Problems Installing the Server

As a rule, the installation of SoSci Survey works without any problems. If problems do occur, you will find possible solutions here. This manual is structured by symptoms.

The manual uses the following terms:

• Root directory
  The (absolute) directory in which SoSci Survey was installed on the server, e.g., /var/www/soscisurvey/html/
• SoSci Survey URL
  The URL under which SoSci Survey shall later be accessible in the browser. This can be the top-level directory of a (sub)domain, e.g., https://survey.example.com/ or a subordinate directory, e.g., https://www.example.com/sosci/
• Web server process
  The application that processes incoming requests on the ports 80 (HTTP) or 443 (HTTPS) on the server, usually Apache (apache2) or Nginx (nginx). The configuration of this process is referred to as web server configuration in this manual.
• PHP process
  Depending on whether PHP runs as an Apache module (common) or as a separate process (e.g., php-fpm, usually with better performance), a separate PHP process is involved in the issue or not.
• Web server logfiles
  The logfiles that the web server process creates for requests and errors, these are often located in /var/log/apache2/ or /var/log/nginx/. You can set their location in the web server configuration.

This section describes the situation that you cannot access SoSci Survey in the browser after the installation.

• In this case, first test whether the web server process is running and receives requests for the SoSci Survey URL. To do so, check the web server logfiles to see whether requests appear there.
  • If no requests appear, check whether the web server process is running, e.g., by means of sudo systmctl status apache2
  • and whether the DNS record for the (sub)domain is correct at the domain provider or on your own name server.
• As a test, place a file test.txt in the root directory and then try to access the SoSci Survey URL plus /test.txt, i.e., for example https://survey.example.com/test.txt
  • If this does not work, the web server configuration is probably faulty
  • or there is a problem with the file permissions, corresponding hints should be found in the web server logfiles, probably in the error.log.
• Place a file test.php with the content given below in the root directory and try to access the file – a detailed overview of the PHP configuration should be displayed.
  • If only the content of the file is displayed as text, the web server process does not pass the file on to the PHP process correctly, check the setting for PHP files in the web server configuration.
  • If only an internal server error (500) is displayed, the web server process probably does not reach the PHP process. Check whether the PHP process is running, via which port or socket it can be reached, and whether this is set accordingly in the web server configuration.

test.php

<?php
phpinfo();
?>