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 why.

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

While scanning a direct map, autofs has found an entry key without a prefixed /. Keys in direct maps must be full path names.

bad key key in indirect map mapname

While scanning an indirect map, autofs has found an entry key containing a /. Indirect map keys must be simple names—not path names.

can't mount server:pathname: reason

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

couldn't create mount point mountpoint: reason

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. A required mount point can exist only in a file system that cannot be mounted (it 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

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

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

The required map cannot be located. This message is produced only when the -v option is used. Check the spelling and path name of the map name.

remount server:pathname on mountpoint: server not responding

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

WARNING: mountpoint already mounted on

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

Miscellaneous Error Messages

dir mountpoint must start with '/'

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

hierarchical mountpoints: pathname1 and pathname2

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

Autofs attempted to contact server, but received no response.

hostname: exports: rpc_err

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

map mapname, key key: bad

The map entry is malformed, and autofs cannot interpret it. Recheck the entry. Perhaps the entry has characters that need escaping.

mapname: nis_err

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

mount of server:pathname on mountpoint:reason

Autofs failed to do a mount. This can indicate a server or network problem.

mountpoint: Not a directory

Autofs cannot mount itself on mountpoint because it is not a directory. Check the spelling and path name of the mount point.

nfscast: cannot send packet: reason

Autofs cannot send a query packet to a server in a list of replicated file system locations.

nfscast: cannot receive reply: reason

Autofs cannot receive replies from any of the servers in a list of replicated file system locations.

nfscast: select: reason

All these error messages indicate problems in attempting to ping servers for a replicated file system. This message can indicate a network problem.

pathconf: no info for server:pathname

Autofs failed to get pathconf information for the path name (see the fpathconf(2) man page).

pathconf: server: server not responding

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

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 similar to this one. The permissions to the file should be reset by typing the following command:

# chmod 644 /etc/auto_home