IBM Support

About ClearCase servers configured with multiple IP addresses

Troubleshooting


Problem

This technote explains why IBM Rational ClearCase hosts running on UNIX or Linux configured with multiple IP addresses can cause the error, cleartool: Error: Unable to contact albd_server on host 'myserver', along with recommendations to resolve the problem.

Symptom



After starting the ClearCase daemons, attempts to mount public VOBs yield the following errors:

Mounting public VOBs...
cleartool: Error: Unable to contact albd_server on host 'myserver'
cleartool: Error: Unable to find albd_server.
Trouble mounting public VOBs(32:1)

Cause


If your host has more than one IP address, ClearCase uses what is returned by the method you have predetermined, such as nslookup, to match hostname with IP address. While these methods may include DNS, NIS/NIS+, or local files, chances are that you are not going off local files.

Diagnosing The Problem

  1. On the host referenced in the albd error (myserver), cat the /etc/hosts file and look at the IP address.

    Example:

    %cat /etc/hosts                            
    127.0.0.1             localhost.localdomain localhost
    aaa.bb.ccc.
    dd         myserver   myserver.rational.com

  2. Run nslookup to determine which IP address is returned.

    Example:

    % nslookup myserver
    Server:  nis3.rational.com
    Address: aaa.bb.ccc.dd


    Name:    myserver.rational.com
    Address: aaa.bb.ccc.
    ee

    Note: The host myserver returns 2 entries. One named nis3 and the other myserver.

Resolving The Problem

Change the IP address for the hostname in /etc/hosts.

  • If you are using NIS/NIS+, put the actual IP address returned by nslookup
  • If you are using DNS, copy the relevant entry from the DNS server's routing table

Example:
aaa.bb.ccc.dd         myserver   myserver.rational.com

[{"Product":{"code":"SSSH27","label":"Rational ClearCase"},"Business Unit":{"code":"BU053","label":"Cloud & Data Platform"},"Component":"ALBD","Platform":[{"code":"PF002","label":"AIX"},{"code":"PF010","label":"HP-UX"},{"code":"PF015","label":"IRIX"},{"code":"PF016","label":"Linux"},{"code":"PF027","label":"Solaris"}],"Version":"2002.05.00;2003.06.00;7.0;7.0.1;7.1;7.1.1;7.1.2","Edition":"","Line of Business":{"code":"LOB45","label":"Automation"}}]

Document Information

Modified date:
16 June 2018

UID

swg21134492