Device randomly inaccessible via UNC
Mostly server 2008 R2 environment, mixed Physical and Virtual, all VMs are on ESXi hosts.
Randomly and seemingly without pattern, my overnight backups to a NAS have been failing for 'bad path'. When I check the path the next day, all is well. However, I finally got to see this happen during the day on one server, and the backup NAS can be pinged by name and IP, can access the interface over HTTP, but cannot be accessed via UNC from this server. It can be accessed via UNC by other servers at the same time.
I'm not seeing system or DNS log entries on the servers that correlate in any meaningful way. And the backup device (ZyXEL NSA320) logs are minimal - no log entries at all since the last time I logged into it. The router is a SonicWall TZ 205, and the logs on it don't seem to indicate a flood or routing problem at the affected times, but I'm having difficulty viewing them in browser and exporting them isn't working right (only exports whats displayed, not the selected duration). Where should I go in my troubleshooting at this point?
Something to note, there is an MPLS connection between this site and two others, and the other sites use services from this site (such as the mail server) but from different domains with their own DCs. I wouldn't think this would have any affect, just want to lay out all the puzzle pieces.
Randomly and seemingly without pattern, my overnight backups to a NAS have been failing for 'bad path'. When I check the path the next day, all is well. However, I finally got to see this happen during the day on one server, and the backup NAS can be pinged by name and IP, can access the interface over HTTP, but cannot be accessed via UNC from this server. It can be accessed via UNC by other servers at the same time.
I'm not seeing system or DNS log entries on the servers that correlate in any meaningful way. And the backup device (ZyXEL NSA320) logs are minimal - no log entries at all since the last time I logged into it. The router is a SonicWall TZ 205, and the logs on it don't seem to indicate a flood or routing problem at the affected times, but I'm having difficulty viewing them in browser and exporting them isn't working right (only exports whats displayed, not the selected duration). Where should I go in my troubleshooting at this point?
Something to note, there is an MPLS connection between this site and two others, and the other sites use services from this site (such as the mail server) but from different domains with their own DCs. I wouldn't think this would have any affect, just want to lay out all the puzzle pieces.
masnrock
So your problem, based on what you're mentioning, is solely a problem between one server and the NAS. Does the server have problems communicating with any other devices at the same time? Is IPv6 active on the NIC? You can try unchecking it in the TCP/IP properties (do not uninstall), as it can on occasion cause random issues.
ASKER
No, it is all servers. Random and intermittent. Some servers have no problem one night, and then a problem the next. I could disable IPv6 on some servers, but not all (such as the exchange server).
Got it. I was wondering when you said "this server". Any idea when the issue started, and if anything changed around that timeframe?
ASKER
I'm honestly not sure how far back it goes. My Acronis backup logs go back to December 7th, and I'm seeing it all the way back that far. This was just escalated to me yesterday, and apparently all the previous failures had been worked as isolated incidents by T1. Nothing has changed in that environment in over 6 months.
ASKER
Update: I just noticed that during the times that a server experiences this, I CAN unc to the backup appliance by IP even though I cannot unc to it by hostname. All the while, I can ping it by hostname, and I can UNC to any other server by hostname. This seems like a problem with the appliance. I'll see about swapping it out.
How did things work out?
This question needs an answer!
Become an EE member today
7 DAY FREE TRIALMembers can start a 7-Day Free trial then enjoy unlimited access to the platform.
View membership options
or
Learn why we charge membership fees
We get it - no one likes a content blocker. Take one extra minute and find out why we block content.