PI26941: INSTALLING AND UNINSTALLING AN APPLICATION MANY TIMES WILL CAUSE OUTOFMEMORY

PI29911;8.5.5: Confidential for Security Integrity ifix
8.5.5.5: WebSphere Application Server V8.5.5 Fix Pack 5
8.5.5.6: WebSphere Application Server V8.5.5 Fix Pack 6
8.5.5.7: WebSphere Application Server V8.5.5 Fix Pack 7
8.5.5.8: WebSphere Application Server V8.5.5 Fix Pack 8
8.5.5.9: WebSphere Application Server V8.5.5 Fix Pack 9
8.5.5.10: WebSphere Application Server V8.5.5 Fix Pack 10
8.5.5.11: WebSphere Application Server V8.5.5 Fix Pack 11
8.5.5.12: WebSphere Application Server V8.5.5 Fix Pack 12
8.5.5.13: WebSphere Application Server V8.5.5 Fix Pack 13
8.5.5.14: WebSphere Application Server V8.5.5 Fix Pack 14
8.5.5.15: WebSphere Application Server V8.5.5 Fix Pack 15
8.5.5.14: WebSphere Application Server V8.5.5 Fix Pack 14
8.5.5.17: WebSphere Application Server V8.5.5 Fix Pack 17
8.5.5.20: WebSphere Application Server V8.5.5.20
8.5.5.18: WebSphere Application Server V8.5.5 Fix Pack 18
8.5.5.19: WebSphere Application Server V8.5.5 Fix Pack 19
8.5.5.16: WebSphere Application Server V8.5.5 Fix Pack 16
8.5.5.21: WebSphere Application Server V8.5.5.21

APAR status

• Closed as program error.

Error description

• Installing/Uninstalling an app many times will cause
  OutOfMemory.
  
  Deploying an application multiple times to Liberty profile
  seems to eventually run the server out of memory.
  
  To replicate the situation:
  
  1. Start Liberty profile server
  2. Copy application war into dropins folder
  3. Watch log and wait for application to start
  4. Access the application via web browser in order to have
  liberty fully start the app.
  5. Delete the war from the dropins folder
  6. Watch log files and wait for application to completely
  stop/uninstall
  7. Repeat steps 2-6 until the logs show a
  java.lang.OutOfMemoryException
  

Local fix

Problem summary

• ****************************************************************
  * USERS AFFECTED:  All users of IBM WebSphere Application      *
  *                  Server Liberty Profile                      *
  ****************************************************************
  * PROBLEM DESCRIPTION: Repeatedly redeploying an application   *
  *                      can cause  OutOfMemory exceptions       *
  ****************************************************************
  * RECOMMENDATION:                                              *
  ****************************************************************
  A memory leak was occuring because a cached object reference was
  improperly being saved.  This caused Liberty profile memory
  usage to grow unecessarily when applications were reinstalled
  many times in a row.
  

Problem conclusion

• All cached references to the given object are now properly
  released when the object is no longer required.  This allows
  Java garbage collection to reclaim used heap space and
  eliminates out of memory conditions for this situation.
  
  The
  fix for this APAR is currently targeted for inclusion in fix
  pack 8.5.5.5.  Please refer to the Recommended Updates page for
  delivery information:
  http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=180&uid=swg27004980
  

Temporary fix

• Restart the WebSphere Liberty application server if Java heap
  space is growing after application redeploy.
  

Comments

APAR Information

• APAR is sysrouted FROM one or more of the following:

• APAR is sysrouted TO one or more of the following:

Fix information

• Fixed component name

  WAS LIBERTY COR

• Fixed component ID

  5725L2900

Applicable component levels

• R855 PSY

     UP