Server client DNS DHCP setup?

Have server 2003 and 2 XP client setup. Have server as domain controller with DNS installed and configured and dhcp aswell.
Client pcs able to put on domain and assign dhcp address, then both lose dhcp address, acquiring ip address. Must give static ip to both clients. All pcs are connected through a linksys router. With modem interet through router. Server is configured fine with dns and dhcp. Logged clients on domain initially. Now if i take th off domain and attempt to put th back on i get error saying unable to find domain controller. The connection gets lost. I can ping all pcs from server but cannot ping server from client pcs and cannot browse to any other pcs files, through run \\computername.
Any ideas? Its like it all works fine at start then drops off and cant pick up dhcp address, but with static all pcs and access internet through router

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gojericho0

Is your router running DHCP as well? This could be conflicting with the scope your server is handing out

kovo

DHCP is disabled on router. I had it all working perfect for like 6 months then bought a new pc and built it with xp Pro SP2 then i could never put it on domain, so i rebuilt server and set it all up from scratch. Initially it work then as i said it just seemd to drop off or DNS or DHCP semed to collapse?

Trailerisf

I've had alot of problems with DHCP if DNS isn't configured properly.
If you can't ping computer names, then the DNS is not working properly.

Try and delete and recreate the DHCP scope. I would recreate the DNS zone as well... Its only the server/gatewat/subnet anyways for the 1 machine.

TechJunky

Defiantly need more info. Why use a router and have dhcp enabled on the server? You need to disable either the router or the dhcp on your server. I would suggest disabling on the server so you are not fighting a software issue. The router is made to handle dhcp clients and that will help you with troubleshooting the problem at hand.

1. Let us know what ip scope you are using.

2. At what IP address does the DHCP server start handing out IP addresses at?

3. try nbtstat -R in the command prompt.

4. What do you get when you type ipconfig /all on the dhcp enabled workstations?

Let us know that information and we will shoot from there.

kovo

My server is 192.168.1.1
Router is 192.168.1.254
dhcp is configured to hand out addresses from 192.168.1.2 - 192.168.1.20
if i enable the workstations to obtain dhcp addresses they get assigned APIPA adresses, saying that it cant find the DHCP server. Its all conneted fine .
DHCP is disabled at the router. Its setup exactly as it was at the start and it worked fine then all of a sudden 1 client statred aquiring ipaddress and got an apipa address. i didnt change anything on the server. The dhcp scope is authorised. DNS was setup during setup of AD. im baffled why server ping both clients but clients cant ping server either ip or name. Clients can ping eachother by IP and Computer Name. But clients cannot see eachothers files, from RUN \\computername asks for a username and password i tried all my admin passwords on server and local machine nothing
???????????????????????????????

TechJunky

I am not sure. Without seeing your dhcp server in person I couldnt tell ya. Everything if it was setup correctly it should work fine. I think its something with the DHCP server personally.

Type net config redirector on each box and copy paste it in here.

gojericho0

Also check the event viewer on the clients for any dhcp errors. If it seems to be working for a little then stops, maybe they are having trouble renewing their ip address and it could give you a clue as to why

sprkymrk

Does your server have SP1 installed? If so, make sure you did not turn on the firewall. Or any firewall for that matter (zone alarm, etc.). When you rebuilt the server, did you remove all your other workstations from the domain to a workkgroup and then rejoin the domain? If not, you should, otherwise the SIDS will all be screwed up.

menon.kiran

Did u check whether DHCP Relay is enabled on the router?
Also check in case there are any port blocking rules on the Router?

sprkymrk

menon.kiran wrote:

Did u check whether DHCP Relay is enabled on the router?
Also check in case there are any port blocking rules on the Router?

Those things won't matter, as the server and clients are all on the same side of the router.

kovo

Ye, i put the clients on a workgroup then once server was rebuilt put em back onto new domain and initialy it all went smooth and worked fine.Then al of a sudden i couldnt browse files (RUN \\computername) would say domain controiller not found. i removed zonealarm firewall and still same thing clients cant ping server. They cant see it even though they are on the same subnet. Is there any setting in the router i shold be aware of????
Im lost why i cant even ping the server. Iv got internet on all pcs by giving the defualt gateway as the routers IP. Just pcs cant talk to eachother

TechJunky

Sounds like a bad network card in the server...

Try pinging 127.0.0.1 on the server. If this checks out ok, then the tcp/ip stack is working properly.

