ngircd refuses to start automatically through sysv init

Still seeing this as of the gutsy upgrade. Alternate workaround is this in /etc/rc.local:

# ngircd lock directory workaround
mkdir /var/run/ngircd/

and then making sure rc.local runs at priority 11.

This bug was seen with both mrtg and smokeping. I believe their final fixes were to do detection of the lockfile directory as part of the initscript and create it if it did not exist.

I just verified on a newly upgraded Hardy machine that the ngircd pid directory is being created properly by the initscript. This bug is probably safe to close.

Perhaps I spoke too soon. I just rebooted my hardy server last night and there was a complaint about /var/run/ngircd not existing during bootup.
( I hate intermittent bugs :-/ )

I just edited the /etc/init.d/ngircd initscript so It would use /var/run/ngircd.pid as a pidfile

@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
        echo -n "Starting Next generation IRC server: "
        start-stop-daemon --start --chuid irc:irc \
        --make-pidfile --background \
- --pidfile /var/run/ngircd/ngircd.pid \
+ --pidfile /var/run/ngircd.pid \
        --exec /usr/sbin/ngircd -- -n
        echo "ngircd."
        ;;
@@ -36,16 +36,16 @@
   stop)
        echo -n "Stopping Next generation IRC server: "
        start-stop-daemon --stop --quiet \
- --pidfile /var/run/ngircd/ngircd.pid \
+ --pidfile /var/run/ngircd.pid \
        --exec /usr/sbin/ngircd
- rm -f /var/run/ngircd/ngircd.pid
+ rm -f /var/run/ngircd.pid
        echo "ngircd."
        ;;

   reload|force-reload)
        echo -n "Reloading Next generation IRC server configuration: "
        start-stop-daemon --stop --quiet --oknodo --signal 1 \
- --pidfile /var/run/ngircd/ngircd.pid \
+ --pidfile /var/run/ngircd.pid \
        --exec /usr/sbin/ngircd
        echo "ngircd."
        ;;

This bug was fixed in the package ngircd - 0.10.3-2ubuntu1

---------------
ngircd (0.10.3-2ubuntu1) intrepid; urgency=low

  * debian/ngircd.init: create /var/run/ngircd/ before starting the daemon
    (LP: #85266)

 -- Adrien Cunin <email address hidden> Sat, 06 Sep 2008 17:18:04 +0200

Fixed in intrepid, will be fixed in hardy. For older releases, use a work-around, eg. just apply the following one-liner patch to the init script:

@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@

   start)
        echo -n "Starting Next generation IRC server: "
+ mkdir -p /var/run/ngircd/
        start-stop-daemon --start --chuid irc:irc \
        --make-pidfile --background \
        --pidfile /var/run/ngircd/ngircd.pid \

Attached is what I just uploaded to hardy-proposed.

Needs approval from motu-sru.

ACK from motu-sru

Accepted into -proposed, please test and give feedback here. Please see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Testing/EnableProposed for documentation how to enable and use -proposed. Thank you in advance!

This should also close bug 127496. Will verify both cases as soon as binary is available.

The verification fails:

Stopping Next generation IRC server: invoke-rc.d: initscript ngircd, action "stop" failed.
dpkg: warning - old pre-removal script returned error exit status 1
dpkg - trying script from the new package instead ...
Stopping Next generation IRC server: invoke-rc.d: initscript ngircd, action "stop" failed.
dpkg: error processing ngircd_0.10.3-2ubuntu0.1_amd64.deb (--install):
 subprocess new pre-removal script returned error exit status 1
Starting Next generation IRC server: start-stop-daemon: Unable to open pidfile `/var/run/ngircd/ngircd.pid' for writing: No such file or directory (No such file or directory)
ngircd.

One possible solution is to check if /var/run/ngircd/ngircd.pid exists before calling start-stop-daemon in the stop action of the init script. Other solutions (which I haven't tested) could be to use oknodo or error-handler. One can also think to have the check before the case to also cover the reload and force-reload actions (but that would go too far for this purpose I guess).

Uploaded 0.10.3-2ubuntu0.2, debdiff attached.

(I fixed this in intrepid as well, the patches are identical.)

I just tested Adrien's last solution, it works fine for me :

- I installed the current ngircd.
- I stopped the daemon.
- I removed /var/run/ngircd/
- I installed Adrien's patched package.

The package installed smoothly and the daemon starts/stops correctly.

ack from ~motu-sru for 0.2

accepted 0.10.3-2ubuntu0.2 into hardy-proposed, please test.

This is also bug 127496

The new package in -proposed permits update and removal.