Off-subnet access periodically lost

I have a client with a Dell server running Standard Server 2003 w/ SP1
hosting three web server on which one of the three occasionally stops
responding to connection request from off the local subnet. Local
subnet traffic is not affected. Same hosted site each time. Two other
sites share a NIC, on-board Intel, and are not affected. Site which
starts having problems is on it's own NIC, on-board Broadcom. This NIC
also supplies the normal server traffic such as authentication and RDC
connections.

Problem started around 3:00am on July 26. Last Windows update was July
13, Security Update for Windows Server 2003 (KB903235) installed through
WSUS.

Selecting "REPAIR" on the Broadcom NIC fixes the problem temporarily.
Problem usually returns withing 8 hours, but I've not noticed a specific
time line.

Since this started I've done the following:

- I've verified subnet mask, gateway, and DNS registration. Verified
that on-site access really is working when external access is down and
not that local users are just seeing cached responses.

- Updated NIC driver. Driver was Microsoft's and had not been updated
since the server was installed. (Date on NIC driver is 10/1/2002.)
Installed Dell supplied dated 1/17/2005.

- Run Security configuration wizard in case it's a Windows Firewall
issue. Reconfigured for all allowed traffic and disallowed traffic.


Configuration:
*Windows Standard Server 2003 w/ SP1, firewall enabled.
*Two NIC's on same subnet
*Three IP's, all are Internet accessible
*Both NIC's connect to the same switch. Switch shows no errors on
either port

Update and workaround.

Still don't know why this was happening, but I've resolved the issue by
moving the site having the problem from the Broadcom NIC to the Intel
NIC. The IP addressed followed the site, and a new IP was given to the
Broadcom NIC. The site has been available for 30 hours with no problems.

I'd still welcome any ideas on why this happened.

Eric Ryan

Ryan wrote:
> I have a client with a Dell server running Standard Server 2003 w/ SP1
> hosting three web server on which one of the three occasionally stops
> responding to connection request from off the local subnet. Local
> subnet traffic is not affected. Same hosted site each time. Two other
> sites share a NIC, on-board Intel, and are not affected. Site which
> starts having problems is on it's own NIC, on-board Broadcom. This NIC
> also supplies the normal server traffic such as authentication and RDC
> connections.
>
> Problem started around 3:00am on July 26. Last Windows update was July
> 13, Security Update for Windows Server 2003 (KB903235) installed through
> WSUS.
>
> Selecting "REPAIR" on the Broadcom NIC fixes the problem temporarily.
> Problem usually returns withing 8 hours, but I've not noticed a specific
> time line.
>
> Since this started I've done the following:
>
> - I've verified subnet mask, gateway, and DNS registration. Verified
> that on-site access really is working when external access is down and
> not that local users are just seeing cached responses.
>
> - Updated NIC driver. Driver was Microsoft's and had not been updated
> since the server was installed. (Date on NIC driver is 10/1/2002.)
> Installed Dell supplied dated 1/17/2005.
>
> - Run Security configuration wizard in case it's a Windows Firewall
> issue. Reconfigured for all allowed traffic and disallowed traffic.
>
>
> Configuration:
> *Windows Standard Server 2003 w/ SP1, firewall enabled.
> *Two NIC's on same subnet
> *Three IP's, all are Internet accessible
> *Both NIC's connect to the same switch. Switch shows no errors on
> either port