Re: [NFS] Please help with NFS on Kubuntu Karmic 9.10

[Rob Gardner <rob.gardner@hp.com>]

Larry Alkoff wrote:
> Rob Gardner wrote:
>   
>> Larry Alkoff wrote:
>>     
>>> Rob Gardner wrote:
>>>  
>>>       
>>>> Larry Alkoff wrote:
>>>>    
>>>>         
>>>>> I am unable to connect with Kubuntu netbook remix Karmic 9.10.
>>>>>
>>>>> I have seen many posts and articles on this issue.
>>>>>
>>>>> The problem seems to be centered around the nfs version being used
>>>>> and I have placed the following 2 lines in /etc/fstab:
>>>>>
>>>>> kata:/          /mnt/kata       nfs     defaults,noauto,nfsver=2  0 0
>>>>> kata:/home      /mnt/kata/home  nfs     defaults,noauto,nfsver=2  0 0
>>>>> kata is the netbook server which I am trying to mount on the client
>>>>> called arriba which runs on Kubuntu 8.04 LSB.
>>>>>
>>>>> Most of the posts I have read say to add 'nfsver-2' to the fstab lines.
>>>>> However on both client and server, cat /proc/filesystems |grep nfs
>>>>> shows only:
>>>>> nodev nfs
>>>>> nodev nfs4 and
>>>>> nodev nfsd.
>>>>>
>>>>> It seems that this problem appears when people upgrade to (K)ubuntu 
>>>>> 9.10
>>>>> from an earlier version.  In my case, this is a new netbook and I 
>>>>> loaded the most recent version Kubuntu 9.10.  Efforts to load 
>>>>> Kubuntu 8.04 LTS
>>>>> which I use on my other machines failed - possibly because of the 
>>>>> limited facilities on this small HP 110 Netbook.
>>>>>
>>>>> This result happens on both server kata and client arriba.
>>>>> I don't know that the 'nodev' means.
>>>>>
>>>>> I would like to add either nfs2 or nfs3 but have no idea how to specify
>>>>> this in apt-get or aptitude.
>>>>>
>>>>> I'd also like to add that I have used Linux desktops and nfs for 
>>>>> years (mostly on the command line) and believe it's setup correctly.
>>>>>
>>>>> Please I am requesting troubleshooting advice.
>>>>> It's getting really old to have to use a thumb drive to transfer files.
>>>>>
>>>>> Larryalk
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>         
>>>>>           
>>>> Just pointing out that you do not actually state what the problem is 
>>>> beyond "unable to connect". It might help if you described the 
>>>> symptoms a little further, ie, "I see mount error -13 on the 
>>>> console". For what it's worth, I think the "nodev" thing is a red 
>>>> herring; I see the same thing on my ubuntu server, and I can mount 
>>>> its exported filesystems just fine.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Rob Gardner
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>     
>>>>         
>>> Hi Bob.
>>>   
>>>       
>> It's Rob.
>>
>>     
>>> Here is what I have found so far.
>>>
>>> I was able to mount kata / and /home about 1/2 hour ago.
>>> I used the mount to make a comparison between 2 files on kata.
>>>
>>> However, the next thing I tried to do (an ls I think)
>>> the connection hung up.  Every time I attempt to cd to the mount,
>>> konsole locks up and I have to quit the session.
>>>
>>> In /var/log/syslog and messages I have repeated instances of:
>>>
>>> Dec  5 15:58:50 arriba kernel: [164159.298317] nfs: server kata not 
>>> responding, still trying
>>>
>>> In /var/log/kern.log repeated instances of:
>>> Dec  5 15:58:50 arriba kernel: [164159.298317] nfs: server kata not 
>>> responding, still trying
>>>
>>> I have a feeling that I have told nfs to use nfsver=2 and I don't 
>>> actually have nfsver=2.  However, I don't know how to find out
>>> what I do have except for what /proc/filesystems tells me.
>>> And I don't know how to load another version of the nfs system.
>>>
>>> I've read a _lot_ of posts of Karmic users complaining that nfs won't 
>>> run.  Some have said it won't run unless you add nfsver=2 to the fstab 
>>> line but it's not working for me.  One person posted that he was able to
>>> change to nfsver=4 and I might try that since it's listed in 
