DFC_DOCBROKER_EXCLUDED: Primary Docbroker Blacklisted

Problem & Cause

Have you ever come across the error in the log java.io.IOException: DFC_DOCBROKER_EXCLUDED.

This means that somehow, your DFC is not able to communicate with your docbroker, specified in dfc.properties. Your docbroker is responsible for communication between the application deployed on the application server, and the docbase. Docbroker acts like a bridge between the two layers of architecture. But, due to some reason, this bridge is broken. There can be multiple reasons behind it.

1. Bad connection or Network failure

2. Docbroker does not start properly

3. Docbroker is not properly added in dfc.properties

4. Patch applied for DFC doesn't get deployed properly

5. Web application doesn't start properly

6. DNS entry not resolved for the docbroker server

7. Any other unidentified reason.

How does it work?

The DFC of application maintains the list of docbrokers, which it can communicate. However, if it is not able to communicate with the docbroker, specified in dfc.properties, it will try multiple times to communicate, with the docbroker. If the threshold limit, to communicate with the docbroker exceeds the specified limit, the docbroker is blacklisted. Blacklisted docbroker won't be communicated further in future ever.

If there is only one primary docbroker specified for your repository, to communicate with the docbase, there will be no more docbroker remain. This will result in DFC_DOCBROKER_EXCLUDED error.

Solution

To resolve this error, first, you have to identify the cause of this error. There can be one or more reason from the list specified above. The resolution can be based on one of the following approaches -

1. Identify your network settings or take assistance of your network administrator

2. Check for your firewall settings

3. Stop your associated docbases and docbroker and restart your docbroker and docbase in order.

4. Check for any error in docbroker, docbase, server and application logs.

5. Check for your dfc.properties docbroker entries, especially for the port of communication

6. Try to resolve your DNS error with your network admin.

7. Clearing temporary files and caches plus restarting application server may also help.

This can also be handled through configuration, though it cannot be avoided fully. There is setting in the dfc.properties which, however, I didn't find in dfcfull.properties, with the help this configuration, you can increase the number of times the dfc should try to communicate the docbroker. In this way, you can reduce the probability of blacklisting of your docbroker, in case there is a temporary outage or connection failure between dfc and docbroker.

The configuration, dfc.docbroker.exclude.failure_threshold can be used to increase this limit. The default value is 3. Docbroker Connection failure configurations can have following specified range of values -

Min value: 1

Max value: 60

Default value: 3

That's right you cannot have more than 60 attempts before your docbroker is blacklisted. In other words, there is no configuration available, with the help of which this limit can be extended, to an unlimited number of times.

EMC says

This feature is introduced in Documentum DFC version 6.5 sp3 onwards, versions prior to this did not support this configuration.

The patchwork

Although, this configuration is not available to earlier release the 6.5 sp3 of dfc. There is a patch available of webtop 6.5 sp2, which can provide the above configuration. You should be able to get the latest patch release from the download center. The name of the patch release for webtop 6.5sp2 is Webtop_6.5.0.221SP2P0500.

I suppose this will provide you with enough information to resolve this issue. Best of luck!!!

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