My ClearCase import to Rational Team Concert failed. What can I do to understand why?

Authors: IntegrationsTroubleshootingTeam
Build basis: Rational ClearCase 7.1.x, 8.x and later as supported with RTC 4.x and later

This page is intended to provide Rational ClearCase and Rational Team Concert administrators with troubleshooting tips to use when a Rational Team Concert and Rational ClearCase import fails.

Initial assessment

Prerequisites

Ensure that the Rational ClearCase Importer environment has been configured correctly according to one of the following articles:

• Importing
• Using the ClearCase Importer to import ClearCase history

Symptoms

You can see your Rational ClearCase synchronized stream and request synchronization but it says the sync engine is not available. The synchronization operation starts and runs for a while but then terminates with a message that the sync was blocked by an error.

Possible causes

There are a variety of possible causes for the sync operation to fail. Understanding where to look will help expedite a resolution.

• Situations where the sync fails because the sync engine is not available are most often caused by the client requesting the sync not being able to contact the synchronization engine, or that the engine is not running.

• Situations where the sync fails with an exception that the sync was blocked with an error are typically more complex to resolve. Some investigation is usually required to determine cause.

Investigation methods

When the sync is blocked by an error it is typically best to do the following: Open the latest synchronization results for the synchronized stream you are attempting to sync. To do this right click on the sync stream in the eclipse client and select > Open Latest Synchronization Details. In the sync results there will be a logs tab. There will be two logs that will provide the most useful information. The build-<######>.log file and the synchronization stack trace. The build-<######>.log file will have a complete record of the operation whereas the synchronization stack trace file will contain the exception that caused the sync to fail. Reading and understanding the exception will be crucial to resolving the issue.

Common causes for sync issues

The solution depends on the exception received, understanding the exception and taking the appropriate action are imperative. The exception can be received from either the Rational Team Concert or Rational ClearCase side. Some common occurrences are listed below.

• A list of known issues is listed in this Rational Team Concert Information Center topic: Synchronization errors

• Rational ClearCase triggers can also potentially cause failures. The synchronizers issue cleartool commands against the Rational ClearCase elements and metadata. If these commands fire the trigger, it is possible this trigger firing can cause the sync to fail if the trigger criteria is not satisfied. The information center discusses this in greater detail in this topic: Writing Rational ClearCase triggers for synchronization

• Rational Team Concert mandatory attributes can also cause the synchronization to fail. The synchronization process will create a work item which, based on the process in use, may contain required attributes. If those attributes are not populated, the sync can fail. This issue can be addressed by using a work item template.

Related topics:

• Still need help troubleshooting your integrations issue? Refer to Integrations troubleshooting for additional topics.

External links:

• Importing: http://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSR27Q_4.0.7/com.ibm.team.connector.scm.cc.doc/topics/c_import_history.html
• Using the ClearCase Importer to Import ClearCase History: https://jazz.net/library/article/50/
• Synchronization errors: http://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSYMRC_4.0.5/com.ibm.team.connector.scm.cc.doc/topics/r_sync_errors.html
• Writing Rational ClearCase triggers for synchronization: http://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSR27Q_4.0.7/com.ibm.team.connector.scm.cc.doc/topics/t_sync_cc_triggers.html

Additional contributors: None