Troubleshooting MCIS Chat Server

• Microsoft Commercial Internet System, version 1.0

SUMMARY

This article presents a method to troubleshoot the most common problems of the Microsoft Commercial Internet System (MCIS) Chat Server.

MORE INFORMATION

After any event, the event logs and Performance Monitor may help to identify the problem. The only supported version of the MCIS Chat Server is the final release code. Beta versions are not supported.

Make sure the Internet Information Server (IIS) and WWW configuration is correct in terms of the Anonymous Logon and Password Authentication.

Make sure the virtual directory defined in IIS has Read and Execute rights.

Performance Issues

• Use Performance Monitor to find bottlenecks. "%Processor Time" and "Available Memory" counters are especially useful in identifying whether the server is experiencing a process or memory bottleneck. Consult the Chat Server manual for more useful counters you can use to identify the bottlenecks.
• For testing purposes, disable the "reverse DNS look-up" option on the server. You can find the setting in Port and Addresses (under the Services menu).
• Check your Chat Server network configuration. Reconfiguring the topology may help to improve the performance. For example, a star topology may perform better than a bus topology.

Server to Server/Portal Configuration

• Use the following command to make sure the servers can PING each other:

        PING <server name> or PING <IP address of the server>
  

• Make sure each server has a correct Portal configuration. The NSID, TCP Port, and the IP address must correspond correctly. The NSID and IP address must be unique.
• Make sure the IP address has not changed since the last time you configured the Portal.
• Use Network Monitor to see the communication between servers. You should be able to follow the communication on the TCP level. Network Monitor comes with Windows NT Server 4.0.

Disconnection Issues

• Check the Event Viewer; there may be a problem with the network components.
• Check the Event Viewer for event ID 71, or other related event messages.
• Determine whether the problem is coming from the server or from the client. Make sure the network component of the problem computer is installed properly.
• If the client cannot connect to the server, make sure you can PING the server from the client. Install the client on the server, and try to connect. Also make sure you have not reached the maximum number of allowed connections.
• There are several counters that monitor disconnection between "client to server" and "server to server." Plotting those counters helps to narrow down the problem. "Socket-Error Client Disconnects" and "Total Server Disconnects" are helpful counters.
• Use Network Monitor to see the communication between nodes. You should be able to follow the communication on the TCP level. Network Monitor comes with Windows NT Server 4.0.

Internet Explorer-Related Issues

• Always make sure that you have the most recent version of the Chatsock.dll file, and that the Active Server Page is both up-to-date and installed properly. By running Mschat.htm (found in the Client\Chat\OCX directory of the MCIS compact disc), you automatically download the Chatsock.dll file.
• If Internet Explorer does not recognize the MIC:// URL, install Comic Chat. The installation registers the proper entries for Internet Explorer to recognize the URL in the registry.