IPT Installation Webinar
Common issues and how to get help
Laura Russell1
1
VertNet
iDigBio Adobe Connect Platform http://idigbio.adobeconnect.com/ipt/
7 January 2015, 12:00-02:00 pm EST
iDigBio is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation’s Advancing Digitization of
Biodiversity Collections Program (Cooperative Agreement EF-1115210). Any opinions, findings,
and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and
do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Common issues 1/6
After the installation, I receive a message
"FAIL - Application at context path/ipt could
not be started" and the tool does not launch.
Some Linux distributions (like CentOS or Red Hat Linux) include Tomcat
incorrectly shipped with two libraries, xml-apis.jar and/or xalan.jar, in the
Tomcat directories. These libraries are not needed for the GBIF IPT operation
so make a backup copy of them and then remove them. If that does not solve
your problem, put the files back into place from the backup copy.
If your server admin won't allow these libraries to be removed, another known
solution is to include the xalan.jar in the IPT's /lib directory located at
$tomcat/webapps/ipt/WEB-INF. Just copy the jar file to that folder, restart
Tomcat, and the error should disappear.
2
Common issues 2/6
My GBIF IPT instance is slow. What can I do to
improve performance?
Apache Tomcat comes with very little allocated memory. This amount should be
increased depending on the amount of physical memory on the server. If the
server has at least 2GB of RAM, the available memory should be increased to
1GB.
3
Common issues 3/6
How can I upgrade my IPT installation to the
latest version?
Every released version of the IPT comes with instructions on how to update
previous versions. In some cases, substituting the .war file by the new one will
do the trick. In others, additional tasks will have to be performed.
Please be aware that once upgraded, it may not be possible to go back to the
previous version.
Always remember to make a backup of your data directory before performing any
maintenance operation.
4
Common issues 4/6
Can I move the IPT installation to another
server?
To move the IPT to a different server, make sure that you copy the entire contents
of the IPT's data directory over to the new server. It is important to preserve
the same folder/file permissions.
Then, follow the starting over instructions available in the IPT project site. As it
says: "If the user enters the same absolute path to the data directory as before,
the previous configuration will be completely restored".
5
Common issues 5/6
I have a problem that is not mentioned in the
documentation. How can I report it to the
developers?
The IPT project site has an issues section devoted to log bugs and enhancement
requests. You will need a Google account to submit a new issue.
Please make sure that no one has reported the same issue before (in that case, just
vote for the issue and you will be notified whenever there is an update).
When filing an issue, please make sure that you describe it clearly, with sufficient
detail so the developers can understand the problem you are experiencing.
6
Common issues 6/6
Can I collaborate in the development of the
tool?
The IPT is still under active development to fix issues and expand its functionality.
The best way to get involved in the development is to join the IPT Contributors
list.
Apart from contributing directly to the software development , you can also
collaborate by completing the documentation, translating the user interface
and the documentation, or expanding the number of cores and extensions
supported by the tool.
https://code.google.com/p/gbif-providertoolkit/wiki/HowToContribute
7
Documentation
IPT Wiki
https://code.google.com/p/gbif-providertoolkit/wiki/IPT2ManualNotes?tm=6
IPT FAQ (Common Issues)
https://code.google.com/p/gbif-providertoolkit/wiki/FAQ
8
How to get help: global resources
IPT Mailing list and archives
http://lists.gbif.org/mailman/listinfo/ipt/
IPT Contributors list
http://groups.google.com/group/gbif-ipt-contributors
IPT helpdesk and training experts group
http://community.gbif.org/pg/groups/3529/
9
How to get help: national networks & projects
www.canadensys.net
www.idigbio.org
www.vertnet.org
bison.usgs.ornl.gov
GBIF national nodes
10
vertnet.org
Thank you!
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iDigBio is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation’s Advancing Digitization of
Biodiversity Collections Program (Cooperative Agreement EF-1115210). Any opinions, findings,
and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and
do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.