If policy fails, all subsequent policies fail due to 'unable to mount.'

[CCNapier]

Hi all,

We are just getting our Casper install sorted after the jumpstart. I am aware there are various posts about being unable to mount the share (SMB), but I think my problem is a little more unique.

I'm testing policies, and sometimes I get them wrong. If a policy fails for some reason which is NOT mount related (for example my package was faulty), it gives me the "Policy Failed to Run" box. Fair enough.

However, if I then try to run the same policy again, or another policy, I continue to get the "Policy Failed to Run" box, but the logs show that it failed to mount the distribution point.

I'm unsure why it is not dismounting after a FAILED policy, but dismounts fine with a SUCCESSFUL policy.

• JSS 9.81
• SMB Distribution Point
• Mac OS X 10.10.5 Clients

Any advice is appreciated!

[scottb]

When this happens @CCNapier so this:

ls /Volumes

Do you see more than one CasperShare there?

[CCNapier]

@scottb, yes, more than likely - I understand what the error means (it can't mount because there is likely already a share there OR there is a Kerberos ticket issue), but that will be a nightmare to manage if a policy fails on potentially hundreds of machines...

[CCNapier]

@scottb Hmm, I just performed another test and it failed to dismount once a policy ran successfully.
This will be a real problem in a live environment from Self Service.

Why is it not dismounting, and how can I resolve that? We can't roll out Casper if users have to reboot after each policy...

[scottb · Accepted solution]

Well, @CCNapier - we alleviated that mostly by using IP addresses and getting rid of special characters in the two JSS accounts (CasperAdmin and CasperInstall).

Worth a try if you have not done this. We have all SMB Windows shares, FWIW.

[CCNapier]

@scottb - OK, that's some sound advice.
We are not using DFS, but are using FQDN in the share so I'll change that to IP to test (unsure about our resilience status on our NAS - it may change IP if there is a failure).

There are no special characters in the username - but definitely in the password.

I'll post results back, for those who are interested.

Thanks.

[thoule]

I recommend you switch from SMB to HTTP. It'll be more seamless and can restart in the event a download in interrupted. I think (https://jamfnation.jamfsoftware.com/article.html?id=309) documents how to enable IIS.

[scottb]

@CCNapier - I meant characters in the passwords - sorry, was on a call when I posted that.

[CCNapier]

@thoule We use NAS for storage like this, rather than an actual Windows box. I'm unsure if we can make a Windows box with IIS point to a NAS storage as it's repository? Also I'm a little concerned because our jumpstart when with the SMB method and there was no mention of possible client end issues.

I assume that SMB mounting is still a supported method? Perhaps I should log a ticket if the problem persists.

[scottb]

@CCNapier - any update on those changes? SMB works fine, but there are issues with JSS and mounting them at times...

[CCNapier]

@scottb I have changed to IP and changed the password, all seems to be OK at the moment, but I am going to do some more testing tomorrow (distracted today). I'll mark as solved if OK! Thank you

[scottb]

@CCNapier - good to hear. Not worried about the "solved" thing but glad to see it helped you. We had this issue too, and helping someone else avoid/fix it is great. Hoping it gets resolved at the software level at some point though...

[CCNapier]

All working perfectly. Also, Casper Admin is behaving better with mount/dismounting.
Thanks for the infornmation.