Cold Fusion 500 Error

[stubs_the_wizard]

This is critical.

Our server is giving the folloowing 500 error:

java.lang.NullPointerException

at jrun.servlet.JRunRequestDispatcher.invoke(JRunRequestDispatcher.java:285)

at jrun.servlet.ServletEngineService.dispatch(ServletEngineService.java:543)

at jrun.servlet.jrpp.JRunProxyService.invokeRunnable(JRunProxyService.java:203)

at jrunx.scheduler.ThreadPool$DownstreamMetrics.invokeRunnable(ThreadPool.java:320)

at jrunx.scheduler.ThreadPool$ThreadThrottle.invokeRunnable(ThreadPool.java:428)

at jrunx.scheduler.ThreadPool$UpstreamMetrics.invokeRunnable(ThreadPool.java:266)

at jrunx.scheduler.WorkerThread.run(WorkerThread.java:66)

I have restarted the entire server a few times, but this error keeps coming up.

This is business critical, and I am not an expert at Cold Fusion.  Please help!

[Aegis_Kleais]

We'd need to see the code that is throwing the error; sadly, this error does not indicate where the error is occuring from.  You don't need to be a CF expert to fix this, but I feel what you meant is that you may not know anything about CF (hope that's not true)

Do you have access to getting into the CF server's Admin Control Panel?  There should be log files there which might give more in-depth information as to where the error occurred.

What is the OS the server is running on?

What is the version of CF?

Is this error happening on every page upon visit, or only a particular area?

The basis of the error is that something is passing a variable to be processed that is currently containing NULL data, but the code is enacting on it as if it contains a value.  It would be as if I had a function that said "Hey, I tell you what a number you provide me is, but negative! (so that you pass in '5' and it returns '-5'), but your code is passing nothing to the function, and the function is trying to perform its work (converting the value provided to negative) on nothing at all.

[stubs_the_wizard]

Hi Aegis.

Thank you for the response.  I suppose I mean that I am not skilled at Coldfusion administration, as I am fairly new to it.  I will try to find the log files you are wanting.  Is there any specific file you needed to see?

As to your specific questions:

1.  It is running on a 64 bit GNU/Linux server.

2.  This is ColdFusion 9

3.  It happens on every page served by cold fusion, and the error is always the same.  Any static pages I write that are just PHP or HTML work fine.

I will try to find the log files you want as well.

Take care,

JB

[Aegis_Kleais]

Well, I really don't recommend doing the following (not too safe for a Production environment), but it will help find the erroring line quickly.

If you log into the CF ACP and enable Robust Exception Information, quickly re-request a page, and then turn off REI.  With REI on, and the page requested, you should get a different error page.  This one will note the error page and line where the error occurred.

[stubs_the_wizard]

Right now, the production is down completely anyway.

I am OK with doing what you ask, but the issue is that the administrator does not come up either.  It is as if anything CF related will not come up.  Is there any log, such as cfserver that I can paste from to help?

It looks like cfserver.log lists pretty much the same error.

Please advise.

JB

[Aegis_Kleais]

In all honestly, I'm not familiar with Linux.  But you're using Apache then, I presume?  Can you actually verify that web services are up and running put making a simple HTML file and navigating out to it?

Is there a way you can ensure that the ColdFusion Application Server services are running as well?  (In Windows, we goto Services.msc and can check the status there, I'm sure Linux has an equivalent).

You might want to check the coldfusion-error.log and coldfusion-out.log for additional messages.

If you cannot get to the ACP, there is either a services interruption, configuration issue, or the like.  Is there error you're getting when going to the CF ACP the same as navigating to the site itself?  Have you recently applied any patches/updates to the server?

[stubs_the_wizard]

Hi Aegis.

Let me answer what I know, and I will find out the rest.

1. Web services are up and running as simple HTML and even PHP files are served just fine.

2.  I will let you know about the CFAS, although, I am pretty sure this is not running.

3.  I have not applied any patches, although I am not the only one with access.

4.  I will try to find the error logs.  I don't see any specifically called that, but I will dig around in them.

Is there any way that this could be something to do with licensing?

I am also going to look at the logs from the system at the exact time I rebooted and post them.

Thank you for your help thus far.

