Web Services Invocation Framework troubleshooting tips

A set of specific tips to help you troubleshoot problems you experience with the Web Services Invocation Framework (WSIF).

For information about resolving WebSphere-level problems, see Diagnosing and fixing problems.

To identify and resolve Web Services Invocation Framework (WSIF)-related problems, you can use the standard WebSphere Application Server trace and logging facilities. If you encounter a problem that you think might be related to WSIF, you can check for error messages in the WebSphere Application Server administrative console, and in the application server stdout.log file. You can also enable the application server debug trace to provide a detailed exception dump.

A list of the WSIF run-time system messages, with details of what each message means, is provided in Message reference for WSIF.

A list of the main known restrictions that apply when using WSIF is provided in WSIF - Known restrictions.

Here is a checklist of major WSIF activities, with advice on common problems associated with each activity:

Create service

Handcrafted WSDL can cause numerous problems. To help ensure that your WSDL is valid, use a tool such as WebSphere Development Studio for iSeries (WDS) to create your Web service.

Define transport mechanism

For the Java Message Service (JMS), check that you have set up the Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI) correctly, and created the necessary connection factories and queues.

For SOAP, make sure that the deployment descriptor file dds.xml is correct - preferably by creating it using WebSphere Development Studio for iSeries (WDS) or similar tooling.

Create client - Java code

Follow the correct format for creating a WSIF service, port, operation and message. For examples of correct code, see Example: Using WSIF to invoke the AddressBook Sample Web service dynamically.

Compile code (client and service)

Check that the build path against code is correct, and that it contains the correct levels of JAR files.

Create a valid EAR file for your service in preparation for deployment to a Web server.

Deploy service

When you install and deploy the service EAR file, check carefully any messages given when the service is deployed.

Server setup and start

Verify the WebSphere Application Server server.policy file (in the /properties directory) has the correct security settings. For more information, see Enabling security for WSIF.

WSIF setup

Check that the wsif.properties file is correctly set up. For more information, see wsif.properties file - Initial contents.

Run client

Either check that you have defined the class path correctly to include references to your client classes, WSIF JAR files and any other necessary JAR files, or (preferably) run your client using the WebSphere Application Server launchClient tool.

Either check that you have defined the class path correctly to include references to your client classes, WSIF JAR files and any other necessary JAR files, or (preferably) run your client using the WebSphere Application Server launch client tool. For more information about this tool, refer to the Running application clients chapter of the Developing and deploying applications PDF book.

• "No class definition" errors received when running client code.

• "Cannot find WSDL" error.

• Your Web service EAR file does not install correctly onto the application server.

• There is a permissions problem or security error.

• Using WSIF with multiple clients causes a SOAP parsing error.

• Using the same names for JMS messaging queues and queue connection factories that run on application servers on different machines can cause JNDI lookup errors.

• A JAX-RPC client running on WebSphere Application Server V5 uses SOAP over JMS to invoke a Web service running on a V5 application server. No user ID or password is required on the target MQ Series queue. After the application server is migrated to Version 6, and using V6 default messaging, client requests fail because basic authentication is now enabled.

• The current WSIF default SOAP provider (the IBM Web Service SOAP provider) does not fully interoperate with services that are running on the former (Apache SOAP) provider.

No class definition errors received when running client code.

This problem usually indicates an error in the class path setup. Check that the relevant JAR files are included.

Cannot find WSDL error.

Some likely causes are:

• The application server is not running.

• The server location and port number in the WSDL are not correct.

• The WSDL is badly formed (check the error messages in the application server stdout.log file).

• The application server has not been restarted since the service was installed.

You might also try the following checks:

• Can you load the WSDL into your Web browser from the location specified in the error message?

• Can you load the corresponding WSDL binding files into your Web browser?

Your Web service EAR file does not install correctly onto the application server.

• For an EJB binding, run the WebSphere Application Server tool \bin\dumpnamespace. This tool lists the current contents of the JNDI directory.

• For a SOAP over HTTP binding, open the http://pathToServer/WebServiceName/admin/list.jsp page (if you have the SOAP administration pages installed). This page lists all currently installed Web services.

• For a SOAP over JMS binding, complete the following checks:

  • Check that the queue manager is running.

  • Check that the necessary queues are defined.

  • Check the JNDI setup.

  • Use the "display context" option in the jmsadmin tool to list the current JNDI definitions.

  • Check that the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) router is running.

There is a permissions problem or security error.

Check that the WebSphere Application Server server.policy file (in the /properties directory) has the correct security settings. For more information, see Enabling security for WSIF.

Using WSIF with multiple clients causes a SOAP parsing error.

Before you deploy a Web service to WebSphere Application Server, decide on the scope of the Web service. The deployment descriptor file dds.xml for the Web service includes the following line:

    <isd:provider type="java" scope="Application" ......

You can set the Scope attribute to Application or Session. The default setting is Application, and this value is correct if each request to the Web service does not require objects to be maintained for longer than a single instance. If Scope is set to Application the objects are not available to another request during the execution of the single instance, and they are released on completion. If your Web service needs objects to be maintained for multiple requests, and to be unique within each request, set the scope to Session. If Scope is set to Session, the objects are not available to another request during the life of the session, and they are released on completion of the session. If scope is set to Application instead of Session, you might get the following SOAP error:

SOAPException: SOAP-ENV:ClientParsing error, response was:
FWK005 parse may not be called while parsing.;
nested exception is:

[SOAPException: faultCode=SOAP-ENV:Client; msg=Parsing error, response was:

FWK005 parse may not be called while parsing.; 
        targetException=org.xml.sax.SAXException:
FWK005 parse may not be called while parsing.]

Using the same names for JMS messaging queues and queue connection factories that run on application servers on different machines can cause JNDI lookup errors.

You should not use the same names for messaging queues and queue connection factories that run on application servers on different machines, because WSIF always looks first for JMS destinations locally, and only uses the full JNDI reference if it cannot find the destination locally. For example, if you run a Web service on a remote machine, and have an application server running locally that uses the same names for the messaging queues and queue connection factories, then WSIF will find and use the local queues even if the remote JNDI destination is provided in full in the WSDL service definition.

A JAX-RPC client running on WebSphere Application Server V5 uses SOAP over JMS to invoke a Web service running on a Version 5 application server. No user ID or password is required on the target MQ Series queue. After the application server is migrated to V6, and using V6 default messaging, client requests fail because basic authentication is now enabled.

SibMessage W [:] CWSIT0009W: A client request failed in the application server
with endpoint <endpoint_name> in bus <your_bus> with reason: CWSIT0016E: 
The user ID null failed authentication in bus <your_bus>.

For the steps to take to resolve the problem, see the following service integration technologies troubleshooting tip: After you migrate an application server to WebSphere Application Server V6, existing Web services clients can no longer use SOAP over JMS to access services hosted on the migrated server.

The current WSIF default SOAP provider (the IBM Web Service SOAP provider) does not fully interoperable with services that are running on the former (Apache SOAP) provider.

This restriction is due to the fact that the IBM Web Service SOAP provider is designed to interoperate fully with a JAX-RPC compliant Web service, and Apache SOAP cannot provide such a service. To enable interoperation, modify either your Web service or the WSIF default SOAP provider as described in WSIF SOAP provider: working with legacy applications.

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