GroupWise Agent (Access / Restore / or DR Mode) Will Not Load

This article addresses issues when a customer is attempting to use Access, Restore, or Disaster Recovery mode on the Reload server and the GroupWise agent will not load.  This applies to both the POA and the MTA.

The first thing to do is to confirm whether the agent(s) is loaded.  This can be done by by typing: ps aux | grep [profilename]

Example of a successful agent load:

server:/~ # ps aux | grep test

root      5968  0.0  0.0   4520   532 pts/o     S+   16:09   0:00 grep test   
root     10331  0.0  0.9  35192  9364 pts/2    Sl   Aug30   0:04 ./test.access.gwpoa @../share/test.access.poa
root     10538  0.0  0.7  35392  7440 pts/2    Sl  Aug30   0:02 ./test.restore.gwpoa @../share/test.restore.poa

In this case, “test” is the profile name and you can see that both the Access and Restore Mode POAs are running because it displays the POA name followed by the "@" symbol and the path to its startup file.  The process ID (PID) is listed right after the username (root).  It also shows the date they were loaded.  If you don’t see these, then the processes have not started when they should have.

Example of an unsuccessful agent load:

server:/~ # ps aux | grep test
root      5968  0.0  0.0   4520   532 pts/o     S+   16:09   0:00 grep test

Do you see the difference?  If the POA or MTA is loaded, you'll see the agent name followed by the @ symbol indicating the startup file it loaded with.  If the agent is not loaded, it will read "grep [profile name]" (or whatever criteria you used with grep). 

There are several reasons why the POAs may not have started:

1.  Access Mode or Restore Mode has not been enabled.

This can be enabled from either the Reload administration console or from the web administration tool. 

2.  Port conflict.

If you are running more than one POA, then you must ensure that each POA is either running on its own port or with it's own unique IP address.  This can be configured from the Reload administration console or from the web administration tool. 

Where this setting is configured depends on the mode you want to configure.  From the profile administration menu for the specific profile you are working with, you would choose either "Access-Backups" or "Disaster-Recovery".

• Access Mode POA: Access-Backups | Access-Mode.
  
• Restore Mode POA:  Access-Backups | Restore-Mode.
  
• Disaster Recovery ("Live") POA:  Disaster-Recovery | Configure | Failover | Disaster Recovery POA Settings.

2.  Corrupted or incorrect agent startup file.

The startup file for the agent has been corrupted or changed without those changes being pushed to the startup file. It is simple to re-create this file from the main profile menu in the Reload console:

• Access Mode POA: Access-Backups | Access-Mode | Delete-Access.
  
• Restore Mode POA:  Access-Backups | Restore-Mode | Delete-Restore.
  
• Disaster Recovery ("Live") POA:  Disaster-Recovery | Configure | Failover | Disaster Recovery POA Settings | Delete.

3.  GUI version of the POA is not supported. 

Your Linux system might not be able to support the GUI version of the POA for some reason. To disable the GUI version, go to System | GroupWise and make certain that the "Show GWPOA Interface if Possible" option is disabled.

4.  Could be a problem with its connection directory.

Browse to the directory where Reload is storing the backups and go under the directory named after the profile. In that directory will be a directory called connect. For example, for a profile named "test": /backups/test/connect. 

Within the connect directory will be several other directories for the Reload modes (Access, Restore, Live). Rename the directory for the mode that isn’t working. For example, if the Access mode POA won’t load, then rename the directory called “access”. When you attempt to load the POA again, Reload will create a new access directory.

5.  Your running GroupWise 2012 (initial shipping version) agents and the Reload server is on SLES 11 SP2.

If your Reload server is on SLES 11 SP2 and your Reload version is 3.11175 to 4.01080, then upgrade to the latest version of Reload.  Those versions implemented the GroupWise 2012 shipping release of the agents.  Reload 4.01100 implements the GroupWise 2012 SP1 agents, which resolves the issue.  Click here for a more detailed discussion on this issue to see if it is the one you are experiencing.

After upgrading Reload, upgrade the GroupWise agents.  See "Upgrading the GroupWise Software on Reload".

If all of these options fail, contact Reload Support.

This article was originally published in the GWAVA knowledgebase as article ID 424.