NFS Error Messages
This section shows an error message that is followed by a description of
the conditions that should create the error and at minimum one remedy.
Bad argument specified with index option - must be a file
Solution:
You must include a file name with the index option. You cannot use
directory names.
Cannot establish NFS service over /dev/tcp: transport setup problem
Description:
This message is often created when the services information in the namespace has
not been updated. The message can also be reported for UDP.
Solution:
To fix this problem, you must update the services data in the namespace.
For NIS+, the entries should be as follows:
nfsd nfsd tcp 2049 NFS server daemon
nfsd nfsd udp 2049 NFS server daemon
For NIS and /etc/services, the entries should be as follows:
nfsd 2049/tcp nfs # NFS server daemon
nfsd 2049/udp nfs # NFS server daemon
Cannot use index option without public option
Solution:
Include the public option with the index option in the share command. You must
define the public file handle in order for the index option to work.
Note - The Solaris 2.5.1 release required that the public file handle be set by
using the share command. A change in the Solaris 2.6 release sets
the public file handle to be root (/) by default. This error
message is no longer relevant.
Could not start daemon: error
Description:
This message is displayed if the daemon terminates abnormally or if a system
call error occurs. The error string defines the problem.
Solution:
Contact Sun for assistance. This error message is rare and has no straightforward
solution.
Could not use public filehandle in request to server
Description:
This message is displayed if the public option is specified but the NFS
server does not support the public file handle. In this situation, the mount
fails.
Solution:
To remedy this situation, either try the mount request without using the public
file handle or reconfigure the NFS server to support the public file handle.
daemon running already with pid pid
Description:
The daemon is already running.
Solution:
If you want to run a new copy, kill the current version and
start a new version.
error locking lock file
Description:
This message is displayed when the lock file that is associated with a daemon
cannot be locked properly.
Solution:
Contact Sun for assistance. This error message is rare and has no straightforward
solution.
error checking lock file: error
Description:
This message is displayed when the lock file that is associated with a daemon
cannot be opened properly.
Solution:
Contact Sun for assistance. This error message is rare and has no straightforward
solution.
NOTICE: NFS3: failing over from host1 to host2
Description:
This message is displayed on the console when a failover occurs. The message
is advisory only.
Solution:
No action required.
filename: File too large
Description:
An NFS version 2 client is trying to access a file that
is over 2 Gbytes.
Solution:
Avoid using NFS version 2. Mount the file system with version 3 or
version 4. Also, see the description of the nolargefiles option in mount Options for NFS File Systems.
mount: ... server not responding:RPC_PMAP_FAILURE - RPC_TIMED_OUT
Description:
The server that is sharing the file system you are trying to
mount is down or unreachable, at the wrong run level, or its rpcbind
is dead or hung.
Solution:
Wait for the server to reboot. If the server is hung, reboot the
server.
mount: ... server not responding: RPC_PROG_NOT_REGISTERED
Description:
The mount request registered with rpcbind, but the NFS mount daemon mountd is
not registered.
Solution:
Wait for the server to reboot. If the server is hung, reboot the
server.
mount: ... No such file or directory
Description:
Either the remote directory or the local directory does not exist.
Solution:
Check the spelling of the directory names. Run ls on both directories.
mount: ...: Permission denied
Description:
Your computer name might not be in the list of clients or
netgroup that is allowed access to the file system you tried to mount.
Solution:
Use showmount -e to verify the access list.
NFS file temporarily unavailable on the server, retrying ...
Description:
An NFS version 4 server can delegate the management of a file to
a client. This message indicates that the server is recalling a delegation for
another client that conflicts with a request from your client.
Solution:
The recall must occur before the server can process your client's request. For
more information about delegation, refer to Delegation in NFS Version 4.
NFS fsstat failed for server hostname: RPC: Authentication error
Description:
This error can be caused by many situations. One of the most difficult
situations to debug is when this problem occurs because a user is in
too many groups. Currently, a user can be in no more than 16
groups if the user is accessing files through NFS mounts.
