Troubleshooting and resolving blank arrived files

Edit online

If an arrived file is blank, with no original file name or producer name, a system failure may have caused the Sterling File Gateway router to be unable to process the incoming message. There are several known situations that cause this:

  • When a protocol client that uploads files to Sterling File Gateway performs renaming of files upon transfer.
    • Why this happens - the original file is deleted and renamed to a file with a new name. If Sterling File Gateway tries to route the file with the original name that was deleted, a failed blank arrived file is created. This happens because the file got deleted before information like producer, original file name and so forth are retrieved.
    • What to do - click on the blank arrived file. In the details, locate the message Id. Go to Tools > B2B Console > Correlation Search and enter the message Id and click Find. In the results, locate the file name and mailbox path to determine the producer. Contact the producer to confirm that their client that uploads files is set to rename files upon transfer. Ensure that the file with the new name is routed correctly.
  • When a file is sent and immediately sent again, overwriting the first.
    • Why this happens - Allow duplicates=false in the Mailbox configuration. The second file overwrites and deletes the first file. If this happens before Sterling File Gateway reads the data about this file, then you have a blank route.
    • What to do - this is harmless if both files contain the same data because the second file is routed correctly. If multiple files with the same name and different data are to be sent to the system, configure the system so these files go to different mailboxes, or set Allow duplicates=true.
  • When a system configured with a redundant Oracle RAC has a node failure.
    • Why this happens - the arrived file temporarily cannot see the message because of the failure and creates a blank arrived file to show that something was supposed to happen, and then immediately fails the arrived file.
    • What to do - replay the arrived file to get it to reroute. If this does not work, the message was deleted before the replay. Investigate the database, the logs, and the Activity list to find which message did not get added or got deleted prematurely. Determine the producer and ask them to re-send the file.
  • Both AFT and Sterling File Gateway are enabled at the same time.
    • Why this happens - no AFT Routing Rules should be active after Sterling File Gateway is installed.
    • What to do - when Sterling File Gateway is installed, AFT is disabled. Do not re-enable AFT Routing Rules.