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Resource Request Fails

Symptom:

CA SiteMinder® SPS failed to serve a resource request.

Solution:

To troubleshoot an error, verify the following log files for the error details:

If the log files do not contain logs, ensure that you have enabled logging in the log files.

More information:

Configure spsagent Logs

Configure SPSAgentTrace Logs

Configure the mod_jk.log File

Configure the httpclient.log File

Configure spsagent Logs

CA SiteMinder® SPS logs errors that are related to the proxy engine in the spsagent logs. A local configuration file or an ACO in the Policy Server contains the parameters that enable error logging and determine logging options.

Follow these steps:

  1. Open the ACO of CA SiteMinder® SPS in the Policy Server.
  2. Set the value of the LogFile parameter to yes.

    Note: Setting the value of this parameter to yes in a local configuration file overrides any of the logging settings that are defined on the Policy Server.

  3. Complete the following parameters:
    LogFileName

    Specifies the full path including the file name, to the log file.

    LogAppend

    Adds new log information to the end of an existing log file. When this parameter is set to no, the entire log file is rewritten each time logging is invoked.

    LogFileSize

    Specifies the size limit of the log file in megabytes. When the current log file reaches this limit, a new log file is created.

    LogLocalTime

    Specifies whether the logs use Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or local time. To use GMT, change this setting to no. If this parameter does not exist, the default setting is used.

  4. Restart CA SiteMinder® SPS.

    The error logs are configured.

Configure SPSAgentTrace Logs

You can configure the trace logs to control the size and format of the file. After trace logging is configured, you determine the content of the trace log file separately. This lets you change the types of information contained in your trace log at any time, without changing the parameters of the trace log file itself.

Follow these steps:

  1. Locate the SecureProxyTrace.conf file, and duplicate the file.
  2. Open your Agent Configuration Object or local configuration file.
  3. Set the TraceFile parameter to yes.

    Note: Setting the value of this parameter to yes in a local configuration file overrides any of the logging settings that are defined on the Policy Server.

  4. Configure the following parameters:
    TraceFileName

    Specifies the full path to the trace log file.

    TraceConfigFile

    Specifies the location of the SecureProxyTrace.conf configuration file that determines which components and events to monitor.

    TraceAppend

    Specifies if the new logging information must be added to the end of an existing log file instead of rewriting the entire file each time logging is invoked.

    TraceFormat

    Specifies how the trace file displays the messages.

    TraceDelimiter

    Specifies a custom character that separates the fields in the trace file.

    TraceFileSize

    Specifies the maximum size of a trace file in megabytes. CA SiteMinder® SPS creates a new file when this limit is reached.

    LogLocalTime

    Specifies whether the logs use Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or local time. To use GMT, change this setting to no. If this parameter does not exist, the default setting is used.

  5. Restart CA SiteMinder® SPS.

Configure the mod_jk.log File

CA SiteMinder® SPS logs all the communication messages between Apache and the proxy engine in the mod_jk.log file. By default, logging is enabled in this file and the log file is located in sps_home\secure-proxy\httpd\logs\mod_jk.log.

Follow these steps:

  1. Open the httpd.conf file.

    Default Path: sps_home\secure-proxy\httpd\conf

  2. Modify the available parameters as required.

    Note: For information about configuring the httpd.conf file and the mod_jk.log file, see the Apache documentation set.

  3. Ensure that JkRequestLogFormat is set in the %w %V %T %m %h %p %U %s format.
  4. Save the changes.
  5. Restart CA SiteMinder® SPS.

Configure the httpclient.log File

For debug purposes only, you can enable the httpclient.log. By default, the httpclient.log file is located in sps_home\secure-proxy\proxy-engine\logs.

Follow these steps:

  1. Open the server.conf file
  2. Ensure that httpclientlog is set to yes.
  3. Open the httpclientlogging.properties file.

    Default Path: sps_home\Tomcat\properties directory

  4. Modify the available parameters as required.

    Note: For information about configuring the httpclientlogging.properties file, see the Apache documentation set.

  5. Save the changes.

The Installation Program Displays Warnings

Valid on UNIX

Symptom:

When I install CA SiteMinder® SPS, the installation wizard displays warnings that few files must be configured manually.

Solution:

If you do not have root permissions, you can install CA SiteMinder® SPS but the automatic installation process cannot complete all the installation steps. The installation wizard displays warnings that help you determine the files that must be configured manually.

Note: Non-root installations are not recommended for SSL-enabled servers. A non-root installation is less secure because it allows an additional person with root permissions access to your keys and certificates.

Cannot Start the CA SiteMinder® SPS Server

Symptom:

CA SiteMinder® SPS server fails to start.

Solution:

Use the following information if you cannot start your server:

Cannot Access the CA SiteMinder® SPS with a Browser

Symptom:

Difficulty accessing the CA SiteMinder® SPS using a browser.

Solution:

To access the CA SiteMinder® SPS using a browser:

Issues Configuring Virtual Hosts

Symptom:

Difficulty configuring virtual hosts.

Solution:

Refer to the information about configuring virtual hosts at:

http://httpd.apache.org/docs-2.0/vhosts/

Virtual Hosts Configuration Fails

Symptom:

The configuration of virtual hosts fails.

Solution:

For information about configuring virtual hosts, see www.apache.org.

CA SiteMinder® SPS Not Forwarding Requests

Symptom:

When I access a resource, the 404 File Not Found browser error is displayed and the action is not logged in the Web Agent log.

Solution:

Verify the name and IP address of the virtual host in the server.conf file.

Error in Accessing a SharePoint Page

Symptom:

When accessing a SharePoint page through the SPS, the CA SiteMinder® SPS always displays the Alternate Access Mapping Connection parameter, no matter how the mode (Forward or Redirect) is set in the proxyrule.xml file.

Solution:

Follow these steps for a solution to this problem:

  1. On the SharePoint server, go to Central Administration, Operation, Alternate Access Mapping. Notice that the Alternate Access Mapping includes a Default Zon Internal URL and a Public URL.
  2. Add one Internal URL with the Public URL set as http://<SPS Host>:port and Default Zone.
  3. Add one more Internal URL Public URL set as http://<SharePoint Host>:port and Default Zone.
  4. Edit the entry for the Intranet zone created in step 3 and specify the Public URL as http://<SPS Host>:port
  5. In the CA SiteMinder® SPS proxyrule.xml file, the backend is an internal URL with a public URL pointing to the CA SiteMinder® SPS host. For example:
    <!--Proxy Rules-->
    <nete:proxyrules xmlns:nete="http://ww.ca.com/">
          <nete:forward>http://SharePointServer with public URL as SPS
               host:port$0</nete:forward>
    </nete:proxyrules>