Strange networking behavior

I have a SQL2005 server on S2003R2 in my main office. I have 12 buildings
with clients running a client that accesses this server through MS VPN's.
Everyone in the main office always can access this software. But my remote
buildings are having a strange scenario.

Each building has more than one client accessing this database. But they
are often unable to connect to the server. They can connect to other servers
in the main office though. When I go to the console of the server and
navigate to their site through windows explorer, their connection is
magically restored. Once they get in the software, the connection lasts
forever.. this scenario is also specific to each connection. If the person
sitting next to them is already in, doesn't mean they will get in. I still
need to "tickle" the connection by providing reverse traffic. It is the
oddest thing. There is no firewall in place, it's all done on 192.168.x.x
ips internally.

Any ideas???

"Bruce Johnson" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:8A68D78C-A99E-49CD-B8CE-(E-Mail Removed)...
>I have a SQL2005 server on S2003R2 in my main office. I have 12 buildings
> with clients running a client that accesses this server through MS VPN's.
> Everyone in the main office always can access this software. But my
> remote
> buildings are having a strange scenario.
>
> Each building has more than one client accessing this database. But they
> are often unable to connect to the server. They can connect to other
> servers
> in the main office though. When I go to the console of the server and
> navigate to their site through windows explorer, their connection is
> magically restored. Once they get in the software, the connection lasts
> forever.. this scenario is also specific to each connection. If the
> person
> sitting next to them is already in, doesn't mean they will get in. I
> still
> need to "tickle" the connection by providing reverse traffic. It is the
> oddest thing. There is no firewall in place, it's all done on 192.168.x.x
> ips internally.
>
> Any ideas???


Is the VPN always up and running and active, or does it fall asleep with
inactivity?

Does the app access the resource through a mapped drive, UNC or by name of
the machine the app is on?

Any errors in the event logs?

--
Ace

This posting is provided "AS-IS" with no warranties or guarantees and
confers no rights.

Please reply back to the newsgroup or forum to benefit from collaboration
among responding engineers, and to help others benefit from your resolution.

Ace Fekay, MCT, MCSE, MCSA 2003 & 2000, MCSA Messaging
Microsoft Certified Trainer
(E-Mail Removed)
http://twitter.com/acefekay

For urgent issues, you may want to contact Microsoft PSS directly. Please
check http://support.microsoft.com for regional support phone numbers.

The VPN is always up, and the ability to access other resources (mail server,
network volumes, etc) in the main office still works. So the VPN is working
fine, it's just this one server behaving this way. But that same server has
no problems with clients in the main office. Just over the VPN..

Event Viewer shows nothing..

Software has UNC coding in it, and DNS is working.. ping meets a dead end,
but once I "tickle", ping works fine..

"Ace Fekay [MCT]" wrote:

> "Bruce Johnson" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:8A68D78C-A99E-49CD-B8CE-(E-Mail Removed)...
> >I have a SQL2005 server on S2003R2 in my main office. I have 12 buildings
> > with clients running a client that accesses this server through MS VPN's.
> > Everyone in the main office always can access this software. But my
> > remote
> > buildings are having a strange scenario.
> >
> > Each building has more than one client accessing this database. But they
> > are often unable to connect to the server. They can connect to other
> > servers
> > in the main office though. When I go to the console of the server and
> > navigate to their site through windows explorer, their connection is
> > magically restored. Once they get in the software, the connection lasts
> > forever.. this scenario is also specific to each connection. If the
> > person
> > sitting next to them is already in, doesn't mean they will get in. I
> > still
> > need to "tickle" the connection by providing reverse traffic. It is the
> > oddest thing. There is no firewall in place, it's all done on 192.168.x.x
> > ips internally.
> >
> > Any ideas???
>
>
> Is the VPN always up and running and active, or does it fall asleep with
> inactivity?
>
> Does the app access the resource through a mapped drive, UNC or by name of
> the machine the app is on?
>
> Any errors in the event logs?
>
> --
> Ace
>
> This posting is provided "AS-IS" with no warranties or guarantees and
> confers no rights.
>
> Please reply back to the newsgroup or forum to benefit from collaboration
> among responding engineers, and to help others benefit from your resolution.
>
> Ace Fekay, MCT, MCSE, MCSA 2003 & 2000, MCSA Messaging
> Microsoft Certified Trainer
> (E-Mail Removed)
> http://twitter.com/acefekay
>
> For urgent issues, you may want to contact Microsoft PSS directly. Please
> check http://support.microsoft.com for regional support phone numbers.
>
>

"Bruce Johnson" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:C52A00FA-5486-4E33-A9FE-(E-Mail Removed)...
> The VPN is always up, and the ability to access other resources (mail
> server,
> network volumes, etc) in the main office still works. So the VPN is
> working
> fine, it's just this one server behaving this way. But that same server
> has
> no problems with clients in the main office. Just over the VPN..
>
> Event Viewer shows nothing..
>
> Software has UNC coding in it, and DNS is working.. ping meets a dead end,
> but once I "tickle", ping works fine..

