"Unable to create folder" on Add Source

[anothersmurf]

I'm trying to add a new source to Retrospect 8.2 for backup. Retrospect client is running on the source I want to add, is turned on, and the firewall on the client allows TCP and UDP traffic from port 497.

 

On the Retrospect Server machine, I click Add Source Directly, type in the IP address and password of the source, and I get a message in red: "Unable to create folder (-1002)". What does this mean? Any thoughts what I might be doing wrong?

 

(Manuals for older versions of Retrospect included a handy chapter on error codes, but the current version's manual lacks that feature, alas.)

 

[Maser]

Haven't seen this but:

 

1) What kind of source are you adding?

 

2) If a Mac, does the computer have a name in the "Sharing" system preference (I had another piece of software crap out because the mac had no "name" -- one you wouldn't have thought cared about it.)

 

3) If it does have a name, does it have some odd characters in the name? Or is there something odd about the name of the *volumes* on the source?

[anothersmurf]

1. Yes, it's a Mac. Running OS X Server 10.6.4.

 

2. Yes, it has a name.

 

3. No strange characters in the name. (Good thought though; I wouldn't be surprised if a / would cause problems, since I recently discovered you can't use that character in a media set name.)

[Maser]

Did you buy the multi-server version of Retrospect that allows you to backup *servers* as clients?

 

If not, that's probably what that error means...

[rhwalker]

What Retrospect client version?

[anothersmurf]

My new tape drive came bundled with Retrospect; Preferences/Licenses shows I have the following:

 

Single Server

Unlimited clients (bundle)

Server Client Pack

All devices

 

The computer running/hosting (terminology?) Retrospect is running 10.6.4 *client*. So my "single server" should be the network one I'm trying to add.

[anothersmurf]

6.3.029. Should be the latest, I pulled it off the website today.

[Maser]

So my "single server" should be the network one I'm trying to add.

 

Nope. That's not the case.

 

"Single Server" means the machine you install it on is the "server" -- which could be OSX Server or OSX Client.

 

Client machines that are "servers" are not considered a "single server"

 

 

That said -- to confirm this, I'd recommend you download a "trial" version of Retrospect -- I believe that comes with a temporary "unlimited" license, so you could install that code and see if you can add your client (server) volume accordingly.

 

 

(I now see that you say you have the "Server Client License", right? If that's installed, then you can backup additional servers as clients. So maybe that's not it? Does the Licenses preference show the "server client license" add-on is installed?)

Edited October 7, 2010 by Guest

[Daniels]

What OS is Retrospect running on, i.e. server or non-server? If it is a server OS and you are trying to backup another server you will the the additional server add-on. If it is straight OS then you should be able to a single server with no problem if you don't have the server client add-on.

[CallMeDave]

it is straight OS then you should be able to a single server with no problem if you don't have the server client add-on.

 

Uh, no.

 

Pleaser re-read Maser's comments above; he is, as he generally always is, correct.

 

From retrospect.com:

 

 

Retrospect Single Server [color:purple]runs on a Mac OS X server[/color] and provides licenses to protect an unlimited number of networked Mac, Windows, and Linux desktops and notebooks. A server client license can be purchased to protect an additional networked Mac, Windows, or Linux server.

[anothersmurf]

What does "Server Client Pack" mean, then? Is there a web page where all this is explained somewhere? (I'd hate to buy a *third* kind of server license and find out that that doesn't let me back up a server either...)

[Maser]

That's why I'm wondering if the installed "Server Client Pack" -- which I've never used -- isn't working here.

 

And that's why I suggest he try a clean install on another computer (if possible) to see if that server client still can't be added correctly.

[Daniels]

I have Retrospect 8 Single Server 20 Clients version running on a non-server 10.5.8. I have one client running a Server OS and I have never had to purchase additional server licenses and the machine backs up itself. However from what you are saying this is actually a bug and I should not be allowed to have this setup or I should need an additional license to backup the server client even though it is the only server being backed up.

According to the descriptions of each version the only versions that are supported on non-servers OSes are Retrospect 8 Multi Server Unlimited Clients and the Retrospect 8 Desktop 3 User.

If you feel that I am that strongly wrong you can try replicating my setup and see what happens.

[anothersmurf]

My setup sounds like yours, except Retrospect is on a 10.6.4 (not server) machine. So maybe the problem somehow has to do with the OS on the computer running Retrospect? I could try setting up a 10.5 machine to test that. I'd hate to have to buy an unlimited client license just to back up one server.

[Daniels]

Do you have a user logged into the server or is it at the log-in screen? The other possibility is did you check permissions and make sure users can create the required folder?

Have you tried creating a folder remotely without using Retrospect and seeing what happens?

In my case my server client is a Windows 2000 Server and I had no trouble setting it up as a client since it was already a client through my Windows Retrospect.

[Maser]

I'm wondering if "Windows 2000 Server" isn't considered a "server OS" in this instance because of some unique program identifier?

