Dev Webserver works, gunicorn webserver throws "Static Media Failure"

[halb9]

Hi there,

I'm having trouble getting netbox up and running.

Using Ubuntu 20.04 LTS as the underlying OS I followed the steps in the documentation precisely.

1. Install PostgreSQL
   (Postgres is running on a different host. Not that I think that has anything to do with my issue. But wanted to mention it regardless.)
2. Install Redis
3. Install NetBox
   (I'm cloning the repo via git at this point).
   It all looks good. At the end of this step I'm asked to test the application via
   python3 manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8000 --insecure
   Opening the IP of the host netbox is running on with my local browser works just fine. I can login with the user I created earlier. All seems good.
   I continue with
4. Gunicorn
   Again, installation went fine. No errors. No hickups. gunicorn is running as a service on TCP 8001.
   However when I now try to open it via my browser I get the following message.
   

Static Media Failure
The following static media file failed to load: netbox-dark.css
Check the following:

manage.py collectstatic was run during the most recent upgrade. This installs the most recent iteration of each static file into the static root path.
The HTTP service (e.g. nginx or Apache) is configured to serve files from the STATIC_ROOT path. Refer to the installation documentation for further guidance.
STATIC_URL: /static/
The file netbox-dark.css exists in the static root directory and is readable by the HTTP process.
Click here to attempt loading NetBox again.

I take a look at the server via CLI and files are all there.

I doublechecked my setup process and I'm very confident I did not miss any steps. However I still might be wrong.

I tried the search of this repo of course. But there were either no answers or the issue was similar but not identical.
There is one issue with a marked solution, yet in there nginx is used.
What are the required steps at this point so that gunicorn in itself works?
Any help is appreciated.

Have a great day! Thanks!

[candlerb]

You should not be talking to gunicorn directly on port 8001 (indeed it should be bound to 127.0.0.1 so it doesn't permit remote access)

You need a proxy in front of it (Apache or Nginx), and you talk to that, on port 80 or 443 usually. The proxy serves static files, and anything that's not under /static/ it proxies to gunicorn on port 8001.

[halb9]

Hi candlerb,

thanks for taking the time. I appreciate that!

Maybe I wasn't clear enough what my intentions are. It is not my goal to talk to gunicorn directly in production. I just wanted to verify this installation step at this point.
In the end I'd like to have nginx as a reverse proxy not on the same machine but on a different host 'proxieng' traffic to netbox/gunicorn.

You said gunicorn should be bound to 127.0.0.1 with no remote access. Why?
I'm coming from the network perspective. I would like to know what services are talking to each other.

According to the documentation nginx talks to gunicorn, gunicorn talks to netbox etc.

When nginx as a reverse proxy is running on a different host, gunicorn can not be bound to 127.0.0.1. Right?
In my scenario nginx talks to gunicorn. Which means gunicorn should accept outside connections. Which means I should be able to access it via my browser. For functionality testing. There is no point going forward when this step fails.

I'm looking forward to your feedback. Maybe I'm doing something wrong and/or stupid :D

[NavyWings]

I found the workaround for the multi-hop proxying. On the outermost proxy, which was running Apache, I did this:

# Keep the Host: header
ProxyPreserveHost On

# Don't add X-Forwarded-Host: as this breaks when proxying multiple times
ProxyAddHeaders Off
RequestHeader setifempty X-Forwarded-For "expr=%{REMOTE_ADDR}"
RequestHeader setifempty X-Forwarded-Proto "expr=%{REQUEST_SCHEME}"

If you do something like this, then you can do a "standard" installation of Netbox, with its own local proxy as well. The local proxy will be responsible for serving static assets, and this means that when you upgrade Netbox in future the static assets will remain in sync with no extra work.

Thanks candleb. I'm not proficient in this area either. So do you mean specifying that in apache2.conf while keeping netbox.conf a standard install? If so, would it go in:

Options FollowSymLinks AllowOverride None Require all denied

<Directory /usr/share>
AllowOverride None
Require all granted

<Directory /var/www/>
Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
AllowOverride None
Require all granted

[candlerb]

The outer proxy is your system, and you'll need to configure it in whatever way makes sense for you. I have no idea what virtualhosts or other configuration you have, so I can't point you to an exact line. Ask a local system administrator if you need help.

[NavyWings]

The outer proxy is your system, and you'll need to configure it in whatever way makes sense for you. I have no idea what virtualhosts or other configuration you have, so I can't point you to an exact line. Ask a local system administrator if you need help.

Thanks! Just got it up and running. Somehow I think it broke my SSL but that's another issue.

[Sh4wn9]

@halb9 What was your solution as I have followed the documentation and getting same Static Media Failure. Thanks in advance!

[alihyder-s]

I am also getting the same error of static media failure. Any solution? Followed all the steps as per guide for the installation on Ubuntu Server20.04.