For large Cpanel web hosting providers, manually managing invoice generation, server additions, account creation, deletion, etc. is a tedious task.

Billing automation tools like “WHMCS” help Web Hosts to complete these tasks in a jiffy.

But, sometimes a version conflict between WHMCS and cPanel or security settings at the cPanel server can result in errors.

“Failed: Array” is a common error reported by web hosts when adding new cPanel servers to WHMCS.

At Bobcares, we resolve such errors as part of our Outsourced Technical Support for web hosting providers.

Today, let’s take a quick look at the top 5 reasons for this error and how we fix them.

Reasons for “failed array” error in WHMCS. How we fix it?

To fix the error, firstly we identify the cause of the error, by checking and ruling out each possibility.

1 ) cPanel and WHMCS version conflict

cPanel/WHM uses API to perform server administration tasks, manage cpanel/WHM accounts, manage cpanel/WHM services and more.

XML output for cPanel & WHM API is no loner supported in cPanel & WHM version 66. Support for the XML output was removed from the product in cPanel & WHM version 74.

If the WHMCS version uses the XML-like output for API functions and cPanel doesn’t support this format, the error “Failed: Array” is the output.

Solution

We’ll check the version of cPanel & WHMCS.

WHMCS version 7.3 supports JSON API and works well. If the version is below that, then WHMCS must be upgraded to the next higher version.

In such cases, our Support Engineers, contact the web hosts and plan the upgrade process at the off peak hours to reduce downtime.

Also, to ensure the smooth flow of this process, our Engineers follow a set of pre-checks and post-checks on the server.

2) SSL settings in cPanel server

If the option “Force SSL Redirect‘ is enabled for a cPanel server, users are redirected to proper SSL/TLS ports when visiting cPanel or WHM.

However, while adding this new server to WHMCS, you forgot to enable the option “SSL mode“.

This will conflict with the above cPanel server settings and result in the error “Failed: Array“.

Solution

We’ll check this SSL setting under WHM > Tweak settings.

If “Force SSL Redirect” option is enabled, we’ll correct the WHMCS SSL settings from

WHMCS > Setup > Product/services > Servers > Add new server > Enable the option ‘Secure’.

3) Firewall restriction in cPanel server

Let’s divide this into 2 sections.

a) Firewall restriction

We’ve seen web hosts install CSF firewall that manages iptables on their server.

Sometimes, they forgot to whitelist the WHMCS installation IP(even if it’s on the same server) on the server. As a result, WHMCS server’s IP address can’t communicate with cPanel.

b) Host Access Control

We’ve seen some web host block all connections and whitelist connections from certain IP addresses to their server using the ‘Host Access Control’ option in WHM.

If the WHMCS IP address is not whitelisted in Host Access Control list, result is “Failed: Array” when adding this server to WHMCS.

Solution

In this case, we’ll whitelist the WHMCS IP address in the CSF firewall and in Host Access Control list above the deny rules.

We identify the WHMCS IP address from Help > License information > Valid IP.

4) Security settings in cPanel server

Some web hosts enforce a security restriction on their cPanel servers to allow WHM, cPanel, webmail logins from verified IP addresses.

So, when WHMCS tries to connect to the cPanel server, the WHMCS IP address can’t be found in the verified list of IP addresses.

Result is “Failed: Array” error.

Solution

Our Support Engineers, get the WHMCS IP address and add this in the Recognized list of IP addresses in WHM.

Conclusion

“Failed: Array” is a common error reported by web hosts when adding new cPanel servers to WHMCS. This can occur due to security restrictions in servers, firewall restrictions and much more. Today, we’ve discussed the top 4 causes for this error and how our Support Engineers fix them.