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DRAFT KB-xxxx Appian Data Server fails to start with "Killed"

Symptoms

When attempting to start the Appian Data Server, the startup fails with the following error in the terminal:

$ ./start.sh
0 [main] INFO com.appian.data.TopologyFactory  - Could not find /appian/data-server/conf/appian-topology.xml. The default topology configuration will be used.
70 [main] WARN com.appian.data.server.config.CustomPropertiesConfiguration  - Failed to load configuration file custom.properties. Default settings will be used. Cause: null
85 [main] INFO com.appian.data.server.Watchdog  - Initializing log4j (processName=wd-5400, logsDir=/appian/data-server/../logs/data-server) from /appian/data-server/conf/log4j.properties
2018-03-26 17:31:00,900 wd-5400 [main] INFO  com.appian.data.server.JvmStarter - Starting JVM: /usr/java/jdk1.8.0_131/jre/bin/java -server -Duser.timezone=GMT -Xms64m -Xmx128m -Dds.home=/appian/data-server -cp /appian/data-server/lib/appian-data-server-classpath-0.72.2.jar com.appian.data.server.Watchdog -f
Killed

One or more errors similar to this appear in the Appian Data Server log, located in <APPIAN_HOME>/logs/data-server/data-server.log:

2018-03-26 17:52:07,275 wd-5400 [ForkJoinPool.commonPool-worker-1] ERROR com.appian.data.server.Watchdog - Starting HS (port=5402) FAILED: Could not establish WebSocket connection with localhost:5402. The target q process exited abnormally. Check for earlier errors (e.g. license or startup errors).

Cause

This issue is caused by an expired k4.lic file. The k4.lic file is used by Appian Data Server, and an expired license file will prevent Appian Data Server from starting up.

Action

Replace the expired k4.lic file with a new temporary license. Steps to request and install new temporary license can be found in KB-1316. Once service has been restored using the temporary license, continue to follow the steps in KB-1316 to request and install a long-term license for Appian 18.1 and above.

Please note that if the environment was previously running Appian 17.4 or earlier, it is possible that the k4.lic file required by the Data Server is a temporary license while the k3.lic license required by the Appian Engines is a valid long-term license that was previously generated. In this case, both long-term licenses should be renewed at the same time to avoid one unintentionally expiring before the other.

Affected Versions

This article applies to Appian 18.1 and above.

Last Reviewed: March 2018