Trick Windows into thinking that OLDFILESERVER still exists.

[Nick]

We have recently migrated to a new File Server (W2K to Server2003)
All folders have been copied from "\\OLDSERVER\Documents" to
"\\NEWSERVER\Documents".
The OLDSERVER is now switched off. (It never provided any
DNS,AD,FRS,DFS or other services - only file sharing)

Accessing files via \\NEWSERVER\Documents works perfectly.
We would ALSO like to be able to access our Documents using
\\OLDSERVER\Documents , even though OLDSERVER is switched off.

Here are the errors we get:
Run \\OLDSERVER from Windows XP => "\\OLDSERVER is not accessible. You
might not have permission to use this network resource. The target
account name is incorrect"
Run \\OLDSERVER from a server computer => "You were not connected
because a duplicate name exists on the network"

We have added a DNS entry for OLDSERVER and OLDSERVER.mydomain.com to
point to the IP address of NEWSERVER.
If we ping OLDSERVER or OLDSERVER.mydomain.com , it replies correctly
with the IP address of NEWSERVER.
If we run \\NEWSERVER or \\<IP of NewServer> , it correctly displays
all of the available shares.
If we run nslookup, it takes us straight to our internal DNS server.
OLDSERVER maps correctly to the IP address of NEWSERVER.

We have also tried IPCONFIG /FLUSHDNS, as well as adding static
entries to the host file (in Windows XP).

Is there a way to trick Windows XP (and Server 2003) into thinking
that OLDSERVER still exists - and have it simply redirect to
NEWSERVER?
We need to do this because we have a LARGE amount of applications
which expect to see \\OLDSERVER.

I think this is netbios / broadcast related, but I dont now how to
troubleshoot.
I'd also appreciate an explaination as to why it doesnt immediately
see the static entry in the local host file and use that.

I'm sure many others have encountered this problem.
Thanks
Nick

 

[Kevin D. Goodknecht Sr. [MVP]]

In

Here are the errors we get:
Run \\OLDSERVER from Windows XP => "\\OLDSERVER is not
accessible. You might not have permission to use this
network resource. The target account name is incorrect"
Run \\OLDSERVER from a server computer => "You were not
connected because a duplicate name exists on the network"

281308 - Connecting to SMB Share on a Windows 2000-Based Server May Not Work
with an Alias Name:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;281308

 

[nicough]

Thanks for your reply.
Here is some additional infomation on the topic.


Add a registry key on NEWSERVER to DisableStrictNameChecking
Connecting to SMB Share on a Windows 2000-Based Server May Not Work
with an Alias Name
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;281308

http://www.jsiinc.com/SUBQ/tip8000/rh8062.htm
http://www.jsiinc.com/SUBA/tip0000/rh0062.htm
NetAlias
http://www.jsiinc.com/SUBO/tip7300/rh7374.htm
You can use a combination of the OptionalNames and
DisableStrictNameChecking registry
entries, but they don't work on
Windows 2003 Domain Controllers. NetAlias works perfectly.
It handles the NetBIOS and DNS requests. From memory, you need to add a
DNS entry, but it
should register the WINS entry all on its own. It takes up to 40
minutes to do this.
How can I define multiple NetBIOS names for a machine?
http://www.winnetmag.com/Article/ArticleID/14475/14475.html
HKEY_Local_Machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters

OptionalNames. Restart

2 conditions are satisfied
(1) the domain suffix in TCP/IP is the same as the client PC trying to
access
(2) The Accessing PC is a win2k box
Still cant access from NT4