Server Network Issues (RESOLVED)

[Brennen]

Hello all,

I have a server that I use for basic data hosting purposes giving me a headache. The server isn't used for much else, really. The box is running Server 03', and is completely up to date. No software is running on the machine, and the data is on a virtual RAID 5 array. Two days ago my power went out, and despite the server having been on a battery backup/surge protector, I seem to be having a couple issues now that I have it back up and running. Anyway, the problems are:

1. All incoming access is being blocked.

2. My RAID 5 array is failing every reboot.

Blocked Access: My main problem. From the server, I can access the internet, ping everything on my LAN, and access all local resources (printers, routers, etc). However, nothing can access the server. I cannot ping it, I cannot access the share drives, I cannot access temp websites running on it, etc, etc, etc. All services are up and running just fine, and I don't have a 3rd party software firewall on or any other anti-virus apps running. Everything had been running smoothly (for two years) prior to this power outage. Now, nothing appears to be working.

RAID 5 Array: This is less a problem and more of a question. I'm not sure why the array is failing, but I can reactivate it just fine after the server boots up. While trouble shooting, I haven't had the server up long enough to synchronize all the drives (1TB Data), so I was thinking if I let it finish synchronizing then it would be fine after a reboot. Am I wrong about that? I cannot say I have much experience with software RAID arrays, and the disks appear to be just fine. Any ideas or suggestions?

Edited November 29, 2009 by Brennen

[Brennen]

Well, I resolved this issue so I thought I would share it with others just in case:

The RAID array was failing because of a bad drive. There were no warnings in the event viewer that the drive was failing, but every time I would reboot the array would need to be reactivated and resynchronized. After a reboot yesterday, one of the drives was missing, and I was never able to get it back up afterward. I connected up my spare drive in place of the missing one and repaired the array with it. After that sync finished, it remained healthy with no hiccups. Fortunately for me, the failed drive still has one month left on the three year manufacturer warranty, so I just sent it out for an RMA replacement/upgrade.

The Blocked Access turned out to be the fault of my RRAS server. About two years ago I was using RRAS for VPN access while I was away from my home, but shortly afterward I moved the VPN endpoint to my router. I have had RRAS disabled since, but somehow or another after the power outage RRAS was turned back on. I'm baffled as to how it turned on, but it disabled the Windows Firewall and blocked access to everything I had already allowed since it had never been configured in the first place. Strange, but after disabling it once more and turning back on the Windows Firewall everything went back to normal.