Mapped network drive - connection drops

[Pab]

We've got a mapped network drive (actually an SBS 2003 server) and connection to it drops... at first it would happen occasionally but now it's more and more often.

We've got a number of client PCs (XP and Win7) accessing it and connection drops for all of them at the same time. It stays disconnected for a while but then joins again, usually by itself, but sometimes we need to disconnect and reconnect the network adaptor on the clients.

The clients are connected to a small netgear switch, to one NIC on the server. We may be wrong, but we've noticed that connection can drop when large files (like indesign artwork) are being accessed and worked on.

The server is a few years old so I'm wondering whether it's time to replace it? However, apart from this it performs well so it seems silly to replace it, but I've no idea how to diagnose the problem!

 

[Jim2k]

Is it just the one share/mapped drive that drops or do all shares from the server drop at the same time?

 

[techresolve]

read this artcile
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/297684#FixItForMeAlways

 

[Pab]

Is it just the one share/mapped drive that drops or do all shares from the server drop at the same time?

Thanks Jim. We only have one folder mapped, so I can't answer that. Connection to the internet is still fine, just not the folders on the server. Could this be a switch or server NIC issue?

Also note that there's nothing in the event log server side.

 

[Jim2k]

I would get another folder mapped to test it. It could well be a switch/nic issue - what speed is the network running at? I'm guessing 100meg. Test out the large file being worked on theory, transfer a big chunk of data and see what happens. Also try monitoring the network usage to see if you can see it maxing out etc.

 

[Pab]

read this artcile
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/297684#FixItForMeAlways

This refers to inactivity. If anything, our issue is the opposite! Furthermore, this problem never used to happen (for about 2 years it was fine)

 

[Pab]

I would get another folder mapped to test it. It could well be a switch/nic issue - what speed is the network running at? I'm guessing 100meg. Test out the large file being worked on theory, transfer a big chunk of data and see what happens. Also try monitoring the network usage to see if you can see it maxing out etc.

Yes, it's 100mb. I can copy files of a GB or more onto the server and the connection is fine. The drops seem to be random at times, though often when you're in the middle of working on a big indesign file!

 

[techresolve]

looks like a issue with network capacity.
you need to narrow down does it happen when there are many people involved?
when you use a specific software?
any specific time?

 

[Pab]

looks like a issue with network capacity.
you need to narrow down does it happen when there are many people involved?
when you use a specific software?
any specific time?

Today it's happened a few times and there are only 3 clients PCs on in the office, no VPNs. File usage is normal. A few word files etc but nothing excessively big.

How would one adjust the network capacity?

 

[techresolve]

Today it's happened a few times and there are only 3 clients PCs on in the office, no VPNs. File usage is normal. A few word files etc but nothing excessively big.

How would one adjust the network capacity?

hi check this link.. seems like many other faced this issue.. it was fixed by a script

http://www.computing.net/answers/networking/mapped-drives-disappearing/21105.html

 

[Jim2k]

You can increase capacity by investing in a gigabit switch and gigabit NICs etc. If you are working with large files regularly it would be worth your while anyway for whats a relatively cheap upgrade.

 

[Pab]

I asked my two colleagues to both open largish indesign files (one 40mb, the other 70mb) and monitored network use on the server. Here's what I saw:

http://img12.imageshack.us/i/svrnetwork.jpg/

 

[Jim2k]

Well its reporting your server is connecting at a gigabit. Are you sure its a 100meg switch etc?

 

[Pab]

Well its reporting your server is connecting at a gigabit. Are you sure its a 100meg switch etc?

The NIC is gigabit, as is the switch, but I think the cabling in the wall is 100mb (the server is on the other side of the office and just plugs into a wall ethernet port).

I might be wrong though. It could all be gigabit:

EDIT: It's all gigabit. The lights on the switch tell me so

 

[Jim2k]

The NIC is gigabit, as is the switch, but I think the cabling in the wall is 100mb (the server is on the other side of the office and just plugs into a wall ethernet port).

