Troubleshooting User Access to Remote Access Services

Troubleshooting is a major part of an administrator's job. Issues can arise related to connection problems or accessing resources beyond the remote access server. If your remote access server is configured as a router, you might encounter problems related to demand-dialing. The following section outlines some of the more common problems that you might encounter with a remote access server.

Diagnosing and Resolving Remote Access Connection Issues

One of the most common problems you might find yourself troubleshooting is related to establishing a remote access connection with a server. If a problem like this occurs, use the following points as a starting place for troubleshooting the connection problems:

• Verify that the modem is working and correctly configured.

• Verify that the remote access service is enabled and started on the server.

• Verify the availability of ports. If necessary, disconnect any idle sessions, or increase the number of available ports.

• Verify that the remote access policy is not prohibiting the connection.

Diagnosing and Resolving User Access to Resources Beyond the Remote Access Server

Remote access clients go through a remote access server to access network resources. The advantage of this is that clients can remotely access resources as though they were physically connected to the LAN. If clients are experiencing problems accessing resources beyond the RAS server, verify that IP routing has been enabled on the remote access server (using the IP tab from the server's Properties window), and also verify that any IP packet filters are not blocking the flow of traffic.

Troubleshooting Demand-Dial Routing

If on-demand connections are not being established automatically, check any of the following conditions to troubleshoot the problem:

• Verify that IP routing is enabled. This can be done using the IP tab from the remote access server's Properties window.

• Verify that you have correctly configured the static routes to the remote networks.

• Verify that the dial-out hours have been properly configured for the interface.

• Verify that any filters are not preventing the connection.

Netsh

Netsh is a command-line utility that allows you to modify the network configuration of the local computer or a remote computer. For example, using the Netsh command, you can enable the Windows Firewall on a remote computer. It also supports a scripting feature that allows you to include a group of commands in a script and run them on the local or a remote computer.

The Netsh command supports multiple contexts. These contexts allow you to manage and configure various services. For example, once you start Netsh from the command prompt, you can type dhcp to switch to the DHCP context. Netsh supports the following contexts:

• AAAA

• DHCP

• Network diagnostics (diag)

• Interface

• Interface IP

• Interface IPv6

• Interface Portproxy

• Internet Protocol security (ipsec)

• Network Bridge (bridge)

• Remote Access (ras)

• Routing

• RPC Helper (rpc)

• WINS

Netsh in Windows Server 2003 includes a set of diagnostic commands that can be used for troubleshooting. You can access this context by typing netsh diag at the command prompt.