Category: Networking

My Computer Shows Network Drive Red Xs

Kept getting calls from clients about their network drives “disappearing” or disconnecting throughout the day at “random” intervals, so after much troubleshooting found these steps to take on the workstations and file server to help alleviate the issue:

Network Drive Red Xs On the Workstation:

1. Click on Start button then choose Control Panel
2. In Control Panel open the Device Manager
3. Expand the Network Adapters and open each one used on that workstation
4. Look in the Power Management tab and Advanced tabs to look for any power settings that would disable the device then uncheck them. Click OK button and close all other windows.
5. Open the Registry Editor.
6. Expand the tree to the following key:

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Service\lanmanworkstation\parameters

7. If it doesn’t exist then create a REG_DWORD named KeepConn with the Decimal value of 86400 (aka 24 hours)
8. Reboot the workstation for changes to take effect.

Network Drive Red Xs On the Server:

1. Login as administrator
2. Open Command Prompt as administrator
3. Type in the following to disable Auto Disconnect of network drives:

net config server /autodisconnect:-1

4. Reboot the server for changes to take effect.

Configure Server 2012 VPN Connections

Here are the basics to configure Server 2012 VPN connections to the local network. This is preferred by Farmhouse Networking over a third party vendor software or router based solution because of its native functionality and integration with domain credentials – think Single Sign On (SSO) or one password to access it all.

Install the Routing & Remote Access Service (RRAS) Role

1. Start the Server Manager
2. Click Add Roles and Features from the Manage Menu
3. On Add Roles and Features wizard begins and click Next
4. Select the Role-based or feature-based installation option and click Next
5. If you have more than one server managed via the server manager console, then select the desired server you’d like to install Routing and Remote Access on
6. From the Roles lists select Remote Access, click Add Features on the popup window
7. Click Next
8. Click Next as no additional features are needed
9. Select DirectAccess and VPN (RAS), click Next
10. Click Next
11. Accept default selections and click Next
12. Click Install
13. When installation is completed, click Close

Initial Server 2012 VPN Configuration

1. From the Server Manager screen, click on the warning sign and click ‘Open the Getting Started Wizard’
2. On Configure Remote Access, click Deploy VPN Only.
3. From the Routing and Remote Access MMC, right-click on the server and click ‘Configure and Enable Routing and Remote Access’
4. Click Next on the wizard
5. Select Custom Configuration
6. Select VPN access
7. On completion, click Finish
8. Click Start service to start the RRAS, then wait for the service to startup.

Add IPv4 IP Address Range

1. From the Routing and Remote Access MMC, right-click on the server and click ‘Properties’
2. Under properties screen click IPv4 tab, select Static address pool, click Add and enter the desired IP address range on the windows popup
3. Click OK to close

Open Ports on Network Firewall

For compatibility, here are the ports to open for both Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) and Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) on the network firewall:

500, 1701, 1723 & 4500

Need to open IP Protocol 47 also on the router to allow PPTP Passthrough.

(Note: On SonicWall routers, you will need to create address objects for internal / external IP addresses, service group containing all the above ports, NAT rule for PPTP traffic and firewall rule allowing the service group from the external to the internal IP address.)

Enable Remote Access for users

Open the properties of a domain user account via Active Directory Users and Computer MMC. Click on Dail-in, under Network Access Permission click Allow access

If your company is in need of a robust and simple to use Windows Server 2012 VPN connection to your LAN resources, then contact us for assistance.

Command Line Configuring TCP/IP Addressing

Recently had an issue where a client needed to have their IP address statically assigned and the thought came to mind that my Remote Monitoring software was able to give me command line access, so I thought I would try configuring TCP/IP addressing via the command line interface and not have to interrupt the end users work. Here is how to get it done:

netsh interface ip set address name="Local Area Connection" static [static IP] [subnet mask] [default gateway] 1

That gets the IP address, subnet mask and default gateway – so what about static DNS? Here is the next step:

netsh interface ip add dns name="Local Area Connection" addr=[DNS address #1]

netsh interface ip add dns name="Local Area Connection" addr=[DNS address #2] index=2

If your company need remote assistance or help planning / maintaining / configuring TCP/IP addressing in your network infrastructure, then contact us for assistance.

Test SMTP Connectivity via Telnet

Had issues recently with another tech setting up a SMTP relay to Google Apps that didn’t work correctly and during the process of correcting their setup there came a need to test SMTP connectivity. Time to use a telnet connection to the SMTP server over port 25 method to test via my favorite telnet/ssh/console program PuTTY:
1. Open PuTTY and type in the Host Name of the SMTP server.
2. Choose Connection type of Telnet and change the Port to 25 then click the Open button.
3. Type EHLO [hostname] and then press ENTER.
4. Type MAIL FROM:[authorizeduser@domain.com] and then press ENTER.
5. Type RCPT TO:[anotheruser@domain.com] and then press ENTER.
6. Type DATA and then press ENTER. You will receive a response that resembles the following:

354 Start mail input; end with .

7. Type Subject: [Test Subject] and then press ENTER.
8. Press ENTER. RFC 2822 requires a blank line between the Subject: header field and the message body.
9. Type [Test Message Body] and then press ENTER.
10. Press ENTER, type a single period character and then press ENTER. You will receive a response that resembles the following:

250 2.6.0 Queued mail for delivery

11. To disconnect from the destination SMTP server, type QUIT and then press ENTER. You will receive a response that resembles the following:

221 2.0.0 Service closing transmission channel

12. Check the [anotheruser@domain.com] mailbox to see if the message arrived successfully.

This allows testing of the connection without end user intervention or the creation of a test account to send from. If there is SMTP authentication or encryption then there are other commands that will need to be entered.
If your company is in need of help troubleshooting or needs to test SMTP connectivity on your email servers, then contact us for assistance.

