Time Slicing job appears to be be hanging or stuck in the Processing status

Products

• Clarity PPM On Premise

Issue/Introduction

• The Time Slicing job in Clarity PPM is not completing. It is taking too long to process.
• Timeslices are not updated

Symptoms:

• The Time Slicing job is in the indefinite status of "Processing".
• The Administration > Data Administration > Time Slices page > "Last Run" column is not being updated for all time slice ids.

Cause

One or more of the following could introduce the issue:

1. PPM SQL trace is enabled per the properties.xml file (traceEnabled="true")
2. Refreshing from one environment to another
3. Cancelling a job that is already 'Processing'
4. Not cleaning up the job scheduler before and after background service starts.
5. Database and network issues (timeouts,outages,contention

Environment

Release: All Supported Releases
Component: Clarity Process Engine

Resolution

1. Check if the Time Slicing job instance is progressing via the query

• This applies to On Premise customers.
• For SaaS customers, please contact Broadcom Support if assistance is needed to confirm if the time slicing job is stuck):
  
  select '(1)assignment PRASSIGNMENT' slice_object, count(*), slice_status from 
  PRASSIGNMENT where slice_status in (1,2,3,4) group by SLICE_STATUS 
  union 
  select '(2)availability PRJ_RESOURCES' slice_object,count(*), slice_status from
  PRJ_RESOURCES where slice_status in (1,2,3,4) group by SLICE_STATUS 
  union 
  select '(3)allocation PRTEAM' slice_object, count(*), slice_status from
  PRTEAM where slice_status in (1,2,3,4) group by SLICE_STATUS 
  union
  select '(4)timeentries PRTIMEENTRY' slice_object, count(*), slice_status from
  PRTIMEENTRY WHERE SLICE_STATUS IN (1,2,3,4) group by SLICE_STATUS
• It should be processing at a steady pace depending on the object being sliced.
• If there is no movement, perform the next set of steps.

      2. Dedicate all system resources to allow the Time Slicing job to process and complete:

• Set all jobs that are WAITING to PAUSED;
• Set all jobs that are SCHEDULED to PAUSED;
• Set all jobs that are in PROCESSING to CANCELLED
• Make note of the scheduled jobs and scheduled times as they will need to be re-entered later.
• Delete all CANCELLED job instances
• Run an immediate instance of the Time Slicing job to ensure it completes.
• Re-enter the jobs that were CANCELLED.

      3.  On Premise customers: If the Time Slicing job is stuck in Waiting or Scheduled status, a restart of the BG service can help.

• See KB: KB000003995 for more details. (SaaS customers contact Broadcom support for assistance)

      4. Additionally see KB KB000052175 for tips including recommended incompatible jobs. 

      5. If the above does not resolve the issue:

• Please open an issue for investigation.
• The bg-ca.logs can be helpful in troubleshooting the issue. 

Additional Information

• KB000027011 - How do I completely check the status of the Time Slicing job? How long will it take my Time Slicing job to complete?
• KB000130257 - Troubleshooting Time Slicing Job Failures in Clarity PPM
• See 49034 - Clarity Scheduled Jobs Do Not Get Processed by the Job Scheduler (BG Service Issue)
• Tech Tip: Prevent Job Scheduler Stalls
• KB000009919 - How to use the UNIX crontab entry for setting up scheduling of the time slicing job (example run every minute using UNIX crontab of: * * * * *