Unfortunately no one can be told what fun_plug is - you have to see it for yourself.
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I have a brand new DNS323. Have set it up on a network with 3 PCs - 2 Vista and 1 XP Pro. It came with Firmware 1.03.
I am accessing it using UNC - i.e. \\192.168.1.253\Volume_1
I have not set up user access privileges so both drives in the DNS323 should be available to anyone on the network.
The problem is that although I can start off using it fine and read and write files to the HDDs no problem, after a few minutes the drive becomes unavailable. (I get an error box saying "This file is currently not accessible from this computer".)
If I wait another few minutes, I can access it again, even without rebooting anything on the network.
I have no problems accessing anything else on the network - from one computer to another. Also, the problem is the same regardless of which PC I am browsing from.
I have set up the DNS323 to have a static IP address. It is connected to a 3Com Gigabit switch, and also connected to the Switch is a modem/router from my ISP which is acting as DHCP server however I also tried telling it to reserve the IP address for the DNS323 based on its MAC address. (The problem is the same whether I have the DNS323 set to use 100MBps or Auto speed).
I tried the reported fix for Vista - Secpol.msc > Network Security > Send LM and NTLM etc
but this has not resolved the problem.
I have currently disabled Vista Firewall as well as the software firewall I was previously running on the XP computer. Problem is still the same.
Finally, when the Unavailability problem happens, I can sometimes still access the Web interface of the DNS323. However other times, I try to access it and it doesn't go to the usual DLink page but instead I get a box asking for credentials, but if I type the usual Admin and password, it won't let me in...
I've been tearing my hair out so any advice would be very welcome.
I wanted to try the new Beta Firmware but can't find somewhere to download it from...
Turbok.
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The problem is most likely in your network infrastructure - you haven't told us anything about how the computer you are trying to trasnfer files from is connected to the network.
1) Make sure the cable between the 3Com switch and the DNS-323 is KNOWN good
2) Connect the computer directly to the 3Com switch with a known good cable and see what results you get
3) If all else fails - connect the DNS-323 directly to computer (purely as a test), set static ip addresses on both devices and see what happens.
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I agree that it sounds suspiciously network related, and maybe you have a bad cable somewhere, but just for a quick test, find a spare fan, take the front cover off your DNS-323, and blow the fan into the front of the DNS-323 and see if that doesn't fix it.
I know mine has gone from constantly flakey to rock solid since I did that.
Heat is definitely an issue with these boxes, one you should rule out first before getting onto something more complicated like trying to diagnose network problems.
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Xepol wrote:
Heat is definitely an issue with these boxes, one you should rule out first before getting onto something more complicated like trying to diagnose network problems.
I have to disagree with you on that - I've been running my DNS-323 (with 2 x Seagate Baracuda 7200.9 disks) pretty much 24/7 in a tropical environment, ambient is around 30*C - I forget exactly what the status page shows for the internal temp, but I believe it's upwards of 45*C.
The only time I hear the fan running is at startup if I have the front off, so I think it's safe to say it's not having any difficulty maintaing the temperature at whatever D-Link considers acceptable and it has never once hiccuped
Perhaps you have a defective unit.
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Thanks for the replies.
Your suggestion, fordem, to connect the DNS-323 directly to PC and set static IPs on both has shed some light on the matter - when I do this, the connection stays up permanently, and all is well.
So now I really have to troubleshoot the network... Have swapped round cables and ascertained that the problem still happens when using known good cables.
The network is setup in a fairly straightforward way: ethernet cables from all 3 Windows PCs to the 3COM switch. One of the Vista PCs has Gigabit ethernet, but the others are 100MBps (does this mean the whole network functions at 100MBps?). The ISP router which is set up as DHCP server is also connected to the 3COM switch by ethernet cable. And finally the DNS-323 is connected to the 3COM switch by ethernet cable.
I am wondering if there is something up with my router configuration that is causing the problem, because if I disconnect it from the switch the DNS-323 stays accessible. But apart from the DNS-323 connectivity, my network seems to work 100% with the router set up as it is - internet connection never drops and connections between the 3 computers on the LAN never drops.
The router is a fairly standard one from the ISP and only has limited configuration options which are set up as follows:
Router IP: 192.168.1.254
DHCP Active: Yes
DHCP start address: 192.168.1.10
DHCP end address: 192.168.1.50
DMZ IP: 192.168.1.0 (I do not use DMZ but there is no option to disable it, it has to have an address entered here)
Mediaplayer IP: 192.168.1.1 (I do not have mediaplayer connected to router but there is no option to disable it, it has to have an address entered here)
Response to Ping: Yes
Proxy Wake on LAN: No
Permanent DHCP: 192.168.1.253 - (assigned to the MAC address of my DNS-323)
And just in case it's useful to know the settings of the DNS-323:
LAN settings-
Link speed: 100
Static IP: 192.168.1.253
Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway IP: 192.168.1.254
DNS 1 and DNS 2: currently left blank. Is this OK or does the DNS-323 need them?
DHCP server: disabled
UPnP server: disabled
Itunes server: disabled
FTP server: stopped
Quota: disabled
As for the temperature suggestion - the status page reports it at 39 or 40 degrees C all the time. But seeing as the problem goes away when I connect the DNS-323 directly to a PC, I think we can eliminate heat as a problem.
Any suggestions on what else to try would be hugely appreciated. (And if you require more info about my setup, just ask !)
Turbok.
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Briefly - the tcp/ip protocols that are in use today were designed to be "self healing", they are the result of a department of defense initiative, and part of a larger design to create networks that could survive a nuclear attack.
