SBS 2011 - Complete Loss Network Connectivity

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Zeon

3918 posts

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#110321 8-Oct-2012 07:29

Hey guys,
I've got a weird problem. On Saturday night I converted a SBS 2011 VM from Hyper-V 2008 to VMware ESXi 5.0 using VMware converter. All went smoothly in terms of the conversion but have a wierd problem.

Every 6 hours or so the VM loses all network connectivity. It can ping itself but nothing else, even on the local subnet. A restart will fix it but even disconnecting/reconnecting the network or disabling and e-enabling doesn't do anything.

The Server has a new NIC as it is now running VMware Inel 1000mbps NIC rather than Hyper-v NIC.

Anyone seen any similar behaviour?

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gzt

17160 posts

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#697767 8-Oct-2012 10:29

Probably a good idea to check the event log and see what is going on with Windows around that time.

jaymz

1133 posts

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#697793 8-Oct-2012 11:44

Did you remove the old NIC (Uninstall) from SBS prior to first boot of the server on the new hyper visor? (boot into DSRM)

Did you run the Connect to Internet wizard from the SBS console after first boot? This will help re-configure the networking of SBS to the new NIC.

Try those things first then go from there. It may also be a firewalling issue with SBS2011 that is causing you some greif. Dont disable it, just check the rules and nic association.

gjm

808 posts

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#697817 8-Oct-2012 12:41

Did you uninstall the hyper v tools before converting it? Also as above rerun the networking wizard

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Zeon

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#697828 8-Oct-2012 12:57

Hey guys,
Thanks for the feedback so far. Unfortunately I only work with 2008 standard or enterprise so not too experienced with some of the finesses of SBS! I didn't uninstall the Hyper-V tools before moving it but I did after it was moved. I have also installed VMware tools.

In terms of the NICs, I didn't uninstall the old one before booting it. VMware removed it and replaced it with the intel e1000 adapter. It did boot fine and I change the IP address on the adapter after it had booted. I also uninstalled the old Hyper-V NICs from the device manager.

It's a really odd problem, e.g. I was connected to VPN this morning it just suddenly dropped. Logged into the server via VMware console and it had the yellow exclamation mark next to the NIC and no ability to ping. Simply disabling and re-enabling the adapter and it was back up and running within 2 seconds. It's extremely odd that it is all working then suddenyl just randomly stops. Nothing in Event Viewer either :(

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jaymz

1133 posts

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#702110 16-Oct-2012 15:24

To run the Fix My Network Wizard

Open the Windows SBS Console.
On the navigation bar, click Network, and then click Connectivity.
In the task pane, click Fix my network.
Follow the instructions in the wizard. You can click each potential problem that the wizard lists to get more information about the problem.

Zeon

3918 posts

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#702122 16-Oct-2012 15:37

Hey guys,
Yup I removed and re-added the adapter and ran the wizard and it worked! Lol I would never have thought and no idea what was causing the issue but glad it is solved. Thanks ;)

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jaymz

1133 posts

Uber Geek

#702141 16-Oct-2012 16:23

Zeon: Hey guys,
Yup I removed and re-added the adapter and ran the wizard and it worked! Lol I would never have thought and no idea what was causing the issue but glad it is solved. Thanks ;)

Windows SBS 2011 Networking is different to standard Server 2008 due to the way it incorporates DNS, DHCP, Exchange, etc. It is very reliant on bindings to network cards and any changes (like virtualizing systems) will upset the connection bindings.

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allan

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#702160 16-Oct-2012 17:04

Never try and outguess the wizard on an SBS server.

(RIP SBS)