The title pretty much explains it: The VirtualHost entries in
/etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf
were not removed when the virtual server was deleted from the server. This caused Apache to be unable to start because it barfed on the missing SSL cert.
The fix was easy: Edit the file and delete the VirtualHost, then start Apache. Probably all that would have been necessary would be to delete the reference to the SSL cert; but since the site was no longer on the server, the VirtualHost didn’t belong there anyway.
This happened on or before Sunday, June 12, 2022. That’s when I deleted the virtual server. It didn’t become apparent until rebooting the server, when Apache didn’t start.
A related (or resultant) problem is that any SSL certs renewed through Let’s Encrypt during that time didn’t “take” for lack of a better word. They showed up as renewed, but were never actually used by Apache.
Re-requesting the certs after removing the VirtualHost entries solved that problem.
Before deleting that virtual server did it have Apache website and Apache SSL website feature enabled and associated with it? Perhaps, this virtual server was added manually somehow or website feature was disassociated with given virtual server using Disable and Delete ⇾ Disassociate Features: Associate and Dis-Associate Features page. If so, left-over records are expected.
It originally was a migrated cPanel site. It did have Apache website and Apache SSL website features enabled.
I deleted it from the server using the “Disable and Delete” button so I could use the domain name for the hostname for the new Rocky Linux / VM7 server I’m setting up. It was a spare domain that I was using as a honeypot until it was needed again.
I didn’t bother forwarding the requests because it was a non-rev site anyway. So it seems to me that there should have been no VirtualHost nor DNS entries at all on the losing server.
It’s no big deal. It took me about three minutes to troubleshoot and fix. This is just informational for your benefit.
Richard
EDIT: Just to be clear, the two VM7 servers have no relationship with each other.