Many folks have been encountering network connectivity issues and other errors when running older versions of Symantec Endpoint Protection and Symantec Antivirus. So I’m writing to let you know that a solution has been available for the past year and is highly encouraged as an upgrade.
When a Windows Server is running older versions of Symantec Endpoint Protection 11 or Symantec Antivirus 10.2, they may experience performance issues for network shares, or intermittent loss of connectivity to SMB shares. We’re hoping we can help you avoid a costly and time consuming support incident by making this issue more visible to help you plan your deployments.
If you are running older versions of Symantec Endpoint Protection 11 and Symantec Antivirus 10.2 you should get the solution from Symantec. Symantec confirms that this is a known issue and there are updates to resolve the problem. For more information, please see the Symantec Knowledge Base article about this issue . For information about Symantec support for Endpoint Protection 11, visit the Symantec Support site. (http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index.jsp)
Please note: If you are unable to upgrade promptly or remove the software, Symantec urges you to contact their technical support to determine if there are any workarounds available to you.
The symptoms are varied, but many can be traced to lost connectivity issues to servers running this software. Here is what we’ve learned about the problem by examining case notes from Microsoft support:
· Symantec Endpoint Protection versions prior to 11.0.4202 (MR4-MP2). Older versions of Symantec Symantec Antivirus (prior to 10.2) can also cause this problem. The problem occurs when you have the Autoprotect feature enabled in the applications.
· The problem can affect 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2003, 2008 and 2008 R2.
· The problem is intermittent, can affect client connectivity within hours to up to a week after installing the applications. Usually a server reboot will restore connectivity for a short period before the problem happens again. You generally are able to ping and RDP to the server when the issue occurs, but shares are inaccessible using either \\IPADDRESS or \\ServerName\Share operations.
· The problem results from a deadlock in SRTSP.SYS or SRTSP64.SYS in a push lock operation, which then causes blocked kernel mode server threads handling SMB negotiation requests. Network traces will show the server not responding to the SMB dialect packet.
Here are the most common symptoms you may experience that may help you diagnose this issue. Note that if you have this software installed, the easiest troubleshooting step to determine if this is the cause of connectivity issues is to simply remove the software and reboot the server.
· Error message: “The network path was not found” or “The specified network name is no longer available” when attempting to open shares, map a drive, run DCDIAG to the to the affected server, use netdom to reset secure channel
· Error message: “RPC Server is unavailable” when trying to connect via Active Directory Users and Computers
· Error message: “RPC Server is too busy to process the request” when attempting to join the Windows server domain
· Error message: “No network provider accepted the given network path” or “File or network path no longer exists” when copying a file over the network to affected servers
· Printing issues (cannot update printer IP address via DNS)
· AD replication failures
· Cluster service fails to start, or inability to access existing File Share resources even if they are online according to the Cluster Administrator snap-in
· Event log Event ID 4226 and or 2022 may occur frequently (up to every 20 to 30 seconds)
For more information about specific problems, error messages and troubleshooting for these issues, please visit the Microsoft support site for the following articles. Please note, we are currently in the process of updating these articles, all updates should be in place by next week.
KB 961293
Unable to access Shares "The specified network name is no longer available"
KB 961654
A file sharing connection to a Windows Server 2008-based server drops unexpectedly if the server has Symantec Antivirus installed
KB 948732
Network shares become unresponsive on a Windows Server 2003-based computer after some time, and you receive an error message
KB 923360
You may experience various problems when you work with files over the network on a Windows Server 2003-based or Windows 2000 Server-based computer
Robert Paige
Senior Program Manager
Windows Partner Application Ecosystem Team
If you want to add a little geek to your holiday decorating, check out this free download of the Windows Server 2008 R2 Feature Components poster. This is a free 2.5MB PDF download that diagrams all eight of Windows Server 2008 R2’s key new feature areas: BranchCache, DirectAccess, Remote Desktop Services as well as the new enhancements to Active Directory, File Services, Hyper-V, IIS and Management.
The poster has already generated some good responses here and here. Plus, you can see a zoomable preview on Live Lab’s super-cool Seadragon as well as a video with the poster’s creator, Martin McClean.
Happy Holidays and happy poster printing,
Oliver Rist
Sr. Product Manager
Windows Server Marketing
Microsoft is announcing today the formation of a new organization within the Server & Tools Business that combines the Windows Server & Solutions group and the Windows Azure group, into a single organization called the Server & Cloud Division (SCD).
This change reflects the alignment of our resources with our strategy, and represents a natural evolution for Microsoft as the Windows Azure business moves from an advanced development project to a mainstream business, as we announced last month at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference (PDC).
SCD will deliver solutions that help our customers realize even greater benefits from Microsoft’s investments in on-premises and cloud technologies. And the new division will help strengthen an already solid and extensive partner ecosystem.
As the only company in the industry that has the leading server platform complemented by a massive investment in online services, we have the unique ability to offer our customers a choice to tap into one or both approaches simultaneously through one consistent platform.
Together, Windows Server, Windows Azure, SQL Server, SQL Azure, Visual Studio and System Center help customers extend existing investments to include a future that will combine both on-premises and cloud solutions, and SCD is now a key player in that effort.
The details of this organizational change are noted below:
1. The Windows Azure development team, will move from under Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie to the Server & Tools Business, led by Bob Muglia, President, Server and Tools Division. Senior Vice President Amitabh Srivastava will lead the newly formed SCD, reporting to Bob.
2. The Windows Server and Solutions group, led by Corporate Vice President Bill Laing, will join the Windows Azure team to form the Server & Cloud Division. Bill will report to Amitabh and will continue his role as a key member of the STB leadership team. Bill will partner with Amitabh to continue the bilateral sharing of technology between Windows Server and Windows Azure, which has been a key design goal of Microsoft’s software + services strategy.
3. The Windows Azure business and marketing team, will continue to be led by Doug Hauger. Doug will join the Server and Tools Marketing Group, led by Corporate Vice President Robert Wahbe, reporting to Corporate Vice President Bob Kelly, who is also responsible for Windows Server, System Center, and Forefront.
The Windows Server team is very excited to be part of SCD and to continue our work together with the Windows Azure team to deliver the best of both software + services.
The Windows Server Migration team's been cooking...no, not cranberry sauce and stuffing, but a new Windows Server Migration Utilities download package that lets you use the Windows Server Migration Tools to migrate Hyper-V and Routing and Remote Access Services (RRAS). Brand-spankin'-new beta migration guides are available for both Hyper-V and RRAS, with detailed, step-by-step guidance about how to use the Windows Server Migration Tools (after the Utilities package is installed, of course) to migrate to servers that are running Windows Server 2008 R2.
Still not feeling the love? We've got new beta migration guides for Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS), Health Registration Authority (HRA), Network Policy Server (NPS), and Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2 (WSUS). AD CS, HRA, NPS, and WSUS don't even require the Windows Server Migration Tools; you can migrate from prep to production, just by following the guides.
We can't say it enough: your feedback rocks. The Windows Server Migration team is collecting feedback about the beta guides and the Utilities download package through the end of 2009. You can use the following methods to speak your mind about Migration Guides and the Windows Server 2008 R2 Migration Utilities Beta package. Share your migration experiences; they're critical to the quality of the Migration Guides, Windows Server 2008 R2 Migration Utilities, and the whole Migration solution for WS08 R2!
Visit the Windows Server Migration Portal on TechCenter to see the complete collection of Windows Server 2008 R2 Migration Guides, and a truckload of other migration resources, too.
-- Cheers from the Windows Server Migration team!