Contents
What is failsafe mode?
If your program has been put into failsafe mode, it means that it has been suspended for various reasons. Failsafe mode is similar to pausing a program which involves the following:
- In the case of transactional programs, contacts can enter the program but they will be queued at the first node.
- In the case of recurring programs, every scheduled recurrence will be canceled while the program is in failsafe mode.
- Contacts already in the program are stopped where they are.
- Queues can build quickly at the entry point and at Wait nodes.
Programs that are in failsafe mode for more than 30 days will be aborted automatically.
Can I restart a program that is in failsafe mode?
No, you cannot restart a program that has been put into failsafe mode. However, depending on the specific issue, you can copy the program that is in failsafe mode and, after eliminating the root cause, launch the copied program. For more information, see What to do with programs in failsafe mode?, below.
Why did this happen?
The following sections contain the most common error messages displayed in the Notification Center, their possible reasons, some examples and the suggested solutions.
In the unlikely event of your program being put into failsafe mode without receiving any notifications, Emarsys Support will contact you as soon as possible. You can check if your program has been put into failsafe mode the following ways:
- On the Automation Center page, Failsafe is displayed in the Status column next to your program.
- When you open the workspace of your program, Program is Fail-safe is displayed in the top right corner and workspace has an orange border.
- All program actions (such as Test, Launch, Pause, etc.) are unavailable.
If you have not been notified yet, please contact Emarsys Support.
Error messages
The program {program name} has been put into failsafe mode because of an error in the segment used in node {node name}.
Reason
The node mentioned in the error message uses a segment that cannot be run.
-
Example
For example, it may happen that your Relational Data Services connection fails because one of the required tables is missing.
Solution
1. Copy the program.
2. Open your program and check the segments used in your program: on the Contacts menu > Segments page, you can check if your segment can be successfully generated by clicking the Refresh icon next to the specific segment.
Program {program name} has been put into failsafe mode because an internal error occurred during the execution of node {node name}. Our teams are working on resolving this issue.
Reason
The node mentioned in the error message uses a resource that is not available.
-
Example
For example, it may happen that the CRM Ads asset used in your program is not available on the Campaigns menu > CRM Ads > Assets tab.
Solution
1. Open your program and check the validation errors.
If you open the workspace of your program, validation errors will be displayed next to the affected nodes.
2. Copy the program.
3. Check if the selected resource is available. If not, then choose another resource.
The program {program name} has been put into failsafe mode because a campaign it referenced has been modified. It resulted in an error in the following node: {node name}.
Reason
The email campaign used in your program has been edited or changed after the program has been launched.
Please do not edit or change email campaigns used in your program after it has been launched.
- Example
If you edit an email used in your program after it has been launched, the trackable links will be regenerated and the Didn't click link node cannot track them.
Solution
1. Open your program, check the validation errors. Proceed to the next step even if there is no validation error.
If you open the workspace of your program, validation errors will be displayed next to the affected nodes.
3. If a validation error was displayed next to the Didn't click link node, select the required link.
The program {program name} was put to failsafe. We have detected problems with the program and stopped its execution in order to prevent any further issues.
Reason
The program has been put into failsafe mode due to performance issues.
- Example:
Emarsys is constantly monitoring the performance of programs to ensure that they are running properly and not affecting any other activity in your account. If we notice that a program is causing a performance drop, we may put that into failsafe mode while we look at ways to improve it.
Solution
To recover your program, please contact Emarsys Support.
The program {program name} has been put into failsafe mode because too many contacts were queued at an email node. A total of {number} contacts were affected and did not receive the email. To avoid this issue in the future, please ensure that no more than {number} contacts trigger a transactional program in one batch.
Reason
The program has been put into failsafe mode because more than 250,000 contacts have arrived at a Send email node.
- Example
If you import more than 250,000 contacts and your program starts with either an On auto-import, New contact or Data change entry point and it contains a Send email node, then the program might cause performance issues and trigger a failsafe.
Solution
To recover your program, please contact Emarsys Support.
What to do with programs in failsafe mode?
If you are not sure as to the reasons why a program was put into failsafe mode, please contact Emarsys Support.
Once you know what the cause was, you can copy the program, correct the errors and launch it again. You cannot relaunch a program once it has been put into failsafe mode.
Copying a program that is in failsafe mode
When you copy a program that is in failsafe mode, you will lose the contacts who have entered the original program along with its contact participation settings. For example, if you selected the Contacts can enter this program once ever participation setting in the original program, those contacts who have already entered it can enter the copied program again. If you would like to prevent that, please contact Emarsys Support.
The copied program will not inherit the reporting related to the original program.
What to do next?
Fix the issues mentioned in the error message.
For detailed instructions, see section Solution below the error messages within section Why did this happen?
Launching a copied program
If you have not eliminated the root cause that triggered the failsafe mode, the copied program will be put into failsafe mode when you launch it.
If you are not sure how to eliminate the root cause, please contact Emarsys Support.
When you have fixed the issues, launch the copied program.
To avoid having duplicate programs, after launching the copied one, you can abort the original program that was put into failsafe mode. Please note that aborted programs cannot be re-activated.