MAC problems in network connecting to WIN2K file server SAN

[Eimis]

Hello,

We are having problems with Mac's connecting to certain server on our
network.
We have a SAN and we have set up and install MAC share services, was working
fine, for some reason it stopped working good, what happens if we go on the
Mac to Chooser choose that server and what it does it says Contacting
server, and it takes forever, if I hit cancel it takes me to authentication
and it works fine. Is there any win2k tweaks or registry settings that we
could try fixing?
MAC os X works fine, so we know there is a problem with most likely with
appletalk, and we have other servers on the network mac's can connect to
those normaly with no problem.

Thank you very much for any replies,

Eimis

 

[Jim Seifert [MSFT]]

Classic Mac OS clients first try to contact a server via TCP/IP and then
Appletalk so when you hit cancel in this scenario the TCP/IP connection
attempt is canceled and an Appletalk connection is established . This can
be due to incomplete or inaccurate IP, gateway and dns information on the
Mac clients. Holding down the option key on Classic MAC OS clients while
selecting a server in the chooser will force an Appletalk connection to the
server and the server should be contacted immediately.

 

[William M. Smith]

If i set manually IP address on the MAC it is still the same problem, how
can I troubleshoot the issue?
Thank you for you info a lot !

Hi Eimis!

Do you have a Windows or Mac OS X machine on your network that you can ping
from? Here's a few things to try.

Ping your server and ping some of your Macs that can't connect.

Ping by IP address first. If you get no replies then your DHCP server is not
working properly or you have your IP addresses configured incorrectly for
some of your machines.

Ping by name (if you use DNS servers). If you get no replies this way but
get replies when pinging by IP address then you have a DNS server problem or
your machines may not be receiving DNS addresses from your DHCP server.

Hope this helps! bill

 

[Eimis]

I can ping the Mac machines and any servers, If I go to chooser and there is
list of server, if I select the particular server that I need it will be
connecting to it for a long time, just like Jim Seifert [MSFT]
<[email protected]> mentioned its trying to use Ethernet to
connect. If I type in manually IP address or the name of the server it
connects fast, what should I do and how can I troubleshoot this issue? This
is a problem with all the Macs in the office, we have about 20 of them here.

P.S. How does server get listed in Chooser on mac ?

Thank you very much,

Regards

Eimis

 

[Eimis]

Hello Bill,

Sorry for confusion, yes if I type right now servers ip or name address it
gets there quickly, but if I select the server from the list and hit ok it
takes forever to get to it, it says contacting server if I hit cancel it
show switching back to AppleTalk and connects with no problem. This problem
is only on that particular server, we have other Win2k servers with Apple
Talk Protocols installed and it works fine.
About the chooser list, I was just wondering how it is getting build in the
chooser list, is it by DNS WINS or however, just don't know that, this is
just for the knowledge.

Thank you

Regards,

P.S. And again sorry for my inaccuracy.

Eimis

I can ping the Mac machines and any servers, If I go to chooser and there is
list of server, if I select the particular server that I need it will be
connecting to it for a long time, just like Jim Seifert [MSFT]
<[email protected]> mentioned its trying to use Ethernet to
connect. If I type in manually IP address or the name of the server it
connects fast, what should I do and how can I troubleshoot this issue? This
is a problem with all the Macs in the office, we have about 20 of them here.

P.S. How does server get listed in Chooser on mac ?

Hi Eimis!

I'm confused as to what you're saying your problem is.

In your first post, you state if you manually enter the IP address for the
server you still have the delayed connection problem, but in your second
post you say it connects fast.

Also, in your first post you talk about going into the Chooser to "choose
the server", but in your last post you're asking how to get it listed in the
Chooser.

Can you clarify?

Thanx! bill

 

[Jim Seifert [MSFT]]

The chooser list availiable Appletalk network information only.

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

Hello Bill,

Sorry for confusion, yes if I type right now servers ip or name address it
gets there quickly, but if I select the server from the list and hit ok it
takes forever to get to it, it says contacting server if I hit cancel it
show switching back to AppleTalk and connects with no problem. This problem
is only on that particular server, we have other Win2k servers with Apple
Talk Protocols installed and it works fine.
About the chooser list, I was just wondering how it is getting build in the
chooser list, is it by DNS WINS or however, just don't know that, this is
just for the knowledge.

Thank you

Regards,

P.S. And again sorry for my inaccuracy.

Eimis

I can ping the Mac machines and any servers, If I go to chooser and there is
list of server, if I select the particular server that I need it will be
connecting to it for a long time, just like Jim Seifert [MSFT]
<[email protected]> mentioned its trying to use Ethernet to
connect. If I type in manually IP address or the name of the server it
connects fast, what should I do and how can I troubleshoot this issue? This
is a problem with all the Macs in the office, we have about 20 of them here.

