The nicisdi.xlm module shipped as part of NICI 2.x or later does an improved job of authenticating and checking rights, among other enhancements in conjunction with Novell eDirectory. Together with the directory services rights management changes at install time, some changes were inevitable, and backward compatibility is broken. This is an issue when installing a new server with a version of NICI earlier than 2.x, such as NetWare 5.x server, into a tree with a Security Domain Server (the server listed in the Security.KAP.W0 container) running NICI 2.x or later. The new server being installed into the existing tree fails when trying to connect and get a copy of the tree key. This error occurs during the final file copy and shows up as part of the certificate server installation.There will not be a fix for this error, because fixing it would reduce the overall security. However, there is a workaround. These steps assume that a NetWare 5.x server is installed into a 6.x tree.
Install the NetWare 5.1 server in its own tree.
Update to NICI 2.0.1 or later (the one that shipped with NetWare 6.0) after the installation is completed.
Uninstall the directory on the NetWare 5.x server.
Delete the sys:system\nici\nicisdi.key file.
Install the NetWare 5.x server into the NetWare 6.0 directory tree.
Create the server certificates via the PKI management console for this server.
Configure LDAP,/etc.