Error message in Log: nertPInstMake: wrong serial number: sought

[137492415EB68DE1E040000A2A666149 2]

Has anyone seen this error? It's showing up in the full log quite frequently (today's log anyway), but I can't tell you exactly HOW frequently, because my log is filled already for today…

 

There is no timestamp on these entries… I can ballpark from the events that run on either side…but that's not really ideal.

 

nertPInstMake: wrong serial number: sought ###-####-####-####, but found #-####-####-####-###

 

 

I've submitted a support request, I couldn't find anything in the KB, forums, or internet.

[Mayoff 124]

This happens if the client itself thinks it is conflicting with another client. This can sometimes happen if you clone a computer or if you use the migration assistant to copy an old Mac to a new Mac.

 

Try to remove the client from the source list of Retrospect. Then add it again.

 

If needed, the client may have to be uninstalled and reinstalled. (After the uninstall, delete the retroclient.state file inside library/preferences)

[137492415EB68DE1E040000A2A666149 2]

This could be troublesome, since there is no indication (in an office of 70 computers and 5 servers) which client it could possibly be! It would be helpful if the error log reported what machine name it *thought* it was looking for, even a hardware serial number… user account names… anything at all.

[twickland 69]

This could be troublesome, since there is no indication (in an office of 70 computers and 5 servers) which client it could possibly be!

I'm assuming that all your clients, including the problematic one, were originally able to be added to the Sources list in Retro 9, and were backed up successfully at least once.

 

Try going to the Reports> No backup in 7 days window and look at the Last Backup column. You're looking for a source client whose most recent backup occurred before the problem arose. This will hopefully narrow down your choices.

 

Then go to the Sources window, highlight these source clients one by one, and click on the Summary tab in the Details pane to see if anything appears to be anomalous with this information. When you find the oddball, click on "Refresh." If this is indeed the problem client, it should generate the same error message you saw during the backup.

[twickland 69]

This happens if the client itself thinks it is conflicting with another client. This can sometimes happen if you clone a computer or if you use the migration assistant to copy an old Mac to a new Mac.

It can also happen if you reinstall the client software.

 

Retro 6 kindly informed us whenever it detected a client conflict; Retro 8/9 is not so friendly. It's silent when accessing the client in the sources window, and when attempting a browse in this window, it only indicates that the "source is busy or not available." As Syssup notes, the only place you see more information about the trouble is in the log, and the error message there is not helpful to us users.

[BillyR 0]

I am seeing this same error. I get a run of them in the log yet there seems to be no issue with getting the systems all backed up. I did not clone or migrate any systems or copy the client from one machine to another. They were all clean installs. While it does not seem to be a problem I would rest easier having it resolved. I would also like to be able to tell on which machine the server is seeing this issue. Lastly why so many occurrences of this error in a consecutive manner?

[137492415EB68DE1E040000A2A666149 2]

I'm dreading the manual love I think this is going to require.

 

Yes, we have many cloned computers - it's survival in a multi-city, multi-office WAN. Why the clients can't figure it out…on their own, I don't know. I find a lot of clients have IP conflicts, even if the name in Retro Client is unique.

 

We have users that may be out of office for an extended time, and when they return, backups are crucial, but I can't rely on the system to pick them up because their IP changes, I have to RE-ADD them to the source list - but I did find a small workaround. If the client has been previously registered in the sources, I go to add, then enter the IP the user is at now, and it updates the source, so I don't have to completely re-create the source.

 

Why the client can't do this by itself…?

[mastercam 4]

This happens if the client itself thinks it is conflicting with another client. This can sometimes happen if you clone a computer or if you use the migration assistant to copy an old Mac to a new Mac.

 

Try to remove the client from the source list of Retrospect. Then add it again.

 

If needed, the client may have to be uninstalled and reinstalled. (After the uninstall, delete the retroclient.state file inside library/preferences)

 

What does this warning/error do exactly?

 

Does it limit backup/restore capabilites?

 

I'm seeing it in our Windows environment and need to know what to check and how to resolve.

[Mayoff 124]

This text in the log may have no actual impact on your backup operations. You have to check the logs to see if you have errors connecting to clients or backing up clients.

[David W Lee 13]

As Robin has replied before me, the key is whether there are actual errors connecting to or backing up clients, such as "Can't access volume XXX on YYY, error -525 ( wrong client found at that address)". If there are indeed such errors, use Console to remove and re-add the specifically named Client named in the list of Sources.

 

(Latest corrections are in red.)

 

Regarding the Client serial number itself:

The Client serial number is auto generated and saved in Client's /Library/Preferences/retroclient.state retclient.dat the first time when a Server adds the Client to the list of Sources. From that point on:

 

- Client side: The serial number should remain unchanged until you manually delete it. Recent versions of "Uninstall OS X Client" tool do not delete is invoked and deletes /Library/Preferences/retroclient.state.

 

- Server side: The serial number obtained from each newly added Client is stored in the ConfigXX.dat and ConfigXX.bak files until the corresponding Client is removed in Console's list of Sources. If the ConfigXX.dat file is corrupted somehow (possibly during a Engine crash), that can cause mismatch with the Clients' serial numbers.

 

we have many cloned computers - it's survival in a multi-city, multi-office WAN... the name in Retro Client is unique.

 

That is fine as long as the cloned Client computers have unique names shown in Retrospect Client and get added by a Retrospect Server after cloning.

 

 

Retro 6 kindly informed us whenever it detected a client conflict; Retro 8/9 is not so friendly. It's silent when accessing the client in the sources window, and when attempting a browse in this window, it only indicates that the "source is busy or not available." As Syssup notes, the only place you see more information about the trouble is in the log, and the error message there is not helpful to us users.

 

Points noted. We will plan to improve the error message to include the Client name, and possibly (TBD) show each Client's serial number in Retrospect Client and Console.

[David W Lee 13]

Sorry, please see corrections in red above.