Transport Problems


This section describes problems that can occur during the transport phase of synchronization.

Error Messages

The messages in Table 12 are generated by the mkorder, mkreplica, shipping_server, and syncreplica commands.

Table 12 Shipping Error Messages
Error message
Meaning
cannot find a storage bay for class 
class-name: no such bay specified
No storage bay is assigned to storage class class-name in the shipping.conf file or the MultiSite Control Panel.
cannot find a storage bay for class 
class-name: all applicable bays are 
either inaccessible or do not contain 
byte-count free bytes
Lack of permission or lack of free disk space prevents use of storage bays for class class-name.
cannot process potential order file 
shipping-order-pname: user username (UID 
uid) is not the owner
(UNIX) The shipping server is not running as root, and username does not own the shipping order file.
cyclic delivery route detected to 
host hostname (via next-hop-hostname) 
for order shipping-order-pname 
The shipping order lists next-hop-hostname as a previous hop in the packet’s delivery route. If the packet is sent to next-hop-hostname (which is specified in a ROUTE entry in the shipping.conf file or in the Routing Information section in the MultiSite Control Panel), it will eventually come back to the current host. Check the routing information on the hosts in the delivery path and fix any circular routes.
file file-pname does not contain a 
valid shipping order
The shipping server attempted to process a file that is not a shipping order.
for security reasons, shipping order 
shipping-order-pname cannot be 
processed: data file file-pname must be 
in the same directory as the shipping 
order
A shipping order and its associated packet file must be in the same directory.
giving up trying to return order 
shipping-order-pname to host hostname 
(original data file was file-pname) 
The shipping server cannot return a packet or other file to its original sending host (for example, because its shipping order expired) and has deleted the shipping order and data file.
ignoring shipping bay 
storage-bay-pname: reason 
The storage bay directory specified in the shipping.conf file or MultiSite Control Panel doesn’t exist or is inaccessible.
shipping order shipping-order-pname not 
found (perhaps previously sent?)
During receipt handler processing, the shipping server cannot find the shipping order of a packet that is to be forwarded to another host. A shipping_server –poll invocation may have sent the packet already. (If the packet is to be applied to replicas on the host, the imports occur before the packet is forwarded. This leaves a window of opportunity for a scheduled polling operation to send the packet.)

Invalid Destination

The local host’s hosts file, hosts NIS map, or Domain Name Service must list one of the following hosts:

Note: If hosts in your network are known only by their IP addresses, you can use the IP addresses instead of host names.

In the absence of such entries, the shipping server fails, because it cannot determine where to deliver the packet. In this case, it writes error messages to its log file (UNIX) or the Windows Event Viewer.

If the destination host name was misspelled, use the mkorder command to create a new shipping order with the correct host name. If a host name is misspelled in a mkreplica –export command, the incorrect host name is recorded. Verify the error with lsreplica –long, and correct the spelling with chreplica.

In other cases, you may have to revise the host’s database of remote hosts. The sending host must be able to communicate with the receiving hosts through TCP/IP channels. Use the rcp command on the sending host to copy a file to the receiving host. If it fails, you have a setup or networking problem with your host. If the command succeeds, contact Rational Customer Support.

Delivery Fails

Each time the shipping server cannot deliver a packet to a valid destination host, it logs error messages:

If the problem is temporary (remote host is down, network connections are down, and so on), a subsequent invocation of shipping_server –poll will transmit the packet successfully. If the problem is not temporary, the shipping order may expire eventually.

Shipping Server Fails to Start or Connection Is Refused

If the shipping server on the receiving host does not start or the connection is refused, check the albd_server log on the receiving host for an explanation of the failure.

A syntax error in the shipping.conf file on UNIX can cause the connection to be refused. For example, if there is an incorrect e-mail address in the file, the albd_server log displays an error like this:

Error: shipping_server(9951): Error: syntax error in configuration 
file (line 60)

Shipping Order Expires

If the shipping server finds that a shipping order has expired, it attempts to return the packet to the originating host. Also, it sends a mail message to one or more administrators on the original sending host, and sends another mail message when the packet is returned to the original sending host. On Windows, if e-mail notification is not enabled, the shipping server writes a message to the Windows Event Viewer.

Use the lspacket command to check the return bays on your host. The packet files may have been returned by store-and-forward. If so, try again to deliver the packet:

If the packet files are not in your host’s return bays, they may be in transit. Search for the files immediately, because a packet that cannot be returned to its originating host within 14 days is deleted.