Cobbler Error: MAAS on VirtualBox

Could you paste the full stack trace of the error you're seeing?

@Gavin: Actually, I am testing on another location ( physical ) and I can't ssh to that. I will be able to give the stacktrace by Monday ( 9th July 2012 ), morning. Hope thats OK ? [ However, in the mean time, I'll try it on my system as well. See, if I can trigger the same error. If yes, I'll post the stacktrace immediately ]

Below is the stacktrace of the error from cobbler.log, which I get when I run $sudo cobbler check.

Mon Jul 9 11:41:07 2012 - DEBUG | REMOTE CLI Authorized; user(?)
Mon Jul 9 11:41:07 2012 - INFO | check
Mon Jul 9 11:41:07 2012 - INFO | running: dnsmasq --help
Mon Jul 9 11:41:07 2012 - INFO | received on stdout:
Mon Jul 9 11:41:07 2012 - DEBUG | received on stderr: /bin/sh: 1: dnsmasq: Permission denied

Mon Jul 9 11:41:07 2012 - INFO | running: /etc/init.d/dnsmasq status /dev/null 2>/dev/null
Mon Jul 9 11:41:07 2012 - INFO | received on stdout:
Mon Jul 9 11:41:07 2012 - DEBUG | received on stderr:
Mon Jul 9 11:41:07 2012 - INFO | Exception occured: <type 'exceptions.TypeError'>
Mon Jul 9 11:41:07 2012 - INFO | Exception value: not enough arguments for format string
Mon Jul 9 11:41:07 2012 - INFO | Exception Info:
  File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/cobbler/remote.py", line 1944, in _dispatch
    return method_handle(*params)
   File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/cobbler/remote.py", line 133, in check
    return self.api.check(logger=self.logger)
   File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/cobbler/api.py", line 660, in check
    return check.run()
   File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/cobbler/action_check.py", line 63, in run
    self.check_service(status,"dnsmasq")
   File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/cobbler/action_check.py", line 130, in check_service
    status.append(_("service %s is not running%s") % which,notes)

Looks like a permission issue. But why, I am running with sudo ?

Very odd. Can you try doing `dnsmasq --help` in the shell? If that fails, please paste the output of `ls -l /usr/sbin/dnsmasq`.

By the way, are you using https://wiki.ubuntu.com/SecurityTeam/TestingMAAS because you specifically want to test security? Or is it so you can try out MAAS with virtual machines? If neither, then https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ServerTeam/MAAS is a better place to start.

@Gavin: Sorry for the delay in the reply.

No, I am not testing MAAS security. My objective is only to use MAAS on Virtual machines, so that I can try out a few things before I go to production. I have a few juju charms that I want to test.

----------------
$ dnsmasq --help prints usage options for dnsmasq. [ It is installed, if thats what you wanted to check ]
I can provide the exact output, but I guess its the standard help message for dnsmasq, so won't help you. If not, let me know.

$ ls -l /usr/sbin/dnsmasq gives the output:
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 199984 Dec 12 2011 /usr/sbin/dnsmasq

Let me know, if you require any more info.

I'm installing MAAS on real machines and having the same response for "cobbler check" in the log I get

Thu Jul 19 17:40:44 2012 - INFO | running: dnsmasq --help
Thu Jul 19 17:40:44 2012 - INFO | received on stdout:
Thu Jul 19 17:40:44 2012 - DEBUG | received on stderr: /bin/sh: 1: dnsmasq: Permission denied

Thu Jul 19 17:40:44 2012 - INFO | running: /etc/init.d/dnsmasq status /dev/null 2>/dev/null
Thu Jul 19 17:40:44 2012 - INFO | received on stdout:
Thu Jul 19 17:40:44 2012 - DEBUG | received on stderr:
Thu Jul 19 17:40:44 2012 - INFO | Exception occured: <type 'exceptions.TypeError'>
Thu Jul 19 17:40:44 2012 - INFO | Exception value: not enough arguments for format string
Thu Jul 19 17:40:44 2012 - INFO | Exception Info:
  File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/cobbler/remote.py", line 1944, in _dispatch
    return method_handle(*params)
   File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/cobbler/remote.py", line 133, in check
    return self.api.check(logger=self.logger)
   File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/cobbler/api.py", line 660, in check
    return check.run()
   File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/cobbler/action_check.py", line 63, in run
    self.check_service(status,"dnsmasq")
   File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/cobbler/action_check.py", line 130, in check_service
    status.append(_("service %s is not running%s") % which,notes)

You need to run cobbler with sudo permissions.

So, sudo cobbler check.

