Websphere installation fails to start with java.lang.NullPointerException in RSA Identity Governance & Lifecycle

[#1]

Article Number

000036886

Applies To

RSA Product Set: RSA Identity Governance & Lifecycle
RSA Version/Condition: 7.x
Platform/Application Server : WebSphere  8.5.5 
 

Issue

After installing or upgrading RSA Identity Governance & Lifecycle on WebSphere, the application fails to start. The login screen shows the following error:
 

 java.lang.NullPointerException error

The aveksaServer.log file has the following corresponding error:

"10/04/2018 17:52:32.628 ERROR (server.startup : 0) [com.aveksa.init.Startup] 
Error logging audit event on startup java.lang.NullPointerException 
at com.aveksa.server.db.persistence.PersistenceServiceProvider.createSession(PersistenceServiceProvider.java:476) 
at com.aveksa.server.db.persistence.PersistenceServiceProvider.currentSession(PersistenceServiceProvider.java:439) 
at com.aveksa.server.db.persistence.PersistenceServiceProvider.find(PersistenceServiceProvider.java:984)"

Note: The aveksaServer.log file on WebSphere may be found in a directory similar to the following (where the specific node name would be different): /home/oracle/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles/AppSrv01/installedApps/vm-support-11Node01Cell/aveksa.ear/aveksa.war/log. 
 

Cause

An Aveksa Shared Library has not been configured or associated with the RSA Identity Governance & Lifecycle appilcation. On WebSphere 7.x and 8.0 you must associate a .jar file with the RSA Identity Governance & Lifecycle application using a WebSphere shared library.
 

Resolution

After the aveksa ear file has been deployed, configure an Aveksa shared library and associate the shared library with the aveksa ear file. This information is documented in the RSA Identity Governance & Lifecycle Upgrade and Migration Guide for 7.1.1 under the section Configure the RSA Identity Governance & Lifecycle Shared Library. If you do not have access to this guide, the instructions are below:
 

To configure the shared library:

1. From the WebSphere admin console, go to Environment > Shared libraries.
2. Set the scope for your configuration:
   • (Standalone) Node=<machine-name>Node01, server=server1
   • (Cluster) cells=MyCluster
3. Click New to create the shared library:
   • Name: Aveksa Shared Library
   • Classpath: Full path to hibernate-jpa-2.0-api-1.0.1.Final.jar and javassist-3.18.1-GA.jar that are included in the DISTRIBUTION directory. 
     For example, if your DISTRIBUTION directory is /opt/ACM-WebSphere-<product version>, then the full paths would be:

• /opt/ACM-WebSphere-<product version>/hibernate-jpa-2.0-api-1.0.1.Final.jar, and
• /opt/ACM-WebSphere-<product version>/javassist-3.18.1-GA.jar

4. Under the Class Loading section, select Use an isolated class loader for this shared library.

 

To associate the Aveksa Shared Library with the Aveksa EAR:

1. From the WebSphere admin console, go to Applications > Application Types > WebSphere enterprise applications.
2. Select the aveksa application on the Enterprise Applications page.
3. Under the References section, click the Shared library references link.
4. Select the aveksa application, and then click Reference shared libraries.
5. On the Shared Library Mapping page, select Aveksa Shared Library from the Available list and move it to the Selected list.
6. Click OK to save changes.