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Application startup errors

Use this information for troubleshooting problems that occur when starting an application.

What kind of error do you see when you start an application?

The following note applies to the ibm-web-ext.xmi references throughout this topic:

Supported configurations: For IBM extension and binding files, the .xmi or .xml file name extension is different depending on whether you are using a pre-Java EE 5 application or module or a Java EE 5 or later application or module. An IBM extension or binding file is named ibm-*-ext.xmi or ibm-*-bnd.xmi where * is the type of extension or binding file such as app, application, ejb-jar, or web. The following conditions apply:

However, a Java EE 5 or later module can exist within an application that includes pre-Java EE 5 files and uses the .xmi file name extension.

The ibm-webservices-ext.xmi, ibm-webservices-bnd.xmi, ibm-webservicesclient-bnd.xmi, ibm-webservicesclient-ext.xmi, and ibm-portlet-ext.xmi files continue to use the .xmi file extensions. sptcfg


HTTP server and Application Server are working separately, but requests are not passing from HTTP server to Application Server

If the HTTP server appears to be functioning correctly, and the Application Server also works on its own, but browser requests sent to the HTTP server for pages are not being served, a problem exists in the WAS plug-in.

In this case:

  1. Determine whether the HTTP server is attempting to serve the requested resource itself, rather than forwarding it to the WAS.

    1. Browse the HTTP server access log (IHS install root/logs/access.log for IBM HTTP Server). It might indicate that it could not find the file in its own document root directory.

    2. Browse the plug-in log file.

  2. Refresh the plugin-cfg.xml file that determines which requests sent to the HTTP server are forwarded to the WAS, and to which Application Server.

    Use the console to refresh this file:

    • In the WAS console, expand the Environment tree control.

    • Click Update WebSphere Plugin.

    • Stop and restart the HTTP server.

      (iseries) If we are using IBM HTTP Server for iSeries or Lotus Domino for iSeries, we do not need to restart the HTTP server.

    • Retry the web request.

    (iseries) If we have created a web server definition to model the web server instance, the file is located under profile_root/config/cells/cell_name/nodes/Web_server_node/servers/Web_server_name. If we have not, the file is located under profile_root/config/cells.

  3. Browse the plugin_install_root/logs/web_server_name/http_plugin.log file for clues to the problem. Make sure the timestamps with the most recent plug-in information stanza, which is printed out when the plug-in is loaded, correspond to the time the web server started.

  4. Turn on plug-in tracing by setting the LogLevel attribute in the plugin-cfg.xml file to Trace and reloading the request. Browse the plugin_install_root/logs/Web_server_name/http_plugin.log file. You should be able to see the plug-in attempting to match the request URI with the various URI definitions for the routes in the plugin-cfg.xml. Check which rules the plug-in is not matching against and then figure out if we need to add additional ones. If we just recently installed the application we might need to manually regenerate the plug-in configuration to pick up the new URIs related to the new application.

For further details on troubleshooting plug-in-related problems, see Web server plug-in troubleshooting tips.


File serving problems

If text output appears on the JSP- or servlet-supported web page, but image files do not:


Graphics do not appear in the JSP file or servlet output

If text output appears on the JSP- or -servlet-supported web page, but image files do not:


SRVE0026E: [Servlet Error]-[Unable to compile class for JSP file

If this error appears in a browser when trying to access a new or modified .jsp file for the first time, the most likely cause is that the JSP file Java source failed (was incorrect) during the javac compilation phase.

(zos) Check the log files for a compiler error message.

Check the SystemErr.log file for a compiler error message, such as: 

C:\WASROOT\temp\ ... test.war\_myJsp.java:14: \Duplicate variable declaration: int myInt was int myInt
int myInt = 122;  String myString = "number is 122";  static int myStaticInt=22;  int myInt=121;        ^

This topic references one or more of the application server log files. As a recommended alternative, we can configure the server to use the High Performance Extensible Logging (HPEL) log and trace infrastructure instead of using SystemOut.log , SystemErr.log, trace.log, and activity.log files on distributed and IBM i systems. We can also use HPEL in conjunction with the native z/OS logging facilities. If we are using HPEL, we can access all of the log and trace information using the LogViewer command-line tool from the server profile bin directory. See the information about using HPEL to troubleshoot applications for more information on using HPEL.