Because of these "self healing" properties, transmission errors are usually detected and corrected (by a retransmission) without the user even knowing they occured, until the magnitude of the errors become large enought to simply overwhelm the network. What can actually happen is the network traffic increases, the errors increase, the errors cause a retransmit, the retransmit causes an increase in traffic which in turn increases the number of errors and the connection collapses.
If you're using a 100 mbps LAN primarily for internet browsing, as is quite common nowadays, the limiting factor is usually the internet connection itself, which at the most may be around 8~10 mbps, perhaps 10% of the LAN's capabilities - you'd never notice the errors. Adding networked storage changes the dynamics of the LAN - depending on the equipment in use, the LAN itself may become the limiting factor, and when this happens, the degradation becomes noticeable.
Ok that's enough theory to give you an appreciation for what we're dealing with - how do we fix it.
First - and I know you swapped the cables around - cables are a prime suspect, especially in a gigabit LAN - cables that have not been properly terminated (essentially the crimping of the RJ45 connectors) may work flawlessly on a 10 or 100 mbps LAN and fail miserably on 1000 mbps - if you crimped your own cables, or they are not CAT5e (preferably CAT6) consider replacing them.
Second - auto negotiation - most network equipment automatically negotiates the speed and duplex settings, and this does not always work well - if the router includes a 4-port switch as many do, try connecting everything directly to the router and see what happens.
Third - network card drivers - I've discovered that Microsoft's drivers for some gigabit chipsets provide dismal performance (although I have not had complete connection failures), try upgrading the network drivers and also use the drivers provided with the equipment rather than those that come on the Windows CDs.
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Hi again fordem,
Thanks for your reply the other week - really appreciate the advice. I was away so just got back to checking this out now.
1. I am confident the cables are OK. I have spares that I have swapped in. There are no problems with any connectionsbetween other devices on the network other than accessing the DNS-323.
The cables are all prefabricated so no home-bodged crimping etc. The problem is the same with the DNS-323 whether I set it to Auto speed or 100MBps.
2. My router only has one ethernet socket which is connected to the switch by a known good cable. So I am unable to connect everything directly to the router - I have to go through the switch.
3. Downloaded and installed latest driver for my network adapter (Marvell Yukon 88E8055 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller). Problem is exactly the same.
So I am still stumped about this.
The error code that Vista is giving is: 0x80070035 which I have read on other forums is sometimes associated with Samba authentication issues e.g. http://thevistaforums.com/index.php?s=3 … ntry198654
I am going to try connecting the DNS-323 to the router directly, and then using the router's wireless capability to connect to my laptop. However of course it's not ideal to have NAS running at wireless speeds - one reason for buying the DNS-323 was that I thought it would be fast.
Any other ideas on how to troubleshoot my setup would be hugely appreciated,
Turbok.
EDIT: As mentioned above, I connected DNS-323 directly to the router then used wi-fi between laptop and router...
The problem was exactly the same as before. In fact a couple of extra things I've noticed:
If I start copying a bunch of files or one large file, the connection does not seem to drop - all seems to be OK. But if I just leave a Window open showing the contents of a folder on the DNS-323 but no file activity going on, then after a few minutes, up pops the Network error: Windows cannot access \\192.168.1.253\Volume_1 and the error code 0x80070035.
I wondered if it could be connected to the HDDs spinning down (seeing as it seemed to happen after a period of inactivity) but I have disabled Power Management in the dlink web interface.
Finally - any time when the connection in Windows drops, I can still successfully ping the IP address of the DNS-323
Last edited by turbok (2008-01-15 01:09:41)
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You're using a 3Com gigabit switch - you mentioned the problem being the same with the DNS-323 network speed set to auto or 100 mbps - did you try setting it to 1000 mbps?
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Yup - tried that but the problem is still the same.
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hi guys,
i have to agree with turbok as i too am having the same issues. my cables are good, have gone through 3 different switches ect. in order for me to get the share back, i have to login to the 323 admin page and do a system restart. after restart, it works ok. i just not have timed when the share no longer becomes unavailable. but this happens to me at least once a day.
i have noticed this since i installed MLDonkey (see my mldonkey post).
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Aha - @turbok - is your DNS-323 hacked in any way? Is it possible that you could get a different switch to borrow for test purposes?
@fickle - you may have a different problem - in fact - you have different symptoms, so I think it's safe to say you have different issues.
From turbok's first post ...
The problem is that although I can start off using it fine and read and write files to the HDDs no problem, after a few minutes the drive becomes unavailable. (I get an error box saying "This file is currently not accessible from this computer".)
If I wait another few minutes, I can access it again, even without rebooting anything on the network.
From your post ...
i have to agree with turbok as i too am having the same issues. my cables are good, have gone through 3 different switches ect. in order for me to get the share back, i have to login to the 323 admin page and do a system restart. after restart, it works ok. i just not have timed when the share no longer becomes unavailable. but this happens to me at least once a day.
Notice the differences? His own comes back by itself, your's requires manual intervention.
I'm unable to assist with a situation like yours, there are just too many areas where I lack experience - the problem can range from a bug in the code (native DNS-323 or hacked add-ons) to the resources of the device simply being overwhelmed by the download activity.
Last edited by fordem (2008-01-15 03:42:30)
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hey fordem, i do it manually cause i never have the patience to wait and find out if it comes back up.. could be the same as his, i just know rebooting works (till it dies again). i am thinking it maybe to many resources ... but only using MLDonky ATM .. nothing else.. i have not checked out processess running in the background though i may do this and post here for further clarification (when the share is not available)
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Try setting the 323 up with a static ip if you have not done so already. This fixed some of the issues discussed on this thread.
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