Can't find computer by name only by IP address

Question

I have a server I just setup running Windows Server 2008 R2. The only roles I have configured are DHCP and Terminal Services Gateway. Internally I am only able to ping the computer by IP address and not by it's name. From the server itself I can ping it by name but not from anywhere else on the network. I've enabled NetBIOS over TCP/IP on the IPv4 network configuration.

Any ideas?

Solution 1

You need some type of name resolution mechanism in order to reliably resolve internal host names (NetBIOS or DNS). Do you have an internal DNS or WINS server?

Solution 2

Based on your comment above:

Is the server set to use a Static IP/Gateway/DNS server or is it getting this information from DCHP? Depending on your configuration your Server may not be registering it's hostname in the DNS servers (if available) if the server is not yet added to a domain.

If the server does not register it's hostname with a DNS server then when you query that DNS server from another machine it will not have a IP to respond with.

You will likely need to create an A and PTR record for the new server on your DNS server.

UPDATE:

On a machine that can resolve other server names correct look for the HOSTS file (C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc) and LMHOSTS file to see if there are any statically added entries.

Solution 3

I figured it out based on the comment from @joeqwerty that pointed me in the direction of LLMNR. It runs over UDP port 5355 and was disabled on the firewall. By default Windows Server 2008 R2 turns off just about everything for security reasons; even some of the most basic things.

Thanks for the help!

Solution 4

My guess is that you need to create an A record in your DNS for the new server? If it had a dynamic address then your DHCP server would have created this for you. As it's static - you will have to do it.

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Comments

[Ben Pilbrow]

I added a tag which should be a big clue for you :-)

[Micah]

if it was a dns issue why am I able to ping every other computer on the network by name?

[Micah]

no I don't. How come I can access other computers on the network by name just not this one?

[joeqwerty]

Without a central, internal name resolution mechanism (WINS, DNS, Hosts or LMHosts file) it's going to be hit or miss.

[Micah]

how come I don't have any issues with other computers on m network including another server 2008 (non r2) box?

[joeqwerty]

@Micah: I have no idea. Without a central, internal name resolution mechanism, name resolution is going to be hit or miss and definitely can't be counted on. LLMNR is probably coming in to play: windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/…

[joeqwerty]

Was Network Discovery enabled or disabled? I wonder if it has any bearing on name resolution via LLMNR? It may be that if Network Discovery is disabled (which it is by default) that the firewall blocks the port used by LLMNR also. It might be worth a quick test.

[Micah]

Yup. It was turned off. I'm assuming turning that on would also do the trick. Thanks for the info.

[Micah]

@joeqwerty feel free to post an answer with the solution and I'll mark it as answered since you pointed me in the right direction.