Problem with Sharepoint

[trg1]

Greetings!

I'm evaluating a server virtualization project for our company, and I've run into a small issue with getting Sharepoint to operate correctly in the test environment.

First - I've installed ESXi on a Dell 2950 with 2 CPU's, 32GB memory, and 1.2TB storage.

I used VMconverter to 'copy' 2 of my production machines (Windows Server 2003 Standard) into the Esxi server. Server 1 is a domain controller, DNS, and also does some file sharing. Server 2 is my Sharepoint webserver - it requires authentication from AD to access the sharepoint site.

I created a new XP Professional VM to use as a test desktop.

I then linked all 3 of these machines together in a private virtual network with no connection to the outside. This way, I could keep all of the names and IP addresses the same without impacting my production environment. While this environment does not have internet access, it should be good to validate that the services are working correctly, and that I've been able to transfer production machines into VM images sucessfully.

So far, everything works great - except Sharepoint. DNS, AD, file sharing, etc. all work as expected. However, when I access the Sharepoint pages, I see the following problems:

1. Initial connection takes about 30 seconds - then the server responds with a certificate error. The certificate error is expected, but the 30 second delay is abnormally long.

2. After confirming that the certificate error is ok, the authentication window is displayed quickly and properly.

3. After entering valid credentials, there is another 30 second delay - then an "Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage" error message.

There are no error codes displayed on the browser, or in the event logs (both the server and the client), or in the IIS error logs.

I see the same behavior if I try to access the sharepoint site from the sharepoint server itself.

Here's the really odd part - I have no problems accessing the Sharepoint management site from either the server or from the test XP system. This Sharepoint administrative site is also based on Sharepoint, so I know that something is working.

I'd really appreciate it if anyone has any suggestions on how I can continue to troubleshoot something like this!

Thanks for your time!

[nick_couchman]

A couple of things to try...

First, have you checked Task Manager to see if anything out of the ordinary is happening? Something like a process eating a lot of CPU, memory, etc.?

Second, can you use netstat from the command line to see if the server is trying to talk to any other system that's missing in the setup? Is there a secondary DNS or AD server, perhaps present in your production environment, or maybe it is trying to make an Internet connection of some sort?

[trg1]

Nick,

Thanks for the additional ideas! Unfortunately, everything still appears normal. The server task manager is as expected, and netstat shows nothing out of the ordinary.

Good ideas, but there doesn't seem to be any missing communications.

I also went so far as to disable all A/V software on all of the test systems, just to see if they were causing any problems - no change.

Other than one of my major apps isn't working (or throwing error codes to figure out why!), I do like esxi. If this does work out well, I can see moving to a complete Vcenter environment in the future.

Thanks - Joe

[nick_couchman]

Weird...I'm actually hesistant to believe it's an ESXi-specific issue - I'm still thinking it probably has something to do with the migration from production to this limited environment. I have absolutely no proof to back that up, though. I assume you have VMware Tools installed and up-to-date? Do the clocks match on all of the machines?

[trg1]

Nick,

I have to admit that I agree - this is more than likely a migration issue, rather than a esxi-specific issue. I also have no proof - but it sure feels like it.

I did get all of the clocks synced this morning - I ended up configuring the esxi server NTP properly, then having each VM's VMTools set to sync the clock with the hypervisor. That fixed several issues I was seeing regarding the time being wrong in multiple locations.

I can only assume that the vmtools is up to date, as it was installed from the hypervisor I downloaded earlier this week...

Again, I do appreciate your comments and suggestions! I'll keep digging at this...maybe I'll get lucky. I sure don't want to have to rebuild these applications.....

Thanks -Joe

[Craig_Baltzer]

The "pause" followed by a certificate error sounds like there is a CRL (certificate revocation list) configured on the cert and that host can't be contacted in your "isolated" environment. Once you've accepted the cert in IE, click on the cert "lock" and say "view certificate". Then goto the Details tab and have a look for the CRL distribution point and see if there is "something else" you need to bring into your test environment...