DFS network drive mapping hangs file explorer

I have a pair of DFSR servers W2K3 SP2 R2 setup for DFS on the same domain.
When users from the citrix farm, which has a mapped drive to the DFS share,
open file explorer it runs OK for about 30 secs then starts to freeze, it
will release after another minute or so, but then freeze again and is
unusable in this state.
The DFS share is on a back end SAN attached storage device, however I can
browse using the DFS host servers without any problems.

Have you any suggestions which may point me towards the cause of the problem.
I have run network tests at the same time as the file explorer hang and they
show no issues with network connectivity or timing.

Hello Rob,

Two possible causes might be share permissions incompartibility or dns
related issue.
Does the users have proper atleast list folder contents on the main share?

Also, check your anti virus software log etc.

--
Isaac Oben [MCTIP:EA, MCSE]
"Rob A" <> wrote in message
news:BC199B8E-E129-481B-AA33-...
>I have a pair of DFSR servers W2K3 SP2 R2 setup for DFS on the same domain.
> When users from the citrix farm, which has a mapped drive to the DFS
> share,
> open file explorer it runs OK for about 30 secs then starts to freeze, it
> will release after another minute or so, but then freeze again and is
> unusable in this state.
> The DFS share is on a back end SAN attached storage device, however I can
> browse using the DFS host servers without any problems.
>
> Have you any suggestions which may point me towards the cause of the
> problem.
> I have run network tests at the same time as the file explorer hang and
> they
> show no issues with network connectivity or timing.

Does it work to connect to the DFS shares from a non-Citrix client (not to
the shares on the servers themselves, but to the same DFS paths)?
Anthony
http://www.airdesk.com


"Rob A" <> wrote in message
news:BC199B8E-E129-481B-AA33-...
> I have a pair of DFSR servers W2K3 SP2 R2 setup for DFS on the same
> domain.
> When users from the citrix farm, which has a mapped drive to the DFS
> share,
> open file explorer it runs OK for about 30 secs then starts to freeze, it
> will release after another minute or so, but then freeze again and is
> unusable in this state.
> The DFS share is on a back end SAN attached storage device, however I can
> browse using the DFS host servers without any problems.
>
> Have you any suggestions which may point me towards the cause of the
> problem.
> I have run network tests at the same time as the file explorer hang and
> they
> show no issues with network connectivity or timing.

Hi Isaac
Thank you for the suggestions I am working through them. I have also
established during the tests that the only file explorers that are suffering
from this are the ones on the citrix servers, although I have been testing
with RDP to the desktop which also has the same problem. I do suspect that
one of the settings I am applying from the GPO is inducing the problem but so
far I have not been able to find it.

Regards
Rob

"Isaac Oben [MCITP,MCSE]" wrote:

> Hello Rob,
>
> Two possible causes might be share permissions incompartibility or dns
> related issue.
> Does the users have proper atleast list folder contents on the main share?
>
> Also, check your anti virus software log etc.
>
> --
> Isaac Oben [MCTIP:EA, MCSE]
> "Rob A" <> wrote in message
> news:BC199B8E-E129-481B-AA33-...
> >I have a pair of DFSR servers W2K3 SP2 R2 setup for DFS on the same domain.
> > When users from the citrix farm, which has a mapped drive to the DFS
> > share,
> > open file explorer it runs OK for about 30 secs then starts to freeze, it
> > will release after another minute or so, but then freeze again and is
> > unusable in this state.
> > The DFS share is on a back end SAN attached storage device, however I can
> > browse using the DFS host servers without any problems.
> >
> > Have you any suggestions which may point me towards the cause of the
> > problem.
> > I have run network tests at the same time as the file explorer hang and
> > they
> > show no issues with network connectivity or timing.
>

HI Antony
Thank you for your interest in my issue.
While I have been running tests from Isaac's suggestions I have managed to
narrow the error down to W2K3 SP2 client servers.
Client browsers from Servers at w2k3 sp1 all work with no issue. As soon as
I try a server with w2k3 SP2, which can be citrix or application server or
indeed one of the host DFS servers then it hangs file explorer. On the DFS
host I tried the local drive mapping without a problem but as soon as I
mapped to the DFS share name it hangs. These DFS servers are at SP2.
So, I have now created a set of DFS servers at SP1, and guess what, they
work fine from the local host, and any client server at SP1, but as soon as I
connect from a client server w2k3 at SP2 the file explorer hangs.
Now my head hurts.
BRgds
Rob

