Forums | MacLife

eraserheadache · 2009-08-04 8:36 pm

Sorry if this gets a little random; I was up at 3:30 this morning and my brain's turning to mush..... eek

In my small Mac-based office, we have said G4 server running Tiger 10.4.11, connected to our Ethernet network which consists of a SonicWall TZ180, a LinkSys 8-port Gigabit switch, and our Comcast "Gateway."

Two clients are running the latest Leopard software and two are running Tiger...presumably 10.4.11.

I'm pretty much a noob to networking, although I've done my own wifi at home (through many trials and tribulations big_smile ).

I really don't get this Sharepoints software and have tried to get my boss to let me install our several month-old copy of Leopard but it keeps slipping through the cracks in our insanely busy days.

We were fine until yesterday when we started having internet connectivity (and printing and server) problems. Through troubleshooting with my genius wife (ex-IT) our old 5-port 10/100 Linksys switch seemed the likely culprit as I knew from a prior issue that it had two bad ports, and using one of those bad ports was for some strange reason the only way we could get things working again... until this morning... more lost connections....

I replaced the old switch with a shiny new 8-port Gigabit one and it worked for awhile.... big_smile

Then the problems started.... my MacPro handed me the blue screen of death... twice... Console told me it was related to ... Quicklook???? Bizarre..... Intermittent connection problems throughout the day..... cry

I did find that there was a firmware update for the SonicWall and started uploading it, but it crapped out before finishing... I think... Firefox gave me a lost connection error in any event... sad

I also found a document on SonicWall's website that tells you how to fix a common problem with Comcast router, but it's not clear which it wants me to configure: the Comcast router or the SonicWall.... roll

Also, we have a static IP that we pay a monthly fee for, but being a noob I'm not sure which equipment gets the static IP, and which gets DHCP or whatever... blush

Ugh... told you it'd get random... Thanks if you're still reading... tongue

So basically, I need someone to tell me what settings to put on my server Mac G4, what settings to put on the Sonicwall, Router, and of course all the client Macs.... Anyone up to the task? big_smile

sturner · 2009-08-04 8:52 pm

The Comcast router is the outward facing device. It gets the static IP.

The SonicWall is the DHCP device.

The G4 server should not be issuing any TCP/IP addresses. For a small setup/simple setup, I don't think you would want more than one network, but with the server you need to set the G4 up to bridge if it is controlling a network.

Just what dose it do? Serve files? If that's all then it could easily be on the base network of your office.

I'm not the best to give advice on a complicated network problems, but it might be (as I hinted in the above lines) that you have more than one DHCP server on your network. This won't work well.

How many devices (computers and such) do you have connecting through wire to the router? Basically why are you needing an 8 port switch?

eraserheadache · 2009-08-05 6:39 am

Sturner,

Thanks so much for the quick response. Maybe I'll avoid getting snapped at by my not-so-patient boss today after all. Sucks to be the only geek (heck the only MALE) in an office full of estrogen.

We're a design firm essentially, and the server holds most of the files we use on a daily basis. One user even has all her fonts on it - not something I was aware of before this issue. So we have lots of big graphics files going back and forth on a daily basis.

I don't know that we really needed an 8-port router but I thought it would be good to have extra ports just in case. And the gigabit speed, when the network is up, is lightning fast, even though all our equipment is still 10/100. We only have three of the ports in use currently (one a short cable to the SonicWall, one to the Comcast router, one connected to the wall panel where our Ethernet cables get distributed to the four user Macs and server.

The server has two 250gb internal drives, an 80gb internal drive, and a 500gb internal drive that is used for most of the filesharing. There's also a 500gb external drive.
How do I set the server up to be a bridge?

How do I know if the serve is serving out IPs?

By "outward facing device" do you mean the first to intercept data outside the network? Shouldn't that be the SonicWall firewall?

Why is the Sonicwall the one to get the static IP?

I was also wondering if it's possible that either the outlet or the Belkin surge protector that plugs into it has gone bad. Or, seeing that we have had some weirdness going on with our Xerox 7400 color printer lately (the display was showing type that was bitmapped and/or had lines running through it; some days it would display the type backwards, some days the display would be blank.) We had the display fixed the same day we first started having connectivity issues.

Thanks in advance. I'll try to get some screenshots or something more helpful when I get into work.

sturner · 2009-08-05 11:42 am

Ok, lets get all the devices straight.

The Comcast device, is it a router or modem? Are you on broadband? I would think you were. The Static IP is assigned to the device that sits facing the whole internet, usually that would be the device that plugs into your IP conduit (which is why I think it would be the Comcast "Gateway". To decide correctly, call up your Comcast support number and ask them to clarify the setup for the static IP address.

Additionally, ensure that your Linksys is a switch, not a router. Again these distinctions make a great deal of difference.

What you want to avoid is having two DHCP servers on the same network. Is the file server actually running a server OS or is it desktop computer that is sharing its drives? There is a difference there.

eraserheadache · 2009-08-05 4:28 pm

Comcast: SMC Business IP Gateway (I wasn't sure but after a google it's a modem)

We are on broadband.

I will try Comcast again tomorrow. Three voicemails today and one yesterday (with no response) is enough.

The Linksys is definitely a switch, not a router. 8-port gigabit.

The G4 is not running server software; it's essentially an unused workstation with lots of storage space used to share files and backup.

Thanks again.

Last edited by eraserheadache (2009-08-05 4:29 pm)

sturner · 2009-08-05 9:40 pm

First of all, with only 5 macs you can connect them all in the 5 ports on the back of the TZ180. How is the printer networked?

