9. Troubleshooting

In this section, you will learn:

Overview

While managing a server issues are likely to arise. Being able to identify the type of issue will guide the troubleshooting process. There are three main types of issues:

  1. Content issues
  2. Server resource issues
  3. Software/configuration issues

Content issues

Content issues are usually identified by users. They will often reach out for help when they have tried to publish a piece of content and an error occurs. While most common when publishing, issues could also arise from a behavior change when viewers try to utilize content or when a report is scheduled to execute.

The first step is to visit the logs associated with the content in question. Often clues in those logs will provide hints to the user as to what needs to be changed (data access issue, system dependency issue, etc.)

Data access issues

Often a developer will create a piece of content that accesses an external database. This access pattern works on their local machine or Posit Workbench as they have credentials cached or have environment variables set, however, fails on Posit Connect because these credentials do not exist.

First, have the user identify how they are connecting to the database and then find a solution to make that connection work when the content is deployed to Posit Connect. The Data Access section of this course has more details on different data access patterns and could be helpful.

System dependency issues

Often a developer will create a piece of content that uses a system dependency on their local machine or Posit Workbench, which then fails when deployed on Posit Connect because that system dependency is not installed.

First, identify the package(s) which have failed on deployment due to a missing system library then install the necessary system libraries required by those packages. To aid in this lookup process you can utilize the public Posit Package Manager by searching for a package and scrolling down to the “INSTALL SYSTEM PREREQUISITES ON” section, which will show the commands needed for each specific OS.

Server resources issues

Each piece of content running on Posit Connect needs to have sufficient server resources to be able to run. Keep in mind that as more processes are started to handle the demand for applications and APIs, more resources are required. Often users will identify slowly running content that runs much faster locally or content will fail to run at all.

The first step is to visit the Admin page in Connect to view the server utilization statistics. If there is a specific piece of content in question then visiting the process section of the page could be helpful to identify the resources used.

How to free up resources

There are several remedies to free up server resources:

  • Reduce the frequency of scheduled reports
  • Decrease the minimum processes on Apps and APIs
  • Decrease the idle out time on Apps and APIs
  • Increase the number of connections per process for Apps and APIs
  • Have developers move data out of their Apps and APIs into databases/external storage

Software/configuration issues

If an issue is occurring that does not seem to be specific to a piece of content or dependent on server resources then there could be an issue related to the configuration of the Connect server or with the Connect software. These types of issues can often be resolved by searching the Connect Administrator guide, however, if there are still questions the next step is to contact Posit Support.

Support Agreement

By purchasing Posit software you have access to Posit Support, which is outlined in our Support Agreement.

Filing a support ticket

You have access to an automated ticket and reporting service through which support requests are logged and ticket ID(s) issued within thirty minutes. For more information about submitting a support ticket review the instructions in the Open a support ticket section of the Posit Documentation.

Exercise

Tip

🚀 Launch the exercise environment!

In the exercise environment you will get experience:

  • Using the service logs to identify an error
  • Fixing a common content issue

Go to: Administering Posit Package Manager

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