Unable to start Apache on Plesk server: (98)Address already in use: AH00072: make_sock: could not bind to address [::]:80

Symptoms

• Apache cannot be started with the following error:

  # service apache2 status
  ...
  (98)Address already in use: AH00072: make_sock: could not bind to address [::]:80
  (98)Address already in use: AH00072: make_sock: could not bind to address 0.0.0.0:80
  no listening sockets available, shutting down
  AH00015: Unable to open logs
  ...

• Nginx cannot be started:

  CONFIG_TEXT: nginx: [emerg] bind() to [::]:443 failed (99: Cannot assign requested address) nginx: configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf test failed file:

Cause

The /etc/apache2/ports.conf file was overwritten by the package maintainer's version and uses ports 80 and 443 for http and https respectively. However, nginx is also running and uses the same ports.

Resolution

1. Log in to the server via SSH.

2. To reconfigure Apache to use proper ports, disable and enable nginx reverse proxy server running following commands one after another:

   # plesk sbin nginxmng --disable

   # plesk sbin nginxmng --enable

   In case one of the above command fails, paste the correct content into /etc/apache2/ports.conf and run the commands again.