Second, the SonicWall TZ180 is the one that should be set with Static IP address. It should also be configured as a DHCP server.

The DHCP address of the TZ180 is 192.168.168.168. You do know how to log into it and use it's setup wizard? A better way to check it is from your Mac Open Utilities > Network Utility. Select the Ping tab. Enter 192.168.168.168 as the address to ping. Choose to send about 5 pings. The read out should be similar to this:

PING 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=1.588 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=1.157 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=1.253 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=1.069 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=4 ttl=64 time=1.167 ms

--- 192.168.1.1 ping statistics ---
5 packets transmitted, 5 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 1.069/1.247/1.588/0.180 ms

If you get nothing then your problem is your router, the TZ180.

I suspect that most of your problems are because of the router.

sturner · 2009-08-05 9:45 pm

I think you should seriously consider a different router. The setup tool that they provide is Classic only. Linksys pretty much ignores the Mac, but their setup is through a web browser, and it is fairly straight forward. If the SonicWall is dying or dead, then you may want to consider the Linksys. It will provide the same services and is inexpensive for something like a WRT54G, which is a five-port 10/100 with wireless, router. It provides DHCP, firewall, and VPN support.

Your millage may vary, but I've always had good service from Linksys.

sturner · 2009-08-05 9:49 pm

The following is the troubleshooting info form SonicWall. You are to do all of this on the SonicWall router.

Overview

SonicWALL running Standard OS not able to get DHCP lease on WAN interface when set to NAT with DHCP Client from cable provider i.e. Comcast Cable Modem and is not able to reach internet.

Resolution or Workaround

Please check the following settings on the SonicWALL Appliance in order to get the DHCP lease on WAN interface from Comcast Cable Modem.

- Make sure that when you directly connect a laptop to the Cable Modem you get an IP Address as a DHCP lease and can access internet through it.
- Plug an Ethernet cable into the computer and into the SonicWall LAN Port / X0 (marked "X0" on PRO series Appliances).
- Power on the SonicWall, wait for the lights to stop flashing.
- Bring up a browser and go to http://192.168.168.168 (factory default IP address) and you should have the SonicWall login page and then Login (the default username is "admin" and the password is "password")

- Go to Network -> Settings page.
- Click the edit icon in the WAN entry of the Interfaces table.
- Select NAT with DHCP Client from the drop-down menu.
- Go to Ethernet tab,
- Check on the option "Proxy management workstation Ethernet address on WAN" and then Click the OK button

Note: DNS Settings are obtained automatically when the SonicWALL security appliance receives its IP address information from the DHCP Server.

- On the lower left of the page, click the Logout button and then Power Cycle the SonicWall.
- Unplug the Ethernet cable from the SonicWall and plug into the cable modem and power on the cable modem, wait for the lights to stop flashing.
- Bring up a browser and go to a web site (doesn't matter which, try http://www.google.com... you should be able to get the web site. If not, stop here -- the cable connection is not working, contact your ISP technical support.
- Power off the cable modem and disconnect the co-axial cable from the cable modem and also Shutdown and power off the computer
- Unplug the Ethernet cable from the cable modem and plug into the SonicWall LAN Port / X0
- Plug the second Ethernet cable into the SonicWall in the WAN port (on the lower left, under the OPT port and to tho right of the Console port).
- Plug the other end of the second Ethernet cable into the cable modem and then power on the SonicWall, wait for the lights to stop flashing, finally reconnect the co-axial cable to the cable modem
- Power on the cable modem, wait for the lights to stop flashing and Boot the computer and login.
- Bring up a browser and go to a web site (doesn't matter which, try http://www.google.com... you should be able to get the web site.

eraserheadache · 2009-08-07 3:55 am

Sturner,

Thanks immensely for all your help. We finally got an expert in to look things over and it came down to two problems:

1. The root cause was settings on the SonicWall (wasn't told what they were at but today I'm going to make a backup and/or screenshots of all current settings in case this happens again)

2. The second problem was that -- erm -- the Comcast modem wasn't connected to anything except the server. I was doing some troubleshooting under the direction of a rep from SonicWall, lost the call, and later forgot to reconnect the proper cable back to the SonicWall. Whoops.

Anyway, I'm keeping a copy of this entire post in my network file folder. I really appreciate the help and lessons in networking.

sturner · 2009-08-07 9:09 am

Glad you found the problem.

And just to let you know you aren't alone, the main reason a lot of people lose their internet connectivity is because they reomove that connection and forget about it.

It's always very good to keep a notebook of your settings and password for the router, just so you can pass the correct settings on.

Forums | MacLife

#1 2009-08-04 8:36 pm

Internet connectivity issues on G4 Tiger server

#2 2009-08-04 8:52 pm

Re: Internet connectivity issues on G4 Tiger server

#3 2009-08-05 6:39 am

Re: Internet connectivity issues on G4 Tiger server

#4 2009-08-05 11:42 am

Re: Internet connectivity issues on G4 Tiger server

#5 2009-08-05 4:28 pm

Re: Internet connectivity issues on G4 Tiger server

#6 2009-08-05 9:40 pm

Re: Internet connectivity issues on G4 Tiger server

#7 2009-08-05 9:45 pm

Re: Internet connectivity issues on G4 Tiger server

#8 2009-08-05 9:49 pm

Re: Internet connectivity issues on G4 Tiger server

#9 2009-08-07 3:55 am

Re: Internet connectivity issues on G4 Tiger server

#10 2009-08-07 9:09 am

Re: Internet connectivity issues on G4 Tiger server

Board footer