CAUTION! Chat+ server install Plesk on Ubuntu

I had a rather unpleasant experience this weekend installing the Chat+ server on a Ubuntu box with the Plesk control panel.  I followed the instructions posted by AlexT on Github.  After installing the Chat+ Server when I tried to log into the Plesk control panel I was greeted by a 403 error message.  Now I am not a fan of control panels on servers preferring to work as low level as possible which is why I use webmin.  Webmin is simply an interface to the config files; it does not move anything around or hide users from the actual configurations, etc.  Now I know that is not everyone's cup of tea.  Anyway, I knew that Nathan; of the Zarconia team, is versed in the workings of Plesk, I am still learning the control panel.  Nathan was gracious in helping me even though this server is not from Zarconia and he did it without charge.  Thank you again Nathan.

What we found is that the installation of the  'npm' package from the default Ubuntu repo removes Plesk and its packages in order to install.  The result is bye bye control panel.  Even though Plesk was removed along with all accounts, the web server was still up and running and the websites were still up.  I am going to try and repair the Plesk installation and see if the accounts can be recovered.  If not, then they will have to be manually added back.  I talked to the owner of the server if they wanted to continue with Plesk or not.  The problem of course is the downtime if I was to redo the server.

This issue needs to be added to the TOP of the instructions in a warning so that it does not happen to others.

Ouch, now that would be a good idea!

Can someone post the proper method to install Chat+ on Plesk with Ubuntu, maybe save someone else a big headache.

The Plesk accounts are still missing.  I see them in /var/lib/psa but I am uncertain what to do to retrieve the accounts.  The Plesk forum has been no help at all and if you want support, you have to have your license.  This license is through the hosting company so forget Plesk support.

I thought Boonex would at least apologise for putting instructions up on installing Cat+ that will trash a Plesk installation. This is a direct result of following instructions that Boonex posted so they are partly to blame for this mess.

I should just wipe the server and use webmin after I get it back in proper shape.

FYI  also works just fine on a cPanel server ...  Nothing blows up. 

Not sure what it all means, since I am no Linux expert, but I found this page about deploying the Node.js on Plesk. Maybe this is part of what needs integrated into a special install for the Plesk / Ubuntu installation.

https://devblog.plesk.com/2016/06/plesk-and-node-js/

My answer is to rip out the f-ing Plesk from the server.

Unfortunately, I have a Plesk Server I need to figure this out and not blow it up. 

I think you need to turn off the Ubuntu repo before you start but I am not sure which repo you need to install.  I am a CentOS person so I can not tell you how Ubuntu repos are handled; could be similar to CentOS.

I'll set up a Plesk vps later tonight and see if i can figure it out....  if you don't find a solution first. 

The issue is with Plesk on Ubuntu servers only. The issue is that when NPM is installed from the default repos, it conflicts with Plesk packages and tries to have them removed. So if you see a hundred packages to be removed by APT, that's a bad sign. Using the NodeJS repos instead doesn't have this issue. So the step needs to be amended for Plesk servers to add the NodeJS repo first, and use that to install NodeJS with NPM. Alex didn't write the steps with web panels in mind, and he's never used Plesk. It's a unique case for Plesk servers only, and not something I'd expect to be tested for. As noted, CentOS systems don't have this issue.

Good thing is that Plesk is designed to use system web server and database,  everything still works without Plesk. Running the Plesk installer again should reinstall and preserve everything, including the subscriptions, if on the latest version of Plesk. For older versions of Plesk, you may need to re-add the subscriptions after making a backup first, just in case.

I think any case where APT tries to remove a hundred packages should make you stop and consider first what's happening.

"I think any case where APT tries to remove a hundred packages should make you stop and consider first what's happening."

I followed the bloody commands that Alex put on the instructions.  When I do this in CentOS I never use a command that just runs without prompts.  I got no damn prompt about a zillion packages are to be remove, continue yes or what ever f-ing Ubuntu does; it just went and did it. Whether that was through some other error or not I don't know.

RocketChat is shit anyway; it was a quick and dirty way of handling the complaints about the Flash Chat module.

By the way, Plesk was up to date before this mess, maybe sometimes they are automatically restored but in this case they didn't.

Fuck Plesk, fuck Ubuntu, and fuck RocketChat/Chat +

Why don't you tell us how you really feel. lol

I shouldn't have posted that but the edit time expired on me to remove it. My anger was due to the insinuation that I did not know what I was doing.  OK, I am not a Ubuntu person because I don't think Ubuntu should be run as a server OS; desktop maybe, but not a server.  Others may disagree with me.

I haven't gone back and checked the commands to see if Alex posted auto run commands or not.  With yum, I never use the -y switch because it could cause one to accidentally do something they did not intend.  The command executed without me pressing any Y or Yes to continue the removal of Plesk; that I am certain.

If this was my server, it never would have had Ubuntu on it in the first place; the owner does not want to take the sites down for the time it would take me to rebuild the server with CentOS, php-fpm, mairaDB, Nginx, etc and use Webmin as the only control panel.  The server would be much better with that configuration.

 That is all I have ever used, with Webmin and Virtualmin. Those three together are the best IMO.

