wiggst3r Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 Hi I have a Ubuntu Fileserver (running Gutsy), which every hour or so, seems to lose network connection and kicks users of it who are using it to transfer files. These users are connecting via SSH, but as the fileserver is used also as a small webserver (only hosted are subversion projects) and an internal application, the http:// also drops off. So I'm guessing the network is losing connection. I've checked that the network cable is plugged in and into the router, which it is. Could it be a cable problem/network card problem? I'm using the inbuilt lan on my motherboard. Are there any files I can check to see when and what could be causing the network loss? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steviewdr Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 tail /var/log/daemon.log tail /var/log/kern.log tail /var/log/messages tail /var/log/syslog You should also setup smokeping. This will monitor ping times to/from your server. Install smokeping on your server to ping isp servers. Install smokeping on your pc/different server to ping your server which has difficulties. If it is exactly every hour, look in /etc/cron.d/ for any scripts which run at that time. Another way to check to see if its hardware related would be to use a livecd on the computer. This will ensure that there are no scripts/configs which cause the issue. This will test the hardware/cable. Does the server have a static or dhcp ip address? If dhcp then how often are the dhcp leases given by your router? Replacing cable and testing with a different network card will also shed some more light. -steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggst3r Posted October 27, 2008 Author Share Posted October 27, 2008 The server has a static IP address. It isn't exacty every hour. Sometimes it can run for 3-4 hours without losing network connection. I have this entry in my cron.d munin-node # # cron-jobs for munin-node # MAILTO=root # If the APT plugin is enabled, update packages databases approx. once # an hour (12 invokations an hour, 1 in 12 chance that the update will # happen), but ensure that there will never be more than two hour (7200 # seconds) interval between updates.. */5 * * * * root if [ -x /etc/munin/plugins/apt_all ]; then /etc/munin/plugins/apt_all update 7200 12 >/dev/null; elif [ -x /etc/munin/plugins/apt ]; then /etc/munin/plugins/apt update 7200 12 >/dev/null; fi This has been installed for a few months, and has never caused a problem. But i have noticed it in my syslog when I've checked the syslog when the server lost connection before. At the moment I cannot test a new card, as we're using the inbuilt lan on the motherboard and I haven't bought a new linux compatible network card yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggst3r Posted October 27, 2008 Author Share Posted October 27, 2008 Ok. So it seems that after every xx.30 today, the server has dropped. So I'm guessing the munin-node cron, which runs every hour was doing something. I'm going to re-check at 1.30pm (GMT) and see If the server drops. If it does, then we can safely say that munin was not the problem, and back to square one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggst3r Posted October 28, 2008 Author Share Posted October 28, 2008 I've installed some updates today, mainly to do with the open-ssh client and the new kernel. The server connection is still dropping off. It was down 30 minutes this morning. I've looked into my hardware and found the following entries: *-network description: Ethernet interface product: RTL8111/8168B PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. physical id: 0 bus info: pci@0000:04:00.0 logical name: eth0 version: 01 serial: 00:01:6c:11:dc:9f size: 1GB/s capacity: 1GB/s width: 64 bits clock: 33MHz capabilities: pm vpd msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd 1000bt-fd autonegotiation configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=r8169 driverversion=2.2LK duplex=full ip=192.168.100.124 latency=0 link=yes module=r8169 multicast=yes port=twisted pair speed=1GB/s It mentions my onboard lan having 8168B and r1869 what are the differences? Could this be the issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steviewdr Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 Ive seen issues with gigabit ethernet cards. I suggest you try a different network card. Any one should do, even an old 100mbps one would suffice just to test. -steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggst3r Posted November 3, 2008 Author Share Posted November 3, 2008 The strange thing is, is that the server is always connected to the internet. Just after a certain time, usually 1-2 hours, the fileserver cannot be connected to from ssh/samba. I've done all that I can think off: *replaced network cable 3 times *changed ports on the switch it's plugged into *un-installed/re-installed the card drivers But after over a week, I'm baffled. I'm going to order a new card and see If it continues doing this. If It does, its a network problem within our building or, the switch/router. Could it be anything else? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steviewdr Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 Id put in a livecd and see how that performs and if there are any bugs with it. As for: "strange thing is, is that the server is always connected to the internet." well if this is the case (as it wasn't in your first post), then it might be a software issue, and worth putting in a livecd for a while to test. Lastly is there any firewall start/restarting or in the mix? -steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggst3r Posted November 5, 2008 Author Share Posted November 5, 2008 As regards to the server always connected to the internet, it is connected whenever someone complains about them not being able to get onto the server. I go to the server, type in google.com and the server has a working internet connection. I'll download the livecd for Ubuntu and look on there. Is there anything I'm particular I should be looking for when I put the livecd in? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corbin Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 When you get on the internet, are users able to access the computer through the network again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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