"Anthony [MVP]" wrote:

> Does it work to connect to the DFS shares from a non-Citrix client (not to
> the shares on the servers themselves, but to the same DFS paths)?
> Anthony
> http://www.airdesk.com
>
>
> "Rob A" <> wrote in message
> news:BC199B8E-E129-481B-AA33-...
> > I have a pair of DFSR servers W2K3 SP2 R2 setup for DFS on the same
> > domain.
> > When users from the citrix farm, which has a mapped drive to the DFS
> > share,
> > open file explorer it runs OK for about 30 secs then starts to freeze, it
> > will release after another minute or so, but then freeze again and is
> > unusable in this state.
> > The DFS share is on a back end SAN attached storage device, however I can
> > browse using the DFS host servers without any problems.
> >
> > Have you any suggestions which may point me towards the cause of the
> > problem.
> > I have run network tests at the same time as the file explorer hang and
> > they
> > show no issues with network connectivity or timing.
>
>

So from a W2K3 SP2 client, a UNC path to a Share works fine, but a DFS path
does not?
It sounds like SP2 networking problems that just happen to be showing up
this way.
You might try some of these:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/945977/en-us
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947773/en-us
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936594/en-us
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927695/en-us

Hope that helps,
Anthony
http://www.airdesk.co.uk




"Rob A" <> wrote in message
news:C15ED2C9-79DC-4C8F-ACD3-...
> HI Antony
> Thank you for your interest in my issue.
> While I have been running tests from Isaac's suggestions I have managed to
> narrow the error down to W2K3 SP2 client servers.
> Client browsers from Servers at w2k3 sp1 all work with no issue. As soon
> as
> I try a server with w2k3 SP2, which can be citrix or application server or
> indeed one of the host DFS servers then it hangs file explorer. On the DFS
> host I tried the local drive mapping without a problem but as soon as I
> mapped to the DFS share name it hangs. These DFS servers are at SP2.
> So, I have now created a set of DFS servers at SP1, and guess what, they
> work fine from the local host, and any client server at SP1, but as soon
> as I
> connect from a client server w2k3 at SP2 the file explorer hangs.
> Now my head hurts.
> BRgds
> Rob
>
> "Anthony [MVP]" wrote:
>
>> Does it work to connect to the DFS shares from a non-Citrix client (not
>> to
>> the shares on the servers themselves, but to the same DFS paths)?
>> Anthony
>> http://www.airdesk.com
>>
>>
>> "Rob A" <> wrote in message
>> news:BC199B8E-E129-481B-AA33-...
>> > I have a pair of DFSR servers W2K3 SP2 R2 setup for DFS on the same
>> > domain.
>> > When users from the citrix farm, which has a mapped drive to the DFS
>> > share,
>> > open file explorer it runs OK for about 30 secs then starts to freeze,
>> > it
>> > will release after another minute or so, but then freeze again and is
>> > unusable in this state.
>> > The DFS share is on a back end SAN attached storage device, however I
>> > can
>> > browse using the DFS host servers without any problems.
>> >
>> > Have you any suggestions which may point me towards the cause of the
>> > problem.
>> > I have run network tests at the same time as the file explorer hang and
>> > they
>> > show no issues with network connectivity or timing.
>>
>>

Hi Anthony
Yes, I have followed up your links and it appears the SNP is the cause of my
issue. Final testing is taking place now, to confirm issue resolved.
Thanks
Rob

"Anthony [MVP]" wrote:

