Troubleshooting Commerce Server Staging

The following are troubleshooting tips for Commerce Server Staging (CSS).

Note   To help in the troubleshooting process we recommend that you have all events logged to the NT log file.

How to use Content Deployment to stage a SharePoint implementation with Commerce Server 2009

When using Commerce Server 2009 Web Parts, applying changes directly on the production site might have non-expected effects. The best practice is to build a staging version of the site and changes can be made on that site, once approved, the changes can be pushed to production by using SharePoint Content Deployment. For more details about how to use Content Deployment to stage a SharePoint implementation with Commerce Server, see the Commerce Server 2009 Installation and Configuration Guide at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139462.

Commerce Server Staging (CSS) service does not start

The service account may not be configured correctly. Make sure that the user name and password for the service are set correctly.

Staging servers cannot communicate

The source staging server credentials are not recognized by the remote CSS server. Check accounts, credentials, and user rights. Make sure that the account you use to authenticate with the remote server has the correct rights on the destination directory. Make sure that the user is a member of the “CSS Operators” or “CSS Administrators” Windows security group.

The CSS service is down

Communicate with CSS by using any nondestructive staging command from the command line, for example, css listproj /server [server_name]). If the command fails, try restarting the CSS service on that server.

Project creation or edit fails

If you can list projects but cannot create or edit projects, you are may be using an account that has operator rights rather than administrator rights. Verify that the account is a member of CSS Administrators group. If it is not, add the account to CSS Administrators group or change to an account that has administrative rights and try again.

Note

You can assign administrator/operator privileges on a per project basis. For information about assigning privileges, see How Are Permissions Granted to CSS Authentication Accounts?

Projects are not accessible

If you cannot access projects, you are may be using a user account that has no rights to Commerce Server Staging.

Verify that the account has operator/administrator permissions. Change the account rights for your account or change to an account that has administrative rights, and then try again. For information about changing account rights, see How to Add Users to a CSS Security Group.

Replication starts and aborts quickly without moving any data

There is no project on the destination server. Make sure that you have a corresponding project on the destination server. The project names must be identical on both servers.

The source server was unable to authenticate with the remote server

Make sure that the CSS authentication account has at least operator privilege on the project at the remote server. The CSS authentication account that is used to authenticate the receipt of data must be defined on the resident CSS server which receives the data. For more information about CSS authentication accounts, see How Are CSS Authentication Accounts Defined and Managed?

Microsoft Management Console (MMC) displays an Error\Incomplete status for a deployment that has just been run

If deploying to multiple end points, one or more of the end points might not be functioning. The deployment succeeded on some and failed on others. View the replication report from MMC to see which endpoints did not receive all of the content.

Replication is slow

If you have a large content tree with thousands of files, staging could take a long time to scan and synchronize these file with the remote server. Break large content trees into smaller projects. This will reduce the full synchronization scan time.

Change the project to replicate in incremental or automatic mode so that only changes are replicated.

The network is busy or congested

Change the time of day for the replication, deploy over a higher-speed network, or reduce the amount of load on the network by reducing the amount of traffic.

Replication hangs

Staging will try to recover from a network communication failure for up to 30 minutes. This gives the impression of a hung condition. Ping the target to check the communications or issue a nondestructive content deployment command on it. Wait for staging to recover.

Check the Performance Monitor to see if files are being sent or are in a recovery state.

Check the event reports from MMC for detailed information.

Replication cannot be stopped

When you stop the CSS service, it will complete all running replications. This causes a delay between the time at which you run the command to stop the service and the time at which it actually stops. Automatic replications take longer to shut down than other types.

Replication succeeds on all but one end point server

The appropriate project may not be installed on the end point server. Make sure that you have a corresponding project on the end point server. The project names must be identical on all servers.

The project or route may not have the failed end point server as a target. Check the project definition on the staging server to make sure that all end points are included. Make sure that you are using the correct server name or IP address.

A server with missing content could have problems with account permissions. Make sure that the account being used by all servers has at least operator permission on the project.

Network problems, insufficient disk space, or bad project information may be involved. Check the communications by pinging the end point or issue a nondestructive content deployment command on it. Make sure that the end point has enough disk space to store the replicated content.

The CSS service on the end point server might not be running. Make sure that the service is running. If not, restart it.

You receive repeated error messages stating that the replication is already running

Too many temporary files or expired rollback files are stored on the server. Stop the service.

Clean all files out of the %Commerce Server Root%\Staging\Packages directory, and then delete all files in the CSSTemp directories on the root of each drive. You will be unable to perform any rollbacks after you delete these files.

Restart the service and run the replication again.

Replication data is corrupted

You may have system problems such as a drive array or system failure. After you correct the system problem, run the replication again.

The wrong data is being replicated

The project information is wrong, and staging is scanning the wrong directory. Check the project information all along the project route. Check the content at each stage of the replication.

Business data project aborts

CSS was unable to export the business data to the source folder you specified for the project. Make sure that the service account for CSS has sufficient database permissions to export the data. For information about granting accounts access to the database, see How to Grant Staging Accounts Access to the Databases. For information about what database access permissions to grant, see What Database Access Permissions Must You Grant to CSS Authentication Accounts?

Make sure that the source folder where you want to put the exported files exists.

The source server was unable to authenticate with the destination server

Make sure that the source server has the correct authentication credentials configured for the CSS Service. Note that the password of this service account may have been changed. If it has, update password information and restart the service.

The destination server was unable to write the data files to the destination folder

Make sure that the authentication account that the upstream server uses has write permission on the destination folder.

The destination server failed to import the data

Make sure that the service account has sufficient database permissions to import the data. For information about granting accounts access to the database, see How to Grant Staging Accounts Access to the Databases. For information about what database access permissions to grant, see What Database Access Permissions Must You Grant to CSS Authentication Accounts?

See Also

Other Resources

Getting Started Using Commerce Server Staging

Staging Web Sites and Commerce Server Data

Working with Projects and Routes

What Database Access Permissions Must You Grant to CSS Authentication Accounts?