I wrote that after cfs mkmount /coda/software/JAVA software.JAVA
I saw /coda/software/JAVA -> #software.JAVA
The manual said wait for 5 minutes, I waited for much longer.

One machine on the network that replicated volumes was in the
state that venus would die because /coda was already mounted,
but "umount /coda" said that the directory was busy.  No processes
were inside that directory, aside from perhaps the kernel.  The
command fuser -v /coda gave an error so I could not get more information
about who was using coda.  I had stopped and started all the other
processes related to code, without solving the problem.  The fact
that the machine hold replicated volumes may not be relevant because
the problem seems to have been venus.  So to summarize, if venus
is foobar on just one machine, it may not be possible to create
new volumes.  The solution was to reboot the machine, HOWEVER, this
machine is used for running numerical simulations and rebooting
required waiting a day.

By the way, Brice Ruth recommened
 cfs mkmount <volume> <mountpoint>
but what worked for me is the other way around.
 cfs mkmount /coda/software/JAVA software.JAVA for example.

Alan Scheinine scheinin_at_crs4.it