Troubleshooting UUCP

These procedures describe how to solve common UUCP problems.

How to Check for Faulty Modems or ACUs

You can check if the modems or other ACUs are not working properly in several ways.

1. Get counts and reasons for contact failure by running:

   uustat -q

2. Call over a particular line and print debugging information on the attempt.

   The line must be defined as direct in the /etc/uucp/Devices file. (You must add a telephone number to the end of the command line if the line is connected to an autodialer or the device must be set up as direct.) Type:

   cu -d -lline

   where line is /dev/cua/a.

How to Debug Transmissions

If you cannot contact a particular machine, you can check out communications to that machine with Uutry and uucp.

1. To try to make contact by typing:

   /usr/lib/uucp/Uutry -r machine

   Replace machine with the host name of the machine you are having problems contacting. This command:

   1. Starts the transfer daemon (uucico) with debugging. You can get more debugging information if you are root.

   2. Directs the debugging output to /tmp/machine.

   3. Prints the debugging output to your terminal by issuing:

      tail -f

      Press Control-c to end output. You can copy the output from /tmp/machine if you want to save it.

2. If Uutry doesn't isolate the problem, try to queue a job by typing:

   uucp -r file machine\!/dir/file

   Replace file by the file you want to transfer, machine by the machine you want to copy to, and /dir/file where the file will be placed on the other machine. The r option queues a job but does not start the transfer.

3. Issue:

   Uutry

   If you still cannot solve the problem, you might need to call your local support representative. Save the debugging output; it will help diagnose the problem.

You might also want to decrease or increase the level of debugging provided by Uutry through the -x n option, where n indicates the debug level. The default debug level for Uutry is 5.

Debug level 3 provides basic information as to when and how the connection is established, but not much information about the transmission itself. Debug level 9, on the other hand, provides exhaustive information about the transmission process. Be aware that debugging occurs at both ends of the transmission. If you intend to use a level higher than 5 on a moderately large text, contact the administrator of the other site and agree on a time for doing so.

Checking the UUCP /etc/uucp/Systems File

Verify that you have up-to-date information in your Systems file if you are having trouble contacting a particular machine. Some things that might be out of date for a machine are its:

• Phone number

• Login ID

• Password

Checking UUCP Error Messages

UUCP has two types of error messages: ASSERT and STATUS.

• When a process is aborted, ASSERT error messages are recorded in /var/uucp/.Admin/errors. These messages include the file name, sccsid, line number, and text. These messages usually result from system problems.

• STATUS error messages are stored in the /var/uucp/.Status directory. The directory contains a separate file for each remote machine your computer attempts to communicate with. These files contain status information on the attempted communication and whether it was successful.

Checking Basic Information

Several commands are available for checking basic networking information:

• Use the uuname command to list those machines your machine can contact.

• Use the uulog command to display the contents of the log directories for particular hosts.

• Use the uucheck -v command to check for the presence of files and directories needed by uucp. This command also checks the Permissions file and outputs information on the permissions you have set up.