The file transfer is stalled - unable to connect to port 3725 on IP address

  • 7009155
  • 11-Aug-2011
  • 01-Aug-2017

Environment

Novell PlateSpin Forge
Novell PlateSpin Migrate
Novell PlateSpin Protect
 
Source workload is Microsoft Windows 2003 or earlier.

Situation

When attempting to run a migration or replication (whether full or incremental) the job enters a recoverable error state with the following message:
 
The file transfer is stalled - unable to connect to port 3725 on IP address %IPAddress%
 
Further investigation into the running portion of the job, via the diagnostics, will show this error message:
 
Only one usage of each socket address (protocol/network address/port) is normally permitted
 
If possible rebooting the source workload temporarily resolves this issue.

Resolution

There are two possible resolutions for the error messages discussed.
 
Solution 1:
 
Modify the following registry key DWORD (or create it if it does not exist) on the source workload:
 
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\MaxUserPort
 
The default value for the MaxUserPort DWORD is 5,000 (decimal). Increase this value as appropriate, to a maximum of 65,534 (decimal) and reboot the source machine.
 
Solution 2:
 
1. Run the following command:
 
netstat -ano (or netstat -an if using Windows 2000 or earlier)
 
2. Determine if a process is using port 3725 and record the process ID
3. Using the Task Manager determine what process is using the recorded process ID
4. If the process is not OFXController.exe or OFXControllerExecution.exe, a configuration change is required (either to stop that software from using port 3725 or to utilize a different file transfer port as per this TID)
5. If the process utilizing port 3725 is one of those listed in step 4, disable the Windows Firewall service on the source workload or create a rule allowing port 3725 to pass through the firewall server.

Additional Information

This issue can be caused by the limitation set in the MaxUserPort DWORD.  This regulates the highest ephemeral port (port numbers above 1024) available to a workload.  The default maximum of 5,000 is typically enough to ensure that port 3725 is not in use.  If the server requires a large number of simultaneous connections (e.g. a FTP server or web server) this default value will no longer be enough and further connections will be denied or the required ports will already be in use. Rebooting the source workload will only resolve the issue temporarily; it will eliminate all current connections, but the limit will quickly be reached again.
 
This issue can also be caused by a firewall configuration blocking port 3725 or from a process already utilizing port 3725.