Thread: Postgresql fails to start?
Hello list, We have Fedora Core 4 Test 3 installed on a development box and just recently installed Postgresql 8.0.3. Sometimes, when starting postgresql with the /etc/rc.d/init.d/postgresql script, it gives me the following: /usr/bin/chcon: can't apply partial context to unlabeled file /home/postgres/pgstartup.log Sometimes it is followed by the OK message (postgresql started OK), and sometimes by the FAILED message. But either way, when you do a ps aux | grep postmaster it shows postmaster is running. I googled and found that it is related to SELinux, but I already have it disabled and even passed selinux=0 to the kernel via grub.conf. Am I missing something? Sorry, but I'm very new to this SELinux stuff and was hoping will get help here from you gurus before asking the SELinux gurus. Thank you so much. Dianne
Dianne Yumul <dianne@wellsgaming.com> writes:
> We have Fedora Core 4 Test 3 installed on a development box and just
> recently installed Postgresql 8.0.3. Sometimes, when starting
> postgresql with the /etc/rc.d/init.d/postgresql script, it gives me the
> following:
> /usr/bin/chcon: can't apply partial context to unlabeled file
> /home/postgres/pgstartup.log
Um, exactly which Postgres RPMs do you have installed? I recall that
there was a build that had this problem (because I hadn't read the chcon
man page ;-)) but I did not think it had escaped into the wild.
regards, tom lane
> Um, exactly which Postgres RPMs do you have installed? Thanks for the response. I have the following installed: postgresql-server-8.0.3-1 postgresql-8.0.3-1 postgresql-jdbc-8.0.3-1 postgresql-libs-8.0.3-1 postgresql-devel-8.0.3-1 I downloaded these from the fedora development repository. I used to have 8.0.2 installed but I upgraded to 8.0.3, hoping that would fix it but it didn't. Thank you. Dianne On Jun 6, 2005, at 8:00 PM, Tom Lane wrote: > Dianne Yumul <dianne@wellsgaming.com> writes: >> We have Fedora Core 4 Test 3 installed on a development box and just >> recently installed Postgresql 8.0.3. Sometimes, when starting >> postgresql with the /etc/rc.d/init.d/postgresql script, it gives me >> the >> following: > >> /usr/bin/chcon: can't apply partial context to unlabeled file >> /home/postgres/pgstartup.log > > Um, exactly which Postgres RPMs do you have installed? I recall that > there was a build that had this problem (because I hadn't read the > chcon > man page ;-)) but I did not think it had escaped into the wild. > > regards, tom lane > > ---------------------------(end of > broadcast)--------------------------- > TIP 9: the planner will ignore your desire to choose an index scan if > your > joining column's datatypes do not match >
> Can you say anything about the difference between the times where it > gives the message and the times where it doesn't? I get the message when I remove pgstartup.log before starting postgresql. But if I leave pgstartup.log, it just says it failed to start. Please see output below: # /etc/rc.d/init.d/postgresql stop Stopping postgresql service: [ OK ] # ps aux | grep postmaster root 10427 0.0 0.0 3752 664 pts/0 R+ 09:24 0:00 grep postmaster # rm -f pgstartup.log # /etc/rc.d/init.d/postgresql start /usr/bin/chcon: can't apply partial context to unlabeled file /home/postgres/pgstartup.log Starting postgresql service: [FAILED] # ps aux | grep postmaster postgres 10470 34.1 0.6 112404 5248 pts/0 S 09:24 0:02 /usr/bin/postmaster -p 5432 -D /home/postgres/data root 10480 0.0 0.0 3756 668 pts/0 R+ 09:24 0:00 grep postmaster The pgstartup.log is empty. Also, data/pg_log/postgresql-Tue.log does not contain any errors just stuff about database shutting