SSI921_0021 failed to initialize search subsystem

When the error message SSI921_0021, "Failed to initialize search subsystem" is thrown, some application servers proceed with deployment, even though the deployment should be considered failed.

Problem

During application server startup, several configuration problems can result in the SSI921_0021, Failed to initialize search subsystem exception to be thrown. Examples of such configuration problems include an incorrect or unspecified cluster.name property in elasticsearch.properties, incorrect configuration for yfs.fail.fast properties and more. Though the idea of throwing the exception was to prevent the deployment to succeed in an erroneous situation, certain application servers such as WebSphere proceed with the deployment even when such an exception is thrown.

Solution

The problem should be fixed immediately, and the EAR should be redeployed.