Riddle me this? What has TS, Citrix, & A freezing problem?

[AV1611]

SBS 2000... My Small Business Server 2000 is running Exchange, and a few other off the wall applications for about 10 internal users and six external users.

All of the Internal users log into a Terminal Server through RDP, and control their desktops and the TS runs the apps with the data on the 2k SBS.

Then the external users all dial in via Citrix Metaframe.

Now my problem is this: The Users PC's or screens freeze a lot. And it doesn't happen to everyone at once. Sometimes it can be one or two people and sometimes 10 or sometimes 1 or none.

If you look at the Task Manager when this happens on the SBS2k or TS machines, they are using very little resources. The processors nor memory aren't maxed out.

A couple of things I noticed right off is that they use DSL which could cause it externally but not internally. They have Outlook email accounts which they all have open and some of them are quite large. 1 person has a 1.22GIG email account and totally all the users together they have 11gigs of data in email. Also the way the building is wired on the CAT5 is screwy. They have 3 switches. Several people go to one switch which runs a single port to another switch. This switch has a lot of other people connected to it as well as the internet and firewall. Then this switch has a single port running over to where all the Servers are connected to a third switch.

Any ideas?? At no given time, have the servers ever even broke a sweat. However, with network monitor I noticed that coming in to both Servers they exceed 3/4 of the CAT5 network bandwidth.

Thanks, AV

 

[technome]

Have the cables been certified, and not by a cheapy network cable continuity tester ? one faulty cable can cause intermittent network problems like you describe. Telephone installers general have the testers.

What NIC model do you have ?

"This switch has a lot of other people connected to it as well as the INTERNET and firewall"
How many total users are network attached.

Go to Dslreports.com, find out your bandwidth on the DSL line.

The remotes should pathping the office server to see if there is any major packet losses, which would cause unnecessary retransmission traffic.

 

[AV1611]

1. No the cables haven't been certified and I'm not sure who put it in. I don't have a good cable tester, is there any software programs that have a 30 day trial you can download to test cable?

2. The NIC's run the board. There are a few Dells and a compaq which all have onboard Intel Nic's but then there are some generic pc's that have everything in them.

3. About 20 total are connected.

4. Is the DSLReport very accurate? That is why I haven't already tested it this way. I was looking for another software program to monitor the port and see how much bandwidth is getting killed.

5. And how do you do a pathping?

Thanks, AV

 

[ascotta]

OK, even tho RDP and ICA (TS & Citrix protocols) are thin, they need some bandwidth to run. What appears to be happening in your case is that something is hogging the bandwidth. Do you recieve large e-mails, you know like 2 - 5 Mb +. In previous cases I have found that this really does cause serious problems, with the symptoms you are experiencing. You may even find that the bandwidth is being used by stuff you don't know about. Internet radio for example. I can't think of a software solution, but I know a hardware one. Packetshaper. Expensive tho.

[blue]Arguably the best cat skinner around ! [/blue]

Cheers
Scott

 

[technome]

There are no real software cable tester which are worth much. Again if you have a telephone installer they generally have the cable certifiers. If you have managed switches, the management software should show the ports and any errors on them. I would definitely have the cables tested.

The Dsl line would not be causing the internal network slow down.
The RDP connections should not cause the machine to freeze as keyboard and video updates are the primary data across the DSL line. Agree with Ascotta, if the DSL line is used for Internet surfing and mail, this will affect RDP speed.
Another possibility is if you have malware on the machines causing excess traffic.
I have clients with 20 people connected to cable lines, some at 278kbps, using it for Internet and mail, with a few RDP at any one time, and the speed is usable for Internet access, fine for RDP.

Dslreports are not professional grade bandwidth tester but, it will give you an idea of how much bandwidth you have when the DSL line is not utilized (Perhaps the provider is not giving you the stated bandwidth). My experience is the reports show the speed the broad supplier states, unless the supplier is deliberatly cutting back on the bandwidth.

 

[technome]

Sorry..
pathping "IP address" like the ping command
pathping from the office to a remote, and the reverse. A good line, with the correct router MTU, should have few, if any packet losses.

 

[fs483]

I have a similar setup as you. One thing I noticed is that when a lot of users have their Outlook opened when connect through Citrix/RDP, server performance decreases dramatically. Microsoft DOES NOT recommend having Outlook installed on a server that is also running Exchange. In yours and my case, we also have RDP running... I have a relatively strong server running 2*2.8GB Xeons with 2 Gigs of ram and 15K RPM hds but I still notice some slow downs on the server.

 

[AV1611]

akwong,

If I look at the Task Manager though it doesn't show the Servers Performance being taxed at all when this stuff is going on. And yours sound like it is almost the exact same setup. Any ideas.....anyone....anyone....

AV

 

[fs483]

CPU Usage is actually quite low. I just checked on one of my servers and with 9 users connected by remote and each one with Word XP and Outlook XP running, the cpu usage varies between 1% to 6%. Performance on the server is pretty good today. My Internet line is a ADSL 4Meg and I have 6 servers connected to it. I host servers for a few of my clients. My client keeps ALL their emails with attachments. Each user has access to each other's mailbox and they expand every single subfolder in every single mailbox which I'm sure adds heavy loads on the server. I have other servers that run Citrix for other companies and rarely notice any problems. I wish all my clients had Citrix but $$$ is always an issue.

 

[DG659]

sounds awfuly like bad data transmission (lots of collision) reduce the number of switchs you have run some new cables to the servers and do away with that switch