Suddenly can not connect to my FreeNAS server.

[Poppa]

I booted up my FreeNAS server and tried connecting to it as normal but something is preventing me from doing so. I am using a direct connection between my PC and server using Mellanox ConnectX-2 cards and DAC cables. The cards are communicating and FreeNAS can tell if I disconnect the cable from my PC but I am unable to connect to the web interface or access my SMB share.

As far as I can remember, nothing has changed on my PC or with my setup that would be causing this issue. I tried updating the drivers for my Mellanox cards. It did not help.

I am starting to lose it, suddenly not having access to my files when I need it is really stressful.

 

[Mr. Slumber]

FreeNAS server

Sorry, which FreeNAS version do you have installed? I assume 11.2-U2?

 

[Poppa]

Sorry, which FreeNAS version do you have installed?

I don't know and I don't know how to find out.

 

[Mr. Slumber]

I don't know and I don't know how to find out.

Please reboot your machine. Connect a monitor to the FreeNAS machine. When booting has finished press 9) shell. In the shell please enter:

Code:

uname -a

Now you know your FreeNAS version.

 

[Mr. Slumber]

Did it work out?

 

[Poppa]

Did it work out?

Hi, yes it did. I am using version 11.0-Stable

I have also tried accessing my server by stetting up another interface and trying to connect to my laptop which is still running Win7 with a crossover cable. I still can't establish a connection.

 

[Mr. Slumber]

Which DNS server does your FreeNAS box use? Did you try to ping your FreeNAS box? What was the result?

 

[Heracles]

Hi Poppa,

Here, we need to troubleshoot from lowest network layers, going up. For that, you need screen and keyboard access to both systems, FreeNAS and Windows. You also need credentials to log in each of them.

You said :

The cards are communicating and FreeNAS can tell if I disconnect the cable from my PC

So that clears it for layer 1 and 2.

Now, we must clear layer 3 : IP
What are the IP addresses on each system and what is the netmask for each ?
Can you ping from Windows to FreeNAS ?

If you can, layer 3 is cleared. If you can not, we need to double check layer 1 and 2.
If you can not PING, do

Code:

arp -a

and see if each system can associate the proper MAC address to the IP address of the system it faces. If you do not have arp resolution, then your problem is at cable / connector level (layer 1) or Ethernet level (duplex, speed, driver).

Once IP is cleared, you must clear TCP. So from windows, do

Code:

telnet 1.2.3.4 22
telnet 1.2.3.4 80
telnet 1.2.3.4 443

Where 1.2.3.4 is the IP address on the FreeNAS.

This will try to connect TCP level on SSH, Web and HTTPS.

Once successful, you can connect using the corresponding client : SSH or a Browser. If Telnet can do it but not the client, the problem is most likely in the client. Switch from your default browser to another one and retry.

Good luck,

 

[Poppa]

What are the IP addresses on each system and what is the netmask for each ?
Can you ping from Windows to FreeNAS ?

The IP address of FreeNAS is On my PC, it is set to auto, no static IP. The netmask on FreeNAS is the standard

I can not ping. I just get timeout errors on all attempts.

If you can not PING, do

Code:

arp -a

and see if each system can associate the proper MAC address to the IP address of the system it faces. If you do not have arp resolution, then your problem is at cable / connector level (layer 1) or Ethernet level (duplex, speed, driver).

When I type in the arp command, this is what I get.

As for the telnet command, all I got was "'telnet' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file."

 

[Poppa]

Which DNS server does your FreeNAS box use? Did you try to ping your FreeNAS box? What was the result?

I have not messed with the DNS setting on FreeNAS. I think it is set to local or non existent. I can't ping.

 

[Heracles]

Well, that's the problem : Your Windows computer does not have any IP address. Without an IP address, it can not connect to anything.

Configure your Windows with an IP in the same subnet as your FreeNAS and you will reach it easily. You can use 192.168.1.100 with the same netmask of 255.255.255.0

 

[Poppa]

Configure your Windows with an IP in the same subnet as your FreeNAS and you will reach it easily. You can use 192.168.1.100 with the same netmask of 255.255.255.0

Did that and it is still not working.

 

[Heracles]

Hi,

The FreeNAS output says it is a 10GB NIC. I doubt Windows 7 can do something like that...

I never configured any 10 GB NIC in my environment. I would not expect anything over 1G from Windows, so you may try to reduce your speed in FreeNAS to a 1 GB instead of 10.

From what I see, I guess the problem is either in layer 2 config (speed, duplex) or in Windows' driver.

Sorry I can not do more than that...

 

[Poppa]

The FreeNAS output says it is a 10GB NIC. I doubt Windows 7 can do something like that...

From what I see, I guess the problem is either in layer 2 config (speed, duplex) or in Windows' driver.

I had it running just fine on Windows 7. I never got the speeds I wanted because I never really tried playing around with those settings. Just put one of the cards in my server, one in my PC, connected them and that was it.

Anyways, I am on Window 10 now. I doubt the speed of the interface has anything to do with it since it worked before. I also updated my driver to the latest version and still can't connect.

Sorry I can not do more than that...

:(

 

[Heracles]

Hi gain Poppa,

since it worked before

By definition, things were always working before stopping to work. So this kind of minding will not help you troubleshoot anything...

The point is now why it does not work now. Windows has always been designed to be half-working and it always achieved that goal perfectly. This is why I dropped it more than a decade ago...

So first step for you is to establish some connection. For that, I think to force you NIC to 1 GB or even 100 MB could help. Not that you will have to maintain that speed forever, but to establish a connection is first step. To improve it and speed it up will be second.

Good luck,

 

[Poppa]

I think to force you NIC to 1 GB or even 100 MB could help.,

As I have stated in a previous post, I also tried using one of the 1G NIC's on the motherboard and I still wasn't able to connect.

 

[Heracles]

Just saying that things do not / did not work, you should provide a little more input... How did you tried to force the speed and duplex in the FreeNAS ? In the Windows ? What model of NIC in each of them ? Can you test that cable between two other components ? What are the error messages you receives when these things do not work ?

From only "it does not work", I did all I could...

 

[Poppa]

I got it working.

Sort of...

I can now log in to the webUI but I can't get Windows to see my share.

 

[Basil Hendroff]

I am using a direct connection between my PC and server using Mellanox ConnectX-2 cards and DAC cables.

Is this a standalone network?

It would be helpful to detail your FreeNAS hardware and software configuration. Consider including this information in your signature block.