1: Revision level of your software...ie: Do you have NetWare 4.11, not 4.10
2: Do you have the latest patches? Refer to the minimum patch list on the Support Connection. http://support.novell.com | Minimum Patch List
3. If you are experiencing NDS errors in NetWare Administrator, or in NDS Manager, try rebooting the workstation and relaunching these utilities.
The GUI utilities, along with Client32, sometimes cache old information on the workstation. This cache needs to be flushed by rebooting the workstation. Common errors seen include -631, -601, -625, and -632.
3. Other things to look for:
-625 ERRORS
Check for SAP filtering of the DS SAP types of
26B and 278. Check cabling, the LAN card, and the LAN driver. Ensure that
users can login to the target server from the same segment as the source
file server. Make sure that they can RCONSOLE to the target server. Does
typing DISPLAY SERVERS on the source server show the target server? Are
other servers also showing this -625 error to the same target server? Can
workstations attach and login to the target server from the same segment
as the source server? Have them type RESET ROUTERS and then type SET DSTRACE=*U
at the source server to flag all servers as UP and retry communicating
with them. This error is almost ALWAYS a LAN issue. Occasionally a change
of the server's name, a server is down, a move of the server object, or
a change to the internal ipx number can also cause this error. Run DSREPAIR
with the option to repair network addresses on the source server to check
the internal ipx number of the target server--the change may not have completed
successfully.
This error will also been seen when trying to
communicate with servers having locked databases. If the 625 error comes
and goes. It may be a connection problem. Do the following type SET DSTRACE=!Z8
then LOAD SPXCONFG I=4000
See TID 2909017 for additional -625 Troubleshooting tips.
OBITUARIES
Most obituaries are caused by a server not being notified that a change to an objects has taken place. You should use the latest available version of dsrepair and use the option to check external references on the master replica of the partition. This will generate a list of all obituaries on the server. Review this list searching for any line with a flag=0 value. The server listed below this value has not been contacted. You can then begin to find the problem with that server. It could be that tts is disabled, the server is down, filtering may be causing a problem or the server may not even exit but the server object is still in the tree. By checking these issues almost all obituary problems can be resolved. If you are using the ds.nlm 5.95 or higher you can use a set dstrace=*st and it will report back information in the dstrace screen on what servers are having the problems with obits.
See TID 2942837 for troubleshooting -637 errors (stuck Inhibit_move obituaries)
4. Utilities to use:
DSRepair, NDS Manager, DSDiag and DSTrace can
be used to find problems in your tree. See the Aug 1997 appnote "Maintaining
a Healthy NDS tree"
5. Documents to review:
The following Novell Application Notes:
Nov 1993: "Time Synchronization"
Feb 1994: "Naming Standards for NDS"
Jan 1995: "Planning an NDS tree"
Mar 1995: "Using DSMERGE"
Aug 1995: "Backing Up and Restoring NDS in NetWare
4"
Aug 1995: "Troubleshooting Tips for NetWare Directory
Services"
Apr 1996: "NDS Performance" and "NDS Tree Design"
Aug 1997: "Maintaining a Healthy NDS Tree"
The following TIDs explain how to use DSTrace:
TID 2909019
TID 2909026