> So from a W2K3 SP2 client, a UNC path to a Share works fine, but a DFS path
> does not?
> It sounds like SP2 networking problems that just happen to be showing up
> this way.
> You might try some of these:
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/945977/en-us
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947773/en-us
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936594/en-us
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927695/en-us
>
> Hope that helps,
> Anthony
> http://www.airdesk.co.uk
>
>
>
>
> "Rob A" <> wrote in message
> news:C15ED2C9-79DC-4C8F-ACD3-...
> > HI Antony
> > Thank you for your interest in my issue.
> > While I have been running tests from Isaac's suggestions I have managed to
> > narrow the error down to W2K3 SP2 client servers.
> > Client browsers from Servers at w2k3 sp1 all work with no issue. As soon
> > as
> > I try a server with w2k3 SP2, which can be citrix or application server or
> > indeed one of the host DFS servers then it hangs file explorer. On the DFS
> > host I tried the local drive mapping without a problem but as soon as I
> > mapped to the DFS share name it hangs. These DFS servers are at SP2.
> > So, I have now created a set of DFS servers at SP1, and guess what, they
> > work fine from the local host, and any client server at SP1, but as soon
> > as I
> > connect from a client server w2k3 at SP2 the file explorer hangs.
> > Now my head hurts.
> > BRgds
> > Rob
> >
> > "Anthony [MVP]" wrote:
> >
> >> Does it work to connect to the DFS shares from a non-Citrix client (not
> >> to
> >> the shares on the servers themselves, but to the same DFS paths)?
> >> Anthony
> >> http://www.airdesk.com
> >>
> >>
> >> "Rob A" <> wrote in message
> >> news:BC199B8E-E129-481B-AA33-...
> >> > I have a pair of DFSR servers W2K3 SP2 R2 setup for DFS on the same
> >> > domain.
> >> > When users from the citrix farm, which has a mapped drive to the DFS
> >> > share,
> >> > open file explorer it runs OK for about 30 secs then starts to freeze,
> >> > it
> >> > will release after another minute or so, but then freeze again and is
> >> > unusable in this state.
> >> > The DFS share is on a back end SAN attached storage device, however I
> >> > can
> >> > browse using the DFS host servers without any problems.
> >> >
> >> > Have you any suggestions which may point me towards the cause of the
> >> > problem.
> >> > I have run network tests at the same time as the file explorer hang and
> >> > they
> >> > show no issues with network connectivity or timing.
> >>
> >>
>

Hi Anthony

Not fixed yet!!
I have updated the firmware & drivers on the network cards, and also run the
MS hotfix to disable SNP, but the problem is still there on my sp2 DFSR
servers.
From the client side it behaves like a buffering issue, once full they stop
the display until sufficient memory is available to continue.
I have been unable to reproduce the effect this has on the sp1 dfsr servers

"Anthony [MVP]" wrote:

> So from a W2K3 SP2 client, a UNC path to a Share works fine, but a DFS path
> does not?
> It sounds like SP2 networking problems that just happen to be showing up
> this way.
> You might try some of these:
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/945977/en-us
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947773/en-us
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936594/en-us
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927695/en-us
>
> Hope that helps,
> Anthony
> http://www.airdesk.co.uk
>
>
>
>
> "Rob A" <> wrote in message
> news:C15ED2C9-79DC-4C8F-ACD3-...
> > HI Antony
> > Thank you for your interest in my issue.
> > While I have been running tests from Isaac's suggestions I have managed to
> > narrow the error down to W2K3 SP2 client servers.
> > Client browsers from Servers at w2k3 sp1 all work with no issue. As soon
> > as
> > I try a server with w2k3 SP2, which can be citrix or application server or
> > indeed one of the host DFS servers then it hangs file explorer. On the DFS
> > host I tried the local drive mapping without a problem but as soon as I
> > mapped to the DFS share name it hangs. These DFS servers are at SP2.
> > So, I have now created a set of DFS servers at SP1, and guess what, they
> > work fine from the local host, and any client server at SP1, but as soon
> > as I
> > connect from a client server w2k3 at SP2 the file explorer hangs.
> > Now my head hurts.
> > BRgds
> > Rob
> >
> > "Anthony [MVP]" wrote:
> >
> >> Does it work to connect to the DFS shares from a non-Citrix client (not
> >> to
> >> the shares on the servers themselves, but to the same DFS paths)?
> >> Anthony
> >> http://www.airdesk.com
> >>
> >>
> >> "Rob A" <> wrote in message
> >> news:BC199B8E-E129-481B-AA33-...
> >> > I have a pair of DFSR servers W2K3 SP2 R2 setup for DFS on the same
> >> > domain.
> >> > When users from the citrix farm, which has a mapped drive to the DFS
> >> > share,
> >> > open file explorer it runs OK for about 30 secs then starts to freeze,
> >> > it
> >> > will release after another minute or so, but then freeze again and is
> >> > unusable in this state.
> >> > The DFS share is on a back end SAN attached storage device, however I
> >> > can
> >> > browse using the DFS host servers without any problems.
> >> >
> >> > Have you any suggestions which may point me towards the cause of the
> >> > problem.
> >> > I have run network tests at the same time as the file explorer hang and
> >> > they
> >> > show no issues with network connectivity or timing.
> >>
> >>
>

