How to Restart Network Services
Once in a while, the network operating system (NOS) service which supports the task that's causing you trouble inexplicably stops or gets stuck. If users can't access a server, it may be because one of the key network services has stopped or is stuck.
You can review the status of services by using the Services tool, as shown in Figure 19-1. To display it, choose Services from the Administrative Tools menu. Review this list to make sure that all key services are running. If a key service is paused or stopped, restart it.
Figure 19-1: The Services tool.
Which service qualifies as a key service depends on which roles you defined for the server. Table 19-1 lists a few key services that are common to most Windows network operating systems. However, many servers require other services.
| Service | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Computer Browser | Maintains a list of computers on the network that can be accessed. If this service is disabled, the computer cannot use browsing services, such as My Network Places. |
| DHCP Client | Enables the computer to obtain its IP address from a DHCP server. If this service is disabled, the computer's IP address isn't configured properly. |
| DNS Client | Allows the computer to access a DNS server to resolve DNS names. If this service is disabled, the computer cannot handle DNS names, including Internet addresses and Active Directory names. |
| Server | Provides basic file and printer sharing services for the server. If this service is stopped, clients cannot connect to the server to access files or printers. |
| Workstation | Enables the computer to establish client connections with other servers. If this service is disabled, the computer cannot connect to other servers. |
Open table as spreadsheet | Warning | Key services usually stop for a reason, so simply restarting a stopped service probably won't solve your network's problem-at least, not for long. Review the system log to look for any error messages that may explain why the service stopped in the first place. |
If you're using Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003, you can double-click a service to display a dialog box that describes the service. This information can come in handy if you're not certain what a particular service does.
