Re-install the GUI

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This guide provides a step-by-step process for safely reinstalling the VoIPmonitor web GUI without losing your data or configuration.

When to Reinstall

A reinstallation overwrites GUI application files while preserving your data (CDRs, PCAPs) and configuration (config/configuration.php). Use this procedure when:

  • A GUI upgrade failed due to power loss, full disk, or other interruption
  • The GUI fails to load after a PHP version upgrade
  • Apache shows the default welcome page instead of VoIPmonitor
  • Suspected file corruption in the web directory

ℹ️ Note: This guide assumes you have a previously working GUI with all PHP dependencies (ionCube Loader) already installed.

Installation Steps

Step 1: Identify PHP Version

The GUI package must match your PHP major version: 

php --version

Note the first two numbers (e.g., 8.1, 8.2, 7.4).

⚠️ Warning: CLI PHP version may differ from web server PHP version. Create phpinfo(); test file to verify web server version if in doubt.

Step 2: Backup Current GUI

sudo cp -a /var/www/html /var/www/html-backup-$(date +%F)

⚠️ Warning: Always keep a separate backup of configuration.php and key.php. If these become empty during installation, the GUI will fail with "empty path" errors.

Step 3: Download and Install

mkdir /tmp/voipmonitor-gui-install
cd /tmp/voipmonitor-gui-install

# Replace phpver=81 with your version (82, 81, 74, etc.)
wget "https://www.voipmonitor.org/download-gui?version=latest&major=5&allowed&phpver=81" -O gui.tar.gz

# Extract and install
tar xzf gui.tar.gz
cd voipmonitor-gui-*/scripts/
sudo bash install-gui.sh ../../gui.tar.gz

Press Enter to confirm the default installation path. The script preserves your configuration.php and sets permissions automatically.

💡 Tip: Validate package before install: tar -tvf gui.tar.gz | grep "vm-" should show vm-i686 and vm-x86_64 binaries.

Alternative: Manual Installation

If the automated script fails: 

# Empty web directory (careful!)
sudo rm -rf /var/www/html/*

# Unpack and set ownership
cd /tmp/voipmonitor-gui-install
tar xzf gui.tar.gz
cp -r voipmonitor-gui-*/. /var/www/html/
sudo chown -R www-data /var/www/html   # Use "apache" on RHEL/CentOS

# Restore configuration from backup
sudo cp /var/www/html-backup-$(date +%F)/config/configuration.php /var/www/html/config/

⚠️ Warning: Watch for "No space left on device" errors during tar extraction. Check disk space: df -h

Step 4: Finalize in Browser

  1. Open the VoIPmonitor GUI in your browser
  2. Perform a hard refresh: Ctrl+Shift+R (or Cmd+Shift+R on Mac)

This ensures the browser loads new assets and performs database schema checks.

Offline Installation

For servers without internet access:

  1. On a machine with internet: Download GUI package using wget command from Step 3
  2. Transfer: Copy gui.tar.gz to the offline server via SCP or USB
  3. On offline server: Follow Steps 2-4 above

Database Schema Updates

After major version upgrades, database schema may need updates.

Automatic (minor changes):

Manual (major changes): 

# Check logs for ALTER recommendations
sudo journalctl -u voipmonitor -n 50 | grep -i "alter"

# Execute in MySQL (run during off-peak hours - ALTERs lock tables)
mysql -u root -p
# Paste ALTER commands from logs

For high-traffic environments, consider the migration instance method to avoid downtime. See Redundant_database for details.

Troubleshooting

ionCube Loader Error

If GUI displays ionCube error (including "undefined symbol: zend_string_initerned") after PHP upgrade:

⚠️ Warning: Do NOT downgrade PHP. VoIPmonitor provides GUI packages for PHP 7.4, 8.0, 8.1, and 8.2.

Solution: Re-download GUI for your web server's PHP version: 

# First verify web server PHP version (may differ from CLI)
echo '<?php phpinfo(); ?>' > /var/www/html/test.php
# Check http://your-server/test.php, then remove test file

# Re-download correct version
wget "https://www.voipmonitor.org/download-gui?version=latest&major=5&allowed&phpver=82" -O gui.tar.gz
# Follow Step 3 installation

Alternative: Download ionCube directly from ioncube.com and configure manually.

500 Server Error (ionCube Config)

After system update, 500 errors may indicate ionCube configs pointing to wrong PHP version: 

# Find ionCube config files
grep ioncube /etc/* -Inri

# Check what version they reference
cat /etc/php.d/01_ioncube.ini

# Remove or comment out configs for wrong PHP version
sudo rm /etc/php.d/01_ioncube.ini   # Or edit and comment with ;

# Also check main php.ini
grep -n ioncube /etc/php.ini

# Restart web server
sudo systemctl restart httpd   # Or apache2 / php-fpm

Empty Path Error After Reinstall

If GUI fails with "empty path" error in fce_config.php, the configuration.php was corrupted: 

# Restore from backup
sudo cp /var/www/html-backup-YYYY-MM-DD/config/configuration.php /var/www/html/config/

💡 Tip: If no backup exists, navigate to GUI URL to re-run the installation wizard and enter database credentials.

Corrupted License File

If GUI asks for license token but you have a valid license: 

sudo rm /var/www/html/key.php

Refresh GUI and click "get license key" to fetch a fresh copy.

Re-activating License After Fresh Install

  1. Before reinstall: Copy licensetoken from Settings → License
  2. After reinstall: Paste token into activation form and click "get/update license key"

If Hardware ID changed (new server), click "Get License" in Settings → License to re-synchronize.

See Also

AI Summary for RAG

Summary: Step-by-step guide for reinstalling VoIPmonitor web GUI to fix corrupted installations or adapt to PHP version changes. Process preserves CDRs, PCAPs, and configuration. Four main steps: (1) Check PHP version with php --version, (2) Backup web directory and separately backup configuration.php/key.php, (3) Download correct GUI package using wget with phpver= parameter matching your PHP version, run install-gui.sh, (4) Hard browser refresh (Ctrl+Shift+R). Critical warnings: extraction errors (disk full) can leave configuration.php empty causing "empty path" errors in fce_config.php - restore from backup. Package validation: tar -tvf gui.tar.gz | grep "vm-" should show vm-i686 and vm-x86_64 binaries. Key troubleshooting: ionCube errors after PHP upgrade - re-download GUI for correct PHP version (do NOT downgrade PHP); 500 errors - find and fix ionCube config files with grep ioncube /etc/* -Inri; empty path errors - restore configuration.php from backup; license issues - delete key.php and re-fetch. Database schema updates: use ?check_tables=1 for automatic updates, or check logs for ALTER commands after major upgrades (run during off-peak hours as ALTERs lock tables).

Keywords: reinstall GUI, corrupted installation, PHP upgrade, ionCube Loader, ionCube error, 500 server error, install-gui.sh, key.php, license, phpver, check_tables, ALTER commands, database schema, disk space, tar extraction, configuration.php, empty path error, fce_config.php, offline installation

Key Questions:

  • How do I reinstall the VoIPmonitor GUI?
  • How do I fix the GUI after changing PHP version?
  • How do I fix ionCube Loader errors?
  • How do I fix 500 server error after system update?
  • How do I locate ionCube configuration files?
  • How do I fix corrupted key.php license file?
  • What command downloads GUI for specific PHP version?
  • How do I update database schema after major upgrade?
  • How do I restore configuration.php from backup?
  • How do I re-activate license after fresh install?
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