tdog2k4
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Win 2K, IIS Unable to maintain Network Connectivity
I had an old NT 4 server box running iis with a small intranet site on it. This thing ran rock solid for a very long time until about a month ago. I started having trouble connecting to the web page it was hosting (page not found or a timeout), but the box was up and I could still ping it, and I could physically go to the box and get out to the Internet. I thought maybe it was an issue with the combination of hubs/switches I was using, so I replaced them with new switches. No dice. Maybe a funky NIC or system board? A good enough excuse to upgrade the box, so I threw win2k server on a new box and moved the site over to it. Everything looks good, clean box, new hardware. I connect to it and away we go - for about 5 minutes. Then I again can’t connect to it. I can’t connect to the site it hosts, nor can I connect to it through terminal services. I can’t ping the box either. But, if I go to the server and open IE, it connects to the web no problem, and then I can go back and connect to it from any other machine with no problem. For about 5 minutes (the time isn’t exact – it could be 3 minutes, it could be 15). Any help would be greatly appreciated.
ASKER
Reset the switch, no change. This is now the second computer and the third network card I have used with the same results. For the past 30 minutes I have been pinging the box and getting no reply. Just for the heck of it I unplugged the ethernet cable, waited about 30 seconds, and plugged it back in. 10 seconds later the ping that I have running from my PC starts getting replies from the server.
what about another cable? can you change ports on the switch.. what kind of switch is it ? are there hubs/repeaters involved... this sounds hw related.. got to be something identifyable.. can this be broken down into smaller sections to find the prob?
ASKER
10th cable, 4-3com switches in a stack and I have used a port on each. I agree it sounds like a hw issue which is why i have been pursuing that angle. No hubs, no repeaters.
ASKER
And a new wrench in the gears: I can get to this box from outside the building no problem. I spent the evening periodically connecting to and navigating around the site. Got in the morning and couldn't hit it from a box in the office. I grabbed a laptop and dialed out and sure enough i can connect to it every time. Here's some more detail. I have a win 2000 / win 2003 AD domain, but this box is not part of it. It is a standalone system in the "workgroup" workgroup. My main web site and email is hosted off-site and they have a pointer in their DNS for my intranet server. So my external domain is companyname.com, and my intranet site is intranet.company.com. Of course my AD domain has DNS, and the domain internally is location.companyname.com. Like I said, all had been working correctly for literally years so I'm not sure what exactly changed. ARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!!
ASKER
From my machine internally I can't connect to the site, so I try and ping the box. I get 1 reply from the ping, then 2 timeouts. If I ping again it's all timeouts. I slide over to the dialed-out laptop and connect to the site just fine. BAck to my box and I can connect to it for a short period before I'm back to no connection and no ping reply.
how is it connected? all devices along the way? your machine to the box your pinging?
ASKER
Everything in my network is connected to my 4 switches (linked together in a stack), so from my box to the intranet box is right through the switch. From the switch I go to a PIX firewall to the outside world.
ASKER
Problem was with the PIX firewall being unable to pass traffic from outside to inside interface when originating from inside. Known PIX issue, and a suitable workaround was developed.
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could also be the network card. can you swap it?