Content from a block disapears when I recycle the IIS?!

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Hello,

Currently working on a web project with Optimizely version 11. Its a load balanced server that serves two servers.

I just got a support ticket regarding content dissapears after the IIS gets recycled.
From what I can see, this only happens on a specific page. This mysterious page (lets call it CoolPage) contains a Description property, a Header property and a content area which allow blocks of a specific type.

What I have noticed is that when I change the header or description property in editor mode, publishes the CoolPage and recycle the IIS everything looks perfect.
However. When I jump into the block that´s being rendered by the content area and modifies the image and does the same steps as above, its all gone?! 
Sometimes the content area even lost its connection to the block that I just saved.

This block inside the content area contains properties like: Header, Image and a boolean property which has a JsonIgnore attribute over it(?) and an ingress property.

So to summarize..

It seems like something is going crazy when trying to modify the block that's inside of the content area.

I have tried the following (and nothing works): NOTE under this time I have turned of one of the servers for easier investigation.

  1. created new blocks (as an editor) and tried to add them into the content area
  2. created a new page (as an editor) and tried to add the new / old blocks into the content area.
  3. Tried to go back in time where this sometimes worked but it still get reseted after the recycle of the IIS.

I'm really lost here guys, any ideas? 


 

#303836
Jun 20, 2023 18:52
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Hi,

You haven't mentioned your hosting platform - is it cloud or onprem? And have you configured the event provider to add load-balancing support?

Assuming it's hosted on Azure App Services, ensure that the EPiServer.Azure Nuget package is installed which includes support for distributing CMS events in a load-balanced environment. You will also need to update some configuration to map the Azure event provider, refer to this documentation for steps.

If it's on onprem Windows servers, you'll have to configure the built-in event provider

You mentioned the issue persists even on a single server, something else may be going on. Are you able to replicate this issue in your local evironment?

#303872
Jun 21, 2023 0:30
Alexander Helsinghof - Jun 21, 2023 7:25
Hey @Ron Rangaiya, thanks for your response.
It's a virtual server so no cloud.

Yes it persists on a single server so I don't see how the load balancer could be a problem here.
We can't repicate this in any other environment

I am not sure of how the cache mechanism works regarding Optimizely but I'm starting to dig into that more since when we recycle the IIS I'm guessing that Optmizely clear its Cache as well.. It makes me wonder if Optimizely don't have access to some folder due to insufficient access or so.

Super strange behaviour!
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Hi Alexander,

In a load-balanced environment, you have multiple servers. In order to keep the server in-sync, when you update the content in the admin, you need to tell the other servers you have updated the content and also invalidate cache.

When Ron mentioned load balancing environment he wasn't referring to the load balancer, more the configuration you need setup to support a load balanced environment.

In a load balanced environment you generally have 1 authoring server and this is also restricted to the outside world.

Then you can have as many front-end facing servers as you need. These servers need to listen to your authoring server for updates.

I would check the configuration is all setup correctly and everything is talking to each other.

This should point you in the right direction https://docs.developers.optimizely.com/content-management-system/docs/wcf-event-management?_gl=1*1h2szg7*_ga*MTEwNzM2NzU3My4xNjg3MTYxNjgy*_ga_C7SLJ6HMJ5*MTY4NzMzNTE3OS4xMi4xLjE2ODczMzU5NzIuMjkuMC4w

#303876
Jun 21, 2023 8:26
Alexander Helsinghof - Jun 21, 2023 9:01
Hello Paul,
I just find it hard to believe that this would be the problem since we can update other things on the website which works perfectly after the IIS reset.

But you still believe it has to do with the load balancer?
Paul McGann (Netcel) - Jun 21, 2023 10:17
Hi Alex,
No, we are saying this might be down to how you have setup your solution for a load balanced environment. That does not mean the load balancer is the cause.
If you take away the load balancer you still have multiple servers that need to communicate with each other and it is this configuration we believe may be the root cause.
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Problem is solved. we had to add  MultipleActiveResultSets=True which somehow got lost in our variables.. 

#303892
Edited, Jun 21, 2023 16:03
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Glad you got sorted Alex, strange though as I would have thought if this was disabled it would have flagged up other issues sooner.

#303932
Jun 22, 2023 8:15
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