Odd Problem with LAN.

I am using Openband as the provider. I have a staic IP address and run a couple of websites out my basement. Recently the strangest thing has started to happen, if I am outside of my house (like at work) I can browse my sites. If I am in my house at any PC here, I cannot browse the sites - they cannot be found.

I've made no changes to the firewall or any settings on the web server.

I'm not using anything like WINS, DHCP or local Domain Name Services. Anyone ever seen such a thing?

 

Are the addresses your webserver uses public or private? Is the server behind a firewall, which forwards the requests?

 

Internally the server has a private 10. address. All HTTP & HTTPS traffic pointed at the public (OpenBand supplied) IP is passed by the firewall to it.

 

So are you using the external IP or the Internal IP to hit the webservers?

 

External via regualr DNS/URL. I run multiple websites fromt he same IP using host name headers.

 

what firewall do you use? my firewall (m0n0wall) doesn't have the ability to "bounce" requests from inside the LAN to public IPs and back to internal. Instead, you have to set up overriding DNS entries for internal clients that resolve to 10. addresses.

 

I'm using a NetGear. However, do not forget that this all worked perfectly before Christmas.

 

It sounds like a mapping got munged on the router. Did you update any firmware on the router? Also, is the DNS name resolvable (ie - do an nslookup on it to see what you get). I'm assuming you can still use the internal IP address without issue, and folks external to your lan can access the site.

 

Yeah - I just updated the firmware - no difference. I also looked at the rule sets & mappings it's all good. When I'm at the office (or anyplace else) I can hit the sites no problem.

It's really strange.

Has anyone else noted that the speed if the WAN is really quirky? Some times it just zips along, then a minute later **GAAAK** totally throttled. If no one else is seeing this, it's another piece of the puzzle. I'd hate to think I've killed yet another firewall.

 

Are you using any Dynamic DNS services for your website(s)?

 

Just an idea -sorry if it sounds stupid -

plug a laptop directly into the wall - which would by-pass your FW - if you can get to the sites - also do you have a wireless router - as the SSID and MAC may have aquired a new IP which does not match with your assigned Static IP from OB.

Try - If you can logon to the same machine that the web server is running on you should be able to connect to http://localhost or http://127.0.0.1 and view the web site running on that machine. (if it's setup properly)


If not then then I would suspect that OB maybe blocking or there is an issue with OB DNS Static IP - OB could have made some IP/Mapping changes (which in turn changed your Static IP, even though you have not changed the IP on your end) - send me a PM if you need more help.

 

I guess an odd problem deserves an odd "fix". My internet connection enters in the "Finished sotrage area" of the basement (we have VanMeter SinclairII). That's also where the switch in for traffic to the drops throughout the house.

My servers (1 internal file server, one web server) and my firewall were in the unfinished HVAC area. Well, I got tired of the switch & fiber converter being in one room & the firewall being in another room for those times when OpenBand b0rk3s out and I have to rest everything. So all I did was move my firewall into the same room as the switch & converter.

**POOF**

Problem fixed. The wiring is essentially the same, the settings are all the same on the logical side of the house, nothing has changed.

I have no clue what happened.

 

Probably just a wonderful bug. If you have a consumer grade firewall, these are abundant. Random nifty things, like forgetting to be able to forward http and stuffs.

 

Just an hour after I posted the above, the problem came back.

Meh! I just adjusted my hosts file to point at teh internal address for those three domains.