Troubleshooting Rational Focal Point

If you encounter a problem in IBM® Rational® Focal Point™, you might be able to solve the problem by completing common troubleshooting procedures.
Table 1. Troubleshooting Rational Focal Point
Problem Description Solution
A "transaction rollback" error occurs In the user interface, a message indicates that a business rule stopped responding.

The input parameters to the business rule might be wrong. Also, the attribute or element that triggered or is referenced from the business rule might be broken or contain unexpected data.

Reproduce the steps that lead to the error. Obtain the stack trace that is in the log file and send the file to IBM Software Support.
A "null pointer exception" error occurs A null pointer exception is a runtime error. Reproduce the steps that lead to the error. Obtain the stack trace that is in the log file and send the file to IBM Software Support.
A "batch indexing failed” error occurs A "batch indexing failed" error message is written to the logs when the search index fails to be updated.

This failure usually occurs when data cannot be accessed in a workspace. The index queue might contain references to elements, a workspace, or attributes that do not exist or that contain unexpected data.

This error might occur if you add an attribute to a module and delete that attribute before the search index is updated with the new attribute.

Obtain the stack trace that is in the log file and send the file to IBM Software Support. You might need to provide IBM Software Support with additional information from SQL queries.
Information is displayed inconsistently in Rational Focal Point When you save a filter or load the tree view, information might be displayed inconsistently.

Rational Focal Point uses Java™ applets and runs JavaScript to display the information in the browser. The inconsistencies might be caused by corrupted caches in the browser and Java. Also, the Java might be corrupted.

  1. On a command prompt, run the following command:
    java -version
    For the version 6 releases of Rational Focal Point, releases of Java version 1.6 are supported.
  2. Clear the Java cache by clicking Start > Control Panel > Java > Delete files.
  3. Clear the browser cache.
    • In Microsoft Internet Explorer, click Tools > Internet Options > > Delete Files (Delete all offline content), and then click Delete cookies.
    • In Mozilla Firefox , click Tools > Clear Private Data.
If the issue persists, uninstall and reinstall Java.
Generated files, such as workspaces and Microsoft Excel files, cannot be downloaded in Rational Focal Point When this error occurs, a message states that the files cannot be downloaded from the Rational Focal Point server.

This error occurs because cache policies conflict between the files that are generated by Rational Focal Point and the web server or proxy that is used by the browser.

The default cache control policy for downloading files is set to public.

You can change the cache control policy by running an SQL query.

Restriction: In the SQL query, the CC parameter value must be supported and defined by w3c protocols. For more information, see http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec14.html#sec14.9
  1. In Rational Focal Point, click Advanced > SQL.
  2. Enter the following SQL query:
    set value=CC where name = 'cache.control'
  3. Clear the browser cache.
While using the search function, a message indicating that the search index is not created is displayed. By default, the search index is created or updated when elements are added or modified. But sometimes you might get this error. The global administrator can recreate the search index when only a few users have logged in. To recreate the search index:
  1. Log in a global administrator.
  2. Click General > Workspaces
  3. Select the workspace that has the search issue and click Edit Edit.
  4. Select Recreate search index and click OK
Note:
  • The duration of the indexing operation is based on the size of the workspace.
  • During the indexing operation, you cannot use the search feature. Also, the server performance is affected.
The pop-up window to select the work item type hangs and the integration fails. After editing the Integration Link attribute, when you click the Create New button or use a view command to publish elements, the pop up window to select the work item type hangs. If the Title or Description attributes contain more than 2000 characters, they are not automatically populated to the title and description fields of work item type. Copy the content of Title and Description manually.

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