Errors encountered : " remote server is unavailable"

[David Collier-Brown]

[Moved to samba at samba.org --dave]> 
>         I'm currently using samba2.04 on HPUX 10.20 with client connections
> from Win NT and Win 2000. Intermittently, the NT/Win2000 clients cannot
> resolve the server name. They encountered the error "remote server is
> unavailable". However, if the clients were to connect using the IP address
> of the server, the connection is established. When we testing "ping" from
> the client to the server, the client can resolve the hostname to ip address.
> Has anyone encoutered this problem before .... Any advise on how to resolve
> it ??

	You have an name service problem: Windows doesn't
	(normally) use dns, so ping works and browsing
	doesn't.

	I'd establish a WINS server, and tell the clients about it:
	see http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/samba/chapter/book/ch03_01.html
	for a few hints.

	This will allow the name lookup to run more reliably, and
	machines to disappear less often.  Alas, that's "more"
	not "completely": browsing is probabalistic, and WINS
	is not as robust as dns...  which is why MS is doing
	more DNS these days.

--dave
-- 
David Collier-Brown,  | Always do right. This will gratify some people
185 Ellerslie Ave.,   | and astonish the rest.        -- Mark Twain
Willowdale, Ontario   | //www.oreilly.com/catalog/samba/author.html
Work: (905) 415-2849 Home: (416) 223-8968 Email: davecb at canada.sun.com