Solution:
An alternate does exist for users who need to be in more than
16 groups. You can use access control lists to provide the needed access
privileges if you run at minimum the Solaris 2.5 release on the NFS
server and the NFS clients.
nfs mount: ignoring invalid option “-option”
Description:
The -option flag is not valid.
Solution:
Refer to the mount_nfs(1M) man page to verify the required syntax.
Note - This error message is not displayed when running any version of the mount
command that is included in a Solaris release from 2.6 to the
current release or in earlier versions that have been patched.
nfs mount: NFS can't support “nolargefiles”
Description:
An NFS client has attempted to mount a file system from an
NFS server by using the -nolargefiles option.
Solution:
This option is not supported for NFS file system types.
nfs mount: NFS V2 can't support “largefiles”
Description:
The NFS version 2 protocol cannot handle large files.
Solution:
You must use version 3 or version 4 if access to large files
is required.
NFS server hostname not responding still trying
Description:
If programs hang while doing file-related work, your NFS server might have failed.
This message indicates that NFS server hostname is down or that a problem
has occurred with the server or the network.
Solution:
If failover is being used, hostname is a list of servers. Start
troubleshooting with How to Check Connectivity on an NFS Client.
NFS server recovering
Description:
During part of the NFS version 4 server reboot, some operations were not
permitted. This message indicates that the client is waiting for the server to
permit this operation to proceed.
Solution:
No action required. Wait for the server to permit the operation.
Permission denied
Description:
This message is displayed by the ls -l, getfacl, and setfacl commands
for the following reasons:
If the user or group that exists in an access control list (ACL) entry on an NFS version 4 server cannot be mapped to a valid user or group on an NFS version 4 client, the user is not allowed to read the ACL on the client.
If the user or group that exists in an ACL entry that is being set on an NFS version 4 client cannot be mapped to a valid user or group on an NFS version 4 server, the user is not allowed to write or modify an ACL on the client.
If an NFS version 4 client and server have mismatched NFSMAPID_DOMAIN values, ID mapping fails.
For more information, see ACLs and nfsmapid in NFS Version 4.
Solution:
Do the following:
Make sure that all user and group IDs in the ACL entries exist on both the client and server.
Make sure that the value for NFSMAPID_DOMAIN is set correctly in the /etc/default/nfs file. For more information, see Keywords for the /etc/default/nfs File.
To determine if any user or group cannot be mapped on the
server or client, use the script that is provided in Checking for Unmapped User or Group IDs.
port number in nfs URL not the same as port number in port
option
Description:
The port number that is included in the NFS URL must match the
port number that is included with the -port option to mount. If the
port numbers do not match, the mount fails.
Solution:
Either change the command to make the port numbers identical or do not
specify the port number that is incorrect. Usually, you do not need to
specify the port number with both the NFS URL and the -port
option.
replicas must have the same version
Description:
For NFS failover to function properly, the NFS servers that are replicas must
support the same version of the NFS protocol.
Solution:
Running multiple versions is not allowed.
replicated mounts must be read-only
Description:
NFS failover does not work on file systems that are mounted read-write. Mounting
the file system read-write increases the likelihood that a file could change.
Solution:
NFS failover depends on the file systems being identical.
replicated mounts must not be soft
Description:
Replicated mounts require that you wait for a timeout before failover occurs.
Solution:
The soft option requires that the mount fail immediately when a timeout starts,
so you cannot include the -soft option with a replicated mount.
share_nfs: Cannot share more than one filesystem with 'public' option
Solution:
Check that the /etc/dfs/dfstab file has only one file system selected to be
shared with the -public option. Only one public file handle can be established
per server, so only one file system per server can be shared with
this option.
WARNING: No network locking on hostname:path: contact admin to install server change
Description:
An NFS client has unsuccessfully attempted to establish a connection with the network
lock manager on an NFS server. Rather than fail the mount, this warning
is generated to warn you that locking does not work.
Solution:
Upgrade the server with a new version of the OS that provides complete
lock manager support.
