RDSS Troubleshooting Guide

RDSS Troubleshooting Guide#

This guide describes how to fix common issues with using the Research Data Storage Service (RDSS). If you don’t see your specific issue here, or still need help after troubleshooting, contact us.

I Can’t Connect to RDSS#

If you are the only user that has access to the share who is having this problem, follow the steps below. If no one can connect to the share, the share may have been configured improperly; email rdss-help@northwestern.edu .

Are You Connected to the Correct Network?#

You can connect to RDSS from on or off campus, but RDSS only accepts network connections from a specific range of IP addresses. Your IP address is determined by how you’re connected to the internet. Check that you are connected to an approved network.

If you cannot connect to RDSS while using a wired campus Ethernet connection, contact your local IT support for assistance. You can find this information under “Schools and Units” on the right-hand side of the main Service Manager Portal page .

Do You Have Access to the Share?#

To connect to RDSS, a share owner or manager must have given you access to the share you’re trying to access.

  • For RDSS users, check with the share owner to make sure that they have granted you access to their RDSS share. If you don’t know who owns the share you are trying to access, email rdss-help@northwestern.edu

  • For FSMResFiles users, contact Feinberg IT to determine if you have access to the folder you are trying to access.

Have You Updated Your NetID Password Lately?#

If you have updated your NetID password recently, your computer might be trying to connect with your old password.

Is Your Connection Request Reaching the RDSS server?#

Your computer must be able to communicate with the Research Data Storage Service servers in order to connect successfully. If you are on the campus network or Global Protect VPN and still cannot connect, you may be experiencing one of the following issues:

  • Your computer may not be translating the RDSS server name into the correct IP address.

  • Port 445, which is required for the CIFS protocol used by RDSS, may be blocked.

  • Firewall rules on your computer or local network may be blocking your request from reaching the RDSS servers.

The following sections will walk you through troubleshooting steps and potential next actions to restore your connection to RDSS.

Check your DNS configuration#

When you connect to RDSS using a server name (for example, resfiles.northwestern.edu), your computer contacts a DNS server to look up that name and translate it into a numeric IP address. If the DNS server cannot translate the name and or gives an incorrect IP address, your computer will not be able to reach the RDSS server even if the server is working normally.

You can test whether the server name is being translated correctly by using the nslookup command.

To run nslookup:

  • On Windows, open PowerShell

  • On MacOS or Linux, open Terminal

Run the following commands.

Test Your Server Translation

If you are trying to connect to a ResFiles share

nslookup resfiles.northwestern.edu

If you are trying to connect to a ResFilesAudit share

nslookup resfilesaudit.northwestern.edu

Your results should look like this

Server:	lev-ns-1.northwestern.edu 

Address: 129.105.49.132 

 
Non-authoritative answer: 

Name: resfiles.northwestern.edu 

Address: 129.105.180.137

In the non-authoritative answer section, look at the Address field.

If the translation is successful, you should see an IP address within one of the ranges below:

resfiles server IP range

  • 129.105.180.130 – 129.105.180.132

  • 129.105.180.135 – 129.105.180.156

resfilesaudit server IP range

  • 129.105.180.98 – 129.105.180.126

If your nslookup result fails or the returned IP address is not within the expected ranges:

  • Make sure you are connected to Northwestern’s wired network, campus Wi-Fi, or VPN.
    If you are not connected, connect to an approved network and run the nslookup test again.

  • Clear your computer’s local network configuration. This process is called flushing your DNS cache.
    Note: Flushing your DNS cache removes all cached DNS entries on your device, which may briefly disrupt name resolution until the cache rebuilds.

Use the commands below to flush your DNS cache.

Windows PowerShell

ipconfig /flushdns

MacOS (Terminal)

sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

After flushing your DNS cache retry the nslookup test.

If the listed IP address is in that range and you still cannot connect to RDSS

Please proceed to the next section.

If the IP address is not in the expected IP range after flushing your DNS cache

Your device is being directed to the wrong server. Please contact rdss-help@northwestern.edu and we can perform additional troubleshooting.

Check for firewalls#

Even if your computer can translate the RDSS server name into the correct IP address, your computer or network may still have firewall rules that block the connection. RDSS uses the SMB protocol, which requires TCP port 445. If that port is blocked, your computer will not be able to reach the RDSS servers.

For the connection to succeed:

  • Your computer must be able to reach the RDSS server IP range (you must pass the nslookup test).

  • Port 445 must be open and accessible.

To test whether port 445 is open and accessible to the RDSS servers, run the following command.

Windows PowerShell

Test-NetConnection -ComputerName resfiles.northwestern.edu -Port 445

If successful, you should see: TcpTestSucceeded: True

MacOS (Terminal)

nc -zv resfiles.northwestern.edu 445

If successful, you should see: Succeded

If the port 445 test fails, please contact rdss-help@northwestern.edu and we can perform additional troubleshooting.

I Can’t Write Files to RDSS#

If you have been able to read/write to the share in the past

If you can connect to RDSS but are unable write files, try disconnecting the share and then reconnecting the share.

If you have never been able to read/write files to RDSS

If others who have access can read/write to the share, make sure you have access to the share:

  • For RDSS users, check with the share owner to make sure that they have granted you access to their RDSS share. If you don’t know who owns the share you are trying to access, email rdss-help@northwestern.edu

  • For FSMResFiles users, contact Feinberg IT to determine if you have access to the folder you are trying to access.

If no one can read/write to the share, your share may have been configured improperly, email rdss-help@northwestern.edu .

I Can’t See My RDSS Files in Globus#

Remount the Share to the Data Transfer Node#

The most common reason why users can’t see their RDSS files in Globus is that they don’t have their share mounted on the Globus node. If you’re getting a “permission denied” error, this might be the case. See Using the RDSS Globus Endpoint for instructions on how to mount your share.

Reconfigure your Mount Point#

If your share is mounted on the Globus data transfer node, your mount point may be set incorrectly. This is most commonly an issue for users of FSMResFiles. If you are seeing some of the files you should have access to but not others, this might be the case. Email globus-help@northwestern.edu with the full path of each share/folder you need access to.

See the Globus RDSS Troubleshooting section for more information.