Help with Apache 2 problem on AIX 5.3

["Coulter, Ryan" <rcoulter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Title: Help with Apache 2 problem on AIX 5.3

(My apologies for sending this earlier with no subject.)

Hello. I am stumped by a problem I'm having with Apache 2 and IHS 2 on AIX
5.3. I have tried this scenario with both a custom compiled Apache 2.2.4 as
well as IHS 2.0.47. In both cases, the behavior is identical. Using Apache
1.3, I don't have the problem. I have been researching the problem for
several days, but can not find any issue that describes the behavior I’m
seeing. The problem is as follows:

I request index.html from the webserver and receive it properly in my
browser. I then log onto the server, edit the file with vi, save it and
exit. Then I return to my browser and request index.html again and it
appears as though nothing has changed. My edit does not show up. Sometimes,
after making an edit, I try to open the page in my browser and receive a
message that the browser couldn't reach the server.

In trying to track down the problem, I have discovered that, first, the web
server is not crashing. It is also receiving and logging the GET request for
the page. When it logs the request, it logs a 200 OK and the correct *new*
file size. I then performed an experiment using wget to request index.html.
On the first request, I receive the correct version. After editing
index.html on the server and adding a large number of characters, I submit
the request with wget again and receive an error saying "No data received."
After a few minutes, the requests begin to work again and I receive the
correct, new version. After editing the file again and removing any number
of characters, I make the request again and receive a file of the correct,
new size. However, the contents of the file when opened still contain the
removed characters, and the file itself is truncated by the same number of
characters I had removed.

My initial thoughts were that the problem had to do with memory caching or
disk caching in Apache, but I have confirmed that those modules are not
loaded. No caching is enabled. Also, no errors are logged. Stopping and
starting Apache makes no difference. I can even completely remove and
reinstall the Apache files, including the document root, and upon starting
up Apache, it will continue for several minutes with this behavior. In every
case, eventually, after several minutes, the correct, new file will be
delivered properly.

Over the weekend I tested the configuration on both Linux and OS X, and did
not have any problems. One other test I performed before the weekend went as
follows:

I had just edited the file index.html and confirmed that Apache was not
sending it correctly. I went on the AIX server, shut down Apache, completely
removed the server root, including the document root where index.html was
stored. Took the time to compile a brand new copy of 2.2.4 ensuring that all
the caching options were disabled. Installed the new version and configured
it. Copied a new index.html into the document root and started the server.
All of this took 30 to 45 minutes, and when I first requested the page with
wget, I received the same broken file I had last received from the Apache
process I had shutdown earlier. After a 3 or 4 minutes went past, the server
started serving the new index.html correctly.

This is happening on more than one AIX server. I am really confused. Has
anyone seen anything like this? Am I missing something in AIX? I appreciate
everyone's help.

Regards,
Ryan Coulter






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