down and starting up. Now, trying without removing pgstartup.log: # /etc/rc.d/init.d/postgresql stop Stopping postgresql service: [ OK ] # ps aux | grep postmaster root 10244 0.0 0.0 3756 700 pts/0 R+ 09:20 0:00 grep postmaster # /etc/rc.d/init.d/postgresql start Starting postgresql service: [FAILED] # ps aux | grep postmaster postgres 10566 20.6 0.6 112408 5312 pts/0 S 09:26 0:02 /usr/bin/postmaster -p 5432 -D /home/postgres/data root 10577 0.0 0.0 3752 668 pts/0 R+ 09:26 0:00 grep postmaster I remember getting the message that postgresql started OK once or twice yesterday, but could not get it to do now : ( > ls -Z /home/postgres/pgstartup.log Gives: Sorry, this option can only be used on a SELinux kernel. But after setting selinux to permissive mode, ls -Z /home/postgres/pgstartup.log gives: -rw------- postgres postgres system_u:object_r:postgresql_log_t /home/postgres/pgstartup.log And I also tried starting postgresql with selinux in permissive mode, but no dice. > Oh, and is the message really complaining > about /home/postgres/pgstartup.log? AFAICS the initscript should be > messing with /var/lib/pgsql/pgstartup.log. Sorry, I forgot to mention that I changed some of the defaults via /etc/sysconfig/pgsql/postgresql file, which looks like this: PGDATA=/home/postgres/data PGLOG=/home/postgres/pgstartup.log But even leaving the defaults alone gives me the same results: # /etc/rc.d/init.d/postgresql start /usr/bin/chcon: can't apply partial context to unlabeled file /var/lib/pgsql/pgstartup.log Initializing database: [ OK ] Starting postgresql service: [FAILED] # ps aux | grep postmaster postgres 11003 9.4 0.3 19464 2988 pts/0 S 09:36 0:02 /usr/bin/postmaster -p 5432 -D /var/lib/pgsql/data Many thanks for the help. Dianne On Jun 7, 2005, at 9:02 AM, Tom Lane wrote: > Dianne Yumul <dianne@wellsgaming.com> writes: >>> Um, exactly which Postgres RPMs do you have installed? >> Thanks for the response. I have the following installed: > >> postgresql-server-8.0.3-1 >> postgresql-8.0.3-1 >> postgresql-jdbc-8.0.3-1 >> postgresql-libs-8.0.3-1 >> postgresql-devel-8.0.3-1 > > Hm, those are the most current versions. > > Can you say anything about the difference between the times where it > gives the message and the times where it doesn't? Does > ls -Z /home/postgres/pgstartup.log > show anything different? Oh, and is the message really complaining > about /home/postgres/pgstartup.log? AFAICS the initscript should be > messing with /var/lib/pgsql/pgstartup.log. > > regards, tom lane >
Dianne Yumul <dianne@wellsgaming.com> writes: > # rm -f pgstartup.log > # /etc/rc.d/init.d/postgresql start > /usr/bin/chcon: can't apply partial context to unlabeled file > /home/postgres/pgstartup.log > Starting postgresql service: [FAILED] > # ps aux | grep postmaster > postgres 10470 34.1 0.6 112404 5248 pts/0 S 09:24 0:02 > /usr/bin/postmaster -p 5432 -D /home/postgres/data > root 10480 0.0 0.0 3756 668 pts/0 R+ 09:24 0:00 grep > postmaster Odd. I don't see any reason that you'd not get the OK message, given that the postmaster started. I've seen reports of that before, eg, https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=152931 but it's far from clear why some people see this and some don't. In any case I suspect that the FAILED message is unrelated to the chcon problem. > ls -Z /home/postgres/pgstartup.log > Gives: > Sorry, this option can only be used on a SELinux kernel. > But after setting selinux to permissive mode, ls -Z > /home/postgres/pgstartup.log gives: > -rw------- postgres postgres system_u:object_r:postgresql_log_t > /home/postgres/pgstartup.log There is something very flaky about either your kernel or