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Connecting two servers

We have a couple of Server 2003 servers that house some software from an office acquisition. Because of the OS version, I don't want them on the network but we do still have some need for the software a couple of times a week. One of the servers is a mainframe that contains the data and the other server is for the web interface to access the data. I've plugged them both into a Netgear dumb switch but I can't seem to access anything when I try pulling it up through the web interface on the server. Wouldn't they be talking to each other if they were plugged into the same switch? Thanks!
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DNS? You isolated them? From which server are you using the browser? Can the Webserver resolve the back end server?
Check your network /  dns settings. Make sure they are both on the same subnet.
Also Check related Services are running (IIS, SQL if it running that etc.) is the website running in IIS manager?
First, establish that you have connectivity.
Can you ping one from the other (and vice versa)?
If you would run the following on both and report the results here it would answer much of what is being asked above:

start
run
cmd
ipconfig /all
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itgolfer

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Sorry, should have provided this info from the beginning. The web server is configured statically and the mainframe is getting the address automatically. I've put the IP information from the web server below. I cannot ping between the two.

172.16.1.248
255.255.255.0
172.16.1.1

172.16.1.252
As @cromprobsolv requested:

"If you would run the following on BOTH..."
As you stated, if the webserver's IP is statically set, but the mainframe is being set automatically, most likely the subnet, gateway, and DNS settings, are different.

If this is the case, they would never see each other, unless you make some configuration changes.
Sorry about that. Below are the results from the mainframe.

Local Area Connection 2
Autoconfiguration IP: 169.254.111.56
Subnet: 255.255.0.0
Gateway: Blank

Local Area Connection 4
IP Address: 192.168.16.2
Subnet: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: Blank
Set a static address on the mainframe on the 172.16.1. network with 255.255.255.0 subnet. or put your webserver on the 192.168.16 network with 255.255.255.0

I would propbably change the mainfram IP just incase the webserver has a bind to IP single IP

They need to be on the same network. Also if you have no DNS server still could have issues, if not you can use HOSTS file
That was what I meant. One machine is on the 172.16.1.x subnet with a gateway and your other is on 192.168.16.x. subnet with no gateway.

There is no route for the machines to talk to each other.

Do as @onl suggests and you should be fine.
So I set the mainframe IP to 172.16.1.130, subnet to 255.255.255.0, Gateway to 172.16.1.1 and left the DNS blank. I'm not sure what you mean by using HOSTS file since there is no DNS. Thanks.
Ha. You must be a millennial (just kidding)

!The HOSTS file is a text-like file that contains static information. This comes from the Windows 95 days.

Here is the one found on all computers.

# Copyright (c) 1993-2009 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.
#
# For example:
#
#      102.54.94.97     rhino.acme.com          # source server
#       38.25.63.10     x.acme.com              # x client host

# localhost name resolution is handled within DNS itself.
#      127.0.0.1       localhost
#      ::1             localhost
Guilty as charged! So I need to find the file on each machine and configure it?
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Located in C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\ETC

This file can be edited to suit your needs. Once Windows NT and 2000 came along and were introduced to DHCP, there was no need for the HOSTS file.
Also if you are accessing the website in your browser using something different then the hostname of the webserver you want to add that entry into the HOST file with IP address of Webserver
You'd want to make sure that you don't include the " # " before each line.

This acts like a remark, meaning that when it encounters this line, it will disregard it.

On webserver, your HOSTS file will be:

172.16.1.130     domain # mainframe

On mainframe, your HOSTS file will be:

172.16.1.248     domain # webserver

(I think I got the IPs right)
I haven't used this command in over 20 years, but this is how you would refresh the system after making changes to the HOSTS file.

From a command line with elevated privileges, type

nbtstat -R

and press Enter

"-R (Reload) Purges and reloads the remote cache name table"
On the webserver, I have the following: 172.16.1.130 localsource
One the mainframe, I have the following: 172.16.1.248 localsource

I ran the command to refresh the system but I still can't connect between the two.,
Run the IPCONFIG /ALL on both again and post
Also, you stated that you set the gateway to 172.16.1.1.

Do you actually HAVE that gateway???

I guess what I'm trying to say is this. You have 2 servers connected to a standalone switch. There are no other devices between them. They are essentially on their own network THERE IS NO GATEWAY.

Remove the gateway from both servers and try again.

OR

Enter the IP address of the webserver as the gateway on the mainframe.
Webserver
IP: 172.16.1.248
SN: 255.255.255.0
GW: 172.16.1.1
DNS: 172.16.1.252

Mainframe
IP: 172.16.1.130
SN: 255.255.255.0
GW: 172.16.1.1
Nothing listed for DNS
As efrimpol said, run the ipconfig command, when you say you cannot connect them, in what way? Can you ping the IP addresses of the servers now? Need to now know if it is something els now, Rule out connectivity by using IP. If that works thaen it could still be resolving issue or something else.
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OK, I removed the DNS on the webserver and can now ping between the two. I still can't login to the interface on the web browser but it could be possible that it's looking at the old IP of the mainframe. I may have to check with the vendor and see if that would be it. Thanks for your help, I made it a lot further thanks to you guys.
Great.

It's a start.
Could be, I would check that all the relevent services are running now. also on the webserver what happens if you try open http://localhost or https://localhost. is it a IIS site or some other server
What URL are you using when trying to log in to the web interface?  Try replacing the name (between // and /) with the IP address of the web server.  That will let you know if it is a DNS issue.
While DNS settings may have been part of the issue, IP settings were the core of the problem.  This was suggested in https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/28983860/Connecting-two-servers.html?anchorAnswerId=41892248#a41892248 and in https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/28983860/Connecting-two-servers.html?anchorAnswerId=41893056#a41893056 and this one illustrated the specific IP error and how to resolve it: https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/28983860/Connecting-two-servers.html?anchorAnswerId=41893149#a41893149 .

Without fixing the IP issue, the DNS problem didn't matter (yet).  I would suggest reconsidering how points were awarded.