Stuck replication-sending activities on a DS-System cluster that cannot be stopped from DS-Operator

Stuck replication-sending activities on a DS-System cluster that cannot be stopped from DS-Operator

Machine-distilled from a resolved support ticket on 2026-09-28. Source ref: f69f535f66ac. Verify before relying on it.

Applies to: Multi-node DS-System cluster managed through DS-Operator, observed on DS-System 14.2 before the latest hotfix was applied

Symptom: DS-Operator shows one or more replication-sending activities that stay active for days and cannot be removed. Trying to stop them returns 'not a valid process', or opening the activity says the process has already finished. The Backup Set Locks view (Setup menu, System Activities, System, Backup Set Locks) still shows the related locks held, and backups for the affected backup sets stop running. The condition can clear by itself and later come back.

Cause: Stale replication activities and backup set locks remain registered on the DS-System after the underlying processes have ended. The DS-System cannot release them through the normal stop action. This is believed to be a product defect rather than a configuration error.

Resolution: 1. In DS-Operator, confirm the condition: check Setup menu, System Activities, System, Backup Set Locks and note the locks linked to the stuck replication activities, and how long they have been held. 2. Choose a window when few important activities (such as backups) are running, and get any change approval your maintenance process needs. 3. In DS-Operator, stop all running activities that can be stopped. 4. Stop the DS-System service on all nodes of the cluster. 5. Start the DS-System service on each node one at a time, waiting for each node to come fully up before starting the next. 6. Log in to DS-Operator and check that the stuck replication activities and their backup set locks have gone, then confirm that backups resume. 7. Because the problem can come back, treat the restart as a workaround. Apply the latest available DS-System hotfix for your version and ask [redacted:org-name] whether it includes a fix for stale replication locks. Raise it with [redacted:org-name] if the problem continues after patching.