Troubleshooting -608 errors using iMonitor

Error: 608 -608 0xFFFFFDA0 FDA0 64928 = ERR_ILLEGAL_ATTRIBUTE
-608 (remote) error performing synchronization of a particular object
Troubleshooting -608 errors using iMonitor

The first thing you have to determine is which server is the one that is reporting the 608 error. In contrast to a Dsrepair "Report Synchronization" report that checks for each replica of each ring present on the server, the synchronization status report of iMonitor reports the errors of the local replicas only. Dsrepair may still be the fastest way to find out which partition has the synchronization problem. With that information, you can choose with iMonitor the Agent Synchronization submenu, choose there the problem partition and click on Replica Synchronization.

iMonitor will show you the list of replicas for that partition in the local server. In the menu in the left hand-side (lower part) you can choose which server you want the report from. Go through each of the servers and determine which one is reporting the 608 error. It will normally also point to a given object, which may be different to the one that dsrepair reported. This is normal, because dsrepair will tell you which was the last object to be sent, which may not be the problem object.

Click on the problem object to go to that particular entry on the problem server. In the left hand-side of the screen you will have an Entry sub-menu. Choose the option "Validate Entry". This will trigger a validation of the object and will let you know which attribute is the one that is causing the problem.

With that information in mind, you can continue your troubleshooting by:

 - Checking for schema differences between the servers in the ring. You can do so from the schema sub-menu and choosing the attributes option and the Base class options and then compare the problem server with others.

 - Checking the object class definition for the problem object to try to determine if the problem is that an object class definition is missing or is incorrect.

 - You may want to check how many objects are affected by the problem with the Search feature. For example, you may want to search for all objects with the problem attribute, or for objects with the attribute and that don't have the corresponding schema class (you will need the advanced search options for this). Keep in mind that a 608 error will be reported only for the first object that the synchronization process found, but many objects may be affected by the problem.

Having checked this information you will be able to know whether you have a problem with your schema definitions or with some objects and also how many objects are affected. From there you may want to decide to correct the schema definitions, to let dsrepair strip the information out of the problem objects or to generate an LDIF file that will complete the problem objects. Look for more information on your troubleshooting options on the previoulsy mentioned  TID 10076447, A Guide to Identifying and Resolving -608 errors .

A 608 error when synchronizing a particular object indicates that one of the attributes that are being currently synchronized doesn't conform with the current schema either on the sending or the receiving server. Sometimes detecting which attribute is the one that is causing the problem can prove challenging (for more information on the problem itself and how to detect in a trace which attribute is invalid, have a look at TID 10076447, A Guide to Identifying and Resolving -608 errors )
Formerly known as TID# 10092294