Fix the problem in the JSP source file, save the source and request the JSP file again.

If this error occurs when trying to serve a JSP file that was copied from another system where it ran successfully, then there is something different about the new server environment that prevents the JSP file from running. Browse the text of the error for a statement like:

This error indicates that a supporting class or jar file is not copied to the target server, or is not on the class path. Find the MyClass.class file, and place it on the web module WEB-INF/classes directory, or place its containing .jar file in the Web module WEB-INF/lib directory.

Verify that the URL used to access the resource is correct by doing the following:

Correct the URL in the "from" HTML file, servlet or JSP file. An HREF with no leading slash (/) inherits the calling resource context. For example:


After modifying and saving a JSP file, the change does not show up in the browser

It is probable that the web application is not configured for servlet reloading, or the reload interval is too high.

To correct this problem, in an assembly tool, check the Reloading Enabled flag and the Reload Interval value in the IBM Extensions for the web module in question. Enable reloading, or if it is already enabled, then set the Reload Interval lower.


Error message: /jspname.jsp(9,0) Include: Mandatory attribute page missing

The error "Message: /jspname.jsp(9,0) Include: Mandatory attribute page missing" appears when attempting to browse JSP file

It is probable that the JSP file failed during the translation to Java phase. Specifically, a JSP directive, in this case an Include statement, was incorrect or referred to a file that could not be found.

To correct this problem, fix the problem in the JSP source, save the source and request the JSP file again.


The Java source generated from a JSP file is not retained in the temp directory

It is probable that the JSP processor is not configured to keep generated Java source.

In an assembly tool, check the JSP Attributes under Assembly Property Extensions for the web module in question. Make sure the keepgenerated attribute is there and is set to true. If not, set this attribute and restart the web application. To see the results of this operation, delete the class file from the temp directory to force the JSP processor to translate the JSP source into Java source again.


Error "Enterprise Application [application name you typed in] not found"

The JSP Batch Compiler fails with the message "Enterprise Application [application name you typed in] not found"

It is probable that the full enterprise application path and name, starting with the .ear subdirectory that resides in the applications directory is expected as an argument to the JspBatchCompiler tool, not just the display name.

(dist) The directory path is install_root\config\cells\nodeNetwork\applications.

(iseries) The directory path is profile_root/config/cells/nodeNetwork/applications.

For example:


Translation problem with non-English browser input

If non-English-character-set browser input cannot be translated after being read by a servlet or JSP file, ensure that the request parameters are encoded according to the expected character set before reading. For example, if the site is Chinese, the target .jsp file should have a line:

before any req.getParameter method calls.

This problem affects servlets and jsp files ported from earlier versions of WAS, which converted characters automatically based upon the locale of the WAS.


Scroll bars do not appear around items in the browser window

In some browsers, tree or list type items that extend beyond their allotted windows do not have scroll bars to permit viewing of the entire list.

To correct this problem, right-click on the browser window and click Reload from the menu.


Error "Page cannot be displayed, server not found or DNS error"

Error "Page cannot be displayed, server not found or DNS error" appears when attempting to browse a JSP file using Internet Explorer

This error can occur when an HTTP timeout causes the servant to be brought down and restarted. To correct this problem, increase the ConnectionIOTimeOut value:

  1. From the console, select System administration Deployment manager Administration Services Custom Properties

  2. Select ConnectionIOTimeOut.

  3. Increase the ConnectionIOTimeOut value.

  4. Click OK.


(zos) DeploymentDescriptorLoadException results when starting an application

If an application server on which the application is deployed synchronizes configuration with the deployment manager during server startup, then the application might not start and a DeploymentDescriptorLoadException might be written to the server SystemErr.log file. Stop and restart the server, and then try starting the application again.


Related concepts

  • Troubleshooting and support


    Related tasks

    View JVM logs

  • Deploy
  • Use High Performance Extensible Logging to troubleshoot applications

  • Web resource is not displayed
  • File synchronization service settings