Impala cannot read or execute dfs.domain.socket.path

When setting up Coordinator Only Impala Daemons, if those Impala Daemons do not have DataNode assigned to them, Impala will fail with error:

Invalid short-circuit reads configuration:
  - Impala cannot read or execute the parent directory of dfs.domain.socket.path
Aborting Impala Server startup due to improper configuration. Impalad exiting.

This article will example what we can do about it.

The reason for the failure is because due to the missing DataNode role, the socket path dfs.domain.socket.path is not setup on the host, when Impala starts up with default config of “dfs.client.read.shortcircuit” = true, it will fail as the path does not exist.

The solution to this issue is to set “dfs.client.read.shortcircuit” to false for all Coordinator Only Impala Daemon hosts. Please follow below instructions:

1. Create a new role group by going to CM > Impala > Configuration > Role Groups:
   
   
2. Add all coordinator only impala daemon hosts to this group:
   
   
3. Now go to CM > Impala > Configuration page again and update “Impala Daemon HDFS Advanced Configuration Snippet (Safety Valve)” for this new “Coordinator Only Roles” group:
   
   
4. Then restart affected Impala Daemon services