w2k server intermittently hangs

[jenson]

Hello everyone,

I have a strange problem and I looking for some advice. I really
don't know if this is an OS, hardware, or software issue.

The Problem:
My W2k server intermittently hangs. The hang is so severe that I must
power off the machine.

When the hang occurs, I am unable to connect to the server in any way.
I try to connect using Terminal Services but the connection times
out. Mapped drives to shares on the server stop responding. Even
when I walk over to the server and attempt to login locally it fails.
In fact I never even get the Login prompt. Ctrl-Alt-Delete has no
effect at all. I eventually have to power the machine off. After
rebooting it always works fine again.

I am running WebSphere 4.05 on this box and not much else. This is a
development machine and there is very little concurrency. In fact it
is just me most of the time.

Although I cannot easily reproduce the problem, it has happened about
5 times in a two week time period. It always has happened while I am
accessing a browser-based application that is running on WebSphere on
the server.

Environment details:
OS: W2k Server SP3
Server Manufacturer: Compaq Proliant DL 380
CPU: Dual PIII 1.266 GHz
RAM: 2.5 GB
Virtual Memory: 4092 MB
Disk Capacity: 34 GB (9.5 GB used)

I'm stumped. If the problem is related to WebSphere or an application
running on WebSphere then why does the entire server become
inaccessible? I've crashed my share of apps in my day but never to
the point where W2k completely stops responding and requires a power
off.

I have not found any relevant errors in the event log or the WebSphere
log.

Lastly, don’t flame me if you think this is a WebSphere issue
and not an OS problem. That may be but I’m trying to
investigate all of the possibilities with the troubling problem.

Any ideas are much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Gillies]

Most of the "intermittently hangs" are often due to a heat problem. Open up
your PC, put a big fan in front of it real quick and see what you get!! I
bet your "hangs" problem will be gone!

HTH

 

[jenson]

Thanks for your input I will look into this possibility.

However, my gut feeling is that this is not related to heat. The
server is located in a climate controlled data center. The server
itself is in a rack with several other servers. None of the other
machines have experienced similar problems.

Has anyone seen a W2k server completely hang? I mean hang to the
point where you must power off the box.

Thanks again.