10.4 Transport Problems

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

Error Messages

The messages in Table 14 are generated by the mkorder, mkreplica, shipping_server, and syncreplica commands.

Invalid Destination

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

• Destination host

• Next-hop host corresponding to the destination host (on UNIX, defined in a ROUTE entry in the host's shipping.conf file; on Windows, defined in the Routing Information section in the host's MultiSite Control Panel.)

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, shipping_server fails, because it cannot determine where to deliver the packet. In this case, it writes error messages to its log file.

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 in the VOB database. 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 Technical Support.

Delivery Fails

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

• (On UNIX) In file /var/adm/atria/log/shipping_server_log and writes a message to the terminal device, if there is one.

• (On Windows) In the Windows event viewer. It writes log messages to file ccase-home-dir\var\log\shipping_server_log.

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 at the receiving site 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, shipping_server writes a message to the Windows event viewer and records the error in the ccase-home-dir\var\log\shipping_server_log file.

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:

• Fix the store-and-forward packet-delivery mechanism (for example, by fixing the network connection). Then, use mkorder to create a new shipping order for each physical packet file in the return bay.

• If you cannot fix the store-and-forward mechanism, deliver the packet by some other means. For example, copy the packet file to a diskette, and mail the diskette to the remote sites.

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 home host within 14 days is deleted.