Mapping drives over Linksys WRV54G VPN

same issue if you use ip address instead of NetBIOS name?

error on the event viewer ?

any updates on the linksys quickvpn software ?

What is your internet connection speed (upstream & downstream) of the server side as well as the client's side? Are you using an Active Directory domain or p2p network?

Try LMHOSTS file on a client and see if it works

How to Write an LMHOSTS File for Domain Validation and Other Name Resolution Issues
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q180/0/94.ASP 

I have seen this problem before, just a  different situation / hardware.  I am not familiar with the Linksys WRV54G, but I know several other Linksys models have a place to adjust the MTU size.  Try turning that size down from 1500 to something like 1260.  

Also if using XP clients take the tick of QoS in your network protocol settings, then in your AV software on the clients make sure it is not scanning network drives.  both of these will result in seeming to "hang" or "fail" while the problem is just traffic over heads.

lastly - don't use your VPN for file access if you have ADSL for example that has great downstream speed but slow upstream and if your client is on dialup well you real speed will be 0.05% of a local LAN speed.  Use your VPN as proof identidity to then access the files as FTP or Term Server, remote control of computers (VNC or PCanywhere) or up date offline folders (which I think do delta chnages only).

Map the drive to the UNC address ie. 192.168.1.101; can you ping using the UNC?
also make sure that your net works are on different network subnets 192.168.1.0 and 192.168.2.0

I think most of the suggestions are invalidated by the info in the first post:

lmhosts:  unlikely, since this seems to be an SMB, rather than NMB issue
AV consuming all bandwidth:  unlikely - most AV is not configured to scan network drives by default
Bandwidth in general:  unlikely - mapping a drive with actual contents doesn't take that much more bandwidth.  Also, I've done
  such things over connections as small as 128kbps.
AD/p2p:  Unlikely - this does not appeat to be a name resolution problem
IP addr instead: See previous two remarks about how this doesn't seem to be a NMB issue

MTU:  Now we are getting somewhere - a minimal data exchange works, but a larger request does not - MTU is certainly a possibility.

I would ask a few more questions, ie:
Does local drive mapping/filesharing work OK at each site?
Is this the only VPN in place?  If not, do the other VPNs exhibit similar behaviour?
Have you tried using a sniffer (ie Ethereal) to watch exactly what is happening at the packet level?
What happens when you try to access the share with a "Start->Run-> \\myserver\myshare" style command?
Does the VPN work for other transfer types (ie FTP, POP, etc...)?
Is there no possibility that a local permission issue (or local personal firewall setting) is causing this?

Cheers,
-Jon

I believe it could be bandwidth. If you are connecting to a directory with many files in it it takes ages to build up the directory structure if the bandwidth is low. With AD/p2p it is mainly a problem you get while authenticating to your domain. A lot of data is transmitted and the user profile etc needs to be upgraded, if you are synchronizing a home directory this can take ages as well. This can cause your system took appear as having crashed.

>If you are connecting to a directory with many files in it

That's a false assumption - this problem apparently occurs if there is *any* content in the share, regardless of how little...

>With AD/p2p it is mainly a problem you get while authenticating to your domain

Wouldn't domain authentication have to take place *before* any sort of drive mapping was allowed, regardless of what the remote share contains?

I do not think these are likely causes of this problem - I await the answers to my requests for clarification before I can make a firm decision, however...

Cheers,
-Jon

Thanks for all the feedback - here is some more info.

We are using IP addresses only, not NetBIOS - Lastest firmware/ software for Linksys installed - connections are 1Mb cable at both ends -  W2K server is not running Active Directory ( No domain controller), but all PC's are using the same workgroup id.

Jon,

This is the only VPN is place. If the client tries "Start->Run-> \\myserver\myshare" type command, the systems seems to accept the command but nothing happens !!

Also should have said, everything works fine locally.

MTU solution sounds interesting - we haven't changed the default so it is set at 1500.

T

MTU is definitely still in the running as a cause for this...

Regardless, I still have two burning questions:

>Does the VPN work for other transfer types (ie FTP, POP, etc...)?
>Is there no possibility that a local permission issue (or local personal firewall setting) is causing this?

Cheers,
-Jon

Changing the MTU setting now...

We haven't tried any other file transers. We'll try an FTP transfer soon.

All firewalls currently disabled.

T

Have changed MTU to 1290 but problem still exists

When using "Start->Run-> \\myserver\myshare" command, the system prompts for username / password (Administrator username & password entered) and then it successfully opens a window displaying all shares on the server.

1. Remote client can open a share with no files in it.
2. Remote client can open a share with a few files in it and open the files.
3. If remote client tried to open a share that contains more than 5-6 files system takes ages then responds with the message "\\ip address\sharename is not accesible, you might not have permission to use this network resource..... The specified network name is no longer in use"

Not sure how many files need to be in the share to get this message, but total size greater than 200k seems to cause a problem. If we remove most of the files then share opens fine.

4. If remote client successfully opens a share containing very few files , he can successfully copy a few small files to it, but too many files or too big a file causes the message "Cannot copy filename - The specified network name is no longer in use".

This may be a silly question, but could the problem be caused by ISP blocking ports? or doesn't this matter with VPN.

What about port forwarding on my Linksys box?

No, with VPN that shouldn't be a problem, and besides, you can connect to the server. If things were blocked, you wouldn't be able to see the server.

try this on the server
http://www.tweakxp.com/TweakXP/display.asp?id=1557

Create a text file on the server put this into it:



Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\lanmanserver\parameters]

"SizReqBuf"=dword:0000ffff



Save the file as WHATEVER.REG not WHATEVER.TXT

Then double click on the file to apply the setting (once again on the SERVER not the pc).

What this does is it sets the DIR commad's buffer from 14000 to 65000. This fix works on NT/2000/XP.

Did you change the MTU at both ends.  When I had this problem, it was using 2 Cisco 1700 routers to create a site to site VPN...  the symptoms were exactly the same as you are experiencing.  When an empty folder was opened, it would be fine...  if you opened a folder with several other folders inside of it, it would die.  1260 was the setting that I found to work the best for me...

Also - have you upgraded firmware on the Linksys's lately?

We had only set MTU at the server - will try 1260 at both ends - Linksys firmware is latest version

OK - I hope this will solve your problem.

You might want to see if you have these ports opened:I have the same router and linksys instructed me to open these ports for VPN use...
500
50
47
1723
1237

also my firmware version is;2.32.3
This works well for me...

Reviewing your question again, you ISP might have restrictions on amount of data you can upload over your broadband connection???

The final burning question:

>Does the VPN work for other transfer types (ie FTP, POP, etc...)?

If yes, then this is likely a windows problem - if no, this it is almost certainly a VPN issue...

In either case, now might be a good time to start learning how to use ethereal...

Cheers,
-Jon

Ok, tried FTP all works fine, so I guess VPN is ok.

But still have same problem when opening shares on the w2K server. - I'll try opening the ports suggested

Also discovered yesterday that after remote client connects from his XP machine, I can connect to his shares, map drives, move files all fast and no problems !

Maybe a stupid question here, but are there any problems when you connect to the LAN locally (not through VPN)? Can you take one of those PCs that is trying to connect via VPN and put it directly on the LAN and check the performance that way?

Local LAN works fine - planning to bring on of the remote PC's home tomorrow to see how that works on the LAN