I might be wrong though. It could all be gigabit:

EDIT: It's all gigabit. The lights on the switch tell me so

Then you shouldn't have capacity issues. I would look to update drivers on the server NICS etc and possibly for the switch if there is one.

Also, if you can guarantee that the shared folder will drop, run a persistant ping to the server from a machine and see if it detects any drop in connection when the share drops.

 

[Pab]

I'm not sure I can for the switch.

I just tried for the Server NIC and it said it couldnt find a better match for my hardware

 

[Pab]

Also, I just realised it's definitely not the switch. We recently moved from a more modern building with floor ports for cables, so we didn't need to use the switch. The problem still happened then.

 

[Jim2k]

It certainly points to a server issue then. How did you try to update the NIC driver? Search on the manufacturers website because the Windows Update driver search in S2003 is hopeless at best.

 

[Pab]

I used Windows to find it. I just look on HP and it says:

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsuppor...sId=3659898&swLang=8&taskId=135&swEnvOID=1005

I have version 10.42.0.0

Is the middle option right for SBS 2003?

 

[Jim2k]

Yup, middle one in top section.

 

[Pab]

Updated.

It's quite a few versions newer than the previous one, so let's see how that affects things.

If that fails?

 

[KM-Tiger]

If that fails?

Try a different NIC and/or switch.

Don't know about the Windows world, but in the Linux world Broadcom NICs with some switches are known to give problems - locking up for no apparent reason, switching to half duplex when they should be full, the sort of stuff you can waste hours tearing your hair out on.

The other possibility is a faulty network cable. Changing the one between server and switch would be a quick and easy way to eliminate that if you've got a spare.

 

[Reality Check]

I have seen behavior like this before with SBS and it can be down to a licensing issue. Check to how many licenses you have installed on the server against how many concurrent users you have logged on (including any remote users). If it is this you will probably get a message logged in the event viewer.

Even if there is no message in event viewer you can get strange behavior when there are not enough licenses. One more thing to check and that is if the boot drive gets full (i.e. not enough free space on your c: drive this can cause licenses that have been installed to just 'pop out'. We have spoken to Microsoft about this and it is a know bug so it's worth checking.

 

[Pab]

Cabling is fine. I've changed it a few times and it hasn't improved.

We have enough user cals and there definitely aren't as many logged in as the number of licences. The hard drive has about 170GB of free space.

 

[Optegris]

I had this same problem a while ago and various fixes failed. In the end I replaced the NIC cards and the switch with 1Gbps connections and bought some "not cheap" cables and since then it's been fine...

 

[Pab]

I had this same problem a while ago and various fixes failed. In the end I replaced the NIC cards and the switch with 1Gbps connections and bought some "not cheap" cables and since then it's been fine...

I think that'll be my next step if these latest things don't rectify the issue.

 

[Reality Check]

What anti virus software are you using, is is Symantec Endpoint by any chance?

 

[Optegris]

If you going to do it then go big and get 1Gbps cards, supporting high quality Ethernet cable and supporting switches. Don't forget to check the cards in the client machines as well.

It's not particularly cheap but you will notice the difference..

 

[computer storm]

Hi Pad,

What antivirus are you using on the workstation and server, as some antivirus have network scanning enabled, and this can for the connection to be dropped, check the antivirus and if network scanning is enabled disable it. And see how it goes.

 

[Pab]

Hi Pad,

What antivirus are you using on the workstation and server, as some antivirus have network scanning enabled, and this can for the connection to be dropped, check the antivirus and if network scanning is enabled disable it. And see how it goes.

McAfee VirusScan enterprise 8.7i on both server and clients.

I'll have a look to see if I can find network scanning. Do you know what McAfee calls this?

 

[computer storm]

Hi Pad,

Try to disable the on access protection part and see if that helps, then enable them one by one to see if it is McAfee causing the issue.

 

[Pab]

Try to disable the on access protection part and see if that helps, then enable them one by one to see if it is McAfee causing the issue.

Disable them on the clients one by one, even though the connection drops from all of them at the same time, or disable it on the server?

