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Network Problem...

Strange error on my network.
I'm not a network expert, but I'm having some problems with my network.
I have 4 servers. 1 DNS (Windows 2000), 1 Webserver (windows 2003), 1 DataServer (Windows 2003), Backup Server (Windows 2003).

About a week or so, everytime I try to go online it takes a long time to display some of the websites, and some times I get a timeout, or a windows msg saying that I had a network problem.

I have 1 T1 Line, and we have about 20 computers that uses the internet, and the network. Send and reciving files over the network is fine, the problem is jut accessing the internet.

A new 3.0M T1 line is on the way... but is the problem within the T1 line, or something over my network?

I did not install anything on the servers, or had any new hardware.

jdboston

Try flushing the DNS cache (first on your local machine, then on the server is that doesn't work) by typing ipconfig /flusdns at a command prompt.
Also, make sure your local hosts file under \WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\ hasn't been compromised by a spyware program. You should only see a couple of default entries commented out with the # sign, unless you have installed software to block potentially bad sites. If you have, then you will see a lot of sites redirected to 127.0.0.1, the loopback adapter. If you see lots of entries pointing to various outside IP addresses, then spyware has attacked your hosts file. Most anti-spyware programs on the market will fix this.

Ennio

ASKER

that folder, should it be on my DNS server, or all the servers, and computers?

jdboston

The folder with the hosts file will be on each local computers. Just check one that is having the slowness issue. If it looks OK, then I would start searching elsewhere for the problem, but it never hurts to check the hosts file on occasion. As the file has no extension, you will be prompted with a program to open it when you double click. I prefer to use wordpad, but notepad will work as well.

Ennio

ASKER

jdboston,
I looked in all the servers, and on my computer and it looks fine. Nothing wrong with the host files.

What other places I should look? I've never had experience with network, and at my job they network guy quit, so I'm doing everything here.

By flushing the DNS it's working a little be faster...

Could it be that we are having lots of traffic on the website, and that is using all the T1? Because we have over 50 website hosted here, and the guy that was here did not do a great job seting up everything. The servers are new, they are about one year old.

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Brian Pierce

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Ennio

ASKER

KCTS, Thank you... I'm going to look here and see if I can find all the documentation, because they never gave me one, and no one here knows about anything.

Ennio

ASKER

I guess I found the problem.

My ISP is Megapath, and they have DNS1, and DNS2.

On my web server all the configuration is correct according to the megapath configuration sheet, that I found.

Now on my DNS server, windows 2000 I have some information that does not match.

First the IP address is local inside my Network. Subnet is for the local network too, and the default gateway is for my firewall. I guess this is OK.

Now for the DNS server I have a different IP, should it be the same as the one from MegaPath?

Also the Primary DNS server (windows 2000) is an old computer, should I move to a Windows 2003 I have an extra server here and I can use that as the new DNS.

Ennio

ASKER

Sorry if I'm asking some stupid question but I'm a programmer, and I just got out a college and I had no experience with servers, so I learning the hard way.