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Ranger Plugin - Overall Error Request Rate Alerts

Root Cause

A Ranger Plugin Overall Error Request Rate alert is triggered when the plugin encounters a high percentage of failed outgoing HTTP requests (4xx/5xx) while communicating with Ranger Admin or other related services. This typically indicates that the Ranger Plugin is encountering issues while processing requests.

Common Causes:

  • Connectivity Issues: Network problems or unreachable Ranger Admin endpoints.
  • Authentication Failures: Expired API keys, invalid tokens, or incorrect credentials.
  • Policy Download Errors: Missing, stale, or corrupted policy files.
  • Timeouts: High latency or slow responses from Ranger Admin.
  • Misconfigurations: Incorrect service name, repository name, or policy manager URL.
  • SSL/Certificate Issues: Expired or invalid certificates causing handshake failures.
  • Resource Constraints: CPU/memory exhaustion on the plugin pod.
  • Internal Exceptions: JSON parsing errors, NullPointerExceptions, or plugin code failures.

Troubleshooting Steps

Step 1: Review Grafana Dashboards

Use the alert metadata in Grafana—such as Endpoint, Status, and Error Type—to identify:

Failing Ranger Service Call:

Determine which Ranger operation is failing (e.g., policy download, audit submission).

Type of Failure:

Identify the specific error encountered (e.g., 401 Unauthorized, 500 Internal Server Error).

This information helps narrow down the root cause and informs the next troubleshooting steps.

Step 2: Apply Quick Fixes Based on Error Pattern

Error Pattern Likely Cause Quick Fix
401 Unauthorized / Authentication Failed Invalid or expired token/credentials Verify API keys, passwords, service account credentials in plugin config
403 Forbidden Plugin lacks required authorization Check Ranger policies and service permissions
404 Not Found Incorrect service name or endpoint Validate policymanager.url and ranger.service.name
408 / Timeout Ranger Admin not responding in time Check network latency and performance of Ranger Admin
SSLHandshakeException Certificate mismatch or truststore issue Ensure valid certificates and proper truststore configuration
500 Internal Server Error Unexpected application or backend failures Proceed to Escalation Checklist

Escalation Checklist

If the issue cannot be resolved through standard troubleshooting, escalate it with the following information to help the next-level support team diagnose the problem efficiently:

  • Timestamp of the error: Include the exact time when the alert was triggered.
  • Grafana Dashboards and Alert Screenshots:
    • Dashboard Screenshot: Dashboards → Application-Dashboards → plugins → Ranger-plugin-common
    • Alert Screenshot: Dashboards → Application-Dashboards → plugins → Alert rules → Overall Error Rate – Ranger Plugin

  • Ranger Admin Logs: Include any logs showing policy download failures, authentication errors, or API failures

    Option 1: Download Logs from Diagnostic Portal (Recommended)

    Open the Diagnostic Portal and navigate to:

    Dashboard → Pods

    Search for the Ranger pod in the search box.

    Select the active Ranger pod from the list to open the Pod Details page.

    Open the LOGS tab.

    Click DOWNLOAD LOGS to save the logs locally.

    If multiple Ranger pods are active, repeat the steps for each pod to collect all relevant logs.

    Option 2: Manual Log Collection (If Diagnostic Service Is Not Enabled)

    Bash
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    # Create log archive
kubectl exec -it <RANGER_POD> -n <NAMESPACE> -- bash -c "cd /opt/ranger/ranger-admin/ews/logs/ && tar -czf ranger-logs.tar.gz *.log"

# Copy the log archive
kubectl cp <RANGER_POD>:/opt/ranger/ranger-admin/ews/logs/ranger-logs.tar.gz ./ranger-logs.tar.gz -n <NAMESPACE>

# Extract logs
tar -xzf ranger-logs.tar.gz

For additional assistance, see How to Contact Support for detailed guidance on reaching out to the support team.