Interestingly, the connection hasn't dropped once today for anyone. Problem fixed? Might be too early to say, but it seems better!

Thanks to those who offered help and advice. I appreciate it.

 

[shugied]

I've had problems with anti-virus slowing file transfers down quite remarkably, but not causing drive mappings to fail. That strikes me as more of a network issue, and were this me, I would be replacing the server NIC and the cable from it to the switch as a first iteration.

Assuming that the problem is still around of course.

There is a useful free utility called autoping which can be used to run checks on connections, you can set the timing to suit your particular circumstances, and it can report by email when a connection fails. Basic but helpful.

 

[Pab]

The connection just dropped! And there was me thinking we'd managed to resolve it.

Next steps would be to upgrade the network card I guess. A couple of questions:

- are there any recommendations for a network card?
- will it be straightforward to install?
- does the fact that the current card is integrated/embedded make a difference?

 

[shugied]

The connection just dropped! And there was me thinking we'd managed to resolve it.

Next steps would be to upgrade the network card I guess. A couple of questions:

- are there any recommendations for a network card?
- will it be straightforward to install?
- does the fact that the current card is integrated/embedded make a difference?

I've used Netgear GA311 with no problems
Check that there is an unobstructed PCI slot in your server to put the card in
You should be able to disable the integrated network adapter in the BIOS as the server boots

Hope that helps.

 

[Pab]

They cost about £15. I have no concept of network card pricing but that seems quite cheap?!

It must be compatible with windows SBS 2003 too.

 

[shugied]

They cost about £15. I have no concept of network card pricing but that seems quite cheap?!

It must be compatible with windows SBS 2003 too.

They are cheap, but apparently getting drivers for SBS 2003 can be a fiddle, the ones that come with it don't work for that o/s.

Might be better to try one of the Linksys from Cisco products, EG1032 perhaps, same sort of price, but no one is claiming it doesn't work with SBS 2003.

Best of luck with changing the NIC, SBS can be quite recalcitrant about this sort of change, in the initial configuration, if my memory serves me correctly, various Windows components get "told" about the NIC. Subsequent changes can require those components to be reconfigured so as to connect to the network.

Perhaps life might be a little easier, given you are testing to eliminate the problem, if you add this as a second NIC, and perhaps connect this to one test system.

 

[computer storm]

Hi Pad,

Once you get the new NIC you can just put it in and run the network connection wizard again this should resolve any issues and configure the card for you. But I would first also make sure that on the server you have disabled the antivirus access protection scanning as well, you can also check to see if you have the buffer overflow protection set correctly, and do a few tweeks to that.

If you do have any troubel by all means give me a shout.

 

[Pab]

Hi Pad,

Once you get the new NIC you can just put it in and run the network connection wizard again this should resolve any issues and configure the card for you. But I would first also make sure that on the server you have disabled the antivirus access protection scanning as well, you can also check to see if you have the buffer overflow protection set correctly, and do a few tweeks to that.

If you do have any troubel by all means give me a shout.

Is access protection not the part of mcafee that's protecting my server? Am I not exposing myself to risk by doing that?

When you say tweak buffer overflow protection, what do you mean?

 

[leemason]

The connection just dropped! And there was me thinking we'd managed to resolve it.

Next steps would be to upgrade the network card I guess. A couple of questions:

- are there any recommendations for a network card?
- will it be straightforward to install?
- does the fact that the current card is integrated/embedded make a difference?

If you are going to replace a network card in a server I would personally go for a decent gigabit server card (like one of the Intel server cards). Most of these will be pretty straightforward to install on SBS 2003. Make sure you disable the onboard card though to prevent any problems/conflicts.

I haven't read everything in this thread but most of the time when I have seen this sort of problem it's been a duplex mismatch (i.e. the server things it's full duplex and the network switch things it's half duplex or vis-versa).

If the switch that you have at the moment is unmanaged I'd see if you can get a managed or at least a smart switch. You can get a Netgear Smartswitch from just over £100.00 these days.