Unfortunately there is no one-size-fits-all solution that can work in everyone's unique situation. The symptom is relatively generic and may involve numerous factors; the best procedure to investigate why it is happening on your system is to escalate the issue with your license provider. Please be aware that if the domain involved is not resolving to the correct IP address (as seen in its Apache Virtual Host configuration), or if your computer is using a cached DNS record after a site IP change then you may see the default web page and this is normal; once the domain resolves to the correct IP address you should no longer see the default web page.
Thank you for the information; at the present time the request is still active but you are welcome to share the unique solution or other corrective measures that you found to help.
Temporary fix
I straced apache and saw that it was looking for file in /var/cpanel/webtemplates. I came up with the following temporary fix. Try the following command:
ln -s /usr/local/cpanel/etc/webtemplates /var/cpanel/webtemplates
Good Luck!
I straced apache and saw that it was looking for file in /var/cpanel/webtemplates. I came up with the following temporary fix. Try the following command:
ln -s /usr/local/cpanel/etc/webtemplates /var/cpanel/webtemplates
Good Luck!
We recently used the IP migration tool in WHMCS, which is great btw, the only caveat is all webmail.domain.com now redirect http://domain.com/cgi-sys/defaultwebpage.cgi
*What arbitrates the usage of this defaultwebpage.cgi ? I show no reference in Apache for it.
Specifying IP space at the end of VirtualHost in the cPanel ServerAlias section did the trick.
*What arbitrates the usage of this defaultwebpage.cgi ? I show no reference in Apache for it.
Code:
<VirtualHost * x.x.x.x:80>
ServerName server.com
ServerAlias cpanel.* whm.* webmail.* webdisk.*
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Here is the specific reference (per the default virtual host):
Code:
# cat /usr/local/apache/htdocs/index.html
<html><head><META HTTP-EQUIV="refresh" CONTENT="0;URL=/cgi-sys/defaultwebpage.cgi"></head><body></body></html>To learn about how to customize the default web page please refer to the following WHM menu path, with linked documentation:
WHM: Main >> Account Functions >> Web Template Editor >> Default Website Page
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As previously described it may be normal if the account/site IP was just changed and or if the domain is not resolving to the correct IP address, matching what is in the Apache configuration and also in the applicable DNS zone. In order to properly diagnose the issue it will require direct root access to the system so the configuration may be inspected; I recommend contacting your hosting service provider, data center, or cPanel license provider. If there is any difficulty receiving support you may also contact us directly. Please see the following page for additional details: Support Options
This happens when your computer is using cached DNS entries to try to access the domain on an IP that it's no longer being served on and is normal.I just set up a WHM/Cpanel server yesterday after doing it myself for the past 2 years. I had a WHM server for 3 years previous and had minimal issues. Seems to me that this is a fairly large problem for a company who's been in the game this long.
Not happy when I paid $425 for a license for a control panel then need to manually edit httpd.conf and htaccess to get the frikken sites to work correctly.
WTF?
Clearing your DNS cache should do the trick, I usually suggest people shut down their routers/computers and power them back up. If this doesn't work you can simply edit your HOSTS file and put the IP address followed by the domain and that will force DNS to resolve to the new IP and you can remove the entry after a few hours (or few days, depending on how long your ISP caches DNS).
Editing the HTTPD.conf is only a work-around to make Apache respond on both IPs for that domain until DNS caching has cleared up and it would be a bad idea (imho) for cPanel to do this automatically because you're going to end up with sites being served on IPs that aren't actually assigned to the accounts and it could be a nightmare.
The resolution is pretty simple: don't change IPs unless you have to and if you do have to, do it an off-peak time or be prepared to edit the httpd.conf as a tempory measure to keep the sites online during the DNS change.
Now having this issue with simple CNAME edit to DNS zone
I am now having this problem with subdomain I just added via Edit DNS Zone. I added a new CNAME record for an existing domain and it now directs to defaultwebpage.cgi
The main domain and www.domain work fine, but the new one does not.
The DNS zone that was edited looks just like the DNS zone of other domains I have on the same box that have CNAME subdomains listed. Both domains have CNAME only, not a full subdomain as added via user cPanel as I want the subdomain to point to the same folder as www. (my code adjusts for based on the subdomain) and do not need separate space/folder for the subdomain
The domain that was setup before upgrading to 11.25 Release is working fine and has not been edited. The domain edited with 11.25 Release is not.
httpd.conf looks fine for both domains and there is no reference to the subdomains for either account in it.
.htaccess is set on both domains
UserDir is set correctly with the usernames
I checked an external dns tool and it shows the subdomain cname listing is public and available.
I am now having this problem with subdomain I just added via Edit DNS Zone. I added a new CNAME record for an existing domain and it now directs to defaultwebpage.cgi
The main domain and www.domain work fine, but the new one does not.
The DNS zone that was edited looks just like the DNS zone of other domains I have on the same box that have CNAME subdomains listed. Both domains have CNAME only, not a full subdomain as added via user cPanel as I want the subdomain to point to the same folder as www. (my code adjusts for based on the subdomain) and do not need separate space/folder for the subdomain
The domain that was setup before upgrading to 11.25 Release is working fine and has not been edited. The domain edited with 11.25 Release is not.
httpd.conf looks fine for both domains and there is no reference to the subdomains for either account in it.
.htaccess is set on both domains
UserDir is set correctly with the usernames
I checked an external dns tool and it shows the subdomain cname listing is public and available.
