Restored PostgreSQL .sql Backup – Database Tables Exist but Alfresco Share Shows No Data
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05-21-2025 04:53 AM
Hello everyone,
I recently performed a backup and restore operation for an Alfresco Community instance and ran into an issue I can’t resolve. Here is what I did step-by-step:
✅ Backup Process:
On the source server (Alfresco + PostgreSQL), I created a SQL dump using:
pg_dump -U alfresco -d alfresco > alfresco_backup.sql
✅ Transfer to VM:
I copied the backup file to a clean Linux VM using:
scp alfresco_backup.sql user@vm-ip:/home/user/
✅ Restore Process:
Inside the VM, I created a new PostgreSQL database, then restored the dump using:
psql -U alfresco -d alfresco < /home/user/alfresco_backup.sql
Note: I used the same database name and user credentials as the original instance.
✅ Verification:
After the restore, I verified that the database contains the expected tables and data using:
docker exec -it <your-postgres-container> psql -U alfresco -d alfresco
Inside the PostgreSQL shell:
These queries returned valid counts, indicating that the node metadata and authorities were restored.
❌ Problem:
Even though the database seems to contain all the data (e.g., alf_node has thousands of rows), Alfresco Share shows no folders, or users or aspects after starting the containers.
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Alfresco Content Services
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05-26-2025 05:55 AM
I accessed the Admin Console at http://192.168.17.1:8080/alfresco and logged in as admin. However, I couldn't find the JMX Console you mentioned. There’s no visible JMX console or “Revert” option.
Could it be that it’s missing in the Community Edition or needs to be enabled manually?
I’ve attached a screenshot for reference.
Thanks again for your help!
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05-26-2025 08:03 AM
Sorry, I forgot Community doesn't have that page. Can you upload the alfresco.log? Remove any password or public hostname. Also, if you open the browser's Developer Tools before hitting the button "login" in share, do you have any error?
Leo Mattioli - Technical Account Manager @Hyland.
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05-27-2025 04:54 AM
I re-restored the DB and after restarting Alfresco, the Share UI loaded the users/tasks for a few seconds, then crashed with a "500 Internal Server Error".
I’m attaching logs from the moment of the crash. The Network tab only shows the 500 error when accessing the users list.
Do you think some authority or orphaned data could be breaking Share after the restore?
the logs : 2025-05-26T14:10:06,432 [] ERROR [quartz.core.JobRunShell] [SearchScheduler_Worker-1] Job Solr.SolrWatcher threw an unhandled Exception:
Picked up JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS: -Dencryption.keystore.type=JCEKS -Dencryption.cipherAlgorithm=DESede/CBC/PKCS5Padding -Dencryption.keyAlgorithm=DESede -Dencryption.keystore.location=/usr/local/tomcat/shared/classes/alfresco/extension/keystore/keystore -Dmetadata-keystore.password=mp6yc0UD9e -Dmetadata-keystore.aliases=metadata -Dmetadata-keystore.metadata.password=oKIWzVdEdA -Dmetadata-keystore.metadata.algorithm=DESede
Caused by: org.alfresco.service.cmr.repository.InvalidNodeRefException: Node does not exist: workspace://SpacesStore/9bfd454c-8b4d-4a2a-bd45-4c8b4dda2a03 (status:null)
at org.alfresco.repo.node.db.DbNodeServiceImpl.getNodePairNotNull(DbNodeServiceImpl.java:187) ~[alfresco-repository-25.1.0.71.jar:25.1.0.71]
at org.alfresco.repo.node.db.DbNodeServiceImpl.getPrimaryParent_aroundBody84(DbNodeServiceImpl.java:1985) ~[alfresco-repository-25.1.0.71.jar:25.1.0.71]
at org.alfresco.repo.node.db.DbNodeServiceImpl$AjcClosure85.run(DbNodeServiceImpl.java:1) ~[alfresco-repository-25.1.0.71.jar:25.1.0.71]
at org.aspectj.runtime.reflect.JoinPointImpl.proceed(JoinPointImpl.java:164) ~[aspectjrt-1.9.22.1.jar:?]
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05-26-2025 10:49 AM - edited 05-26-2025 11:08 AM
I re-restored the DB and after restarting Alfresco, the Share UI loaded the users/tasks for a few seconds, then crashed with a "500 Internal Server Error".
I’m attaching logs from the moment of the crash. The Network tab only shows the 500 error when accessing the users list.
Do you think some authority or orphaned data could be breaking Share after the restore?
the logs (the last 300 lines ) the .log file is not supported to sent here :
Caused by: org.alfresco.service.cmr.repository.InvalidNodeRefException: Node does not exist: workspace://SpacesStore/9bfd454c-8b4d-4a2a-bd45-4c8b4dda2a03 (status:null)
at org.alfresco.repo.node.db.DbNodeServiceImpl.getNodePairNotNull(DbNodeServiceImpl.java:187) ~[alfresco-repository-25.1.0.71.jar:25.1.0.71]
at org.alfresco.repo.node.db.DbNodeServiceImpl.getPrimaryParent_aroundBody84(DbNodeServiceImpl.java:1985) ~[alfresco-repository-25.1.0.71.jar:25.1.0.71]
at org.alfresco.repo.node.db.DbNodeServiceImpl$AjcClosure85.run(DbNodeServiceImpl.java:1) ~[alfresco-repository-25.1.0.71.jar:25.1.0.71]
at org.aspectj.runtime.reflect.JoinPointImpl.proceed(JoinPointImpl.java:164) ~[aspectjrt-1.9.22.1.jar:?]
at org.alfresco.traitextender.RouteExtensions.intercept(RouteExtensions.java:100) ~[alfresco-repository-25.1.0.71.jar:25.1.0.71]
at org.alfresco.repo.node.db.DbNodeServiceImpl.getPrimaryParent(DbNodeServiceImpl.java:1982) ~[alfresco-repository-25.1.0.71.jar:25.1.0.71]
at jdk.internal.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor255.invoke(Unknown Source) ~[?:?]
