A problem that crops up fairly frequently on Atlassian Answers, and that can have various root causes, is the following error when people are trying to start JIRA:
JIRA Startup Failed You cannot access JIRA at present. Look at the table below to identify the reasons: Description The following plugins are required by JIRA, but have not been started: * Atlassian JIRA - Plugins - Project Config Plugin (com.atlassian.jira.jira-project-config-plugin) * Embedded Gadgets Plugin (com.atlassian.gadgets.embedded) * Gadget Dashboard Plugin (com.atlassian.gadgets.dashboard) * Opensocial Plugin (com.atlassian.gadgets.opensocial) * Gadget Directory Plugin (com.atlassian.gadgets.directory) * Atlassian JIRA - Plugins - Gadgets Plugin (com.atlassian.jira.gadgets)
The list of plugins that fail to start may vary, but the cause is usually one of the following:
- Not enough memory allocated to JIRA
- Anti-virus enabled on the JIRA server
- Corrupted plugin caches
- Plugins disabled in the database
To check each of these potential causes:
Not Enough Memory Allocated to JIRA
JIRA needs a minimum of 768MB memory allocated to the Java heap (though I would recommend a minimum of 1024MB) and a minimum of 256MB memory allocated to PermGen space in order to function. To check your memory settings:
Linux
1. In your <JIRA INSTALLATION HOME>/bin directory (Standalone) or <TOMCAT INSTALLATION HOME>/bin directory (WAR) open the setenv.sh file.
2. Find the sections JVM_MINIMUM_MEMORY= and JVM_MAXIMUM_MEMORY=
3. Set both settings to the same value, e.g.:
JVM_MINIMUM_MEMORY=”1024m”
JVM_MAXIMUM_MEMORY=”1024m”
4. Find the section for JIRA_MAX_PERM_SIZE=
5. Make sure it is at lease 256MB, e.g.
JIRA_MAX_PERM_SIZE=256m
6. Save setenv.sh and restart JIRA.
Windows (starting from .bat file)
1. In your <JIRA INSTALLATION HOME>/bin directory (Standalone) or <TOMCAT INSTALLATION HOME>/bin directory (WAR) open the setenv.bat file.
2. Find the sections JVM_MINIMUM_MEMORY= and JVM_MAXIMUM_MEMORY=
3. Set both settings to the same value, e.g.:
JVM_MINIMUM_MEMORY=”1024m”
JVM_MAXIMUM_MEMORY=”1024m”
4. Find the section for JIRA_MAX_PERM_SIZE=
5. Make sure it is at lease 256MB, e.g.
JIRA_MAX_PERM_SIZE=256m
6. Save setenv.bat and restart JIRA.
Windows (as a Service)
See Atlassian’s instructions for changing memory settings via the command line or via the Windows Registry (expand Windows Service section for both options).
Anti-virus Enabled on the JIRA Server
JIRA creates a lot of temporary files that it needs to write to and read from (caches, indexes, etc.) and if anti-virus software is running on the JIRA server and scanning the <JIRA HOME> or <JIRA INSTALLATION HOME> directories this can impact JIRA enough to dramatically slow it down or cause it not to start. Exclude your <JIRA HOME> and <JIRA INSTALLATION HOME> directories from being scanned by following the instructions provided by your anti-virus software or remove the anti-virus software.
See Atlassian’s Knowledge Base article on Crashes and Performance Issues Troubleshooting for further details and problems with specific anti-virus software.
Corrupted Plugin Caches
Occasionally the caches that JIRA creates for plugins become corrupted and need to be cleared. To clear all plugin caches:
1. Shutdown JIRA.
2. Delete the <JIRA HOME>/plugins/.bundled_plugins and <JIRA HOME>/plugins/.osgi_plugins directories
3. Start JIRA.
Plugins Disabled in the Database
If none of the above fix the problem then it may be due to the plugins being disabled in the database which need to be manually re-enabled.
1. Backup JIRA
2. Run the following SQL query against your JIRA database to see if any plugins are disabled:
select * from propertyentry e join propertystring s on e.id=s.id where e.property_key like '%plugin.state%';
3. If no results are returned then disabled plugins in the database is not the problem, if results are returned make a note of the ID(s) and run the following SQL query for each ID:
update propertystring set propertyvalue='true' where id=<ID>;
e.g.
update propertystring set propertyvalue='true' where id=11710;
4. Delete the <JIRA HOME>/plugins/.bundled_plugins and <JIRA HOME>/plugins/.osgi_plugins directories and restart JIRA.
Hopefully one of these solutions fixes the cause of your startup errors and you should be good to go.
If you know of any other causes and solutions to this startup error please let me know via the comments.