>>> /proc/filesystems but I thing nfs4 needs kerberos to run properly.
>>> I have zero experience with that.
>>>
>>> It's kind of a big mess and I'm amazed that the Ubuntu people have not 
>>> jumped on this since nfs is so crucial but I haven't heard a word.
>>>
>>> I thought it would be a good idea to load Karmic on this netbook which 
>>> would prepare me for all the UI changes that have been made until the 
>>> LTS version coming in April but apparently not such a good decision.
>>> I have a big meeting Monday with the tax accountant and I don't dare 
>>> to try and load something else coz I'll need the netbook.  I'll 
>>> probably just go to the meeting and turn over any files he wants on a 
>>> thumb drive.
>>>
>>> Here are a couple of urls on the problem:
>>>
>>> http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=8398721#post8398721
>>>     Man claims to have a working nfs but I don't understand what he's 
>>> doing.
>>> https://help.ubuntu.com/community/NFSv4Howto
>>>     Changing to nfs4 seems very complicated
>>> http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1308241
>>>     Many peoples experiences on mounting nfs in nfs3
>>>     which isn't even on my list.
>>>
>>>
>>> Thanks for trying to help,
>>> Larryalk
>>>
>>>   
>>>       
>> It's still not too clear what the problem is from those urls. Only the 
>> last one actually describes any problems, and some of them are mount 
>> problems. It sounds like your trouble can be boiled down to "nfs works 
>> for a while, then doesn't." The one situation in the last url that 
>> sounded like that turned out to be the server's ip address changing. 
>> Have you confirmed that this isn't happening in your situation?
>>
>> Personally, I'm skeptical about the nfsver=2 suggestion. Versions 2 and 
>> 3 are in the same linux kernel module, so it would take some specific 
>> effort on the server to make nfsv3 fail while nfsv2 works ok.
>>
>> Here's what I'd recommend to troubleshoot this further. First, when the 
>> connection "hangs", make sure the server's ip address is still valid. 
>> Can you ping the server? How about "rpcinfo -p"? It should show the 
>> usual services, ie, portmapper, nfs, mountd, etc. Could there be another 
>> server with the same ip address on the network? Or could it just be a 
>> generic network issue, ie, bad switch port? If all that looks ok, could 
>> it be a loss of access to the filesystem on the server? Log in to the 
>> server and check that the exported file systems are accessible. You can 
>> also enable debug output from nfs. On the client "echo 65535 
>>  >/proc/sys/sunrpc/nfs_debug" and on the server "echo 65535 
>>  >/proc/sys/sunrpc/nfsd_debug". Then try the connection again and look 
>> for debug messages on the console or in /var/log/messages. There might 
>> be a hint about what the problem is. Post anything you feel is 
>> "interesting".
>>
>> Rob Gardner
>>
>>
>>     
>
> Hello Rob.
>
> Well I've had quite a ride but the problem is solved.
> Trouble is, I'm not really sure how.
>
> While troubleshooting using your suggestions above, Karmic popped up and 
> said there were some critical updates.  They seemed to be most lib files
> but there was no indication what they did.
>
> IAC, after that NFS started working properly so I'm going to ASSume
> that Canonical fixed the problems that so many users were complaining 
> about upgrading from Jaunty to Karmic.  In my case, I installed Karmic 
> from scratch.
>
> I even removed 'nfsver=3' from my entries in fstab and it's still rock 
> solid.
>
> Thanks very much for your help on this.  I'm saving this email with your 
> troubleshooting suggestions in case of need in the future - several of 
> your tips were new to me.
>
> Gratefully,
> Larryalk
>   


Glad I was able to solve your problem. ;)


Rob Gardner


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