2025-05-26T14:09:43,055 [] INFO [alfresco.repo.admin] [http-nio-8080-exec-1] Connected to database PostgreSQL version 16.5 (Debian 16.5-1.pgdg120+1)
2025-05-26T14:09:43,056 [] INFO [api.probes.ProbeEntityResource] [http-nio-8080-exec-1] readyProbe: Success - Tested
2025-05-26T14:10:06,432 [] ERROR [quartz.core.JobRunShell] [SearchScheduler_Worker-1] Job Solr.SolrWatcher threw an unhandled Exception:
org.alfresco.error.AlfrescoRuntimeException: 04260061 Read timed out
at org.alfresco.repo.search.impl.solr.AbstractSolrAdminHTTPClient.getOperation(AbstractSolrAdminHTTPClient.java:96) ~[alfresco-repository-25.1.0.71.jar:25.1.0.71]
at org.alfresco.repo.solr.SOLRAdminClient.executeAction(SOLRAdminClient.java:221) ~[alfresco-repository-25.1.0.71.jar:25.1.0.71]
at org.alfresco.repo.solr.SOLRAdminClient$SolrTracker.pingSolr(SOLRAdminClient.java:333) ~[alfresco-repository-25.1.0.71.jar:25.1.0.71]
at org.alfresco.repo.solr.SOLRWatcherJob.execute(SOLRWatcherJob.java:54) ~[alfresco-repository-25.1.0.71.jar:25.1.0.71]
at org.quartz.core.JobRunShell.run(JobRunShell.java:203) [quartz-2.5.0.jar:2.5.0]
at org.quartz.simpl.SimpleThreadPool$WorkerThread.run(SimpleThreadPool.java:566) [quartz-2.5.0.jar:2.5.0]
Caused by: java.net.SocketTimeoutException: Read timed out
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05-27-2025 05:55 AM
Difficult. I can see only that a node is not existent, but without the full Stacktrace is not easy to understand what is doing (and even with full stack trace could be difficult).
The SolrJob error is not an issue: it's a periodic job that tries to gather statistics from SOLR.
The real issue is the "Node does not exist": it's doing a getPrimaryParent so, probably trying to evaluate the container of the node, maybe a group or a folder, and can't find it. I usually see those problems when there are customizations involved. You see the problems for all the users?
Leo Mattioli - Technical Account Manager @Hyland.
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05-27-2025 06:12 AM
Thanks, Leo.
Yes, the issue seems to affect all users. After restoring the database and restarting the Alfresco container, I was briefly able to see the tasks and users on Share. But shortly after, an "Internal Server Error" appeared and everything became inaccessible.
There are no visible customizations on this Alfresco setup — it’s a fresh install on a VM using the official `acs-deployment` repo with Docker Compose, and the database restore was from another Alfresco Community instance.
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05-28-2025 01:44 AM
Do you still have the old installation? Can you check what is the node workspace://SpacesStore/9bfd454c-8b4d-4a2a-bd45-4c8b4dda2a03 with the node browser?
Maybe you can find why the node is no more present after restore.
Can you run also these queries on old and new installation?
SELECT * FROM alf_node where uuid = '9bfd454c-8b4d-4a2a-bd45-4c8b4dda2a03';
SELECT * FROM alf_node_properties where node_id in (SELECT id FROM alf_node where uuid = '9bfd454c-8b4d-4a2a-bd45-4c8b4dda2a03');
SELECT * FROM alf_child_assoc where parent_node_id in (SELECT id FROM alf_node where uuid = '9bfd454c-8b4d-4a2a-bd45-4c8b4dda2a03') or child_node_id in (SELECT id FROM alf_node where uuid = '9bfd454c-8b4d-4a2a-bd45-4c8b4dda2a03');
Leo Mattioli - Technical Account Manager @Hyland.
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05-28-2025 04:42 AM
I’ve just checked the node workspace://SpacesStore/9bfd454c-8b4d-4a2a-bd45-4c8b4dda2a03 using the Node Browser in the restored instance — it does not exist.
I also ran the SQL queries you provided on both the restored and original installations, and all three queries return 0 rows. The node is missing from the alf_node, alf_node_properties, and alf_child_assoc tables in both cases.
Even in the original environment, the Node Browser indicates that this node does not exist.
It looks like the node was already missing before the backup.
What would you suggest as the next step?
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05-28-2025 04:46 AM
Check the logs, can you put them in a pdf file and attach to this? Maybe we can see the operation that is blocked and work around it.
Leo Mattioli - Technical Account Manager @Hyland.
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05-29-2025 05:53 AM
Thank you for your continued support.
As requested, I’ve exported the relevant Alfresco logs to a PDF file and attached it here. Hopefully, this will help identify the operation causing the issue after the database restoration.
Please let me know if any additional information or logs are needed — I’ll be happy to provide them.
