Troubleshooting Automation Worker

Use the following steps to help troubleshoot the installed Automation Worker framework. A flowchart is provided as a reference.

Flowchart Reference

1. Verify Connection Between LIMS Server and Automation Worker Node

1.1 Checking the connection

The first step is to check the connection between the Clarity LIMS server and the Automation Worker node.

Use the -n option of the ai-monitor.jar tool script to see if the Clarity LIMSserver is currently able to communicate with the AI node.

To check the status of ai-monitor.jar:

1. As the glsjboss user open a SSH session to the Clarity LIMS server.

2. Run the following command:

   java -jar /opt/gls/clarity/tools/ai-monitor/ai-monitor.jar -u <user> -p <password> -i <base URI> -n

   • If the Clarity LIMS server cannot connect to any of the AI nodes the response will be as follows:

     Listing nodes
     
     No nodes found
     
     Aborting

   • In this scenario, proceed to Step 2. Verify Windows Service or Linux Daemon.

   • If the Clarity LIMS server can connect to the Automation Worker nodes, the response will resemble the following:

     Listing nodes
     ==========
     Node: [e-mail]
     Address: 192.168.10.88
     Channel: limsserver
     First update: Thu Sep 19 19:15:13 GMT 2013
     Latest update: Thu Sep 19 19:22:09 GMT 2013
     Release: 20190919-0708
     Version: 8.6.1-SNAPSHOT
     JVM: Sun Microsystems Inc. 1.6.0_45
     In progress: 0 requests

2. Verify Windows Service or Linux Daemon

Determine if the Windows service or Linux daemon for the Automation Worker is running.

2.1 Starting and stopping the Windows service / Linux daemon

To start, stop, or restart the Windows service:

1. From the Start menu, select Run.

2. In the Open text field, type ‘services.msc’ and select OK.

3. In the Services dialog, locate the Automation Worker service.

4. Right-click the service and select Start, Stop, or Restart. If the service is stopped, start the service.

   • If the service is running, stop and start it again.

   • Wait for a minimum of three minutes, and then check if the AI node is communicating with the Clarity LIMS server by running the ai-manager.sh script with the status argument, as described in Step 1.

To start or stop the Automation Worker Linux daemon:

• To verify current status:

  service automatedinformatics.wrapper.sh status

• To restart a running daemon:

  service automatedinformatics.wrapper.sh restart

• To stop a running daemon:

  service automatedinformatics.wrapper.sh stop

• To start a stopped daemon:

  service automatedinformatics.wrapper.sh start

Once Started/Restarted:

• Wait for a minimum of three minutes, and then check if the AI node is communicating with the Clarity LIMS server by running the ai-manager.sh script with the status argument, as described in Step 1.

If the daemon is not recognized, list out the contents of the /etc/init.d directory and determine the exact name of the Automation Worker daemon.

The name typically contains 'automation_worker', but may vary—particularly if there is more than one daemon on the same Linux server, or if the Automation Worker is installed on a server other than the Clarity LIMS application server.

3. Automation Worker Log Files

Automation Worker creates history and log files and stores them on laboratory computers in the logs folder of the Automation Worker installation directory.

3.1 Reviewing Automation Worker log files

After performing the steps described above, reviewing these log files may help to determine the cause of the issue.

For details on the Automation Worker log files, and instructions on how to view them, refer to Clarity LIMS Log Files.

3.2 Turning on debug logging

After reviewing the log files, if the cause of the issue is not evident, the next stage is to turn on debug logging. This outputs DEBUG messages to the log files.

Contact the Clarity LIMSsupport team for instructions on turning on DEBUG mode.

Review the log files to determine if the DEBUG messages help to find resolution.

After turning on debug logging, ensure that you restart the Windows service or Linux daemon.