Network Neighbors are Disappearing

[Harvey Jeane]

I have searched this newsgroup and have found problems similar to mine, but
not exactly. I just don't want anyone to get upset if I'm asking a question
that has been answered before. You guys don't need extra work, and I have
tried to do my homework before begging for help.

I have a small home network that consists of 10 computers. One of the
computers is configured as a firewall/router and print server. This machine
(Jupiter) contains two NICs - one connects to the Internet and is protected
by the Windows Firewall; the other NIC connects to a 24-port switch which
drives all of the other computers. The only TCP/IP connection in the entire
network that is protected by a firewall is the one that connects directly to
the Internet. This configuration had been working great for 2 or 3 years.

I recently installed SP2 on all 10 computers and everything is still working
"almost perfect".It is the "almost" that I need some help with. I'm still
running only one firewall on the TCP/IP stack that communicates with the
Internet. All of the computers can access the Internet, and all of the
computers can see and access all shared files and printers across the
network. But when I attempt to view the computers within My Workgroup
(Alpine Graphics), I'm no longer able to see all 10 computers. On some
computers, I see as many as 6 of 10 computer; on other computers, I see as
few as 2 of 10 computers. At different times during the day, the number of
computers seen on any single computer will vary (as few as 2, as many as 6,
but never all 10). Also, the set of computers that are seen from any
specific computer will vary. I know the computers are on-line and connected.
I can simply go into My Network Places and browse any shared network
resource and access it almost immediately. It appears that whatever
mechanism scans the network and retrieves the names of all the on-line
computers in a specific workgroup is somehow not functioning properly. This
problem only surfaced after the SP2 install.

I'm currently allowing the Windows Router to serve dynamic IP addresses
(DCHP) to the other 9 computers. Again, I've used this approach since I
built the XP network. My next step is to assign static IP address to the
Intranet computers, but I wanted to get some help before I took this step.
Any ideas?

Harvey

 

[Chuck]

I have searched this newsgroup and have found problems similar to mine, but
not exactly. I just don't want anyone to get upset if I'm asking a question
that has been answered before. You guys don't need extra work, and I have
tried to do my homework before begging for help.

I have a small home network that consists of 10 computers. One of the
computers is configured as a firewall/router and print server. This machine
(Jupiter) contains two NICs - one connects to the Internet and is protected
by the Windows Firewall; the other NIC connects to a 24-port switch which
drives all of the other computers. The only TCP/IP connection in the entire
network that is protected by a firewall is the one that connects directly to
the Internet. This configuration had been working great for 2 or 3 years.

I recently installed SP2 on all 10 computers and everything is still working
"almost perfect".It is the "almost" that I need some help with. I'm still
running only one firewall on the TCP/IP stack that communicates with the
Internet. All of the computers can access the Internet, and all of the
computers can see and access all shared files and printers across the
network. But when I attempt to view the computers within My Workgroup
(Alpine Graphics), I'm no longer able to see all 10 computers. On some
computers, I see as many as 6 of 10 computer; on other computers, I see as
few as 2 of 10 computers. At different times during the day, the number of
computers seen on any single computer will vary (as few as 2, as many as 6,
but never all 10). Also, the set of computers that are seen from any
specific computer will vary. I know the computers are on-line and connected.
I can simply go into My Network Places and browse any shared network
resource and access it almost immediately. It appears that whatever
mechanism scans the network and retrieves the names of all the on-line
computers in a specific workgroup is somehow not functioning properly. This
problem only surfaced after the SP2 install.

I'm currently allowing the Windows Router to serve dynamic IP addresses
(DCHP) to the other 9 computers. Again, I've used this approach since I
built the XP network. My next step is to assign static IP address to the
Intranet computers, but I wanted to get some help before I took this step.
Any ideas?

Harvey,

Your problem is with the Browser subsystem in your LAN.

The Microsoft Browstat program will show us what browsers you have in your
domain / workgroup, at any time.
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188305

You can download Browstat from:
<http://www.dynawell.com/reskit/microsoft/win2000/browstat.zip>
<http://rescomp.stanford.edu/staff/manual/rcc/tools/browstat.zip>

Browstat is very small (40K), needs no install, and runs from the command
prompt. Just drop it onto a couple workstations, and run it.

For more information about the browser subsystem (very intricate), see:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188001
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188305
<http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winntas/deploy/prodspecs/ntbrowse.mspx>

Check each of your computers, and make sure that the Windows Firewall isn't
active. If active, and you don't enable the File and Printer Sharing exemption,
WF will block the information from the browser.

Run browstat on each of your computers, and see what the master and backup
browsers are. They should be the same for all computers. Also, make sure the
master browser is one of the computers that stays online all the time.

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Harvey Jeane]

Chuck,

Thanks for the rapid response. I quickly read 188305; unfortunately, only
about every other sentence made sense on this first read. It definitely
sounds as if this is right area to be investigating.

I made sure before I posted that only a single firewall is active. This is
the firewall on the stack connected directly to the Internet. As soon as I
have a few hours, I'll re-read 188305, download Browstat and run some tests.
I'd appreciate if you would monitor this thread over the next several days
and give me a hand if I "fall in a hole".

Thanks again,

Harv

 

[Chuck]

Chuck,

Thanks for the rapid response. I quickly read 188305; unfortunately, only
about every other sentence made sense on this first read. It definitely
sounds as if this is right area to be investigating.

I made sure before I posted that only a single firewall is active. This is
the firewall on the stack connected directly to the Internet. As soon as I
have a few hours, I'll re-read 188305, download Browstat and run some tests.
I'd appreciate if you would monitor this thread over the next several days
and give me a hand if I "fall in a hole".

Harvey,

KB188305 is NOT the most detailed article. If you really want to learn about
the Browser subsystem, read the third (TechNet is usually more detailed than
KnowledgeBase). But do it when you have enough time, and no distractions. It's
a long, very intense article. ;-)

You'll probably need the third anyway, if your problems are what I'm thinking.

I have a Watch filter that includes this thread. Report in this thread, with
the same Subject, and I'll see your message.

BTW, Harvey, please don't contribute to the spread and success of email address
mining viruses. Learn to munge your email address properly, to keep yourself a
bit safer when posting to open forums. Protect yourself and the rest of the
internet - read this article.
http://www.mailmsg.com/SPAM_munging.htm

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Harvey Jeane]

Chuck,

Thanks for the "Munging" article - hopefully, I've applied it correctly.

I don't spend a lot of time on newsgroups, so my exposed email address in
that venue has not been a personal problem. But, every little bit helps in
this "sick world" that we're living in. Unfortunately, I get tons of spam
from "all the usual suspects" that have acquired my email address through
other means. Since I have a finite set of legitimate email correspondents
(300 - 400), I have been fairly successful using a "white-hat, black-hat"
spam blocker. I hesitate to even provide an email address on an open forum.
Trading information outside of the newsgroup using personal emails somewhat
defeats the purpose of an open forum (i.e., solving my problem in the open
should benefit others - solving it in the background only helps me).

Harv