ISA Firewall Issue
Hi Guys,
I've run into an issue that's been ongoing for the past month or so, the firewall on my ISA server keeps stopping every few days, which then blocks my remote access to it and also causes all my OWA and POP3 users to lose connectivity.
it happens after I receive the following error:
The ISA Server Web filter failed to log information to MSDE Database ISALOG_20101114_WEB_000 in path C:\Program Files\Microsoft ISA Server\ISALogs. The MSDE Error description is: Unspecified error
. The problem may be resolved by restarting the MSSQL$MSFW service.
once i start the firewall, all gets back to normal.
It's currently logging to a MSDE database, I have read a couple of things and they mentioned I should rather log to a W3C DB and also reduce the number of active logs.
Any ideas on the above? This is a live system and I cant have any downtime so, experimenting is not really an option.
HELP!
I've run into an issue that's been ongoing for the past month or so, the firewall on my ISA server keeps stopping every few days, which then blocks my remote access to it and also causes all my OWA and POP3 users to lose connectivity.
it happens after I receive the following error:
The ISA Server Web filter failed to log information to MSDE Database ISALOG_20101114_WEB_000 in path C:\Program Files\Microsoft ISA Server\ISALogs. The MSDE Error description is: Unspecified error
. The problem may be resolved by restarting the MSSQL$MSFW service.
once i start the firewall, all gets back to normal.
It's currently logging to a MSDE database, I have read a couple of things and they mentioned I should rather log to a W3C DB and also reduce the number of active logs.
Any ideas on the above? This is a live system and I cant have any downtime so, experimenting is not really an option.
HELP!
Last Comment
What is the ISA version? Service Pack? Did you try reapplying the service pack already installed?
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Tutorials on Re-configuring ISA to use a SQL db can be found on www.isaserver.org.
Downtime should be limited to restarting the Firewall service.
Downtime should be limited to restarting the Firewall service.
ASKER
It does not have SP1, are there any risks involved in the installation,? like i said I cannot risk anything
I've done a few remote upgrades which have completed seamlessly.
Although as a safety precaution I did have a engineer onsite incase I lost connectivity.
I've also done remote installation of ISA and it automatically creates the firewall rule enabling the host from which the installation was completed to successfully re-connect to the ISA Server after reboot.
Although as a safety precaution I did have a engineer onsite incase I lost connectivity.
I've also done remote installation of ISA and it automatically creates the firewall rule enabling the host from which the installation was completed to successfully re-connect to the ISA Server after reboot.
Lets take a step back here....
ISA - all forms - can handle upwards of 5000 active user connections so a limit of 10 connections is not relevant in this case. While in most cases the 'normal' conditions of MSDE apply, many don't as the MSDE database used is specific to ISA - this is why other systems cannot connect to it.
As asked in the very first response post - what version of ISA are you using and which service pack - if any - is applied?
What is the size of the database? Is there sufficient free disk space on the drive where the database is being held?
Have you tried backing up the configuration through the ISA gui, removing ISA and reinstalling cleanly then restoring the config back through the gui?
ISA - all forms - can handle upwards of 5000 active user connections so a limit of 10 connections is not relevant in this case. While in most cases the 'normal' conditions of MSDE apply, many don't as the MSDE database used is specific to ISA - this is why other systems cannot connect to it.
As asked in the very first response post - what version of ISA are you using and which service pack - if any - is applied?
What is the size of the database? Is there sufficient free disk space on the drive where the database is being held?
Have you tried backing up the configuration through the ISA gui, removing ISA and reinstalling cleanly then restoring the config back through the gui?
ASKER
Keith,
- the version is 5.0.5720.157, no SP
- The logs folder is 1GB and the log files vary from 60MB to 120MB
- there are 13.5GB of space free on the hard drive.
- I have not tried to uninstall it due to the downtime and due to my current location, I have no one on location.
I reduced the logging activity and the problem persists...it's actually gotten worse and the firewall is crashing daily and not weekly any more.
- the version is 5.0.5720.157, no SP
- The logs folder is 1GB and the log files vary from 60MB to 120MB
- there are 13.5GB of space free on the hard drive.
- I have not tried to uninstall it due to the downtime and due to my current location, I have no one on location.
I reduced the logging activity and the problem persists...it's actually gotten worse and the firewall is crashing daily and not weekly any more.
ASKER
If I changed the DB to W3C, could this be a temp solution to this problem?
@keith, I've always been an admirer of your work, so I'm not gonna argue with your knowledge.
What I've stated above is something that happened to me in a production environment, solution was applied as mentioned above. 4 years later no re-occurrence of issue.
What I've stated above is something that happened to me in a production environment, solution was applied as mentioned above. 4 years later no re-occurrence of issue.
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ASKER
Does anyone know of any program that can monitor a service in this case the Microsoft firewall, start it up if it stops ect?. I've tried the recovery option, but for some odd reason that does not work.
And need a temp solution whilst trouble shooting this problem...each time this happens all the POP and OWA users lose connectivity..
And need a temp solution whilst trouble shooting this problem...each time this happens all the POP and OWA users lose connectivity..
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ASKER
SQL Express could be an option? although the DB is limited to 4 GB
ASKER
Would it be a very bad idea to disable the firewall logging for the time being as a temporary measure?
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ASKER
Would it be a very bad idea to disable the firewall logging for the time being as a temporary measure?
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ASKER
I guess I'll attempt changing it to text logging as a start. are there any consequences? or is it a simple changeover? will I need to restart the ISA? I've read a couple of articles where it would still carry on logging on to MSDE after it had been changed to log to W3C.
Sorry about being so paranoid, but down time is a real issue.
thanks!
Sorry about being so paranoid, but down time is a real issue.
thanks!
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Microsoft Forefront ISA Server
Microsoft Forefront, formerly known as Internet Security and Acceleration Server (ISA Server), is a network router, firewall, antivirus program, VPN server and web cache that runs on Windows servers. It includes identity management and protection systems, and discontinued systems for threat management and network protection, along with protection for Sharepoint and Exchange. The scope of discussions includes forward and reverse proxy, application and service publishing, virtual private networks (VPNs), outbound access rules, SSL certificates and network routing within either a single node or an highly-available array pairing.
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