WLBS Does Not Respond to ARP Requests

ID: Q244091

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0
Microsoft Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition version 4.0
Windows NT Load Balancing Service 1.0

SYMPTOMS

A Windows Load Balancing Service (WLBS) cluster host may not respond to Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) requests under stress. A client must be able to map the cluster's virtual IP address to the cluster's media access control (MAC) address with ARP to be able to access services that are being load balanced. All other network communication may function normally.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs when the cluster host tries to reply to ARP requests but ARP send packets are retained in Ndis.sys.

RESOLUTION

A supported fix that corrects this problem is now available from Microsoft, but it has not been fully regression tested and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem. If you are not severely affected by this specific problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Windows NT 4.0 service pack that contains this fix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information on support costs, please go to the following address on the World Wide Web:

http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/overview/overview.asp

The English-language version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:


   Date      Time                Size     File name     Platform
   -------------------------------------------------------------
   10/12/99  9:43PM              121,744  Ndis.sys      Intel
   10/12/99  9:41PM              213,680  Ndis.sys      Alpha

STATUS

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

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbnetwork kbbug4.00 kbfix4.00
Version : winnt:1.0,4.0
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbbug