FDM multi-user masking failure: Only one user can execute masking after upgrade to Windows Server 2022

Products

• CA Test Data Manager (Data Finder / Grid Tools)

Issue/Introduction

After upgrading the environment to Windows Server 2022 and CA Test Data Manager (FDM component) to version 4.11.x, only one user at a time is able to execute FDM masking successfully.

• The user who initially creates or logs into FDM can run masking.
• Other users fail to execute masking jobs.
• Manual creation of fdm.log and fdm.err under C:\ProgramData\CA\TDM_FDM\logs\ allows only the creator of those files to run the jobs.

Environment

• Product: CA Test Data Manager (FDM)
• Version: 4.11.x and above
• OS: Windows Server 2022

Cause

This behavior is controlled by the log4j component used in FDM. By default, it does not allow a secondary user to overwrite or access the log files (fdm.log, fdm.err) created by the initial user (owner). This is a limitation of the log4j framework's file locking and ownership management on Windows Server 2022.

Resolution

Use one of the following methods to ensure all users have the necessary permissions to write to the log files:

Method 1: Adjust Folder Permissions (Recommended)

Grant "Modify" or "Full Control" permissions to the "Everyone" group (or a specific group containing all TDM users) for the logs folder:

1. Navigate to C:\ProgramData\CA\TDM_FDM\logs\.
2. Right-click the folder and select Properties.
3. Under the Security tab, add the "Everyone" group or your specific TDM user group.
4. Check Modify or Full Control.
5. Click Advanced and ensure that these permissions are set to inherit to all files within the folder. This allows FDM to append logs regardless of which user initiated the first run.

Method 2: Command Line Argument (Batch Execution)

If executing masking jobs via batch files, add the following argument to the Java command to redirect logs to a user-specific or accessible directory: 

-Dfdm.log.path="C:/path/to/accessible/log/directory"

Method 3: FDM Options

You can change the log directory globally within the FDM UI:

1. Launch the FDM UI.
2. Go to the Options tab.
3. Locate the LOGDIR row.
4. In the Value column, enter a file path where all users have full read/write access.

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Notes: This is not a product defect but a third-party limitation related to the log4j framework's interaction with Windows file system permissions.