To all SysAdmin/Network Gurus…
On several DUAL NIC systems running WINXP SP2 (static IP configuration – not DHCP), the Default Gateway on the public NIC #1 gets disappeared intermittently causing network drops.
Fix: A right-click and repair of the NIC #1 would bring back the Default Gateway to its initial value and restore the public network connection. But then it would disappear again after some time (hours or days).
IPCONFIG /all shows:
NIC #1: public
IP Address: 127.235.232.161
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: (missing)
DNS Servers: 127.235.109.125
WINS Server: 127.235.109.112
NIC #2: internal
IP Address: 192.168.100.100
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.168.100.100
What I have tried:
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After doing some researches here on this forum and others, I found that someone said that having two different Default Gateway values on a DUAL NIC system is a no-no, I then reconfigured the Default Gateway on the internal NIC #2 to BLANK.
Then to my surprise, the Default Gateway on the public NIC #1 automatically regains its initial value without any repair necessary. Since then, no Default Gateway disappearance observed for the past few days (systems look quite stable).
IPCONFIG /all shows:
NIC #1: public
IP Address: 127.235.232.161
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 127.235.232.254
DNS Servers: 127.235.109.125
WINS Server: 127.235.109.112
NIC #2: internal
IP Address: 192.168.100.100
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: (left BLANK)
Questions to the floor:
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I don’t have much knowledge about networking so I still have some un-answered questions:
1 – Would two different Default Gateway cause conflicts in the TCP/IP stack in XP that would result in the disappearance of the one on NIC #1 (public)?
2 – When the Default Gateway disappears, it is only observed on NIC #1 (public) but not on NIC #2 (internal) – Why?
All feedbacks are greatly appreciated…
John