JB

[stubs_the_wizard]

I am still ferreting through the log to see if anything happened when the system rebooted, but the following errors repeat over and over for each time someone attempts to hit the website:

02/07 13:38:34 user failed to load: coldfusion.CfmServlet

02/07 13:38:34 error

[1]java.lang.NullPointerException

        at coldfusion.CfmServlet.init(CfmServlet.java:80)

        at coldfusion.bootstrap.ClassloaderHelper.initServletClass(ClassloaderHelper.java:94)

        at coldfusion.bootstrap.BootstrapServlet.init(BootstrapServlet.java:59)

        at jrun.servlet.WebApplicationService.loadServlet(WebApplicationService.java:1216)

        at jrun.servlet.JRunRequestDispatcher.init(JRunRequestDispatcher.java:864)

        at jrun.servlet.JRunRequestDispatcher.<init>(JRunRequestDispatcher.java:102)

        at jrun.servlet.WebApplicationService.getDispatcher(WebApplicationService.java:872)

        at jrun.servlet.ServletEngineService$1.fetch(ServletEngineService.java:513)

        at jrunx.util.Cache.get(Cache.java:116)

        at jrun.servlet.ServletEngineService.dispatch(ServletEngineService.java:539)

        at jrun.servlet.jrpp.JRunProxyService.invokeRunnable(JRunProxyService.java:203)

        at jrunx.scheduler.ThreadPool$DownstreamMetrics.invokeRunnable(ThreadPool.java:320)

        at jrunx.scheduler.ThreadPool$ThreadThrottle.invokeRunnable(ThreadPool.java:428)

        at jrunx.scheduler.ThreadPool$UpstreamMetrics.invokeRunnable(ThreadPool.java:266)

        at jrunx.scheduler.WorkerThread.run(WorkerThread.java:66)

[0]javax.servlet.ServletException

        at coldfusion.bootstrap.ClassloaderHelper.initServletClass(ClassloaderHelper.java:102)

        at coldfusion.bootstrap.BootstrapServlet.init(BootstrapServlet.java:59)

        at jrun.servlet.WebApplicationService.loadServlet(WebApplicationService.java:1216)

        at jrun.servlet.JRunRequestDispatcher.init(JRunRequestDispatcher.java:864)

        at jrun.servlet.JRunRequestDispatcher.<init>(JRunRequestDispatcher.java:102)

        at jrun.servlet.WebApplicationService.getDispatcher(WebApplicationService.java:872)

        at jrun.servlet.ServletEngineService$1.fetch(ServletEngineService.java:513)

        at jrunx.util.Cache.get(Cache.java:116)

        at jrun.servlet.ServletEngineService.dispatch(ServletEngineService.java:539)

        at jrun.servlet.jrpp.JRunProxyService.invokeRunnable(JRunProxyService.java:203)

        at jrunx.scheduler.ThreadPool$DownstreamMetrics.invokeRunnable(ThreadPool.java:320)

        at jrunx.scheduler.ThreadPool$ThreadThrottle.invokeRunnable(ThreadPool.java:428)

        at jrunx.scheduler.ThreadPool$UpstreamMetrics.invokeRunnable(ThreadPool.java:266)

        at jrunx.scheduler.WorkerThread.run(WorkerThread.java:66)

Not sure that will help, but it seems an awful lot like a Jrun issue to me, and I am thinking that it might be permissions.  I have no idea why anyone would change the persmissions, though.

I will post any errors from the reboot if I see them.

JB

[stubs_the_wizard]

Rebooting again and noting the time of the services restarting.  Then I will look at the log entries at that specific time.

I will post the log entries when I have them.

JB

[stubs_the_wizard]

Thanks everyone that looked at this, and your responses, Aegis.  It is working now.

I have no idea why it came back up.

I will do more research.

Thanks again.

JB

[Steve Sommers]

Ah, the dreaded "500 Error" -- simply translated, means "something broke." Check all the ColdFusion log files, usually application.log, server.log or exception.log will point you in the right direction. Over the years the first place I have found to look (after the logs) is the site error trap. I have found if your site throws an error and your error page catches the error but then subsequently throws an error of its own, a 500 error will result. The same can result by specifying a 404 handler that does not exists -- but obviously these are only related to missing files. Good luck.

[Fernis]

In CF Administrator, have you disabled the checkbox for Enable HTTP status codes?

If it is enabled, you will see Error 500 for all ColdFusion errors. If you disable it, you will see the actual ColdFusion error.

(This applies at least to CF10 on certain environments (depending on the http server?)

-Fernis

[stubs_the_wizard]

Thanks Fernis.  I will make sure this is unchecked in the future.  That being said, the weird thing is that CF thought it was running!  I suppose because the errors were eminating from jRun and not CF.

Anyway, thank you for the input.

JB

[stubs_the_wizard]

Hi All.

Another thing I wanted to post here for Linux users:

Apache MUST be stopped before Cold Fusion is started.  This might seem a bit counterintuitive to *nix users as we are used to Apache routing all the http calls to the server.  WHat it looks like happens is that jRun is intercepting the calls processing them, and then sending what needs to be sent to Apache.

Anyway, when starting services on Linux, here is a good approach:

1.  Stop Apache

2.  Restart ColdFusion

3.  Start Apache.

I realize that probably seems pretty basic to most of you that have used CF for a longtime, but I think it is helpful information for a *nix admin that is newer to Cold Fusion.

I do thank everyine for their input.

Take care,

JB