Since you are using Windows VPN, I would suggest to check the VPN
configuration for any possible issues or settings causing it to 'fall
asleep.' It could be something simple as the server's binding order, or
services on the interface.

If I may suggest, for intersite connectivity, it may be better to use a
hardware VPN solution, such as Cisco, Netscreen, etc. They are reliable and
will stay up all the time. I think using Windows as a VPN solution is
overkill because its best use is as an operating system serving clients.

Ace

Ya, but it was builtin, and I work for a school district, so hardware costs
are tough to achieve in a public tax budget...

As for going asleep.. why then can they still access the exchange box across
the same vpn at the same time they can't access the SQL box? I don't see the
VPN as being asleep.. but I will check the things you mention.. The
maintenance on "re-tickling" the connection is killing me.

"Ace Fekay [MCT]" wrote:

> "Bruce Johnson" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:C52A00FA-5486-4E33-A9FE-(E-Mail Removed)...
> > The VPN is always up, and the ability to access other resources (mail
> > server,
> > network volumes, etc) in the main office still works. So the VPN is
> > working
> > fine, it's just this one server behaving this way. But that same server
> > has
> > no problems with clients in the main office. Just over the VPN..
> >
> > Event Viewer shows nothing..
> >
> > Software has UNC coding in it, and DNS is working.. ping meets a dead end,
> > but once I "tickle", ping works fine..
>
> Since you are using Windows VPN, I would suggest to check the VPN
> configuration for any possible issues or settings causing it to 'fall
> asleep.' It could be something simple as the server's binding order, or
> services on the interface.
>
> If I may suggest, for intersite connectivity, it may be better to use a
> hardware VPN solution, such as Cisco, Netscreen, etc. They are reliable and
> will stay up all the time. I think using Windows as a VPN solution is
> overkill because its best use is as an operating system serving clients.
>
> Ace
>
>
>
>

"Bruce Johnson" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:6569D687-170A-4945-9EC7-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Ya, but it was builtin, and I work for a school district, so hardware
> costs
> are tough to achieve in a public tax budget...
>
> As for going asleep.. why then can they still access the exchange box
> across
> the same vpn at the same time they can't access the SQL box? I don't see
> the
> VPN as being asleep.. but I will check the things you mention.. The
> maintenance on "re-tickling" the connection is killing me.

So if they are able to access Exchange, then it's starting to look like it
is the server itself. Are there multiple NICs on this server (multihomed)?
If so, and not configured properly, that could cause it. Is this server a
DC?

Ace

Yes, it is multihomed, but the 2nd nic is unused.. is it best to disable in
device manager to minimize confusion internally?

"Ace Fekay [MCT]" wrote:

> "Bruce Johnson" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:6569D687-170A-4945-9EC7-(E-Mail Removed)...
> > Ya, but it was builtin, and I work for a school district, so hardware
> > costs
> > are tough to achieve in a public tax budget...
> >
> > As for going asleep.. why then can they still access the exchange box
> > across
> > the same vpn at the same time they can't access the SQL box? I don't see
> > the
> > VPN as being asleep.. but I will check the things you mention.. The
> > maintenance on "re-tickling" the connection is killing me.
>
> So if they are able to access Exchange, then it's starting to look like it
> is the server itself. Are there multiple NICs on this server (multihomed)?
> If so, and not configured properly, that could cause it. Is this server a
> DC?
>
> Ace
>
>
>
>

Well, I disabled that nic in device mgr, but still having the same connection
issues..



"Bruce Johnson" wrote:

> Yes, it is multihomed, but the 2nd nic is unused.. is it best to disable in
> device manager to minimize confusion internally?
>
> "Ace Fekay [MCT]" wrote:
>
> > "Bruce Johnson" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> > news:6569D687-170A-4945-9EC7-(E-Mail Removed)...
> > > Ya, but it was builtin, and I work for a school district, so hardware
> > > costs
> > > are tough to achieve in a public tax budget...
> > >
> > > As for going asleep.. why then can they still access the exchange box
> > > across
> > > the same vpn at the same time they can't access the SQL box? I don't see
> > > the
> > > VPN as being asleep.. but I will check the things you mention.. The
> > > maintenance on "re-tickling" the connection is killing me.
> >
> > So if they are able to access Exchange, then it's starting to look like it
> > is the server itself. Are there multiple NICs on this server (multihomed)?
> > If so, and not configured properly, that could cause it. Is this server a
> > DC?
> >
> > Ace
> >
> >
> >
> >

"Bruce Johnson" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:F2DA4BAD-C0B6-4FBC-8D4A-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Well, I disabled that nic in device mgr, but still having the same
> connection
> issues..

Bruce,

Please provide an unedited ipconfig /all of this machine, and from another
that you don't have to "tickle," so to speak, (using your term and for a
lack of a better word). I would like to compare them. Also, what other
software or services are installed on this machine, such as AV, antispyware,
security, etc? Are there any GPOs applying to this machine? If so, what type
of settings are in it?

Ace