pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleException

Unable to load job entry of type 'ping' exists from the…

Error message

Unable to load job entry of type 'ping' exists from the repository for id_jobentry=

What it means

JobEntryPing.loadRep wraps any KettleException thrown while reading the ping entry's attributes from the repository into a KettleException with message 'Unable to load job entry of type ping exists from the repository for id_jobentry=' + id. The database exception is the cause. It signals repository deserialization of the ping entry failed.

Solutions

  1. Inspect getCause() for the underlying KettleDatabaseException and fix DB connectivity/corruption
  2. Check r_jobentry_attribute rows exist for the id_jobentry and re-save the entry from Spoon
  3. Verify repository schema version matches the installed Pentaho version

Example fix

// before
entry.loadRep(rep, metaStore, idJobentry, databases, slaveServers);
// after
try {
  entry.loadRep(rep, metaStore, idJobentry, databases, slaveServers);
} catch (KettleException e) {
  logError("Cannot load ping entry " + idJobentry + ": " + e.getCause(), e);
}
Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

// before loadRep
rep.connect();
if (rep.getJobEntryObjectId(id_jobentry) == null) throw new KettleException("Job entry row missing");

Try / catch

try {
  entry.loadRep(rep, metaStore, idJobentry, databases, slaveServers);
} catch (KettleException e) {
  logError("Cannot load ping entry from repo: " + e.getCause(), e);
  // re-save entry from Spoon or recreate it
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Calling loadRep (directly or via repository job load) when rep.getJobEntryAttributeString/Boolean for hostname, port, timeout, nbrpaquets, or pingtype throws KettleException — DB failure or corrupt/missing attribute rows.

Common situations: Repository DB unreachable when opening a job; attribute rows for the ping entry missing after a failed save; schema key mismatch after a Pentaho upgrade.

Understand the failure class

Background: Database query failed: Internal Server Error 500s wrapping SQL, Prisma, and connection failures — what to check first — this error's family across 16 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/90290e1f73aa2f3c. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/job/entries/ping/JobEntryPing.java:174

        nbrPackets = nbrPaquets;
      }
      timeout = rep.getJobEntryAttributeString( id_jobentry, "timeout" );

      pingtype = rep.getJobEntryAttributeString( id_jobentry, "pingtype" );
      if ( Utils.isEmpty( pingtype ) ) {
        pingtype = classicPing;
        ipingtype = iclassicPing;
      } else {
        if ( pingtype.equals( systemPing ) ) {
          ipingtype = isystemPing;
        } else if ( pingtype.equals( bothPings ) ) {
          ipingtype = ibothPings;
        } else {
          ipingtype = iclassicPing;
        }
      }
    } catch ( KettleException dbe ) {
      throw new KettleException(
        "Unable to load job entry of type 'ping' exists from the repository for id_jobentry=" + id_jobentry, dbe );
    }
  }

  public void saveRep( Repository rep, IMetaStore metaStore, ObjectId id_job ) throws KettleException {
    try {
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), "hostname", hostname );
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), "nbr_packets", nbrPackets );

      // TODO: The following line may be removed 3 versions after 2.5.0
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), "nbrpaquets", nbrPackets );
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), "timeout", timeout );
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), "pingtype", pingtype );
    } catch ( KettleDatabaseException dbe ) {
      throw new KettleException(
        "Unable to save job entry of type 'ping' to the repository for id_job=" + id_job, dbe );
    }
  }

View on GitHub (pinned to f3058517a1)