Try running wireshark and seeing where the communication is breaking down.
It won't be a clear cut error, but it may give you a clue,
Anthony,
http://www.airdesk.co.uk


"Rob A" <> wrote in message
news:11DF5AB4-BC41-4CCC-A603-...
> Hi Anthony
>
> Not fixed yet!!
> I have updated the firmware & drivers on the network cards, and also run
> the
> MS hotfix to disable SNP, but the problem is still there on my sp2 DFSR
> servers.
> From the client side it behaves like a buffering issue, once full they
> stop
> the display until sufficient memory is available to continue.
> I have been unable to reproduce the effect this has on the sp1 dfsr
> servers
>
> "Anthony [MVP]" wrote:
>
>> So from a W2K3 SP2 client, a UNC path to a Share works fine, but a DFS
>> path
>> does not?
>> It sounds like SP2 networking problems that just happen to be showing up
>> this way.
>> You might try some of these:
>> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/945977/en-us
>> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947773/en-us
>> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936594/en-us
>> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927695/en-us
>>
>> Hope that helps,
>> Anthony
>> http://www.airdesk.co.uk
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> "Rob A" <> wrote in message
>> news:C15ED2C9-79DC-4C8F-ACD3-...
>> > HI Antony
>> > Thank you for your interest in my issue.
>> > While I have been running tests from Isaac's suggestions I have managed
>> > to
>> > narrow the error down to W2K3 SP2 client servers.
>> > Client browsers from Servers at w2k3 sp1 all work with no issue. As
>> > soon
>> > as
>> > I try a server with w2k3 SP2, which can be citrix or application server
>> > or
>> > indeed one of the host DFS servers then it hangs file explorer. On the
>> > DFS
>> > host I tried the local drive mapping without a problem but as soon as I
>> > mapped to the DFS share name it hangs. These DFS servers are at SP2.
>> > So, I have now created a set of DFS servers at SP1, and guess what,
>> > they
>> > work fine from the local host, and any client server at SP1, but as
>> > soon
>> > as I
>> > connect from a client server w2k3 at SP2 the file explorer hangs.
>> > Now my head hurts.
>> > BRgds
>> > Rob
>> >
>> > "Anthony [MVP]" wrote:
>> >
>> >> Does it work to connect to the DFS shares from a non-Citrix client
>> >> (not
>> >> to
>> >> the shares on the servers themselves, but to the same DFS paths)?
>> >> Anthony
>> >> http://www.airdesk.com
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> "Rob A" <> wrote in message
>> >> news:BC199B8E-E129-481B-AA33-...
>> >> > I have a pair of DFSR servers W2K3 SP2 R2 setup for DFS on the same
>> >> > domain.
>> >> > When users from the citrix farm, which has a mapped drive to the DFS
>> >> > share,
>> >> > open file explorer it runs OK for about 30 secs then starts to
>> >> > freeze,
>> >> > it
>> >> > will release after another minute or so, but then freeze again and
>> >> > is
>> >> > unusable in this state.
>> >> > The DFS share is on a back end SAN attached storage device, however
>> >> > I
>> >> > can
>> >> > browse using the DFS host servers without any problems.
>> >> >
>> >> > Have you any suggestions which may point me towards the cause of the
>> >> > problem.
>> >> > I have run network tests at the same time as the file explorer hang
>> >> > and
>> >> > they
>> >> > show no issues with network connectivity or timing.
>> >>
>> >>
>>

Anthony/Isaac

Thanks for your interest, this was the fix I had to apply to resolve my
issue. It is a reg fix for the VSS service.

http://xentelworker.blogspot.com/200...1-blog-at.html

Regards
Rob


"Rob A" wrote:

> I have a pair of DFSR servers W2K3 SP2 R2 setup for DFS on the same domain.
> When users from the citrix farm, which has a mapped drive to the DFS share,
> open file explorer it runs OK for about 30 secs then starts to freeze, it
> will release after another minute or so, but then freeze again and is
> unusable in this state.
> The DFS share is on a back end SAN attached storage device, however I can
> browse using the DFS host servers without any problems.
>
> Have you any suggestions which may point me towards the cause of the problem.
> I have run network tests at the same time as the file explorer hang and they
> show no issues with network connectivity or timing.