Try and ping a host on the network. If you cannot ping them your network card is bad.

If you can ping another host your network card is fine.

kovo

From the server i can ping everything 127.0.0.1, both clients by IP and hostname. just clients cant ping server or talk to either pc.

TechJunky

If your workstations cant ping each other then perhaps they are on different networks somehow?

Server is functioning properly if it can ping everything.

Can the other two workstations get on the internet and browse websites, or are they still getting an APIPA address? Even if they are getting APIPA addresses you should be able to ping each other using the APIPA addresses.

If you can ping 127.0.0.1 on the workstations but nothing else outside of that then perhaps the network cards are fubar'd on your desktops.

kovo

This is spinning me out. Now i can ping the server from both clients and i can open the server files \\servername. I tried to put client on doamin, got error domain controller could not be contacted DNS doesnt exist. But on server DNS is installed from AD setup???????????

TechJunky

Sounds like you need to start clean on all boxes to make sure atleast the hardware on all boxes are working correctly. Nothing like trying to troubleshoot multiple things. Make sure the workstations have DNS setup statically to accept your Servers DNS address IE: 192.168.1.1 or whatever the servers IP address is.

sprkymrk

I know you say you installed dns on the server, but make sure it is running and there are no errors. You may need to repair your dns. Can you ping from a client to the server by ip now?

Run netdiag on the server too, it may tell you what is wrong.

TechJunky

Lol, I dont know why I didnt suggest this earlier.

On the server type nslookup.

If your server is setup correctly it should look something like this...

Default Server: akgaming.com
Address: 24.237.156.80

If you get an error saying unknown host blah blah you need to setup your reverse zone under DNS to 192.168.1.

Then try ipconfig /flush dns
ipconfig /register dns

Then try your nslookup command again.

kovo

NSLOOKUP
i get this message server:unknown
Address 192.168.1.254
Unknown cant find nslookup non-existent domain
This is my router IP.
How should i setup the server 1st and 2nd dns addresses???
What do i have to do in reverse lookup zone??????

sprkymrk

kovo wrote:

NSLOOKUP
i get this message server:unknown
Address 192.168.1.254
Unknown cant find nslookup non-existent domain
This is my router IP.
How should i setup the server 1st and 2nd dns addresses???
What do i have to do in reverse lookup zone??????

Having the router as your server's DNS is correct, as long as your server's DNS Service is set up as a forwarder.

Try nslookup on a client, that's where it should say 192.168.1.1 and your server's name. And again, can you ping the server by ip from a client? Did you run netdiag yet>?
http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer/en/Library/cf4926db-87ea-4f7a-9806-0b54e1c00a771033.mspx?mfr=true

TechJunky

http://www.simongibson.com/intranet/dns2003/

http://www.petri.co.il/how_to_install_active_directory_on_windows_2003.htm

kovo

If i type NSLOOKUP on client i get error
"DNS request timed out, cant fine server name for address 192.168.1.1:Timed out
Cant find server name for address 192.168.1.254: Non- existent domain
Default servers are not available
Default server: Unknown
Address: 192.168.1.1"
i can ping server by name and IP and browse files from RUN \\servername
Just cant put on domain and assign DHCP address.
??????????????????

TechJunky

Sounds to me like your DNS and DHCP is not setup correctly.

kovo

DNS was setup automatically through AD, what else can i configure in DNS to help it out?
DHCP scope is configured ive configured it many times at work and always works just my setup at home , would DNS affect DHCP scope not to work???

TechJunky

dns would not affect dhcp, dhcp would not affect dns. However if you are trying to aquire address via dhcp and dhcp doesnt work then your out of luck period. Why dont you just statically assign the workstations ip addresses and then try and troubleshoot the DNS server first? Then once you know thats working go back and try and figure out your dhcp problem?

kovo

Thats what ive been doing i got statically assigned IPs and im trying to work out the DNS errors. I just want to get the clienst on the Domain.
U mentioned to make changes in Forward lookup zones or reverse lookup zones?
What changes should i make to allow the client to see the server in NSLOOKUP.

Danman32

The server's DNS client should be pointing to itself ONLY. This may be why you are getting domain access problems; the DC is not properly registered in the DNS because it is trying to register itself off of the internet. To resolve internet names the DNS SERVER should be forwarding to the internet (or router if the router can be a DNS proxy).

Once you have the DNS client (TCP/IP settings) configured correctly, run netdiag /fix on the server to check and repopulate the zone for your domain.