Autostatic Route Updates Fail Over IPX

ID: Q168578

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0
Microsoft Routing & Remote Access Service Update for Windows NT Server version 4.0

SYMPTOMS

After you issue several Update Routes commands from the Routing and Remote Access Service server, the IPX network number of the WAN link gets changed from all zeros to a number other than zero. This causes the Routing and Remote Access Service server to drop all Routing Information Protocol (RIP) & Service Advertising Protocol (SAP) packets coming from the remote router. You then lose all connectivity to the other router and the networks it is connected to.

CAUSE

The router defaults to unnumbered WAN links with Routing and Remote Access Service for Windows NT Server 4.0. If the Network number for the remote router changes to anything other than all zeros the local router will drop all RIP and SAP packets from the remote router.

For example:

From the local router, right-click Summary under IPX Routing. Then select Update Routes. After doing this several times, the Network number for the remote router may become something other than all zeros. The local router will then drop any RIP & SAP packets received from the remote router. Update Routes will no longer work.

To verify you are seeing this problem, do the following. Go to a command prompt on each router and type:

C:\ipxroute config

You should see something similar to this depending on how many network cards are installed, and so on.

NWLink IPX Routing and Source Routing Control Program v2.00

net 1: network number 00002602, frame type 802.2, device El59x1 (00c04fc29c12)
net 2: network number 00002602, frame type ethernet ii, device NdisWan10 (f4aa8a000000)+ active wan line

If the NdisWan device's network number is something other than all zeros, then you are experiencing this problem.

This is how it should look:

NWLink IPX Routing and Source Routing Control Program v2.00

net 1: network number 00002602, frame type 802.2, device El59x1 (00c04fc29c12)
net 2: network number 00000000, frame type ethernet ii, device NdisWan10 (f4aa8a000000)+ active wan line

RESOLUTION

This problem will only happen if it is an unnumbered WAN Link. For additional information about how to work around this problem by disabling unmumbered WAN links, please see the following article(s) in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q197205 RRAS IPX VPNs Generate Event ID 20124

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Windows NT version 4.0.

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbnetwork kbbug4.00 kbfix4.00 ntrouter NTSrv
Version : winnt:4.0
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbbug