source_index.rb
rubygems/builder.rb
rubygems/config_file.rb
rubygems/custom_require.rb
rubygems.rb
socket.so
fcntl.so
/dh/passenger/lib/phusion_passenger/ruby_core_enhancements.rb
/dh/passenger/lib/phusion_passenger/utils/tmpdir.rb
/dh/passenger/lib/phusion_passenger/preloader_shared_helpers.rb
/dh/passenger/lib/phusion_passenger/constants.rb
/dh/passenger/lib/phusion_passenger/public_api.rb
/dh/passenger/lib/phusion_passenger/debug_logging.rb
/dh/passenger/lib/phusion_passenger/loader_shared_helpers.rb
/dh/passenger/lib/phusion_passenger/message_channel.rb
/dh/passenger/lib/phusion_passenger/utils.rb
/dh/passenger/lib/phusion_passenger/message_client.rb
/dh/passenger/lib/phusion_passenger/utils/native_support_utils.rb
/dh/passenger/lib/phusion_passenger/utils/unseekable_socket.rb
/dh/passenger/lib/phusion_passenger/request_handler/thread_handler.rb
/dh/passenger/lib/phusion_passenger/request_handler.rb
/dh/passenger/lib/phusion_passenger/utils/tee_input.rb
/dh/passenger/lib/phusion_passenger/rack/thread_handler_extension.rb
/dh/passenger/lib/phusion_passenger/analytics_logger.rb
rack.rb
rack/builder.rb

[Hongli Lai]

It looks like your application is written in a very old version of
Ruby on Rails. It also looks like there is some kind of configuration
or installation error on your server, causing the app to fail to
start. Unfortunately the error report doesn't contain a lot of
details so I don't know what's exactly going on.

It's probably easy to fix for anybody who has decent experience with
Ruby and Rails. The best thing I can suggest you is to hire a Ruby
programmer for a short gig to make the app work again so that you can
salvage the data.

On Tue, Jun 10, 2014 at 8:46 PM, Tomas <tgarc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi there,
>
> This is a rookie question. I do some front end development but I've got no
> familiarity with Phusion Passenger, but a friend of mine has a website
> hosted on the platform and it went down two days ago. Unfortunately, the
> webmaster who built the site for her passed away a few months ago, so I'm
> trying to see if I can salvage anything with the limited information that
> I've got at my disposal. That said, any information from anyone has received
> this error before or could point me in the right direction for why I might
> be getting it would be very helpful.
>
> I've copied the error information below with usernames and domain name
> redacted, if that info can be of assistance I can provide it. Any help would
> be very appreciated. Just trying to find a good starting point for this.

--
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