Cache initialization fails with "Invalid LDIF, root entry<ou> not found in the LDIF file" message in the logs

PROBLEM:

Why is my persistent cache initialization failing with the error: "Invalid LDIF, root entry <ou> not found in the LDIF file"?

SOLUTION: 

A couple of possible reasons the cache might fail with the error message in the Task_Initialization_logs are:

1. Incorrect Pre-Processing Filter

The pre-processing filter should not eliminate the root entries attributes. You must include the parent dn's objectclass in the filter. 
 
For eg: I have a pre-processing filter "(objectclass=organizationalunit)" for o=companyprofiles. This doesn't have the parent's objectclass. The cache initialization for this proxy fails with the below error in the logs

ERROR com.rli.tasks.KillableTask:88 - [ERROR] 
java.lang.Exception: Invalid LDIF, root entry o=companyprofiles not found in the LDIF file 

Example of pre-processing filter,

(|(objectclass=person)(objectclass=group)(objectclass=organizationalunit)(objectclass=Domain)(objectclass=container))

2. Root entries are not present in the LDIF file while using the "Use an existing LDIF file on the server" option.

Verify the contents of your LDIF file to make sure all root entries are present.