internet drops every 5 minutes for 30 seconds then reconnects

Is this a DSL connection?  I seem to recall a problem with one of my DSL connections dropping after a certain amount of time lapse of inactivity.  Have you looked into a "Keep-Alive" feature on the router or whichever device is making the connection with the DSL provider.  Is it PPPoE?  If so there may be some options available related to the connection.

As a quick troubleshooting step, download a windows version of Matt's Trace route from sourceforge...

http://winmtr.sourceforge.net/

Actual download link here

http://winmtr.sourceforge.net/winmtr_bin.zip

Unzip it to a directory, and run it. In the window select a good pingable internet site, (www.yahoo.com is nice but your choice) and let er rip.

It will send pings repeatedly to the various internet hops that allow such things.
Now wait for the problem to occur.

When it does, identify the link where the trouble starts...

Do you start to see packet loss during the issue? What is the first hop that experiences packet loss? Concentrate on these, as subsequent hops will USUALLY experience about the same level of loss, presumably due to the loss of a path to you. What percentage of packets are dropped during the outage times on these hops.

If you are getting packet loss past the first three hops, you can concentrate on your ISP. Tell them of the testing, and what you are seeing.

If it is from the first hop, you need to troubleshoot local electronics. Spanning tree or a defective device are likely.

If you never lose packets, it will be time to look at DNS.

Do you have any electric (not network) devices that share the on off patern as when you lose network connectivity?

Hello SWHosting,

if you attach a laptop straight to the internet line, so without the sbs, do you see the same behaviour?
if not then it is sbs related, then I need an ipconfig /all of the sbs and one client.

Regards,

suppsaws

Check your duplex settings of the problem child computers. To do this, go to Device manager>>Nic Card>>advanced and look at your duplex settings.

Set them to auto negotiate.

ChiefIT:
The wirless card does not have settings for duplex.

Trying other solutions above now.

I have MANY things that cause intermittent NIC activity. So, if no luck above, let me know.

Here are a couple more:
http://help.expedient.com/broadband/mtu_ping_test.shtml

Is IP version 6 enabled on a IPversion 4 LAN?

Is IP version 6 enabled on a IPversion 4 LAN?
not sure how to check this.

Did the mtu test and it came back with "packets need ot be fragmented. so following steps now.

Weird thing is ive been running this (http://winmtr.sourceforge.net/) all morning and the internet hasn't dropped once.
its like the pining is keping the connection alive.

Which is why I think it is related to what I originally posted.  Did you check what I suggested?

I spoke to soon.

maybe I had a god run this morning but it does keep on dropping out.

Is  the sbs 2003 server running as a proxy for the network? Do your workstations need it to connect to the internet?

The server is connects to the router, however the server gives the pcs on the network their ip addresses.

A NIC can go into a sleep mode, as sort of a power saving feature, after a period of inactivity. I think AncientFRIB is onto something, here. You might explore his thread of info.

Update.

It is still dying... See stats below.



|                                      WinMTR statistics                                   |

|                       Host              -   %  | Sent | Recv | Best | Avrg | Wrst | Last |

|------------------------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|------|

|                     Network Unreachable -    8 | 2367 | 2200 |    0 |    5 |   47 |   32 |

|                     Network Unreachable -   33 | 2367 | 1592 |   15 |   38 |  125 |   31 |

|                     Network Unreachable -   33 | 2367 | 1592 |   15 |   41 |  265 |   31 |

|                     Network Unreachable -   33 | 2367 | 1591 |   15 |   48 |  297 |   31 |

|                     Network Unreachable -   33 | 2366 | 1593 |   15 |   46 |  219 |   47 |

|                     Network Unreachable -   33 | 2366 | 1592 |   15 |   44 |  187 |   47 |

|                     Network Unreachable -   33 | 2366 | 1591 |   15 |   46 |  156 |   63 |

|                     Network Unreachable -    8 | 2366 | 2178 |   15 |   38 |  156 |   47

Right click My Computer >> Properties >> Hardware Tab Click Device manager>>
Expand Network Adapter >> Right click your Wireless NIC select
Properties >> Click Power Management

What options are we looking at?

under advanced we have a "power save mode and Its currently on nomral.

its a tp-LINK 11b/g wireless adapter.

The other one we have tested is a belkin.

ON the laptops its a intel.

With a few different adapters acting a fool, do you think it could be the wireless access point, or are there other computers linked up to that wireless point?

There are 3 pcs / laptops linked up all with the same issue.

We purchased new routers, had the lines tested and the isp tested.

What is the make/model of your Wireless Access Point?

It sounds like the cabling may be wrong or the duplex settings of the WAP may be off.

http://au.billion.com/support/bipac7402glm.php

Billion.

Ive also updated to the latest firmware.

Had an IT guy around yesterday to have a look.

hes done many tests and feels the problem is between the router and the server.

The adsl connection remains on during any drop outs.

The server is giving the pcs on the network the ip address not the router.

So I guess this is the next angle to take.

OK, on the router Portfast may be disabled.

Portfast is a protocol that strips off the routing packets and sends the. The problem with portfast being disabled is newer operating systems can time out. So, you might enable portfast on the router.

I have  a difference of opinion on this article, but for the most part, it has some good information on the differences between spanning tree and portfast.

http://tcpmag.com/qanda/article.asp?editorialsid=277

where would this option be normally in the router.

Cant seem to find it or anything similar.

Spanning tree and portfast are opposites of eachother. I am not familiar with your router. Most routers come standard with the spanning tree protocol.

Also switches have the ability to choose between spanning tree and portfast. Do you have managed switches?

Remember portfast should be enabled bewteen the computer and the port of the switch or router. However, spanning tree is good for solid connections between routers and switches.

Oops, made a mistake. Most routers and switches come with portfast enabled, not spanning tree.

Ive got an IT guy to look at this and he cant find any reference to it.

ok I will try all of this and award you the full points.

I think this is a real mystery.

And ive noticed over the last week it seems to get worse when it rains.

Weird,

Thank you so much for you help.

Seemed to be caused by rain. weird. Had a great run for  a week, then bad again.