Question : Server Loses Internet Access After Reboot

Client's SBS2003 box has a strange problem. Every time it runs an automatic update and then reboots itself, once it comes back online it has no access to some internet service. For example, the antivirus (ESET) won't update, you can't browse the web from the server and you can't VPN to the server (RRAS). Other service (such as remote desktop) work just fine. I can't browse internet or external websites, by name or IP.

If we reboot the server again using a proper start, shutdown, restart, all the functions come back.

The workstations are not affected and all other functions of the server seem to be working normally.

I am combing over the logs now, but I don't see any errors that are specific to the reboot after updates are applied. The server has also froze and had to be hard-reset a couple of times, but we don't have any evidence to show if the problem occurs in that situation. Right now it only seems to be when the server reboots itself after updates.

As a workaround I have set the updates to manual, but I really need to find a solution that allows the server to update automatically.

So any suggestions, ideas, things to look for?

Answer : Server Loses Internet Access After Reboot

Actually, this is a common problem if you've applied the security fix for the well documented DNS vulnerability (not just windows, but many many many DNS servers were affected) that got disclosed in 2008 and you didn't set up the proper port exclusions.

The DNS fix allows the DNS server to grab random ports to help prevent DNS spoofing against the server. The problem is that sometimes the DNS server will grab a port that another service needs. So the fix is to add these ports as "exclusions" so the DNS server will grab other random ports, but will never grab a port that is "excluded" from the pool.

The following article covers the standard exclusions for Windows (RRAS, etc) but you may need to add your own for 3rd-party software apps that you may have installed:
http://blogs.technet.com/b/sbs/archive/2008/07/17/some-services-may-fail-to-start-or-may-not-work-properly-after-installing-ms08-037-951746-and-951748.aspx