Intermittent access to server

No access until I ping from server

[gauss_kr]

I've got Apache 2.2 running on a desktop within my LAN, and the other computers in that LAN can't see the server unless I ping them from the server first. When I do this, the other computers can browse the server without any problems.

If the client closes the connection (i.e. exits browser) and then tries reconnecting to the server after 5-10 minutes, the problem repeats itself. I have to ping them from the server again before they can connect to it.

Does anyone have any idea what could be causing this?

[jdMorgan]

This sounds a lot like a firewall issue.

Jim

[gauss_kr]

I've already added a rule to allow LAN access to port 80 on the server, and I'm unsure of what I should do next. Any advice would be appreciated.

[jdMorgan]

Disconnect your LAN from the WAN if possible, or from the LAN subnet that connects this LAN to the WAN (as applicable -- I don't know the scale of your network). Then turn off all firewalls. If this works, turn on one firewall at a time --that is, enable one and disable all others-- and test. When you find a firewall that causes this intermittent connectivity problem, adjust its settings. Then turn that one off and proceed to the next.

If it were me, I'd start with your server and any one client that has this problem.

Once the firewall issues are resolved, enable all of the firewalls and re-connect to the WAN.

If none of the firewalls seems to be the problem, then look into your router, switch, and hub settings (as applicable -- again, I don't know the scale of your network).

As used here, "firewalls" refers to all hardware and software firewalls, and to all 'internet security' software which may include any kind of firewall or packet-filtering capability.

Jim