Stale NFS file handle

[Jonathan Caplette]

Hi all...

I got another problem, this time with a file copy over an NFS filesystem. When I do a "cp" of my file from a server, where is an NFS mounted FS, I got this error:

cp: cannot close /nfs/bar100/upl.ready: Stale NFS file handle

Does anybody have a clue???

regards
Jonathan

[Santosh Nair_1]

Stale NFS file handles are usually the result of the NFS server no longer thinking that its serving to you. Verify that the server is indeed exporting this filesystem to the client using the showmount -a servername. Then try exporting the filesystem from the server and/or remounting the filesystem on the client side.

-Santosh

[Sanjay_6]

Hi Jonathan,

Have a look at the thread below for the details on the error message you are getting.

http://docs.hp.com/cgi-bin/fsearch/framedisplay?top=/hpux/onlinedocs/B1031-90048/B1031-90048_top.html&con=/hpux/onlinedocs/B1031-90048/00/00/42-con.html&toc=/hpux/onlinedocs/B1031-90048/00/00/42-toc.html&searchterms=troubleshooting&queryid=20011001-124756

Hope this helps.

thanks

[Sachin Patel]

As Nair says it is exporting problem. Server is not exporting file systems.
It could be permission problem too, Server is exporting file systems but client doesn't have proper permissin to use it.

Sachin

[Jonathan Caplette]

hi again...

On my client I got this error:

vmunix: NFS server not responding still trying

It doesn't say this all the time.. but I got this error oftenly in my syslog... I explain my situation, my server is here a the office where I am, and my client is in another office... I was wondering if NFS is not strong enought to keep the link between those two box... cause the it have to pass throught routers, and a RNIS link....

clue anyone...

thanks..

[Robert S. White]

The Stale handle can indicate the file is gone or a communication problem. From your second entry, I would say there is a very good chance that your problems are being caused by some sort of communication problem.

This might be a good time to use NFS version 3 TCP. HP did not include support for the TCP protocol until early 2000 although it did include NFS version 3 in HP-UX releases starting in 1993. Remember NFS Version 2 uses strictly UDP to communicate whereas NFS version 3/TCP defaults to TCP to communicate. Although TCP packets have larger headers, the size of the packets are larger and there tends to be less traffic on the network (i.e. less collisions).
Both the server and the client must have NFS/TCP installed for it to work.
Issue the command rcpinfo -s to each host.
If NFS/TCP is installed, there should be a line in the response:
100003 3,2 udp,tcp nfs superuser
if NFS/TCP is not installed then the following
100003 3,2 udp nfs superuser

Other way to check is to look in
/etc/rc.config.d/nfsconf for the NFS_TCP=1 entry as well as in /etc/services for the entries:
nfsd 2049/udp # NFS remote file system
nfsd 2049/tcp # NFS remote file system

Last time I checked, to install NFS/TCP you needed to start with PHNE_23833. Go to us-support2.external.hp.com/wpsl/bin/doc.pl to check though.

Try it, You'll like it! :)

[Jonathan Caplette]

Hi Robert...

I check out and the NFS/tcp is not installed on my HP-UX box, I think I will install it, but my problem of Stale NFS, is between one of my HP box and an old SCO Unix 3.2, so I don't think that SCO have NFS/TCP???