your selinux utilities. Are you up-to-date on kernel version? (Let's see ... my FC3 machine is at 2.6.11-1.14_FC3, and I think I may be behind ...) I tried to reproduce the problem by doing what the initscript does, without any success: [tgl@rh1 ~]$ sudo mkdir /home/postgres [tgl@rh1 ~]$ sudo chown postgres:postgres /home/postgres [tgl@rh1 ~]$ PGLOG=/home/postgres/pgstartup.log [tgl@rh1 ~]$ sudo touch "$PGLOG" [tgl@rh1 ~]$ sudo ls -Z $PGLOG -rw-r--r-- root root root:object_r:user_home_t /home/postgres/pgstartup.log [tgl@rh1 ~]$ sudo chown postgres:postgres "$PGLOG" [tgl@rh1 ~]$ sudo chmod go-rwx "$PGLOG" [tgl@rh1 ~]$ sudo /usr/bin/chcon -u system_u -r object_r -t postgresql_log_t "$PGLOG" [tgl@rh1 ~]$ sudo ls -Z $PGLOG -rw------- postgres postgres system_u:object_r:postgresql_log_t /home/postgres/pgstartup.log [tgl@rh1 ~]$ uname -r 2.6.11-1.14_FC3 [tgl@rh1 ~]$ rpm -qf /usr/bin/chcon coreutils-5.2.1-31 so I suspect that what you are running into is either a kernel bug or a chcon bug; it'd be worth making sure both kernel and coreutils are up to date. If you try the sequence by hand, what do you get? >> Oh, and is the message really complaining >> about /home/postgres/pgstartup.log? AFAICS the initscript should be >> messing with /var/lib/pgsql/pgstartup.log. > Sorry, I forgot to mention that I changed some of the defaults via > /etc/sysconfig/pgsql/postgresql file, which looks like this: > PGDATA=/home/postgres/data > PGLOG=/home/postgres/pgstartup.log That is going to give you some problems if you have SELinux in enforcement mode, because the standard policy will disallow the postgres daemon from writing anywhere under /home. You can fix this by fooling around with the policy and/or manually relabeling the database directory and files, but the path of least resistance is probably to leave the database directory in the normal place. regards, tom lane
> I've seen reports of that before, eg, > https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=152931 > but it's far from clear why some people see this and some don't. I feel such a goof ball. I searched bugzilla for an hour yesterday but for some reason I did not find that bug. But that solved my problem. I just set sleep 3 and now it works. I still get the /usr/bin/chcon message but only when I run the command by hand, even after upgrading coreutils: # PGLOG=/home/postgres/pgstartup.log # touch "$PGLOG" # ls -Z $PGLOG -rw-r--r-- root root /home/postgres/pgstartup.log # chown postgres:postgres "$PGLOG" # chmod go-rwx "$PGLOG" # /usr/bin/chcon -u system_u -r object_r -t postgresql_log_t "$PGLOG" /usr/bin/chcon: can't apply partial context to unlabeled file /home/postgres/pgstartup.log # ls -Z $PGLOG -rw------- postgres postgres /home/postgres/pgstartup.log # uname -r 2.6.11-1.1286_FC4 # rpm -qf /usr/bin/chcon coreutils-5.2.1-48 I will try upgrading the kernel to see if that will resolve that issue. > That is going to give you some problems if you have SELinux in > enforcement mode, because the standard policy will disallow the > postgres > daemon from writing anywhere under /home. I really should take the time and learn SELinux but I'm crunched right now and will disable it for now. Thank you soooooo much for the all the help. Dianne On Jun 7, 2005, at 10:58 AM, Tom Lane wrote: > Dianne Yumul <dianne@wellsgaming.com> writes: >> # rm -f pgstartup.log >> # /etc/rc.d/init.d/postgresql start >> /usr/bin/chcon: can't apply partial context to unlabeled file >> /home/postgres/pgstartup.log >> Starting postgresql service: [FAILED] >> # ps aux | grep postmaster >> postgres 10470 34.1 0.6 112404 5248 pts/0 S 09:24 0:02 >> /usr/bin/postmaster -p 5432 -D /home/postgres/data >> root 10480 0.0 0.0 3756 668 pts/0 R+ 09:24 0:00 grep >> postmaster > > Odd. I don't see any reason that you'd not get the OK message, given > that the postmaster started. I've seen reports of that before, eg, > https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=152931 > but it's far from clear why some people see this and some don't. > In any case I suspect that the FAILED message is unrelated to the chcon > problem. > >> ls -Z /home/postgres/pgstartup.log >> Gives: >> Sorry, this option can only be used on a SELinux kernel. > >> But after setting selinux to permissive mode, ls -Z >> /home/postgres/pgstartup.log gives: > >> -rw------- postgres postgres system_u:object_r:postgresql_log_t >> /home/postgres/pgstartup.log > > There is something very flaky about either your kernel or your selinux > utilities. Are you up-to-date on kernel version? (Let's see ... my > FC3 machine is at 2.6.11-1.14_FC3, and I think I may be behind ...) > > I tried to reproduce the problem by doing what the initscript does, > without any success: > > [tgl@rh1 ~]$ sudo mkdir /home/postgres > [tgl@rh1 ~]$ sudo chown postgres:postgres /home/postgres > [tgl@rh1 ~]$ PGLOG=/home/postgres/pgstartup.log > [tgl@rh1 ~]$ sudo touch "$PGLOG" > [tgl@rh1 ~]$ sudo ls -Z $PGLOG > -rw-r--r-- root root root:object_r:user_home_t > /home/postgres/pgstartup.log > [tgl@rh1 ~]$ sudo chown postgres:postgres "$PGLOG" > [tgl@rh1 ~]$ sudo chmod go-rwx "$PGLOG" > [tgl@rh1 ~]$ sudo /usr/bin/chcon -u system_u -r object_r -t > postgresql_log_t "$PGLOG" > [tgl@rh1 ~]$ sudo ls -Z $PGLOG > -rw------- postgres postgres system_u:object_r:postgresql_log_t > /home/postgres/pgstartup.log > [tgl@rh1 ~]$ uname -r > 2.6.11-1.14_FC3 > [tgl@rh1 ~]$ rpm -qf /usr/bin/chcon > coreutils-5.2.1-31 > > so I suspect that what you are running into is either a kernel bug or a > chcon bug; it'd be worth making sure both kernel and coreutils are up > to > date. If you try the sequence by hand, what do you get? > >>> Oh, and is the message really complaining >>> about /home/postgres/pgstartup.log? AFAICS the initscript should be >>> messing with /var/lib/pgsql/pgstartup.log. > >> Sorry, I forgot to mention that I changed some of the defaults via >> /etc/sysconfig/pgsql/postgresql file, which looks like this: >> PGDATA=/home/postgres/data >> PGLOG=/home/postgres/pgstartup.log > > That is going to give you some problems if you have SELinux in > enforcement mode, because the standard policy will disallow the > postgres > daemon from writing anywhere under /home. You can fix this by fooling > around with the policy and/or manually relabeling the database > directory > and files, but the path of least resistance is probably to leave the > database directory in the normal place. > > regards, tom lane > > ---------------------------(end of > broadcast)--------------------------- > TIP 4: Don't 'kill -9' the postmaster >
Dianne Yumul <dianne@wellsgaming.com> writes:
> I still get the /usr/bin/chcon message but only when I run the command
> by hand, even after upgrading coreutils:
> # /usr/bin/chcon -u system_u -r object_r -t postgresql_log_t "$PGLOG"
> /usr/bin/chcon: can't apply partial context to unlabeled file
Weird.
> # uname -r
> 2.6.11-1.1286_FC4
It just sunk in that you are running FC4 and not FC3. That's pretty
bleeding edge stuff ;-) ... maybe what you need is a downgrade not an
upgrade. But if you still see the problem once you're on the latest
kernel, please do file a bugzilla entry about it. It seems possible
that the FC4 version of chcon wants another argument beyond the ones
that FC3 knows about. Either that or it's just a plain bug in chcon.
regards, tom lane