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Troubleshooting session related errors

To keep track of sessions, the  uses session ID cookies. Every user that connects with the  is assigned a session ID. A session ID remains the same for duration for the duration the user is connected with the .

The  runs a few checks when receiving an HTTP request. One of these checks is to determine if the HTTP session has a valid session ID. 

The  checks if the session ID is present or not. If the session ID is present and is recognized by the , the session ID is routed to the specific user. If the session ID is not present or is not recognized by the , a 9201 Session is invalid error is returned to the user.

A session time-out can occur due to following reasons:

  • Valid session timeout (90 minutes – default)
    When the user does not perform any activity in the browser window for the span of the session timeout interval.
  • The session ID is not sent as a cookie, which is part of the HTTP request. 
  • The load balancer does not direct the user to the same  during the current session.
  • A non-administrator user logs into the  in a browser window. The user opens another browser tab and logs in again. In this case, the authentication through the first browser tab becomes invalid.

When a session times out, the license release depends on the  version:

  • Version 9.1.04 and earlier — License is automatically released on a session time-out.
  • Version 9.1.04.002 — License is not released on a session time-out. 
  • Version 18.05 and later — License is not released on a session time-out.  However, on the next login, the previous session is logged out you log in to the new session. This prevents license release problem for a new session.

Symptoms


  • ARERR 9201 is displayed.
  • Seems to be random as user can work for a while but then gets the error.

Scope

All users can experience problem.

Resolution

Perform the following steps to troubleshoot the  session related issues:

Step

Task

Description

1

Try to bypass the load balancer

Bypass the load balancer and validate if the same problem occurs.

For example, The load balancer "examplelb" front ends two s, midtier1 and midtier2. These s are running Tomcat on HTTP port 8080.

When you access  through the load balancer, the example URL is as follows:

http://examplelb/arsys/shared/login.jsp

When you directly access the , without load balancer, the example URL is as follows:

http://midtier1:8080/arsys/shared/login.jsp

For more information, see the knowledge article ARERR 9201 Session timeout errors in a loadbalanced environment.

2

Determine the frequency of the error


Analyze the following:

  • Does it happen at start up only? 
  • Does this occur after running for a predictable interval?
  • Does it affect all users or specific users?
  • Is there any specific action taken by user that triggers the error?

3

Enable logs and reproduce the problem.

The network capture records the error. Examine the requests and perform the following checks:

  • Is the same session ID present on each request?
  • Is the ARRESPONSEHOSTIP header value the same for each request?
  • Does the JSESSIONID appear in the logs of more than one ?

In  19.08, logging surrounding the session has been enhanced to make it easier to troubleshoot. For more information, see Troubleshooting-the-ARERR-9201-error.

4.

Disable the logging

To disable the logging, use similar steps as described in Enabling-logs-for-Mid-Tier-troubleshooting.

Remember to disable the logs from each  and  for which logging was enabled.

6

Collect the logs

 

Copy the logs to another location where you can review them so that they do not get overwritten.

The logs may be large depending on volume of activity during the logging period.

Collecting  and tracelogger logs

Zip up all the logs in the log location specified on the Log Settings page of  Configuration Too. 
For Microsoft Windows, the default location is as follows:

C:\Program files\BMC Software\ARsystem\midtier\logs

For Linux, the default location is as follows:

/opt/bmc/ARsystem/midtier/logs

Collecting Network capture

  • If the network is captured by Fiddler, provide the *.saz file.
  • If the network is captured by browser, provide the *.har file.

7

Create a BMC Support Case

Collect and send logs and detailed information when creating a case with BMC Support:

  1. Provide the following information as part of your case:
    • Name of the user who performed the search
    • The search criteria used
    • Time when the problem occurred
    • Any error messages received
  2. Collect the logs.
    • Zip each  log set.
    • Zip each  log set.
    • Zip the network capture file. (*.har or *.saz file)

  3. Attach the zip file to your case. You can attach zip files upto 2 GB. You can also upload the files on FTP.
    For more information, see Steps to send logs, files, screenshots, etc to BMC Support for a Remedy Product related case.

8

Analyze the logs

You can review the logs and identify error messages or behaviors.

Use the table below to troubleshoot based on your symptoms and error messages.

After you determine a specific symptom or error message, use the following table to identify the solution:

Symptom

Where

Action

Reference

ARERR 9201 occurs when you perform an action after a delay

 9.x or later

Check the Session Timeout Interval on the General Settings page of  Configuration Tool

If the problem is specific to one user, then check the user's  User Preference record.

ARERR 9201 Session Timeout

When user transitions to another browser tab causes a license release

 8.1.02

Upgrade the  to version 9.1 or later.

ARERR 9201 related to proxy server redirection

 9.x or later

Configure load balancer to use a Cookie based session affinity rather than IP.

ARERR 9201-  page does not load. Network capture shows 9201 error.

Only specific users

This might cause because of the high value in the Session Timeout in Minutes field on the  User Preference record for the specific user.

Perform the following steps to resolve the issue:

  1. Open the  User Preference form.
  2. Search for the user's login ID.
  1. Go to the Web tab of the record.
  1. Remove the value from the Session Timeout in Minutes field or change it to a lower number.
    We recommend to keep the value lower than     322122. Anything higher might cause the  to see the session time-out as 0 minutes.


Related topic

Troubleshooting-Mid-Tier



 

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