"No Logon Server" Epidemic

[Alan Brown]

At the company where I work, we are have a sort of widespread problem
involving the network...

We run a Windows 2000 Active Directory server based in Melbourne, Australia.
Its IP is 192.168.0.1 and it acts as a DNS, DHCP and WINS server. We have
5-10 computers in the main office connecting to the server using DHCP for
their IP (192.168.0.xx). We then have a Private VPN which connects to around
30 locations across Australia. These all have VPN routers with a Static IP
address, and each computer in these locations must have a Static IP, along
with their gateway set to the local router (IPs are 192.168.xx.xx).

While it all runs fine, sometimes some (normally 2 or 3 at a time) of the
computers on the VPN will not bind G Drive (the home directory), and will
give an error whenever trying to connect to computers joined to the domain.
This happens on Windows 2000 Professional and Windows XP Professional PC's
that have a Static IP. The only two ways we have found to solve this problem
is to either reset the server (which can be troublesome to say the least) or
to uninstall the Network Card (through Device Manager) at the site.

On Windows XP computers, it will pop up the login box, and if you type in
the username and password used to log in to that local computer, it will pop
up a balloon saying something along the lines of "This username has already
been used". I think after that if you use another user name, it will work.
On Windows 2000 computers it instead gives the "No Logon Server" type error.

We have tried searching for solutions, or even the error, on not only the
Microsoft Knowledgebase but also the Internet, but have not come up with
anything that matches our problem.
If anyone can help us, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Al Mulnick]

Some of the computers on the VPN?
You mean across the VPN? So is this really an issue only with computers
that use these resources across a VPN connection right?

If so, what's the VPN solution?

 

[Alan Brown]

We have the VPN setup so that each router basicly connects to a router at
head office. There is no mucking about with LLPT or PP2P or whatever they
are as these routers are designed ot be a closed network. Even Internet
Access is through a firewall/router in head office.
The problem shows when trying to access Domain Connected computers, which
includes our server. We have only ever had this problem on computers on the
VPN connection.
It becomes a problem because we do nightly backups on the G Drive, and
loosing that means no backup...