I did it with sudo.

root@m1:~# sudo cobbler check
### ERROR ###
Unexpected remote error, check the server side logs for further info
<type 'exceptions.TypeError'>:not enough arguments for format string

and in the log

Thu Jul 19 18:39:22 2012 - INFO | check
Thu Jul 19 18:39:22 2012 - INFO | running: dnsmasq --help
Thu Jul 19 18:39:22 2012 - INFO | received on stdout:
Thu Jul 19 18:39:22 2012 - DEBUG | received on stderr: /bin/sh: 1: dnsmasq: Permission denied

Thu Jul 19 18:39:22 2012 - INFO | running: /etc/init.d/dnsmasq status /dev/null 2>/dev/null
Thu Jul 19 18:39:22 2012 - INFO | received on stdout:
Thu Jul 19 18:39:22 2012 - DEBUG | received on stderr:
Thu Jul 19 18:39:22 2012 - INFO | Exception occured: <type 'exceptions.TypeError'>
Thu Jul 19 18:39:22 2012 - INFO | Exception value: not enough arguments for format string
Thu Jul 19 18:39:22 2012 - INFO | Exception Info:
  File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/cobbler/remote.py", line 1944, in _dispatch
    return method_handle(*params)
   File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/cobbler/remote.py", line 133, in check
    return self.api.check(logger=self.logger)
   File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/cobbler/api.py", line 660, in check
    return check.run()
   File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/cobbler/action_check.py", line 63, in run
    self.check_service(status,"dnsmasq")
   File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/cobbler/action_check.py", line 130, in check_service
    status.append(_("service %s is not running%s") % which,notes)

So Cobbler is trying to report that service “which” is not running “notes,” but breaking at that point because the authors forgot to parenthesize (which, notes). :/

That's not the core problem though, just a distraction. Might it be worth it to edit /usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/cobbler/action_check.py, line 130, so that it says «% (which,notes))” where it currently says «% which,notes)» ? At least that way we'll get to see the proper error message.

Well, the error seems to be:

Thu Jul 19 18:39:22 2012 - DEBUG | received on stderr: /bin/sh: 1: dnsmasq:
Permission denied

ie you don't have permission to run dnsmasq. What permissions does it have?
Can you run it manually?

I'm running it with root through the sudo. It should be more than suffusion.

Do you have apparmour installed? Did you run dnsmasq manually like I asked?

If you talk about post #4, you didn't addressed to me, any way I did it with the same result:

root@m1:~# dnsmasq --help
Usage: dnsmasq [options]

