Casper Admin Can Not Mount a Distribution Point

Problem:  When attempting to Launch Casper Admin the distribution point will fail to mount and an error is displayed saying "The master Distribution Point (server name) could not be mounted".  It then gives you some tips to resolve the issue.

Solutions:  Follow the tips and check that the correct permissions and passwords are set on the Distribution Point's file share.

One good way to check if the permissions are set correctly is to connect to the server share from another Mac using the "casperadmin" and "casperinstall" accounts.  If you can mount the Distribution Point then the permissions should be OK.

With the Distribution Point mounted launch Casper Admin.  If it opens without an error then your problems are very likely not related to permissions but rather a corrupt or missing symbolic link to the CasperShare folder.

In /Library/WebServer/Documents there is a folder called CasperShare that is a symbolic link to the "real" CasperShare.   If you suspect that the link is corrupt the easiest thing to do is simply delete the symbolic link and create a new one. 

Note: in Casper versions prior to 8.31 you could use the JSS Setup Utility to recreate the symbolic link.  Unfortunately since version 8.31 the JSS Setup Utility has been removed and you have to do the process manually.

To recreate a symbolic link to the CasperShare do the following:

• Open Terminal
• Type "cd/"
•  Type "sudo ln -s /Shared\ Items/CasperShare/ CasperShare" this will create a symbolic link to the CasperShare and put it in the root of the drive
•  Move the CasperShare symbolic link to /Library/WebServer/Documents and replace any existing CasperShare link
• If you do an "Apple-I" to get information on the Symbolic Link you will see that next to "Original" it has the path to the CasperShare

 

After you have recreated the symbolic link launch Casper Admin to test connection to the share.

Remember, you can not launch Casper Admin from the server that hosts the primary Distribution Point.

For a good overview of symbolic links see this article.