non starting of virtual server:following msg appeared

[kshitizgupta]

INFO: XML validation disabled
java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException
        at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
        at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.
java:39)
        at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAcces
sorImpl.java:25)
        at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:585)
        at org.apache.catalina.startup.Bootstrap.start(Bootstrap.java:294)
        at org.apache.catalina.startup.Bootstrap.main(Bootstrap.java:432)
Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException
        at org.alfresco.catalina.host.AVMHostConfig$AVMWebappDescriptor.setParen
tRepo(AVMHostConfig.java:2038)
        at org.alfresco.catalina.host.AVMHostConfig.deployAVMWebappsInDependency
Order(AVMHostConfig.java:1014)
        at org.alfresco.catalina.host.AVMHostConfig.deployAllAVMwebappsInReposit
ory(AVMHostConfig.java:403)
        at org.alfresco.catalina.host.AVMHostConfig.deployApps(AVMHostConfig.jav
a:244)
        at org.apache.catalina.startup.HostConfig.start(HostConfig.java:1122)
        at org.alfresco.catalina.host.AVMHostConfig.start(AVMHostConfig.java:196
)
        at org.apache.catalina.startup.HostConfig.lifecycleEvent(HostConfig.java
:310)
        at org.apache.catalina.util.LifecycleSupport.fireLifecycleEvent(Lifecycl
eSupport.java:119)
        at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.start(ContainerBase.java:1021)

Mar 15, 2007 7:34:38 PM org.alfresco.mbeans.VirtServerRegistrationThread registe
rVirtServer
INFO: Connected to remote Alfresco JMX Server
        at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHost.start(StandardHost.java:718)
        at org.alfresco.catalina.host.AVMHost.start(AVMHost.java:586)
        at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.start(ContainerBase.java:1013)

        at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngine.start(StandardEngine.java:442
)
        at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardService.start(StandardService.java:4
50)
        at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardServer.start(StandardServer.java:709
)
        at org.apache.catalina.startup.Catalina.start(Catalina.java:551)
        … 6 more

[kvc]

Can you give more detail when you are seeing this start-up message?  Are you working on Community or Enterprise?  Also, what server platform are you on?

Kevin

[lateral]

It prevents the Virtual tomcat from previewing content. I have got this on my XP laptop and a Windows 2003 Server. Initially the Virtual tomcat on  both worked…now it doesnt. The only things I have done have been to create new web projects/forms and delete them.

thanks,
Alex

[saltine]

I'm seeing this too on a development machine.  It's running Alf v2.0.0 Enterprise. 

org.alfresco.catalina.host.AVMHostConfig$AVMWebappDescriptor.setParentRepo()‍

is NullPointerExceptioning as soon as the Virtualization server starts.

I may blow away my repository to see if it clears up, but it seems that someone should address this.  Example of addressing this: what could cause AVMWebappDescriptor.setParentRepo() to throw such an exception?  What if webapp_descriptors is somehow empty?  Etc. etc.

[edgar]

Some developers in our team are seeing this problem as well. The Alfresco Virtualization Server used to start up just fine but all of a sudden it has stopped working and gives this error message.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Also if there is a temporary workaround we would very much like to hear as well.

P.S. we are running Alfresco WCM Community Edition 2.0.0 on Windows XP with a MySQL database.

cheers,

Edgar

[edgar]

The problem occurs in the following method of the AVMHostConfig class:

void setParentRepo(
                HashMap<String, AVMWebappDescriptor> webapp_descriptors,
                String                               parent_store_name)
        {
            parent_store_name_ = parent_store_name; 

            AVMWebappDescriptor parent_desc =
                webapp_descriptors.get( getParentContextPath() );

            parent_desc.addDependentWebappDescriptor( this );
        }‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

Line 2038 is the parent_desc.addDependentWebappDescriptor( this ) line so it would seem that the parent_desc is null.

However: this code excerpt is from the HEAD of the Subversion tree (today) and I do not know if this is the same code as in Alfresco Community 2.0.0. I cannot find any labels in the Alfresco svn repository..

But it would seem that getParentContextPath() returns null, causing the NullPointerException. It not quite clear to me why this should be so, or what the method in question is supposed to do exactly.

I searched in http://issues.alfresco.com but I did not find any issues related to the AVMHostConfig class so I don't think it is added as an issue yet. I will do so today.

regards,

Edgar

[edgar]

I have created the following bug report in Alfresco's JIRA system:
http://issues.alfresco.com/browse/WCM-434

Let's wait and see what the Alfresco engineers have to say.

[jcox]

If you changed the admin password in the Alfresco webapp, then you must also
change it in $VIRTUAL_TOMCAT_HOME/conf/alfresco-virtserver.properties

See:
# Admin level user and password to connect to login to Alfresco server.
#
alfresco.server.user=…
alfresco.server.password=…

See also http://wiki.alfresco.com/wiki/Virtualization_Server_FAQ

[jcox]

If the virt server started fine, but then halted after displaying
pages successfully for a while, that's a different issue from
failing to start up;   the installer on windows should not be
running the virt server as a console app – it should be
installing it as a windows service  (otherwise the process
eventually blocks).

See also:
http://wiki.alfresco.com/wiki/Virtualization_Server_FAQ


    I hope this helps,
    -Jon

[caedmon]

– it should be installing it as a windows service

Sorry for being incredibly dense here…  How am I supposed to install as a windows service?

I see no switch in the installer that allows this. And there are no services that identify themselves in the Services MMC as Tomcat, Alfresco, Virtual Server, or anything else vaugely familiar.

As for what I using:

Win 2K3 (virgin install)
Alfresco 2.0 Community Edition (Installer)
Alfresco WCM 2.0 Community Edition (Installer)