Valid options are:
-a, --listen-address=ipaddr Specify local address(es) to listen on.
-A, --address=/domain/ipaddr Return ipaddr for all hosts in specified domains.
-b, --bogus-priv Fake reverse lookups for RFC1918 private address ranges.
-B, --bogus-nxdomain=ipaddr Treat ipaddr as NXDOMAIN (defeats Verisign wildcard).
-c, --cache-size=cachesize Specify the size of the cache in entries (defaults to 150).
-C, --conf-file=path Specify configuration file (defaults to /etc/dnsmasq.conf).
-d, --no-daemon Do NOT fork into the background: run in debug mode.
-D, --domain-needed Do NOT forward queries with no domain part.
-e, --selfmx Return self-pointing MX records for local hosts.
-E, --expand-hosts Expand simple names in /etc/hosts with domain-suffix.
-f, --filterwin2k Don't forward spurious DNS requests from Windows hosts.
-F, --dhcp-range=ipaddr,ipaddr,time Enable DHCP in the range given with lease duration.
-g, --group=groupname Change to this group after startup (defaults to dip).
-G, --dhcp-host=<hostspec> Set address or hostname for a specified machine.
    --dhcp-hostsfile=<filename> Read DHCP host specs from file.
    --dhcp-optsfile=<filename> Read DHCP option specs from file.
    --tag-if=tag-expression Evaluate conditional tag expression.
-h, --no-hosts Do NOT load /etc/hosts file.
-H, --addn-hosts=path Specify a hosts file to be read in addition to /etc/hosts.
-i, --interface=interface Specify interface(s) to listen on.
-I, --except-interface=int Specify interface(s) NOT to listen on.
-j, --dhcp-userclass=set:<tag>,<class> Map DHCP user class to tag.
    --dhcp-circuitid=set:<tag>,<circuit>Map RFC3046 circuit-id to tag.
    --dhcp-remoteid=set:<tag>,<remote> Map RFC3046 remote-id to tag.
    --dhcp-subscrid=set:<tag>,<remote> Map RFC3993 subscriber-id to tag.
-J, --dhcp-ignore=tag:<tag>... Don't do DHCP for hosts with tag set.
    --dhcp-broadcast[=tag:<tag>...] Force broadcast replies for hosts with tag set.
-k, --keep-in-foreground Do NOT fork into the background, do NOT run in debug mode.
-K, --dhcp-authoritative Assume we are the only DHCP server on the local network.
-l, --dhcp-leasefile=path Specify where to store DHCP leases (defaults to /var/lib/misc/dnsmasq.leases).
-L, --localmx Return MX records for local hosts.
-m, --mx-host=host_name,target,pref Specify an MX record.
-M, --dhcp-boot=<bootp opts> Specify BOOTP options to DHCP server.
-n, --no-poll Do NOT poll /etc/resolv.conf file, reload only on SIGHUP.
-N, --no-negcache Do NOT cache failed search results.
-o, --strict-order Use nameservers strictly in the order given in /etc/resolv.conf.
-O, --dhcp-option=<optspec> Specify options to be sent to DHCP clients.
    --dhcp-option-force=<optspec> DHCP option sent even if the client does not request it.
-p, --port=number Specify port to listen for DNS requests on (defaults to 53).
-P, --edns-packet-max=<size> Maximum supported UDP packet size for EDNS.0 (defaults to 4096).
-q, --log-queries Log DNS queries.
-Q, --query-port=number Force the originating port for upstream DNS queries.
-R, --no-resolv Do NOT read resolv.conf.
-r, --resolv-file=path Specify path to resolv.conf (defaults to /etc/resolv.conf).
-S, --server=/domain/ipaddr Specify address(es) of upstream servers with optional domains.
    --local=/domain/ Never forward queries to specified domains.
-s, --domain=<domain>[,<range>] Specify the domain to be assigned in DHCP leases.
-t, --mx-target=host_name Specify default target in an MX record.
-T, --local-ttl=time Specify time-to-live in seconds for replies from /etc/hosts.
    --neg-ttl=time Specify time-to-live in seconds for negative caching.
    --max-ttl=time Specify time-to-live in seconds for maximum TTL to send to clients.
-u, --user=username Change to this user after startup. (defaults to nobody).

-------------------------
root@m1:~# ls -l /usr/sbin/dnsmasq
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 199984 Dec 12 2011 /usr/sbin/dnsmasq
-------------------------
root@m1:~# sudo cobbler check
### ERROR ###
Unexpected remote error, check the server side logs for further info
<type 'exceptions.TypeError'>:not enough arguments for format string
-------------------------

root@m1:~# tail -n 23 /var/log/cobbler/cobbler.log
Wed Jul 25 16:46:16 2012 - DEBUG | REMOTE CLI Authorized; user(?)
Wed Jul 25 16:46:16 2012 - INFO | check
Wed Jul 25 16:46:16 2012 - INFO | running: dnsmasq --help
Wed Jul 25 16:46:16 2012 - INFO | received on stdout:
Wed Jul 25 16:46:16 2012 - DEBUG | received on stderr: /bin/sh: 1: dnsmasq: Permission denied

Wed Jul 25 16:46:16 2012 - INFO | running: /etc/init.d/dnsmasq status /dev/null 2>/dev/null
Wed Jul 25 16:46:16 2012 - INFO | received on stdout:
Wed Jul 25 16:46:16 2012 - DEBUG | received on stderr:
Wed Jul 25 16:46:16 2012 - INFO | Exception occured: <type 'exceptions.TypeError'>
Wed Jul 25 16:46:16 2012 - INFO | Exception value: not enough arguments for format string
Wed Jul 25 16:46:16 2012 - INFO | Exception Info:
  File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/cobbler/remote.py", line 1944, in _dispatch
    return method_handle(*params)
   File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/cobbler/remote.py", line 133, in check
    return self.api.check(logger=self.logger)
   File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/cobbler/api.py", line 660, in check
    return check.run()
   File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/cobbler/action_check.py", line 63, in run
    self.check_service(status,"dnsmasq")
   File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/cobbler/action_check.py", line 130, in check_service
    status.append(_("service %s is not running%s") % which,notes)

I don't have apparmour installed ether.

Any other suggestions?

What happens if you run:

sudo service dnsmasq restart

i am trying to install MAAS on VirtuallBox and getting exatcly the same problem.
I tried to run:
sudo service dnsmasq restart
and then
 sudo cobbler check
i get the same error wie befor
### ERROR ###
Unexpected remote error, check the server side logs for further info

Have the problem been solved?
What causing this ?
Thanks