Java or JSP Errors

In the process of using our JSP (Java Service Provider) or programming for Java clients, you might encounter a variety of errors generated by various levels of the system. In rare cases those might be actual problems with the system, but in the vast majority of cases the errors are the system (or the Client-side libraries) telling you that you (or your application) have done something "wrong". In other words, the error messages are guidance to ensure that your actions and your programs are giving the system what it needs (in the right order and format) to complete the tasks that you ask of it.

Keep in mind that there are several levels involved. The SafeNet appliance and its HSM keycard have both software and firmware built in. Among other things, the system software handles the system side of communication between you (either as administrator or as Client) and the HSM on the appliance. In general, a client-side program (or programmer) would not encounter error messages directly from the system. If an error condition arises on the system, the most likely visibility would be error messages in the system logs - viewed by the appliance administrator - or else client-side messages based upon the interaction of the client-side software (ours and yours) with the appliance.

On the client side, the JSP and any Java programs that you use would be overlaid on, and using, the SafeNet library, which is an extended version of PKCS#11, customized to make use of our HSM (the standard itself and the cryptoki library are oriented toward in-software implementation of cryptographic functions, with some generic support of generic HSM functions, leaving room for each HSM supplier to support their own special functions by extending the standard). PKCS#11 is an RSA Laboratories cryptographic standard, and our libraries are a C-language implementation of that standard. You can view all that is known about PKCS #11 error conditions and messages at the RSA website.

See Library Codes for a summary of error codes and their meanings, which includes the SafeNet extensions to the PKCS#11 standard that are specific to our HSM. Note that "error codes" do not usually indicate a problem with the appliance or HSM - they indicate an exception condition has been encountered, possibly because you (or your application) stopped/canceled a requested action before it could complete, provided incorrect or incomplete or wrongly-formatted input data, and so on, or possibly because a network connection has been disrupted, power has failed, or any of a variety of situations has been detected.

The JSP and your Java programming are overlaid on top of the PKCS#11 and SafeNet libraries. An error reported by a Java application might refer to a problem at the Java or JSP level, or the error might have been passed through from a lower level.

If you receive a cryptic error that looks something like:

Exception in thread "main" 
com.safenetinc.crypto.LunaCryptokiException: function 'C_Initialize' returns 0x30

then this error has been passed through from a lower layer and is not a Java or JSP error. You should look in the Error Codes page (link above) or in the PKCS#11 standard for the meaning of any error in a similar format.

In general, we wrap cryptoki exception codes. Most exceptions thrown by the JSP are in accordance with the specification. Check the Javadoc for the API call that threw the exception.

>LunaException is used to report a LunaProvider-specific exception.

>LunaCryptokiException reports errors returned by the HSM. Those might be wrapped in other Exceptions.