Troubleshooting
Problem
This technote provides a solution to an issue where IBM HTTP Server does not start due to a "master_main: create child process failed" error.
Symptom
The IBM HTTP Server does not start and the following message appears in the error log:
master_main: create child process failed
Cause
An issue in IBM HTTP Server can cause the server to crash while starting.
Environment
Deployments in which the IBM HTTP Server Version 7.0 or 8.0 is running on Windows might be affected. The following IBM HTTP Server Versions are affected: 7.0.0.0, 7.0.0.3, 7.0.0.5, 7.0.0.7, 7.0.0.9, 7.0.0.11, 7.0.0.13, 7.0.0.15, 7.0.0.17, 7.0.0.19, 8.0.0.1.
Diagnosing The Problem
When the IBM HTTP Server fails to start, check the error log, which is located in the following directory where the server is installed:
<HTTPServer>\logs\error.log
Search for errors that include the text string
master_main: create child process failed
For example:
[Wed Nov 3 14:08:11 2011] [crit] (OS 6)The handle is invalid. : master_main: create child process failed. Exiting.
[Wed Nov 3 14:08:11 2011] [notice] Parent: Forcing termination of child process 36
Resolving The Problem
If no other reason, other than the error shown above, is given in the IBM HTTP Server error log file for the server failing to start and you have ruled out any issues with third-party modules, then you may be running into this issue.
See APAR PM49573 for more information about this issue:
An Interim Fix is available on request from the IBM HTTP Server team.
Related Information
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Document Information
Modified date:
07 September 2022
UID
swg21568421