DFC_DOCBROKER_EXCLUDED: Primary Docbroker Blacklisted

The DFC of application maintains the list of docbrokers, which it can communicate. However, if it is not able to communicate with the docbroker, specified in dfc.properties, it will try multiple times to communicate, with the docbroker. If the threshold limit, to communicate with the docbroker exceeds the specified limit, the docbroker is blacklisted. Blacklisted docbroker won't be communicated further in future ever.
If there is only one primary docbroker specified for your repository, to communicate with the docbase, there will be no more docbroker remain. This will result in DFC_DOCBROKER_EXCLUDED error.

To resolve this error, first you have to identify the cause of this error. There can be one or more reason from the list specified above. The resolution can based on one of the following approach -

1. Identify your network settings or take assistance of your network administrator
2. Check for your firewall settings
3. Stop your associated docbases and docbroker and restart your docbroker and docbase in order.
4. Check for any error in docbroker, docbase, server and application logs.
5. Check for your dfc.properties docbroker entries, specially for the port of communication
6. Try to resolve your DNS error with your network admin.
7. Clearing temporary files and caches plus restarting application server may also help.

This can also be handled through configuration, though it cannot be avoided fully. There is setting in the dfc.properties which, however, I didn't find in dfcfull.properties, with the help this configuration, you can increase the number of times the dfc should try to communicate the docbroker. In this way you can reduce the probability of blacklisting of your docbroker, in case their is a temporary outage or connection failure between dfc and docbroker.
The configuration, dfc.docbroker.exclude.failure_threshold can be use to increase this limit. The default value is 3. Docbroker Connection failure configurations can have following specified range of values -

Min value: 1
Max value: 60
Default value: 3

That's right you cannot have more than 60 attempts, before your docbroker is blacklisted. In other words, their is no configuration available, with the help of which this limit can be extended, to unlimited number of times.

Although, this configuration is not available to earlier release the 6.5 sp3 of dfc. There is a patch available of webtop 6.5 sp2, which can provide the above configuration. You should be able to get the latest patch release from the download center. The name of the patch release for webtop 6.5sp2 is Webtop_6.5.0.221SP2P0500.

I suppose this will provide you with enough information to resolve this issue. Best of luck!!!

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