General Troubleshooting Methods

This section provides general guidelines for finding the source of a problem. The following topics are addressed:

• Network Connectivity

• Check Directory Server Connectivity

• Check Postinstallation Configuration

• Check Resources and Settings

• Check the Distribution Media

• Examine Component Log Files

• Examine the Installation Log Files

• Remove Files and Directory

• Verify Passwords

• Verify Component Dependencies

Network Connectivity

Java ESinstallation is not supported on a stand-alone machine. You must have a machine connected to a network to install Java ES.

Check Directory Server Connectivity

If you are installing a component that relies on Directory Server, problems can be caused by one of these situations:

• You specified an incorrect user ID and password for Directory Server.

• You specified an incorrect LDAP port.

• Directory Server is unreachable.

In Configure Manually After Installation mode, you need to ensure that the Directory Server is running before configuring the products that depend on Directory Server.

Check Postinstallation Configuration

If you are having problems starting components, verify that the procedures outlined in Chapter 5, Completing Postinstallation Configuration were performed correctly.

Check Resources and Settings

The following host-level issues can cause installation problems:

• Updates. Have you installed the recommended service packs?

• Disk space. How is the disk partitioned, and to what partitions do installation directories point?

• Network ports. During configuration, you supply port numbers for Java ES components. Verify that the port information is correct as follows:

  • Examine the standard port numbers in the file.

  • Look at the summary log file to compare your settings with the standards. Did you mistype a port number or set one server to the port that is typically used for another port?

  • Use the command netstat -a to view current port use on the system. Did you assign a port number that was already in use?

  • Check whether you typed the correct Host name and the Domain name during configuration.

Refer to System Requirements to check if all the requirements have been met before proceeding to installation.

Check the Distribution Media

If you are installing from a DVD, examine the media for dirt or damage. Dirty discs can result in installation problems.

Examine Component Log Files

If a problem occurs when starting a component, examine its log files. Many component log files are listed under Component Troubleshooting Information.

Examine the Installation Log Files

If a problem occurs during installation or uninstallation, check the appropriate log file in the %TEMP%/SunJavaES.log directory.

%TEMP% is the user-defined TEMP folder on that system.

Examining the uninstaller and installer log files (along with the Java ES configuration log) can help locate the source of problems.

To Examine Installation Log Files

1. Review the installation summary file, which provides a high-level description of what was installed and configured. This file is located at JavaEs-install-dir\Summary.txt. If a problem occurred, check which component caused the problem. If multiple problems occurred, isolate the first one.

2. Review the detailed log files.

   1. Look for the first error or warning that occurred and attempt to resolve the error. Sometimes resolving one error resolves a number of seemingly unrelated errors that follow.

   2. Find the name of the component that caused the problem.

   3. Review the configuration logs. The configuration logs are in component installation directories. Refer to Summary.txt to find the exact location of component log files.

   4. Review the installer log file for installation or uninstallation issues. Refer to configuration logs for configuration-related issues.

Remove Files and Directory

To prevent the overwriting of customized files, such as edited configuration files, Java ES 5 components cannot be installed in their respective installation directories that contain files.

If you are reinstalling Java ES 5, check the installation directories to ensure that they are empty. If these directories are not empty, archive the files elsewhere and try the installation again.

Verify Passwords

The installer requires that you enter a number of passwords for components. If you are installing different components on different hosts, make sure that you supply matching passwords on each host.

To resolve password problems, you might need to uninstall and then reinstall. If the uninstallation fails, refer to Installation Fails Due to Remaining Files During Uninstallation.

Verify Component Dependencies

A number of components have installation-time interdependencies. Problems that affect one component can affect other components. To check for interdependencies not met, familiarize yourself with the information in Dependency Check. Then, do the following:

• Review the summary file and log files to see whether related components have failed. These failures might provide a clue as to what to fix first.

• Check that you have specified correct connection information. For example:

  • Does the information that you provided when configuring Directory Server match the directory information you provided for components that use Directory Server?

  • Does the Access Manager information that you provided for Portal Server or Portal Server SRA match the information you provided for Access Manager?