haproxy doesn't start

Solution 1:

Edit /etc/default/haproxy and make sure it has a line that says ENABLED=1 in it.

The default is ENABLED=0. This is done because haproxy has no sane default configuration, so you need to first configure it, then enable it.

Solution 2:

I had the same issue, where setting ENABLED had no effect due to the "test" line always failing. Found the reason: you have to edit /etc/default/haproxy instead of the init script.

Solution 3:

I know this a year old thread.. but just trying to share what i have learned..

use /etc/init.d/haproxy reload or service haproxy reload and it will reload fine.. afterall we just want it to start right ;)