Can no longer log in

[hughmcl]

I'm using alfresco-1.2.0 release.  We've been using alfresco for a couple of months now with no problems.  Suddenly we experience a 500 error trying to log in.  I stopped and restarted the web server and now noone can log in, including the administrator.  I tried to re-install the application with no change.  I backed up the database and put a fresh database on and the administrator could again log in.  

This seems to indicate there is a problem with the database in some way.  Can anyone help me to get this working.  I can supply any information needed.

Platform: Suse Linux 10.0
Database: mysql 5.0.18


     Hugh

[derek]

Hi,

Could you raise a JIRA task (http://www.alfresco.com/jira), and attach the zipped server logs, please.

When you installed the clean database, did you then repopulate it with the backed up data?

Regards

[hughmcl]

How do I restore the backed up database without overwriting the new one that's been created?


It appears to be working at the moment, but as soon as this happens again I'll do what you ask.   This isn't the first time this has happened.

The error that comes with the 500 error is "Can't login as Guest user".


     Hugh

[derek]

Hi,

The first thing to confirm is whether it is a database issue or not.  It might look like a corrupted database, but it could be some combination of data that is causing the issue.  We'd really need the logs to determine that.  Also, MySQL is not prone to data corruption …

If you get it again, could you not only take a zip of the logs, but also a full dump of the alfresco database directly from MySQL.  It might come in handy for use if there is some corruption.

Thanks for your help.

[steve]

Hello,

On the database, did you create the tables using InnoDB or InnoDB?

Alfresco requires the tables to be created using InnoDB to provide transactional support - if you created them with MyISAM you could get into a mess.

Steve

[paulhh]

Hi

To test whether MySQL is running InnoDB by default, run the MySQL command: SHOW ENGINES;

This will tell you the all the table types - the one with Support: DEFAULT is what we're looking for.  If it is against MyISAM, then this is an issue.  If it is against INNODB, then it probably isn't the cause of your problem.

It is possible to convert a MyISAM table to INNODB using the commands below:

alter table applied_patch engine=INNODB;
alter table child_assoc engine=INNODB;
alter table externalKeys engine=INNODB;
alter table node engine=INNODB;
alter table node_aspects engine=INNODB;
alter table node_assoc engine=INNODB;
alter table node_permission engine=INNODB;
alter table node_perm_entry engine=INNODB;
alter table node_properties engine=INNODB;
alter table node_status engine=INNODB;
alter table permission_ref engine=INNODB;
alter table recipient engine=INNODB;
alter table store engine=INNODB;
alter table version_count engine=INNODB;

If you put the above into a file (innoconv.sql) then run it using:
mysql -u alfresco -p -D alfresco -v < innoconv.sql

Cheers
Paul.