To setup a new domain this involves configuring both an Apache virtual host as well as a DNS zone; without both DNS and Apache configurations being updated the setup will not be completed. If only a DNS zone is setup, and not the Apache virtual host, then it is expected the default web page will be displayed.
To remedy the existing situation, please use the following steps:
1.) Remove the existing manual addition to the DNS zone.
2.) Navigate to the following menu path in cPanel: cPanel: Main >> Domains >> Subdomains
3.) Using the Subdomains area in cPanel create the new sub-domain while ensuring to set the document root to the same path as your primary domain name, such as "public_html"; this will have the same effect as if the sub-domain was parked.
4.) The sub-domain will now be properly setup, both in a DNS zone and in the Apache virtual host configuration.
Clear your browser's cache!
This is established as a 301 error or "Permanent Redirect" and your browser will always go back to the error page until you clear the cache.
This is established as a 301 error or "Permanent Redirect" and your browser will always go back to the error page until you clear the cache.
does anyone know how to force client's browsers, from the server, to clear their cache when a problem like this occurs?
Even though the problem is fixed on the server, end users still see the green cPanel page. And one simply can't tell everyone who visits the website to clear their cache. They simply get the green cPanel page and think the company who's website it is, is out of business.
Even though the problem is fixed on the server, end users still see the green cPanel page. And one simply can't tell everyone who visits the website to clear their cache. They simply get the green cPanel page and think the company who's website it is, is out of business.
The issue is that of DNS being cached; this could take place on the visitor's computer (both by the OS and in the browser), and DNS may also be cached by the visitor's ISP.
To avoid difficulty I would ensure to perform maintenance tasks only during non-peak hours of usage, such as late at night or whenever the site is experiencing the least amount of utilization. You may also consider adjusting the TTL value in the DNS zone of the domain at least 24 to 72 hours before performing any zone changes to reduce the amount of time that the DNS records may be cached; the TTL value may be used to control when a cached DNS record should expire.
The TTL value of DNS records, specified as a number of seconds, may be modified using cPanel or WHM via either of the following menu paths:
cPanel: Main >> Domains >> Advanced DNS Zone Editor
WHM: Main >> DNS Functions >> Edit DNS Zone
Very nice trick, thank you for sharing, thumbsup.
Because of your suggestion, now I can get the redirect to go away when attempting to access the account's /index.php file!
But just account / still redirects to this cgi-sys/defaultwebpage.cgi nonsense.
So if I visit mydomain.com I get redirected but if I visit mydomain.com/index.php I bypass the error. It's a partial fix (most pages on the site work now) but still if someone accesses the domain itself without a param passed to that domain, it still gives him the nasty annoying page.
This all started by simply changing the site's IP address.
cPanel really need to fix this lame method of changing IP address and not putting a better method to do that and redirect people properly where they need to go.
upcp was of course not helpful.
As the system administrator, you may minimize interruption by performing maintenance during periods of the least site activity or lowest server usage, and you may also minimize the time for DNS propagation by adjusting the SOA TTL in the applicable DNS zones at least 24 hours prior to changing the site IP address to reduce the likelihood that the old IP will be retained in your computer's DNS cache for an extended period of time.
You may want to consider flushing the DNS cache on the computer where you're seeing the default web page, or simply wait until the computer automatically obtains the new DNS record (after the DNS cache naturally expires). Once that computer obtains the correct, updated IP address from your DNS servers the difficulty will be alleviated.
If you would like to request a specific method of performing a certain action, such as changing a site IP, that you believe would offer an improvement, I recommend starting a new thread with a detailed feature request post to initiate public discussion in the following forums area: Feature Requests for cPanel and WHM - cPanel Forums Included in your feature request post should be specific detail about how your desired enhancement is expected to perform the process of changing a site IP address or how it would modify the existing method.
this is my case:
i created my account @ cpanel, added domain names, added subdomains...
checked httpd.conf (i have root access), the conf is fine, all domains listed...
then i set the IP from godaddy dns to my server...
still shown as "default web site page" till now..
and still hoping this will be resolved automatically in a few days
edit: forget to mention, both the server and the domain are new
i created my account @ cpanel, added domain names, added subdomains...
checked httpd.conf (i have root access), the conf is fine, all domains listed...
then i set the IP from godaddy dns to my server...
still shown as "default web site page" till now..
and still hoping this will be resolved automatically in a few days
edit: forget to mention, both the server and the domain are new
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If the authoritative DNS servers, i.e., those registered to an IP address at the domain registrar, are successfully responding to DNS queries for your domain, where the domain can resolve to the correct server IP address, then the web site should be accessible. Please keep in mind that cached DNS records might pose an inconvenience when testing a site after recent DNS changes; this could involve DNS queries cached by your web browser, computer, or ISP being used to test connectivity. Depending on where a DNS query was cached, it may be possible to easily flush the DNS cache and see the effect of recent changes sooner than later; however, if not readily possible in the given circumstances then it may be necessary to allow at least 24 hours for DNS propagation (and to allow time for the cached queries to expire naturally). If the difficulty persists after 24 hours from the time of setup and if you would like more in-depth assistance, you are welcome to submit a complimentary support request so that we can take a look at your existing DNS configuration and determine if there may be any issues.this is my case:
i created my account @ cpanel, added domain names, added subdomains...
checked httpd.conf (i have root access), the conf is fine, all domains listed...
then i set the IP from godaddy dns to my server...
still shown as "default web site page" till now..
and still hoping this will be resolved automatically in a few days
edit: forget to mention, both the server and the domain are new
Please also reference the following related documentation and menu paths for WebHost Manager: