Environment
Situation
Some basic troubleshooting techniques can be used to narrow down the cause of a connection problem. This technical note provides questions to help you troubleshoot the workstation and the network to resolve Reflection host connection problems.
Resolution
Troubleshooting the Workstation
Software connection problems are often caused by a particular workstation configuration. Check the following areas at the PC where you are having problems.
Restore the Default Settings
Many software problems are the result of improper customization of the workstation. Restoring the default software configuration resolves many issues.
Determine What Has Changed
If the workstation has functioned properly in the past, consider these questions:
- Has new software or hardware been added?
- Has anything been changed on the network?
Compare to a Similar Workstation
Check to see if other workstations with similar configurations are having the same problem. Look for the following similarities and differences:
- Do the PCs have the same operating systems?
- Are the PCs from the same manufacturer? Are they the same model? Do they have the same network card or video driver?
- Was the previous version of Reflection the same on both PCs? Is the software installed in the same directory? Are you installing over beta or demo software?
- Are the workstations in a similar physical location on the network? Are they on the same subnet?
Close Conflicting Software
Check to see if other programs are running when the problem occurs. Screen savers, power savers and virus checkers can cause unintended conflicts.
- Was any software running during installation?
- Was the Microsoft Office toolbar running during installation?
Check Other Applications
Determine if similar software products are having the same problem.
- If Reflection Telnet fails, try Microsoft Telnet.
- If you cannot start a particular X client application on the host, try another.
- If you have problems printing with Reflection, try printing with Notepad.
- If Reflection has serial connection problems, try Window's HyperTerminal.
Confirm Windows Permissions
Confirm that you are logging in with the correct credentials.
- Does the problem occur only with non-administrator user logins?
- Does the problem occur with multiple user accounts? Verify that an account works on a different PC, and then try it on the non-working PC.
Troubleshooting Network Connections
Some problems may be on the network or subnet level. If you are having problems making a network connection, check the following areas.
Ping the Server
If TCP/IP is being used, use a Ping utility to confirm that you can locate the host.
- Can you ping the server by host name or IP address?
- Can you ping another PC?
Identify Problems with Multiple Servers, Firewalls or Gateways
Determine whether the problem is isolated to one server, or if connections to multiple servers or routing devices are affected.
- Are the servers on the Internet, or are they on an internal network?
- Are the servers on the same logical subnet?
- Does the problem occur only when connecting via a particular firewall, proxy server, or gateway?
Connect by IP Address
If attempting to connect by hostname, does the problem also occur when connecting by IP address?
Isolate the Transport Types
Does the problem occur with multiple transport protocols or connection types to the same host? Compare the following connection options:
- If serial connections fail, do Ethernet connections still work?
- If NFS access fails, do Telnet or FTP logins work?
- If XDMCP fails, does Telnet or rlogin work?
Contacting Technical Support
If you are still unable to resolve the problem, please have the following information ready when contacting Attachmate Technical Support:
- What product(s) are being used?
- What version(s)?
- What operating system(s) is on the PC and server/host? Are any Service Packs installed?
- What connection type is selected?
- What are the exact error messages? Can you provide a screenshot of the error messages?
- Exactly when does the problem occur?
- When connecting to the host?
- During logon or authentication?
- When using a particular command in a server application?
For more information about contacting Attachmate technical support, see https://support.microfocus.com/contact/.