Dell Unity: tar command returns "Cannot utime: Invalid argument" for files stored on Dell Unity NFSv4 shares
Summary: Tar commands on certain client OS platforms or Linux Kernel revisions return the error "Cannot utime: Invalid argument" when run against files stored on Dell Unity NFSv4 shares
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Symptoms
Tar commands on certain client OS platforms or Linux Kernel revisions return the following error when run against files stored on Dell Unity NFSv4 shares.
Cannot utime: Invalid argument
Cause
A code issue causes an invalid nsec value of 4294967295 (0xFFFFFFFF) to be returned in GETATTR responses.
Resolution
A review of packet captures or strace output is required to confirm this issue.
These are the options for remediation:
Workaround:
1) Different OS distributions and kernel versions can be tried to see if the problem exists there as well.
2) The shares can be mounted with NFSv3.
Fix:
Unity OE 5.2.x contains the fix for this issue.
Customers should contact Dell Technologies or their service provider and reference this article if help is needed.
Affected Products
Dell EMC Unity FamilyArticle Properties
Article Number: 000193761
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 29 May 2025
Version: 3
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