server connection issues

Ish

Ish

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Hi

Company 1 & Company 2 are both in the same area, both use SBS2011 and both have the same ISP which is BeThere with a static IP.

They are unable to connect to each others servers using OWA or Outlook Anywhere.

I've beent old the problem is becuase they both use this setting in their modems (this is the setting provided by BeThere)

Wan NetMask
255.255.254.0

What does this mean and how can this problem be resolved?
 
Soldato
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I'm on Be at home with a static IP and also run a SBS 2011 server locally also. I dont see a problem with that subnet mask if thats what Be has told you and internet works ok.

Have you opened port 443 and forwarded it to the server?

Presume theyre using different domain names on each site and not using the same?
 

Ish

Ish

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The problems only happens when connecting from company 1 or 2. They can be accessed from anywhere else fine.

They do have different domains.
 

Ish

Ish

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Just had this reply from BeThere which doesn't help me as they both need a static IP:-

The problem is that you are trying to establish connection from the same gateway.

The connection should work if one of the accounts is using Dynamic IP.
 
Soldato
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Sorry Ish, that reply doesnt make any sense at all.

Is company A and company B using differnent Internet connections and static IP's?

If so, check that each companies router is forwarding port 443 to the respective SBS server.
 

Ish

Ish

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The reply has come from BeThere tech support.

Company A & B both have their own seperate connections but they are with the same ISP.

443 is forwaded.
 
Soldato
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Start with one company than and resolve that one first and then look at the second.

So Company A, have you tried connecting to OWA from a different connection such as home? If so, what message do you get when you try to connect?

Whats the address that your trying to connect to? Blank out part of the name if you dont want the address to be public.

This will test if its just a site to site problem or doesnt work full stop.
 

Ish

Ish

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I can connect to OWA of both companies from home etc fine.

The problem only occurs when trying to connect from company A to company B or vice versa. You just get a page not found error if using OWA or if using outlook anywhere from Outlook it gives a connection error.

The webmail address is in this format https://webmail.companya.org/owa
 
Soldato
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That subnet mask can't be right. Why would BeThere allocate enough IPs for 510 hosts to these presumably small businesses?

Do the two static IPs that have been assigned fall into the same subnet if you use that /23 mask?
 
Soldato
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My subnet mask with Be is 255.255.248.0 = 2046 hosts ! :)

Does sound like the problem given what Be replied with and it works from home.
 
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Some of the Staff from Company A volunteer at Company B (it's not actually a company) but there is no link between the 2.

In theory thought Company A should be able to connect to Company B via the external URL.

for example
https://webmail.companyA.com or
https://webmail.companyB.com

Do a DNS check on the workstations to see if it's actually resolving the DNS entry for the other company.

Do a PING check on the workstations to see if it's actually resolving the IP entry for the other company.

Can each server be accessed fine from outside of each networks.. for example (HOME > Company A) (Home > Company B)

Ensure the subnet mask on the ISP routers match. If BETHERE told you to make sure the subnet mask is the same then ensure they are.

Go from there.
 
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This is a quirk of Be's network & their awkward subnetting, and I don't believe there's anything you can do about it.

When they are migrated to either Sky's network, or Be's new network, you might find that connectivity then works okay as a result of being on different subnets.
 
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