Client connect to SBS 2K3 problems

[Pictman]

I have a server running SBS 2K3. I also have 6 client machines on the LAN. Three of these clients attach to the router but the other three cycle through, 'Connect / Acquiring IP Address / Disconnect / Connect/ Acquiring IP Address ...... ' without success. Does anyone have any ideas why this is?

Thanks in anticipation.

 

[noveyron]

Do you have DHCP switched on ?

Chech to see if the ones without the problem are on a static address or not.

 

[Pictman]

Yes- DHCP is switched on.
No - Problem clients are not on static IPAddress. TCP/IP settings are tha same on all clients.

 

[Pictman]

Correction to last post - TCP/IP settings on clients NOT getting an IP Address include Mode Type - Broadcasting; whereas on the clients that work the Node is Hybrid. Could this be an issue? If so what can I do about it?

 

[ShackDaddy]

The mode is probably provided by the DHCP server, so it's a symptom of connectivty, not a cause of it.

- Are all clients plugged into the same switch?
- Where is the DHCP being provided from? The router or the server?
- How many addresses are in the pool of addresses that DHCP is offering the local network? It's possible that you only configured it to have a few addresses and now your pool is empty...

Dave Shackelford
Shackelford Consulting

 

[Pictman]

- Clients access the switch wirelessly.
- The server provides DHCP.
- 10 - 254 are available from the pool.

As I only have 6 clients, would it help to apply static IPs through reservations?

 

[noveyron]

If static IPs solve the problem, with only 6 clients, assigning static IPs will probably be the most efficient use of your time.

 

[wahnula]

Now that we know it's wireless, another can of worms opens up. Are you using the wireless NIC's utility or the native XP utility (if they are XP machines )?

Is there any encryption (I hope so!)? Double-check the encryption keys. Are all the NICs the same brand? If not, it's even more important to use a common utility among them.

Tony

Users helping Users...

 

[ShackDaddy]

Nice catch, Tony. If you give all the clients static ip's (directly, not through reservations), and you still have trouble with those particular clients, it's probably an issue with the wireless settings.

Dave Shackelford
Shackelford Consulting

 

[Pictman]

The client NICs are of different brands. Providing static IPs doesn't help: a connection is established but is unstable and after at most a minute, drops off. Cabling to the router doesn't help either.

 

[Pictman]

Correction to last post- cabling to router works fine. Definitely a wireless problem. Encryption in place (WPA-PSK-TKIP). I've repeatedly checked key.

 

[noveyron]

What OS are the clients?

What make/model of router?

 

[Pictman]

Clients are all XP Pro SP3
Router is Linksys WRT54G

 

[noveyron]

This may be better in the XP forum now.

If you disable the WPA, can you connect and get an address?

If you change the router output to a different channel, do you get the same?

Does uninstall/reinstall of wireless adaptor in device manager do anything?

Are there any updated drivers for the NIC on the manufacturer's website?

 

[Pictman]

I can't get at the Web-based configuration page of my router. Whenever I try to map to it when it's connected to the server I get a page inviting me to configure the intranet settings. When I try with the server disconnected I'm denied access. This means I cannot alter the security parameters of the router to try some stuff. I've read elsewhere that there are some issues concerning the Linksys WRT54G and Dell's 1450 USB wireless network card. My problem clients have these Dell cards.

 

[noveyron]

Can you post the results of an ipconfig /all, from both the server, and one of the connected clients.