Purpose 

The server administrator notices that the SAP J2EE default traces (and the files in the /usr/sap<SID>/JC<nr>/j2ee/cluster/server/logs/system/*) are periodically populated with the below entry:

""#SAPEngine_Application_Thread #Error##Plain###This constructor should not be used by portal component. Probably the issue is that the portal logon app is older version than the standard logon app.#"

Overview

The above error can lead to overfilling of the trace files and in turn lead to a situation where the file system fills up and adversely affect the J2EE server behaviour. Other serious errors maybe neglected by the administrator due to such warnings which do not indicate any error in particular.

Setting log severity to default

 
Firstly we need to make sure that the severity of the trace locations for SAP applications have been set correctly. For example, if a location needs just "ERROR" severity to be maintained and this has been changed to "DEBUG", then more data, which is not of much importance from a administrator point of view will be populated in the trace files.
If the default traces in general fill up at a fast rate and no manual changes have been done, then set the traces back to the SAP default level.

 
For SAP releases 640 and 700, this can be done by navigating to visual admin -> server-> services-> log configurator -> (click on advanced tab) and then click on Installation defaults. This needs to be done for all the server nodes and this will set the trace locations to the severity they were once after the initial installation.

For SAP releases 7.1 and higher, navigate to netweaver administrator ->Configuration Management ->Infrastructure ->Log configurator and then click on "Default configuration". Note that this will overwrite any manual settings that have been in place.

Patch deployment

If the severity has been configured correctly, and if the error still surfaces in the trace files, then make sure that the latest patch for the software component PORTAL FRAMEWORK (EPBC2*.SCA) is deployed on the server. The location of the patch for portal framework (for example purpose SAP release 700 has been taken), login to SAP Service Marketplace -> Browse our Download Catalog ->  SAP NetWeaver and complementary products > SAP NETWEAVER   >    SAP NETWEAVER 7.0   > Entry by Component   >EP Core ->Portal framework and deploy the latest patch for EPBC2*.SCA. This should resolve this case.

Conclusion

 The deployment of the latest patch will make sure that there are no inconsistencies in the portal related content deployed on the engine. Also setting the severity of the traces to the default will enable less logging. Do note that this will delete custom severities set for log locations.

Related Content

Related Notes

SAP Note: 16513 : File system is full - what do I do?

SAP Note: 1589548 : J2EE engine trace files fills up at a rapid pace