Q258495: XCLN: Troubleshooting Client Connectivity Using Command Lines
Article: Q258495
Product(s): Microsoft Exchange
Version(s): WINDOWS:4.0,5.0,97; :
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s):
Last Modified: 06-AUG-2002
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The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Exchange Windows 95/98 client, versions 4.0, 5.0
- Microsoft Exchange Windows NT client, versions 4.0, 5.0
- Microsoft Outlook 97
- Microsoft Outlook 98
- Microsoft Outlook 2000
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SUMMARY
=======
This article is a reference for troubleshooting client-to-server communication
by using common command line utilities. Command line utilities are useful
because of their reporting capabilities. You can redirect the output of any of
the commands shown here by appending an ">" (without the quotation marks) to
the command line, followed by a path and file name.
MORE INFORMATION
================
Troubleshooting Basic TCP/IP Connectivity and NetBios Name Resolution
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Syntax:
ping <NetBios_name_of_Exchange_Server_computer>
Results:
A line similar to the following should be displayed
Pinging <DNS_name> [192.168.###.###] with 32 bytes of data:
where <DNS_name> is the Domain Name System (DNS) name of the Exchange
Server computer.
The Internet Protocol (IP) address that is listed must match the IP address of
your Exchange Server computer. If the IP address is wrong, or if a line that
reads "Unknown host ..." is displayed, name resolution is not working properly.
In such a case, see the "Viewing the Contents of a Hosts File" section of this
article and also click the article numbers below to view the articles in the
Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q139270 How to Change Name Resolution Order on Windows 95 and Windows NT
Q189906 XCLN: How to Ensure Proper Name Resolution
The next four lines that are displayed should be similar to the following:
Reply from 192.168.###.###: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=62
These lines indicate that you have Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol (TCP/IP) connectivity. If all four lines read "Request timed out," you
have no TCP/IP connectivity.
Troubleshooting Intermittent TCP/IP Connectivity Issues
-------------------------------------------------------
Syntax:
ping -t <NetBios_name_of_Exchange_Server_computer>
Results:
The -t switch causes pinging to continue until stopped or interrupted. After you
type this command you can interrupt the pings to check statistics by pressing
CTRL-BREAK, and you can stop the process by pressing CTRL-C. A report similar to
the following should be displayed:
Ping statistics for 192.168.###.###:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms
The Packets Lost value is important because packets that are dropped is a sign of
a poor physical connection.
NOTE: If you redirect the output of this command to a file, the size of that file
will grow by approximately 29,000 bytes every 10 minutes.
Identifying Routers in a Path Between a Client and a Server
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Syntax:
tracert <NetBios_name/DNS_name/IP_address_of_Exchange_Server_computer>
Results:
The output should look similar to the following:
Tracing route to <DNS_name_of_Exchange_Server_computer> [192.168.101.1] over a maximum of 30 hops:
1 <10 ms <10 ms <10 ms <DNS_name_of_first_router> [192.168.103.1]
2 <10 ms <10 ms <10 ms <DNS_name_of_second_router> [192.168.102.1]
3 <10 ms <10 ms <10 ms <DNS_name_of_Exchange_Server_computer> [192.168.101.1]
You can use this output to determine which routers or firewalls may be blocking
the ports that are necessary for remote procedure call (RPC) communication. For
additional information about client connectivity through a firewall, click the
article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q155831 XADM: Setting TCP/IP Ports for Exchange and Outlook Client
Connections Through a Firewall
If you do not want to know the DNS names of the hosts in the route to the target,
you can add the -d switch to the tracert
<NetBios_name/DNS_name/IP_address_of_Exchange_Server_computer> command.
This switch tells the Tracert utility not to resolve the IP addresses that are
encountered in the route to host names.
Viewing the TCP/IP Configuration of a Computer
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On a computer that is running Microsoft Windows 95 or Microsoft Windows 98, click
Start, click Run, and then type "winipcfg.exe" (without the quotation marks).
When an IP Configuration dialog box is displayed, click More Info. More detailed
information is displayed.
The following command is for computers running Microsoft Windows NT:
Syntax:
ipconfig /all
Results:
A list of TCP/IP configuration parameters is displayed. The following is a sample
of some of the information that is displayed:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : <DNS_domain_name>
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : 3Com 3C918 Integrated Fast Ethernet Controller (3C905B-TX Compatible)
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-C0-4F-xx-xx-xx
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.25.###
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.25.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.25.50
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.30.100
192.168.30.101
Primary WINS Server . . . . . . . : 192.168.25.60
Secondary WINS Server . . . . . . : 192.168.25.61
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Monday, March 27, 2000 9:01:03 AM Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Friday, March 31, 2000 9:01:03 AM
Determine if Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is enabled. If it is
enabled, make any necessary changes on the DHCP server instead of on the local
computer; otherwise any modification to the TCP/IP parameters must be made to
the local computer. Also make sure that the IP address and the default gateway
(if one is specified) are on the same subnet. This is necessary to communicate
with computers in other subnets. To determine whether the IP address and the
default gateway are on the same subnet, apply the subnet mask to both the IP
address and the default gateway. For additional information, click the article
numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q164015 Understanding TCP/IP Addressing and Subnetting Basics
Q185753 No Network Connectivity on TCP/IP-Based Network
Viewing the Contents of a Hosts File
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Syntax:
For Windows NT:
TYPE %windir%\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
For Windows 95 and Windows 98:
TYPE %windir%\hosts
Results:
The contents of the Hosts file are displayed (by default) or output to a file (if
redirection is used). During name resolution, the Hosts file is the first item
that is checked, so any entries in this file are used for name resolution. Any
lines that are preceded by a number sign (#) are ignored. The following is the
proper format for a Windows Hosts file:
<IP_address> <A0><NetBios_name>
If your Exchange Server computer is listed, make sure that the IP address that
precedes it is still valid. This is a static file, so if you make changes to
your network or IP addressing scheme, you need to update this file. Also, both
Windows NT and Windows 98 read this file dynamically, so if you make any changes
to the Hosts file, you do not need to restart the computer for the changed
mappings to take effect.
Additional query words: OL97 OL98 OL2000
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Keywords :
Technology : kbOutlookSearch kbExchangeSearch kbExchangeClientSearch kbZNotKeyword kbZNotKeyword2 kbOutlook2000Search kbOutlook97Search kbOutlook98Search kbZNotKeyword3 kbExchange400NT kbExchange500NT kbExchange400Win95 kbExchange500Win95
Version : WINDOWS:4.0,5.0,97; :
Issue type : kbinfo
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