JOBF Wildcard File Transfer Fails on AIX Agent 24.4.1 HF2 with "Eyecatcher Invalid" Error.

Products

• CA Automic Workload Automation - Automation Engine
• Automic SaaS

Issue/Introduction

Problem Description

When attempting to execute a File Transfer (JOBF) using the AIX Agent version 24.4.1 HF2, the job fails under specific conditions. This failure typically occurs when:

• The Use Wildcards option is enabled in the JOBF definition.

• The source directory contains a large number of files (e.g., thousands of files).

The failure is intermittent but reproducible in environments with high file counts. When the failure occurs, the following error messages appear in the Agent log and the Report:

Error Messages:

U02000495 Communication to UserService ... for request 'USGFLIST' failed, reason: 'Invalid message, eyecatcher invalid: ...'
U02000496 User-Service ... shutdown has been initiated.
U00063030 FT ... File sampling error. Filter: ... Error: 'Failed to read attributes of ...'
U00063042 FT ... Status store ... cannot be created.
java.io.IOException Driver process 'UserService Driver ...' already ended

Note: You may also see an error regarding PAM libraries (U02003074 Error during binding of functions of the PAM library), but this is often a side effect of the agent stopping unexpectedly rather than the root cause.

Environment

 

• Product: Automic Workload Automation

• Component: Automation Engine (AE), System Agent (Java)

• Operating System: AIX

• Affected Version: Agent AIX 24.4.1 HF2

 

Cause

This issue has been identified as a software defect (Defect ID: DE177647).

The root cause is a communication failure between the User Service and the Java Agent on the AIX platform. Specifically, there is a misalignment of the "eyecatcher" sequence in the received data when processing large file lists. This misalignment causes the agent to interpret the message as invalid, leading to the termination of the User Service and the subsequent failure of the file transfer.

Resolution

This defect has been fixed in the following version of the Automic System Agent:

Component: Agent.Unix

• Automic Automation Engine 24.4.4 - Available

Public Title:
Agent Unix: Communication with UserService can driver fail when processing large amount of data (list files).

Public Description:
Agent Unix: Communication with UserService can driver fail when processing large amount of data (list files).
Program change, so that user-service communication is also capable process fragmented data.

Additional Information

Workaround

There is no guaranteed workaround for this specific defect, as it depends on the volume of files and internal communication timing. However, the following actions may temporarily mitigate the issue:

1. Retry the Job: In some cases, restarting the transfer multiple times may allow it to succeed.

2. Reduce File Count: If possible, reduce the number of files in the source directory to avoid triggering the buffer misalignment.

3. Disable Wildcards: If the workflow allows, specifying exact filenames instead of using wildcards avoids the file sampling process that triggers the crash.