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 and /etc/services, the entries should be as follows:

nfsd    2049/tcp    nfs    # NFS server daemon
nfsd    2049/udp    nfs    # NFS server daemon

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.

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 SMF Repository.

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: Use the share command to make sure that 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.