I have an issue that is driving me nuts. Randomly 1 user lost the ability to browse the shares on ONE network server (server 2008 rs standard) by hostname. If the user tries to access it by host name it stalls explorer.exe for 5-10 minutes and eventually fails. If they try to access the server by IP or FQDN it stalls explorer for way longer than normal but usually works. Once they access the server by IP or FQN they can also access it by HostName and it opens normally for a short period of time before the whole thing starts over. Now 3 more users are having this issue within a 1 week period. I know this sounds like a DNS issue but.. 1.) The user can ping the server by HostName, IP and FQDN and there are no issues or dropped packets. 2.) The user can do an nslookup of the servers IP and it returns the FQDN right away. Things to Note: 1.) The users are all on Win7 Enterprise x32 2.) They can access all other servers without an issue. 3.) 4 users are having this issue out of nowhere and each one is based in a remote office which are connected via VPN. No other users in those offices are having this issue. 4.) The server having issues has no firewall or A/V installed. 5.) I've tried to flush the DNS, checked lmhosts, reinstalled NIC drivers, made sure there were no cached credentials, etc. 6.) No users can access the server from the effect laptops, it doesnt matter who's logged into it. 5.) If the users work outside of the company network (home, etc.) and connect to the VPN via cisco vpn client, they can access the server in question just fine without any issues. Below are some events from a network monitor test for a failed connection SMB:C; Session Setup Andx, Krb5ApReq (0x100) TCP:[Continuation to #40926]Flags=...AP..., SrcPort=53357, DstPort=Microsoft-DS(445), PayloadLen=1114, Seq=1711616450 - 1711617564, Ack=629501018, Win=260 (scale factor 0x8) = 66560 TCP:Flags=...A...., SrcPort=Microsoft-DS(445), DstPort=53357, PayloadLen=0, Seq=629501018, Ack=1711617564, Win=1006 (scale factor 0x6) = 64384 SMB:R; Session Setup Andx, Krb5ApRep (0x200) SMB:C; Tree Connect Andx, Path = \\VTPFS02\DATA, Service = ????? TCP:Flags=...A...., SrcPort=Microsoft-DS(445), DstPort=53357, PayloadLen=0, Seq=629501396, Ack=1711617652, Win=1042 (scale factor 0x6) = 66688 TCP:Flags=...A.R.., SrcPort=53357, DstPort=Microsoft-DS(445), PayloadLen=0, Seq=1711617652, Ack=629501396, Win=0 (scale factor 0x8) = 0 TCP:Flags=......S., SrcPort=53360, DstPort=Microsoft-DS(445), PayloadLen=0, Seq=3614340383, Ack=0, Win=8192 ( Negotiating scale factor 0x8 ) = 8192 TCP:Flags=...A..S., SrcPort=Microsoft-DS(445), DstPort=53360, PayloadLen=0, Seq=1683995713, Ack=3614340384, Win=65535 ( Negotiated scale factor 0x6 ) = 4194240 TCP:Flags=...A...., SrcPort=53360, DstPort=Microsoft-DS(445), PayloadLen=0, Seq=3614340384, Ack=1683995714, Win=260 (scale factor 0x8) = 66560 SMB:C; Negotiate, Dialect = PC NETWORK PROGRAM 1.0, LANMAN1.0, Windows for Workgroups 3.1a, LM1.2X002, LANMAN2.1, NT LM 0.12 SMB:R; Negotiate, Dialect is NT LM 0.12 (#5), SpnegoToken (1.3.6.1.5.5.2) SMB:C; Tree Connect Andx, Path = \\VTPFS02\DATA, Service = ????? SMB:R; Tree Connect Andx - Server Error, (91) Invalid user identifier SMB:C; Session Setup Andx, Krb5ApReq (0x100) Any ideas or insight would be great!   

1. You are trying to compare incomparable. 2. If you want to reach target server by hostname and want fast response, then there should be network or local "mechanism" that translates hostname to IP. I mean WINS or hosts file. 3. How the target is resolved and the order of mechanisms is hidden in so called node type. 4. I thinks there is in your system more problems that accumulate (public address in network configuration, errors in DNS, etc.) Regards Milos

1. I'm not sure what you mean by this 2. We have DNS servers that translate the hostname into an IP, which are setup correctly and have worked for months 3. I'm not sure what you mean by this 4. Again, a litte confused. I am assuming there is an underlying issue somewhere but there are no DNS, DHCP or any other transparent errors in the server or client logs. Thanks!

Hi, The package is not the entire one to figure out the errors in detail. Based on my knowledge, there is one known issue like yours on Windows 7: You cannot access a remote server that shares files and printers by using the SMB protocol from a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2194664 Please try to install the hotfix for your problematic clients and reboot them after that. Feel free to let me know the result of this. Thanks. Best Regards, Annie Gu