KB294388777: MediaBeacon - Multiple Instances Referencing a Single Shared Files Directory

Summary

MediaBeacon uses a specific directory (usually named "MBAssets") to house all assets. If multiple instances of MediaBeacon are pointed to the same directory major issues can arise.

Symptoms

Upon starting MediaBeacon an error message is displayed: “Error: there is a duplicate MediaBeacon pointed at MBAssets.”

This message appears when either of the following are true:

1. Multiple instances of MediaBeacon are running and trying to use the same SQL database.

2. A configuration was migrated from one environment to another and a false positive of “the database MediaBeacon is using is already in use by another instance of MediaBeacon” was introduced by accidentally migrating the m-userinfo\MediaBeacon_registry.xml file.

   1. Please refer to "How to Migrate Config from One Environment to Another” article for full instructions.

Solution

Shut down all MediaBeacon instances involved.

1. Open the m-userinfo/MediaBeacon_registry.xml file (relative to the configured Shared Files Directory in MediaBeacon).
2. Delete the following row from the MediaBeacon_registry.xml file (Search for “dirpath” to locate):
   <Record>
<Field name=”j77c_name”><! [CDATA [mb.running.instance.dirpath]]></Field><Field name=”j77c_value”><! [CDATA(C:\\Users\\Administrator\\MBAssets]]></Field></Record
<Record>
3. Note: Your path may be different than what is listed above.
4. Delete the m-userinfo/m-uid file (relative to the configured Shared Files Directory in MediaBeacon).
5. Create a new database, OR delete the following row from the j77t_registry table:
   DELETE FROM j77t_registry WHERE j77c_name=’mb.running.instance.dirpath’;
6. Proceed with the Startup of MediaBeacon.