sometimes users unable to save - network home folder environment

Help!

We have a believed-to-be robust (1gb to the desktop, 2gb (link
aggregated) at the server) AFP based network home folder environment.
The server is a G5 w/ 6gb ram, running 10.4.8. There is a fail over
server as well.

Ocassionally (meaing just enough to get the president yelling at us
far too loudly), when users open or create documents, they are not
allowed to save. It seems to happen more frequently in Excel, but
we've also seen it in Word. Office version is currently at 11.3.2.

The user side error messages vary between "could not save" and "too
many files open."

While we don't use many other apps other than MS Office apps, we do
use Mail, which doesn't report any problems, saving files/attachments
out of webmail in Firefox, which also doesn't report problems.

There is nothing in the system log or the console, and the AFP log has
no clear indication that a problem has occured; however, the AFP log
is HUGE.

The only way out is to close the unsaved document, reopen, re-make the
changes, and save the document. Re-opening the app is not required.

Thanks in advance for suggestions.

Will O'Neal
http://www.4macsolutions.com