CenturyLink Bonded ADSL PPPoE Connection

This was one of the most exasperating things that I have worked on in some time. The client got a bonded ADSL PPPoE connection from CenturyLink with 40Mbps Up by 2Mbps Down. The PPPoE was to authenticate the connection to CenturyLink.

Reconfigure the Technicolor C2000T modem into Bridged Mode

  • Login to the modem and click on the “Wireless” button

  • Disable the wireless completely and click on the “Apply” button

  • Click on the “Advanced” button then click on the “DHCP Settings” along the left hand menu

  • Disable DHCP completely and click the “Apply” button

  • Click on the “WAN Settings” and change the ISP Protocol to “Transparent Bridging” then click on the “Apply” button

  • Reboot the modem and move on to configuring the Juniper router

Configure the Juniper SRX 210 for the Bonded ADSL PPPoE connection

Enter the following commands on the router CLI:

  • Set the underlaying interface encapsulation to be PPP-Over-Ethernet:

    set interfaces ge-0/0/0 unit 0 encapsulation ppp-over-ether

  • Set PPP Options with Authentication method CHAP:

    set interfaces pp0 unit 0 ppp-options chap default-chap-secret YOUR-PASSWORD
    set interfaces pp0 unit 0 ppp-options chap local-name YOUR-USERNAME
    set interfaces pp0 unit 0 ppp-options chap no-rfc2486
    set interfaces pp0 unit 0 ppp-options chap passive

  • Set the PPPoE Options to the underlaying interface along with connection options:

    set interfaces pp0 unit 0 pppoe-options underlying-interface ge-0/0/0.0

  • Set the the pp0 interface to automatically negotiate the IP address:

    set interfaces pp0 unit 0 family inet negotiate-address

  • Set the security zone pp0.0 interface WAN (untrust):

    set security zones security-zone WAN interfaces pp0.0

  • If you are experiencing any fragmentation issue, you may want to adjust the tcp-mss setting as below, this was the part that I left out and had random websites not connecting:

    set security flow tcp-mss all-tcp mss 1300

    • If your company is using a Juniper JunOS router or CenturyLink Bonded ADSL PPPoE connection to the internet, then contact us for assistance.

Configure Server 2012 Office 365 SMTP Relay

Install Windows Server 2012 SMTP Relay Feature

  1. Login as an administrator.
  2. Go the the start screen and type “Server Manager”
  3. Click on Manage and choose “Add roles and Features”.
  4. Click “Next >” (Check the box to skip this in the future)
  5. Make sure “Role-based or feature-based installation” is selected then click “Next >”
  6. Choose the appropriate server then click “Next >”
  7. Make no changes to the “Roles” page then click “Next >”
  8. On the “Features” page scroll down and check the box by “SMTP Server”
  9. Click “Add Features” (required for SMTP Server) then click “Next >”
  10. Click “Install” then wait for the install to finish then click “Close”.

Configure Windows Server 2012 SMTP Relay

  1. Go the the start screen and type “Server Manager”.
  2. In the Tools menu select “Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 Manager”
  3. Expand the tree until [SMTP Virtual Server #1] is shown then right click and choose “Rename” (as appropriate)
  4. Right click again and choose “Properties”.
  5. Click on the “Access” tab then click the “Connection…” button
  6. Select “All except the list below” then click “OK”
  7. Click on the “Relay…” then select “All except the list below” then click “OK”
  8. Click on the “Delivery” tab then click the “Outbound Security” button
  9. Select “Basic Authentication” and type in the username and password of Office365 user – this can be different than what is used on the device as long as the alternate address on the device is an alias of this user.
  10. Check “TLS encryption” then click “OK”
  11. Click the “Outbound connections” button then change “TCP port” to 587 then click “OK”
  12. Click the “Advanced” button then fill in the FQDN of the internal server (add custom DNS for future changes)
  13. Fill in “Smart host” with SMTP.office365.com – the name of the Office365 SMTP server then click “OK” twice

Warning! You have an open relay now. Use this setup to check the email notification system. When you see it’s fully functional go back to the “Access” tab and narrow down the “Connection” settings to the necessary systems. When no other system needs to relay, just check “Only the list below” and grant “127.0.0.1” access.

Configure External DNS for SPF protection

Go to the domain registrar’s website to update DNS records. Edit / create a sender policy framework (SPF) record. In the entry, include the external IP address. The finished string looks similar to this, where 10.0.0.2 is your public IP address:

v=spf1 ip4:10.0.0.2 include:spf.protection.outlook.com ~all

Note:
Skipping this step might cause email to be sent to recipients’ junk mail folders.
If your company is using Office 365 and needs an Office 365 SMTP relay setup for use by a network device like a multi-function printer, then contact us for assistance.

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