eDirectory does not communicate with servers.

  • 3519936
  • 22-Dec-2006
  • 26-Apr-2012

Environment

Novell eDirectory
Novell NetWare 6.5
Novell Open Enterprise Server (NetWare based)

Situation

eDirectory seems to load properly on the NetWare server. Authentication via DSRepair: Advanced Options: Log file and login configuration works properly for users in partitions that the server holds.

Port 524 (eDirectory's default port) does not listen.

When DS is restarted other servers in the replica rings (for which that server holds replicas) may show "Communication Established" temporarily.

Running `ncp addresses` from the NetWare console does not show any addresses.

Running `m ncpip` does not show the NLM running.

Resolution

The ncpip.nlm was not present or was renamed. Normally this is stored in c:\nwserver. If this file is missing eDirectory cannot talk over IP (or IPX if it's ncpipx) and will not communicate with other servers though it works on its own with DSRepair authentication.

The file was either renamed on accident or maliciously. The symptoms of broken eDirectory do not show up until a reboot exposes the inability to load the ncpip.nlm module.