Takes 30-45 Seconds to Connect 2

[Robin59]

I'm having a problem with Windows Server 2000, my users can connect, but it takes them 30-45 seconds before it lets them onto their shares. The server was in place when I took over the site. The machines has Active Directory on it, which is probably not needed because they only have 3 users. Also, the name of their domain is logics.local, which should be fine (but before it was that, it was logics.com).

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Robin59]

Just found out some more news on this problem. It seems that PC's connect up via mapped drives on their PC, and event log on server is not letting them log on, but yet, they do look like they log one, ie.. they have the connections to shares. They hold they connections while they are using them, then loss them if they stay away for more than about 20 minutes. I 've checked the go to sleep stuff everywhere, including NIC cards and that doesn't seem to be the problem. Any chance that having a user in both Active Directory and Local could cause this delay in loggin back on? Can I delete the Active Directory and just use local? Or will I have all kinds of problems if I do this? Or, does it seem more like a hub/switch problem? Remember, only 3 users, and an APPLE MAC on the system. APPLE MAC has no problems, stays connected. Thanks again.

 

[beerhunter2]

What OS are your workstations running?
If XP clients:
Make sure IEEE Authentication box is unchecked (under Network Connections > Properties > Authentication tab).
Computer Browser and Web Client services should be Disabled (Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services).


Help! I've fallen and I can't reach my beer.

 

[zebratech]

I'm a little confused on the timeline. Did everything run ok after the domain name change? It sounds like a DNS problem.



Unix IS user friendly... It's just selective about who its friends are.

 

[buddafish]

does your ipconfig /all output show valid DNS servers / suffix... ? i'm with zebratech on the DNS issue.
run a NSLOOKUP

scottie

 

[Robin59]

I did an NSLOOKUP and found Default serverof 24.196.152.9.static.fdl.wi.charter.com, which would mean they are being picked up as my DNS server? They are our ISP, broadband, but yet it looks like when the folks set the server up they had the DNS server as MYSERVER.COM. Should I have the DNS set as the ISP server? And, do you think this will allow users to logon correctly? Really seems like a weird problem to me, weird relation if this fixes it. Would it not be better to remove AD and go to only local server? Can this even be done? Advisable? Appreciate any help again.

 

[buddafish]

your client machines MUST have local DNS servers for active directory to work correctly. Local DNS holds the SVR records that point clients to DC's. if DHCP is passing down the addresses of the DNS servers, change it in the DHCP scope options. i would expect that the local DNS servers should have the ISP DNS setup for forwarding.

Are you using DHCP? if so, check the scope options for DNS entries.

No, removing AD is not the solution. Correct DNS resolution is. Your NSLOOKUP should list a local DNS server and address.

Is the DNS server one of the DC's?
scottie

 

[buddafish]

lets back up a moment here... you mention that the domain name has been changed, well, are the client machines joined to this domain. if so, then the logon should be something like user@domainname.com as you will see the account setup in active directory users and computers. and... there must be a forward lookup zone created in DNS that is for this domain. Does your DNS server have the correct DNS forward lookup zone? Does it contain SRV records that reference the current Domain Controllers. Does an ipconfig /all show valid LAN ip addressing or 169.x.x.x addressing ?

 

[Robin59]

binkin (scottie), I've found the FAQ on DNS for WK2 Server, and it has explained how to correctly setup DNS on AD server.
1. They had XP pc's using DNS of ISP, I will change
2. They had NAT/FIREWALL as DHCP server, I will change that to MYSERVER.MYDOMAIN.LOCAL or
3. Should I statically map ip's on PC's, or DHCP on server?
4. And I'm a little confused. If I have users in AD, along with PC's, regular logon as described in Profile should work, i.e. billybob, p/w, and domain to start logon on XP client. Correct?

I do believe the DNS is a very big problem, so I will fix that. But, would it stop users from logging on? I show they are not logged on on their PC event viewer, but yet shares, etc are there, plus they can print, etc... on server. The guys that orignially set this server up evidently had no idea what the **** they were doing, and I'm an old NT40 MCSE, so... what an experience. Thanks for the help.

 

[buddafish]

allrighty then...
as for the static ip addressing, well, 3 client are pretty easy to handle, but if you add more devices and pc's ect, then you will need to begin maintaining a spreadsheet of addressing. your choice. DHCP is easy to setup and makes adding clients even easier. and... if you do change your gateway or wins server or dns servers, you only need change the value in the DHCP scope and all clients will then get the changes...
as for question 4... i am not sure what your referencing. the profile path is for madatory / roaming profiles (or stored), thus it would point to a valid location that the profile was saved... if you are not using profiles then just log onto the pc with a valid domain account scottie@mynetwork.bogus ... and if the machine knows about a valid DNS server and the DNS server knows about a valid Domain Controller, then all will be good... once it's working, you will see the logical flow of events when the user logs onto a machine and connects to a windows 2000 domain...

best of luck
scottie

 

[buddafish]

Robin59,

once you get the 2000 domain working correctly, you will probably need to look into the internet NAT/FIREWALL connectivity for the clients...

as with any changes to the network, log what you are doing/changing so you can troubleshoot new issues that may arise...

 

[Robin59]

Do you think I could lose their connections?

 

[buddafish]

client machines need a valid gateway to get out on the internet. depending on the firewall device and the network topography, the gateway will most likely be on the firewall. type ipconfig /all at the command prompt of a client machine and it will list the gateway. is this address on your local lan? if so, then the firewall has a local lan interface (as most do) and you should be able to pass this ip address out to the clients via DHCP )or hard coded in the NIC properties). as for the natting, well that depends on the firewall device and configuration and just what the firewall is doing for you. check out the ipconfig info and post it if you have questions. if you feel like it, declare what kind of firewall we are talking about here and if you have the configuration information or just inherited it blindly... <--- been there

scottie

 

[Robin59]

da... yeah, I've can get all the firewall info. Sorry, I just had a laspe of intelligence when I ask that question. Again, I sure appreciate all the help. Believe me, I'll never question of the importance of DNS again (it wasn't as big a part of Win NT as with 2000/2003), and seemed a heck of a lot easier to set up, also, back in these days, we didn't have boardband and all, just T1's, 2's, etc... Thanks again for the help. I'll tell you how it went, I am redoing things tonight.

 

[Robin59]

I believe setting up DNS "correctly" has solved 90% of my problems. Who would have thought.... I do have another site that has all 98 PC's, and NT4 servers, setup with PC's pointing to ISP for DNS and that network runs fine. I learn something everyday, and you guys and gals sured helped. Thanks a million (maybe ten bucks, I don't have a million!).