Network Troubleshooting

Modified on Tue, 24 Sep at 12:50 PM

Introduction

It can often be very difficult to pin down the source of instability or poor performance, but if your data is running across a network then this can add in another potential source of problems, so work your way down this troubleshooter.

Changes to this article:

3rd December 2020: added steps 5 and 14 relating to using IP addresses and adjusting the Windows LanmanWorkstation service settings.

Contact Broadcast Radio Support if you have any concerns.

If you are worried in anyway about carrying out some or all of the steps below, please contact the Support Team - we would much rather help you carry out these steps, than have you end up accidentally causing a different issue. Supporting you is exactly what we are here for.

Troubleshooting steps:

Reboot the network switch itself - if it has a power switch, switch it off then count to 10, then turn it back on again. If there is no switch, unplug it carefully from the electrical supply, then count to 10 and plug it back again.
Check physical cables: Are they fully plugged in with a reassuring "click" and won't come out with a gentle tug - if the retaining plastic clip has snapped off, replace the cable. Check the wires are fully seated in the connector, and then check the full cable length wherever possible for any physical damage. If any of the above is in doubt, swap the cable for another and check again.
PC Network Speed: Make sure that all PC's are showing a 1Gbit connection in Windows. For an easy walkthrough to see this information for Windows 10, please visit https://winaero.com/blog/see-the-ethernet-or-wifi-adapter-speed-in-windows-10/
Disable IPv6: If possible, try disabling "Internet Protocol Version 6" in the Network Properties of each network adaptor. Caution: altering settings in this window can be dangerous, so please contact support if you want assistance before trying this step.
Change to IP addresses: In your SQL Connection and your file locations, try changing to the IP address of the SQL Server and file server instead of using the network name - for example, instead of using MyServer\SQLExpress and \\MyServer\Myriad\Data, if the IP address of the server is 192.168.10.10, change to 192.168.10.10\SQLExpress and \\192.168.10.10\Myriad\Data
Power Saving: In Network Connections, check the properties of the network adaptor and make sure that any power saving options are turned off. A good walkthrough can be found at https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/exchange-team-blog/do-you-have-a-sleepy-nic/ba-p/590996
Network Drivers: While you are in the network adaptor properties, on the Driver tab, click Update Driver to get Windows to check for any updated versions of the driver. If there are none available, try visiting the website of the network adaptor manufacturer and check with their support/downloads section.
Network Isolation: If you are regularly transfer a large amount of data across the network on non-broadcast PC's - e.g. regularly reading/writing very large files or audio recordings to and from a Myriad Server onto Office computers, consider adding a second network card to your server and having a dedicated Network Switch just for the broadcast network. This will prevent an office user inadvertently using all available network capacity on a single network card in a server.
Broadband Routers: Do NOT physically plug Playout PC's directly to your Broadband router, especially if these are managed by your ISP - for example a BT or Virgin Broadband router. These regularly receive automatic firmware and configuration updates from your ISP at odd hours, and when they restart this will completely stop all network traffic. Instead, use a small network switch with a single network cable connecting it to the broadband router, and connect all your workstations to the network switch instead. That way, if the router reboots, it will not affect the network traffic on the network switch.
Windows Firewall: If you cannot access ANY resource on a network location, try temporarily turning off the Windows Firewall. If this resolves it, then you know you need to alter the firewall settings. Do NOT leave the firewall OFF for any significant period of time, and never turn it off if the PC is directly connected to the internet - i.e. that PC is acting as your Internet Firewall.
Network sharing permissions: If you can access the PC, but cannot get into the Network Shares, check that the Network share has full Read/Write permissions for the 'Everyone' group, and then check that the Security Permissions also allow the correct users read/write permissions as appropriate.
File Permissions: You may need to reset the File permissions on the files and folders. To do this, right click on the main folder and choose properties, the follow these instructions:
Guest Logons: On some windows PC's we have found that you have to enable the 'Enable Insecure Guest Logons' option on the workstation that is trying to access a network server's resources. This setting can be found in the Group Policy editor under Group Policy>Administrative Templates>Network>Lanman Workstation. To open the Group Policy Editor, right click on the Windows start button and choose 'Run' then enter GPEdit.MSC and click OK. Be VERY careful in this editor as it can cause significant issues if not used carefully.
Lanman Workstation registry changes: Caution! This step involves making changes to your registry which can cause problems if not carried out correctly, so please ensure you have a full backup of your system and any critical data before making these changes.

In some cases we've found that adjusting the settings of the LanmanWorkstation service (which is part of Windows itself) can make a dramatic difference.

These steps are detailed in this blog post by Zubair Alexander: https://www.zubairalexander.com/blog/how-to-fix-slow-access-to-network-shares/

We have also attached a zip file that contains a Registry file to apply the changes for you which you can find below.

Attachments (2)

zip

LanmanWorkst....zip
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Advanced_Fil....png
165 KB