Errors on file append on CIFS mounted Apple Time Capsule

[Rune Nakim]

Binary package hint: samba

Running Jaunty Alpha 6 Live CD
smbfs: 2:3.3.1-1ubuntu1

$ lsb_release -rd
Description: Ubuntu jaunty (development branch)
Release: 9.04

$ uname -a
Linux ubuntu 2.6.28-9-generic #31-Ubuntu SMP Wed Mar 11 15:43:58 UTC 2009 i686 GNU/Linux

Mounted Apple Time Capsule:
$ sudo mount -t cifs -o username=test,password=test //capsule/test /mnt/test

Two different error messages when appending to a text file:
'Input/output error' and 'write error: Bad file descriptor'.

Executed the following commands at /mnt/test:
tshark packet capture from these tests is attached.
---
$ echo "1 2 3" > test
$ cat test
1 2 3
$ echo "4 5 6" >> test
$ cat test
1 2 3
cat: test: Input/output error

$ echo "1 2 3" > test2
$ echo "4 5 6" >> test2
bash: echo: write error: Bad file descriptor
---

Found this in /var/log/kern.log:
Mar 15 21:18:05 ubuntu kernel: [ 1577.323054] CIFS VFS: Write2 ret -9, wrote 0

$ cat /proc/fs/cifs/DebugData
Display Internal CIFS Data Structures for Debugging
---------------------------------------------------
CIFS Version 1.55
Active VFS Requests: 0
Servers:
1) Name: 10.0.0.1 Domain: MSHOME Uses: 1 OS: Apple Base Station
 NOS: CIFS 4.32 Capability: 0x207c
 SMB session status: 1 TCP status: 1
 Local Users To Server: 1 SecMode: 0x3 Req On Wire: 0
 Shares:
 1) \\capsule\test Mounts: 1 Type: FAT32 DevInfo: 0x0 Attributes: 0x3
PathComponentMax: 255 Status: 0x1 type: 0

 MIDs:

---
Comments 82 and 88 to bug #286828 describes the same problem, but I could not find the separate bug requested in comment 85, so I report this.

Bug: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/samba/+bug/286828
Comment 82: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/samba/+bug/286828/comments/82
Comment 88: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/samba/+bug/286828/comments/88

[Thierry Carrez (ttx)]

Thanks for reporting this bug !

After some research, Apple Time Capsule is implementing its own CIFS server, with lots of issues. On a similar kind of issue, James Peach, an Apple developer working on the Samba project, recommended[1] following this procedure:

Go to <http://developer.apple.com/bugreporter/> and log a bug against the TIme Capsule. It would be best to attach a packet trace to the bug. Follow the instructions here: <http://wiki.samba.org/index.php/Capture_Packets>

This is probably not a bug in Ubuntu Samba since only Time Capsule shows this behavior. I'll mark this bug as Invalid : if Apple can point back to an issue in the Samba client side, please feel free to reopen this bug !

[1] http://<email address hidden>/msg98930.html

[Rune Nakim (rnakim)]

Apple Bug ID# 6730635.

[Thierry Carrez (ttx)]

Rune: Cool ! is there any public-access webpage where we could follow progress on that ?

[Rune Nakim (rnakim)]

It seems I can only access my own bug reports, but I will keep you updated if I get any replies.

[simonm (simon-mullis)]

Any news on this? It's a real issue for me! Exactly the same problem - Time Capsule, Jaunty. Append issues.

[Rune Nakim (rnakim)]

I got the following e-mail from Apple dated 26 June:

---
This is a courtesy email regarding Bug ID# 6730635.

Engineering believes that this issue has been addressed in Time Capsule and AirPort Base Station Firmware 7.4.2. Please verify with this release, and update this report with your results.

Time Capsule and AirPort Base Station Firmware 7.4.2:
June 23, 2009
http://support.apple.com/downloads/
---

I did a quick test on my main installation of Jaunty, and it seems that the problem has been fixed. But I will do some more tests when I get the chance.

[Rune Nakim (rnakim)]

Retested and verified.

Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope Live CD.

$ uname -a
Linux ubuntu 2.6.28-11-generic #42-Ubuntu SMP Fri Apr 17 01:57:59 UTC 2009 i686 GNU/Linux

smbfs 2:3.3.2-1ubuntu3

Time Capsule Firmware 7.4.1 : Fails as described.
Time Capsule Firmware 7.4.2 : No longer fails.

[simonm (simon-mullis)]

Yep - works now for me too with the updated Time Capsule  firmware - 7.4.2

Thanks

SM