Security

Splunk web fails to start after upgrade to 8.0.1 - UnicodeDecodeError: 'ascii' codec can't decode

srauhala_splunk
Splunk Employee
Splunk Employee

After upgrading from SE 7.3 to SE 8.0.1 Splunk web failed to start

[splunk@ip-10-202-18-65 ~]$ /opt/splunk/bin/splunk start
The splunk daemon (splunkd) is already running. [MISSLYCKADES]

Waiting for web server at http://127.0.0.1:8000 to be available............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

WARNING: web interface does not seem to be available!

[splunk@ip-10-202-18-65 ~]$ cat /opt/splunk/var/log/splunk/web_service.log
2020-03-11 14:13:29,700 ERROR [5e68f209517f57edcf17d0] root:770 - 'ascii' codec can't decode byte 0xc3 in position 17: ordinal not in range(128)
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/opt/splunk/lib/python3.7/site-packages/splunk/appserver/mrsparkle/root.py", line 132, in
from splunk.appserver.mrsparkle.controllers.top import TopController
File "/opt/splunk/lib/python3.7/site-packages/splunk/appserver/mrsparkle/controllers/top.py", line 27, in
from splunk.appserver.mrsparkle.controllers.admin import AdminController
File "/opt/splunk/lib/python3.7/site-packages/splunk/appserver/mrsparkle/controllers/admin.py", line 17, in
import formencode
File "/opt/splunk/lib/python3.7/site-packages/formencode/init.py", line 3, in
from formencode.api import (
File "/opt/splunk/lib/python3.7/site-packages/formencode/api.py", line 65, in
set_stdtranslation()
File "/opt/splunk/lib/python3.7/site-packages/formencode/api.py", line 58, in set_stdtranslation
localedir=localedir, fallback=True)
File "/opt/splunk/lib/python3.7/gettext.py", line 533, in translation
t = translations.setdefault(key, class(fp))
File "/opt/splunk/lib/python3.7/gettext.py", line 260, in init
self.parse(fp)
File "/opt/splunk/lib/python3.7/gettext.py", line 421, in _parse
catalog[str(msg, charset)] = str(tmsg, charset)
UnicodeDecodeError: 'ascii' codec can't decode byte 0xc3 in position 17: ordinal not in range(128)
2020-03-11 14:35:51,498 INFO [5e68f747617fbbe19b7f90] __init
:174 - Using default logging config file: /opt/splunk/etc/log.cfg
2020-03-11 14:35:51,499 INFO [5e68f747617fbbe19b7f90] __init
:212 - Setting logger=splunk level=INFO
2020-03-11 14:35:51,499 INFO [5e68f747617fbbe19b7f90] __init
:212 - Setting logger=splunk.appserver level=INFO
2020-03-11 14:35:51,499 INFO [5e68f747617fbbe19b7f90] __init
:212 - Setting logger=splunk.appserver.controllers level=INFO
2020-03-11 14:35:51,499 INFO [5e68f747617fbbe19b7f90] __init
:212 - Setting logger=splunk.appserver.controllers.proxy level=INFO
2020-03-11 14:35:51,499 INFO [5e68f747617fbbe19b7f90] __init
:212 - Setting logger=splunk.appserver.lib level=WARN
2020-03-11 14:35:51,499 INFO [5e68f747617fbbe19b7f90] __init
:212 - Setting logger=splunk.pdfgen level=INFO
2020-03-11 14:35:51,499 INFO [5e68f747617fbbe19b7f90] __init
:212 - Setting logger=splunk.archiver_restoration level=INFO
2020-03-11 14:35:51,551 ERROR [5e68f747617fbbe19b7f90] root:769 - Unable to start splunkweb
2020-03-11 14:35:51,551 ERROR [5e68f747617fbbe19b7f90] root:770 - 'ascii' codec can't decode byte 0xc3 in position 17: ordinal not in range(128)
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/opt/splunk/lib/python3.7/site-packages/splunk/appserver/mrsparkle/root.py", line 132, in
from splunk.appserver.mrsparkle.controllers.top import TopController
File "/opt/splunk/lib/python3.7/site-packages/splunk/appserver/mrsparkle/controllers/top.py", line 27, in
from splunk.appserver.mrsparkle.controllers.admin import AdminController
File "/opt/splunk/lib/python3.7/site-packages/splunk/appserver/mrsparkle/controllers/admin.py", line 17, in
import formencode
File "/opt/splunk/lib/python3.7/site-packages/formencode/
init.py", line 3, in
from formencode.api import (
File "/opt/splunk/lib/python3.7/site-packages/formencode/api.py", line 65, in
set_stdtranslation()
File "/opt/splunk/lib/python3.7/site-packages/formencode/api.py", line 58, in set_stdtranslation
localedir=localedir, fallback=True)
File "/opt/splunk/lib/python3.7/gettext.py", line 533, in translation
t = _translations.setdefault(key, class
(fp))
File "/opt/splunk/lib/python3.7/gettext.py", line 260, in init
self._parse(fp)
File "/opt/splunk/lib/python3.7/gettext.py", line 421, in _parse
catalog[str(msg, charset)] = str(tmsg, charset)
UnicodeDecodeError: 'ascii' codec can't decode byte 0xc3 in position 17: ordinal not in range(128)

Labels (1)
0 Karma

srauhala_splunk
Splunk Employee
Splunk Employee

To answer my own question, our problem was that the user running the splunk process had the locale sv_SE. This cased python3 to fail when importing formecode.

Workaround is to set the system and user locale to en_GB or en_US

[splunk@ip-10-202-18-65 ~]$ LANG=en_US.utf8
[splunk@ip-10-202-18-65 ~]$ /opt/splunk/bin/splunk start

YoungDaniel
Path Finder

Works! I adde the LANG var to the splunk-launcher script. It also does the job and help out for future restart.

0 Karma
Get Updates on the Splunk Community!

Index This | I am a number, but when you add ‘G’ to me, I go away. What number am I?

March 2024 Edition Hayyy Splunk Education Enthusiasts and the Eternally Curious!  We’re back with another ...

What’s New in Splunk App for PCI Compliance 5.3.1?

The Splunk App for PCI Compliance allows customers to extend the power of their existing Splunk solution with ...

Extending Observability Content to Splunk Cloud

Register to join us !   In this Extending Observability Content to Splunk Cloud Tech Talk, you'll see how to ...