It was super easy to setup Chat+ on it.

Why do you feel that way about Ubuntu?

I feel that way about Ubuntu because they will include things that are new and perhaps not "hardened".  CentOS is built off of Red Hat Enterprise which is built by design to be a server OS and only includes well tested stable components.  As I said, that is the way I feel and others may disagree; such as yourself.  

I don't know why Plesk was removed; as I stated I did not see any message "A gazillion packages will be remove, is this OK, "y" or "yes".  No, it just ran for what ever reason, either Alex posted it that way or some other glitch.  I have built a lot of server configs installing; and even compiling and installing, packages so I am not a noob here.

I agree, if I had a choice I would run CentOS / cPanel , but unfortunately, that is not the case.

I have tried to repair the Plesk installation using several methods without success.  Trying to manually add the account back fails due to conflicts.  According to the Plesk people the Plesk installation is seriously damaged.

Boonex caused a real cock-up here.

Well, i would like to clear things up in here, before i mention anything, i want to thank geek_girl for attempting every step that could have been taken to save my accounts/site. In life we live and learn and humans make mistakes. After discussing all options with geek_girl i made a decision in having a dedicated server built all over again. She has kept me in the loop through all this nightmare and if it was not cause of her i probably would have had a rough weekend. We are all here to help each other. The one thing i will ask is that, the instructions that were used to install Chat+, to please confirm that they are well written so that no other owner goes through the same nightmare. I am not nor am i blaming anyone, but with so much that boonex is going through with many milestones for Trident and even 7.3.1, mistakes can occur.

So let's think positive and move forward...also let's try not to F*CK things up! Keep moving forward and smile! PEACE OUT!!

 You did more then try GG...thank you for keeping me updated through every step. :) Peace Out!

I am still waiting for my apology from Boonex for putting instructions up that trashed the server.  This is costing me money, I have to spend time working on a server that I don't get paid for.  I expect an apology from Boonex.

This is unfortunate. The one time I ran into this, reinstalling Plesk restored it all normally, but that may not always be the case, especially on an older release. The good news is that no site files or databases were touched, so if it's not possible to simply re-add the accounts, it's still possible spin-up a new VPS and transfer the site files and database over. If the VPS has a snapshot that's recent, it could also be possible to restore to that after backing-up the site files and database, and then restore it after.

But this is not BoonEx's fault. There is no way they would be able to test every configuration and control panel for issues. The instructions were written for plain Ubuntu, and were copied from the Rocket.Chat docs. So who is to blame? Not Rocket.Chat, for the same reason. If APT never reported removals until after, then it's also not yours. So it's APT? I suppose. A destructive change should not be something that can be easily suppressed or missed. Maybe it's also Plesk, because a destructive action like this with a popular package (npm) shouldn't happen.

I've amended the Ubuntu install doc at GitHub to mention this, which is the best I can do. I'm sorry that what should have been a simple task has become difficult and time-consuming. If you need help setting up a new server or moving things over, please let me know.

     Thank you for amending the doc Nathan, hopefully no one will go through what i and GG is going through. I did see all the misspellings and to be honest it was sad. GG is trying all she could to resolve a problem that should have never happened if things are tested across the board. If it's impossible for Boonex to test all configurations then atleast hire someone to check the spelling. My sites have been completely down for a whole day now and probably will be facing at a 2nd day. I am loosing money/clients and GG is loosing valuable time and money as well. I've noticed lately that many forums have one post from the original author and no one comes in to help those that are left in the middle of a sand storm. In my opinion i think dolphin platform is one of the best out there, but sh*t man why won't boonex atleast have 2 or 3 individuals who know dolphin really well, so they can float around in this site to help those in need. Plan or amend some rules/policies that can give users here some kind of expectation of when their question will be answered. The results would be less people aggravated, pissed off, curse here in forums, people come and go, a bad reputation that is not good AT ALL for boonex. I hope you could understand, but this is by far not fair to me and GG.

Nathan, I don't consider Plesk 12 an older version but maybe you do and yes, I still would like Boonex to apologise for the cock-up they caused with their instructions.  Consider it good customer service for those supporting Dolphin; just today I was trying to convince a member from abandoning the platform.  Besides, DeanMonte is a paying customer as am I and we will drive more customers to join when we are happy.

I decided to give DeanMonte a custom built server running better packages on a CentOS 7 install. Yes, it is time consuming to install packages manually and to compile, make, make install packages but he gets a cutting edge server that will outperform his old server.  Plesk is a resource hog in itself and he will be much happier with his new server than that Plesk trampled one.

@Nathan Paton Thank you adding note in the installation instruction for such situation.

@geek_girl We are sorry that you had such situation, but it's really impossible to test every setup. So in some custom setup it maybe problems. We just test it on most common configuration. 

Take a look at list of available Linux distribution:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Linux_distributions

Then take a look at list of admin panels:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_web_hosting_control_panels

Multiple one on another then consider that is at least one day is required to check one setup, you will get my idea.

PS: one more post with unappropriated emotional language will cause your profile to be suspended! 

 Thank YOU GG, your service is GREAT!!