P.S. How does server get listed in Chooser on mac ?

Hi Eimis!

I'm confused as to what you're saying your problem is.

In your first post, you state if you manually enter the IP address for the
server you still have the delayed connection problem, but in your second
post you say it connects fast.

Also, in your first post you talk about going into the Chooser to "choose
the server", but in your last post you're asking how to get it listed in the
Chooser.

Can you clarify?

Thanx! bill

 

[William M. Smith]

Hello Bill,

Sorry for confusion, yes if I type right now servers ip or name address it
gets there quickly, but if I select the server from the list and hit ok it
takes forever to get to it, it says contacting server if I hit cancel it
show switching back to AppleTalk and connects with no problem. This problem
is only on that particular server, we have other Win2k servers with Apple
Talk Protocols installed and it works fine.
About the chooser list, I was just wondering how it is getting build in the
chooser list, is it by DNS WINS or however, just don't know that, this is
just for the knowledge.

Hi Eimis!

OK, now that makes sense. d

To answer your last question first, items you see in the Chooser are
dynamically listed by an Appletalk broadcast. Opening the Chooser and
selecting a driver icon such as AppleShare or LaserWriter sends a broadcast
to the network soliciting for machines to respond with their services. So
long as the Chooser remains open, the broadcast is sent about every 10 to 20
seconds, which effectively refreshes the list. That's why you can see items
come and go in the Chooser.

Your original problem is still strange. Obviously TCP/IP is still working
and forward lookup DNS is working to resolve your server's name to an IP
address.

As Jim explained earlier, a modern AFS (Apple File Services) server such as
AppleShareIP 6 or Windows 2000 Server will allow you to browse the network
via Appletalk and then attempt to have you make the connection via IP.

In your case, your server doesn't seem to be getting the information back to
your Mac saying "connect to me via IP".

Here's a few things to check:

1.) While I don't think reverse lookup DNS plays a role here, you might want
to check your forward and reverse DNS entries for your server as well as any
CNAMEs.

2.) Go to Apple's website and download the latest AppleShare driver. The
latest I remember seeing for Mac OS 9 is something like 3.8.x.

3.) In your TCP/IP/ Control Panel on your Mac, change to Advanced User
Settings so that you can see the Options button in the lower righthand
corner. Click Options and UNcheck "Load only when needed". This will force
your Mac to acquire an IP address at startup instead of the first time you
attempt to make an IP connection. (If I had to make a guess, I'd bet this is
your problem.)

Hope this helps! bill

 

[Pete Rentmeester]

Hi Eimis!

OK, now that makes sense. d

To answer your last question first, items you see in the Chooser are
dynamically listed by an Appletalk broadcast. Opening the Chooser and
selecting a driver icon such as AppleShare or LaserWriter sends a broadcast
to the network soliciting for machines to respond with their services. So
long as the Chooser remains open, the broadcast is sent about every 10 to 20
seconds, which effectively refreshes the list. That's why you can see items
come and go in the Chooser.

Your original problem is still strange. Obviously TCP/IP is still working
and forward lookup DNS is working to resolve your server's name to an IP
address.

As Jim explained earlier, a modern AFS (Apple File Services) server such as
AppleShareIP 6 or Windows 2000 Server will allow you to browse the network
via Appletalk and then attempt to have you make the connection via IP.

In your case, your server doesn't seem to be getting the information back to
your Mac saying "connect to me via IP".

Here's a few things to check:

1.) While I don't think reverse lookup DNS plays a role here, you might want
to check your forward and reverse DNS entries for your server as well as any
CNAMEs.

2.) Go to Apple's website and download the latest AppleShare driver. The
latest I remember seeing for Mac OS 9 is something like 3.8.x.

3.) In your TCP/IP/ Control Panel on your Mac, change to Advanced User
Settings so that you can see the Options button in the lower righthand
corner. Click Options and UNcheck "Load only when needed". This will force
your Mac to acquire an IP address at startup instead of the first time you
attempt to make an IP connection. (If I had to make a guess, I'd bet this is
your problem.)

Hope this helps! bill

I've seen something similar to this but I need to get a LAN guy to help me
fix it so I can only give you some details. Maybe somebody else can expand
on it.
Because AppleTalk is a chattery protocol my company put all the Mac's on our
own VLAN to easy the network traffic. Here's where my knowledge fades. The
first guy that set up the AppleTalk Zones didn't configure them (the Zones
that is) correctly on the routers. What makes me think this is a router
issue for you is where you said you can type the direct IP address and go
right to the server but searching via the chooser is slow. You may want to
have a LAN person at your company place a niffer on the line and see where
your packets are going when you use the chooser. Your problem may not be
with the Server.

The Guy who helped me with this problem has left the company so I can't
bring him into help you. Sorry. Hopefully somebody else can expand on this.

Good Luck