Troubleshooting Autofs

Occasionally, you might encounter problems with autofs. This section should improve the problem-solving process. The section is divided into two subsections.

This section presents a list of the error messages that autofs generates. The list is divided into two parts:

• Error messages that are generated by the verbose (-v) option of automount

• Error messages that might appear at any time

Each error message is followed by a description and probable cause of the message.

When troubleshooting, start the autofs programs with the verbose (-v) option. Otherwise, you might experience problems without knowing the cause.

The following paragraphs are labeled with the error message you are likely to see if autofs fails, and a description of the possible problem.

Error Messages Generated by automount -v

bad key key in direct map mapname

Description: While scanning a direct map, autofs has found an entry key without a prefixed /.

Solution: Keys in direct maps must be full path names.

bad key key in indirect map mapname

Description: While scanning an indirect map, autofs has found an entry key that contains a /.

Solution: Indirect map keys must be simple names, not path names.

can't mount server:pathname: reason

Description: The mount daemon on the server refuses to provide a file handle for server:pathname.

Solution: Check the export table on the server.

couldn't create mount point mountpoint: reason

Description: Autofs was unable to create a mount point that was required for a mount. This problem most frequently occurs when you attempt to hierarchically mount all of a server's exported file systems.

Solution: A required mount point can exist only in a file system that cannot be mounted, which means the file system cannot be exported. The mount point cannot be created because the exported parent file system is exported read-only.

leading space in map entry entry text in mapname

Description: Autofs has discovered an entry in an automount map that contains leading spaces. This problem is usually an indication of an improperly continued map entry. For example:

fake
/blat           frobz:/usr/frotz 

Solution: In this example, the warning is generated when autofs encounters the second line because the first line should be terminated with a backslash (\).

mapname: Not found

Description: The required map cannot be located. This message is produced only when the -v option is used.

Solution: Check the spelling and path name of the map name.

remount server:pathname on mountpoint: server not responding

Description: Autofs has failed to remount a file system that it previously unmounted.

Solution: Contact Sun for assistance. This error message is extremely rare and has no straightforward solution.

WARNING: mountpoint already mounted on

Description: Autofs is attempting to mount over an existing mount point. This message means that an internal error occurred in autofs (an anomaly).

Solution: Contact Sun for assistance. This error message is extremely rare and has no straightforward solution.

Miscellaneous Error Messages

dir mountpoint must start with '/'

Solution: The automounter mount point must be given as a full path name. Check the spelling and path name of the mount point.

hierarchical mountpoint: pathname1 and pathname2

Solution: Autofs does not allow its mount points to have a hierarchical relationship. An autofs mount point must not be contained within another automounted file system.

host server not responding

Description: Autofs attempted to contact server, but received no response.

Solution: Check the NFS server status.

hostname: exports: rpc-err

Description: An error occurred while getting the export list from hostname. This message indicates a server or network problem.

Solution: Check the NFS server status.

map mapname, key key: bad

Description: The map entry is malformed, and autofs cannot interpret the entry.

Solution: Recheck the entry. Perhaps the entry has characters that need to be escaped.

mapname: nis-err

Description: An error occurred when looking up an entry in a NIS map. This message can indicate NIS problems.

Solution: Check the NIS server status.

mount of server:pathname on mountpoint:reason

Description: Autofs failed to do a mount. This occurrence can indicate a server or network problem. The reason string defines the problem.

Solution: Contact Sun for assistance. This error message is extremely rare and has no straightforward solution.

mountpoint: Not a directory

Description: Autofs cannot mount itself on mountpoint because it is not a directory.

Solution: Check the spelling and path name of the mount point.

nfscast: cannot send packet: reason

Description: Autofs cannot send a query packet to a server in a list of replicated file system locations. The reason string defines the problem.

Solution: Contact Sun for assistance. This error message is extremely rare and has no straightforward solution.

nfscast: cannot receive reply: reason

Description: Autofs cannot receive replies from any of the servers in a list of replicated file system locations. The reason string defines the problem.

Solution: Contact Sun for assistance. This error message is extremely rare and has no straightforward solution.

nfscast: select: reason

Description: All these error messages indicate problems in attempting to check servers for a replicated file system. This message can indicate a network problem. The reason string defines the problem.

Solution: Contact Sun for assistance. This error message is extremely rare and has no straightforward solution.

pathconf: no info for server:pathname

Description: Autofs failed to get pathconf information for the path name.

Solution: See the fpathconf(2) man page.

pathconf: server: server not responding

Description: Autofs is unable to contact the mount daemon on server that provides the information to pathconf().

Solution: Avoid using the POSIX mount option with this server.

Other Errors With Autofs

If the /etc/auto* files have the execute bit set, the automounter tries to execute the maps, which creates messages such as the following:

/etc/auto_home: +auto_home: not found

In this situation, the auto_home file has incorrect permissions. Each entry in the file generates an error message that is similar to this message. The permissions to the file should be reset by typing the following command:

# chmod 644 /etc/auto_home