See below for how to troubleshoot the main issues.

Connectivity issues

As explained in Timestamping Authority overview, the Timestamping Authority connects with:

  • The system clock service (which is provided by the chrony connection to an NTP server).
  • An HSM

To check the connection with these components, run the tsactl check clock and tsactl check hsm commands.

Error: Another instance of tsactl is running

You can encounter the following error when creating or deleting a key.

Error: Another instance of tsactl is running create-key or delete-key

In that case:

  1. Ensure there is no other instance of tsactl performing any of those operations.

  2. Re-run the command with the FORCE_MUTEX_OPERATION environment variable set to 1. For example: 

    sudo FORCE_MUTEX_OPERATION=1 ./tsactl create-key -k RSA2048

    Running a command with FORCE_MUTEX_OPERATION set to 1 can override the changes made by another tsactl running instance.