Strange startup issue of the server

[mdziczkowski]

Test environment:

OS:

1. Ubuntu
2. Debian

OS versions:

ad. 1. : Xenial and later (upgrade)
ad 2. : Buster and Bookworm

RabbitMQ version: avaliable from the OS repository (installed from the first tested OS version and then upgraded)

Problem description:

I had created the rabbitmq.config file from the scratch using the documentation avaliable on the rabbitmq website and I had used the sysctl format for it.

When attempting to start the server, the server has returned a following error message:

* Starting RabbitMQ Messaging Server rabbitmq-server
* FAILED - check /var/log/rabbitmq/startup_\{log, _err\}

Content of the startup_log file:

{"could not start kernel pid",application_controller,"error in config file \"/etc/rabbitmq/rabbitmq.config\" (none): no ending <dot> found"}

[michaelklishin]

If you use the new format then the name of the file must be rabbitmq.conf. advanced.config and rabbitmq.config use the Erlang term format.

While not related, Ubuntu and Debian are usually a good year behind latest RabbitMQ releases, although Bookworm right now happens to be an exception and ships 3.10.8.

[mdziczkowski]

@michaelklishin I need to correct you. Acording to the RabbitMQ documentation, the rabbitmq.conf is described as a "New style format (sysctl or ini-like)" and the rabbitmq.advanced.config is as Erlang one

[lukebakken]

Acording to the RabbitMQ documentation, the rabbitmq.config is described as a "New style format (sysctl or ini-like)"

Incorrect. See the source code to the website here - https://github.com/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-website/blob/live/site/configure.md?plain=1#L264-L265

and the rabbitmq.advanced.config is as Erlang one

Incorrect - https://github.com/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-website/blob/live/site/configure.md?plain=1#L273-L274

[mdziczkowski]

I had used following site: https://rabbitmq.com/configure.html as reference, where The "clasic" Erlang version is not too well described.

I would like to propose one extension for the config files, with would accept both styles. This will prevent confusion in the future

[michaelklishin]

We are not interested in this idea. First of all, the extension tells the server how to load the file.
Second of all, supporting any extension and any format will create more confusion.

The separation is very clear right now: .config (including rabbitmq.config in the classic format) means the Erlang term format, and nodes still can load the original rabbitmq.config. rabbitmq.conf for the sysctl-style format and advanced.config as an optional Erlang-term file for what cannot be expressed in the main one.

[michaelklishin]

rabbitmq.config is the original filename and is only supported for backwards compatibility. That's why we do not really cover it in much detail in the docs.

The absolute majority of users prefer the new format, it is easier to generate, read, harder to run into a syntax error, and so on.