 

Unfortunately, I can't test any Windows servers as clients here -- we only have OSX Servers in my area.

[Maser]

My setup sounds like yours, except Retrospect is on a 10.6.4 (not server) machine. So maybe the problem somehow has to do with the OS on the computer running Retrospect? I could try setting up a 10.5 machine to test that. I'd hate to have to buy an unlimited client license just to back up one server.

 

Can you upload a screen-shot of your license listing (with the codes edited out or that column truncated?)

[Daniels]

It is picking the Windows 2000 Server client as a server because when I select it sources it lists its type as server. Retrospect lists all the other clients types including Retrospect's own Hard Drive as desktop.

[anothersmurf]

In general the server is at the login screen, but I've tried being logged in, with the Retrospect Client app running; doesn't help.

 

I don't know what folder is required, what user is trying to create it, or where it's to be created. The server is pretty locked down, and Retrospect isn't a "user" as far as I know, so I don't know whether Retrospect can create a folder on the server (if that's even where it's trying to create the folder) or how I would give it permission to do so. If Retrospect requires access through a port other than 497 for this folder creation, that is almost certainly the problem: what other port(s) need to be open for Retrospect's use?

 

Retrospect itself is being run from a logged-in admin account, so if it's trying to create a folder on the local computer It should have permission to do so, unless the would-be folder is going someplace you'd need root access for.

 

If you know what folder Retrospect might be trying to create & where, I could try creating it manually. (What folder does Retrospect create & where when adding a source?)

[Daniels]

Have you tried uninstalling and re-installing the client software on the server as it sounds like something might not have been installed correctly?

Did you also make sure to allow the client to get through the firewall on the server?

After re-installing see if you can see in it when using Multicast and do not log off the server until the client is added.

[Maser]

Yes, be aware of that bug about the volumes not being seen when at the login screen. I think I confused this thread with another and didn't think to suggest that...

[anothersmurf]

Problem solved, but argh...

 

As I said in my original post, the firewall allowed traffic through TCP & UDP 497, but I was unable to add the client. I tried adding another firewall rule allowing all traffic of any kind from the Retrospect machine. That done, it was possible to add the client. Once the client was added, I could remove the rule allowing traffic to all ports, and backup could take place with only TCP & UDP 497 open to the Retrospect machine.

 

So, access through some additional unknown port(s) is required to add a client, but not to back one up.

 

(It'd be possible to find out which port(s) by logging access to all ports & re-adding the client, but Retrospect 8 being wonky as it is, I don't want to risk removing the server from my Sources list.)

 

Thanks to Maser & Daniels for helping me work this out...

[rhwalker]

So, access through some additional unknown port(s) is required to add a client, but not to back one up.

Nope. Additional [color:red]protocols[/color] (multicast, broadcast) are required to [color:red]see[/color] (i.e., discover) clients for adding them, but you can still add them manually by IP if you can't reach them by multicast / broadcast.

 

Backup is done by ports 497 (udp and tcp) only.

 

Search the Knowledge Base for details (search on multicast or broadcast, or client discovery).

 

If you carefully re-read the thread, this was buried (well, hinted) in a post upthread.

 

Russ

[anothersmurf]

I agree that that was true of Retrospect 6, but it has not been my experience with Retrospect 8.

 

As I said in the post that started this thread, Retrospect wasn't letting me add a the client directly, by typing in the IP address. When I tried, it gave me an error message saying it couldn't create a folder. I tried a number of things, some of which were suggested by contributors to this thread, none of which worked. Only when I changed my firewall rules to allow the Retrospect machine full access, instead of restricting it to 497, was I able to add the client directly, without the "Unable to create folder" error message.

 

If what you say is true, that would mean it is purely coincidental that (1)I got the folder creation error message, (2)I changed the firewall rule, (3)I was able to add the client. That's possible, of course, but it would leave me curious about what happened to suddenly make it work. Have you encountered the "Unable to create folder" error I described and solved it in some other way?

[rhwalker]

Nope, but we don't have firewalls on our LAN - our border is quite well locked down, and access is tightly controlled.

 

Now, there is an additional port involved, but not with adding clients. The Retrospect console (and the Retrospect iPhone app, which is a mini-console) chats with the Retrospect engine over port 22024:

Retrospect console port

 

There is, in fact, a little diagnostic written by one of the Retrospect programmers, that can check out the multicast / broadcast stuff independently of Retrospect:

Multicast Ping

 

You might want to check that out and capture some packets, etc.

 

There's also another firewall lockdown level on Leopard and Snow Leopard, not only opening/blocking ports to the machine, but only allowing ports to be opened by certain applications. The Retrospect installer doesn't seem to handle this right in all cases, and this might be an issue in your case if you upgraded from 8.1 to 8.2, which also involved changing some file names and locations. It's possible that the firewall is only open to the old application. Some people work around this issue by blowing everything away and doing a clean install, which the installer seems to handle. I think that some effort needs to be made to make the installer more forgiving.

 

Russ