Clients can no longer connect to internet but server can

Question

All of a sudden a client reports none of their 35 workstations can connect to the internet. I logged into the server and have no problem connecting to the internet from there.

It's a domain setup with about 35 workstations and 1 (virtual) server (Windows Server 2022). clients are a mix of win 10 and 11. Everything has been working fine since server went in 1 1/2 years ago. Nothing changed recently that I am aware.

ipconfig /all on a workstation shows all the correct settings.-the client points to the server ip address for dns

From a workstation I can do nslookup google.com, properly resolves to google ip address. if I nslookup 8.8.8.8 properly resolves to google.com

I don't know what else to try to fix this problem. any suggestions would be helpful.

Answer 1

Hello ,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community forum.

Based on the information you provide, here are some possible troubleshooting steps and suggestions:

1. Make sure all workstations have a working network connection. Check that the network cable is plugged in and that the switch or router is working properly.
2. Make sure that the firewalls on the servers and workstations are not blocking outbound traffic. You can temporarily disable the firewall to test and see if the connection is restored.
3. Make sure that the settings of the router have not changed, especially those related to DHCP and NAT. Confirm that the router is able to handle the traffic from the workstation correctly.
4. Although you mentioned that nslookup works fine, make sure that your workstation's DNS settings point to the correct DNS server. You can try changing the DNS server to public DNS like 8.8.8.8 or 1.1.1.1 to test.
5. Make sure there are no misconfigured proxy settings on the workstation. This can be checked in your browser's network settings.
6. Try resetting the network adapter on your workstation. You can run the following command from the command prompt:
   netsh int ip reset
   netsh winsock reset
   ipconfig /release
   ipconfig /renew
7. Make sure there are no IP address conflicts. You can run the arp -a command on your workstation to see the IP address and MAC address mapping on your network.
8. Check the event viewers for workstations and servers for any related errors or warnings.
9. Make sure your workstation's network adapter drivers are up to date. Outdated drivers can cause connectivity issues.
10. Try restarting workstations, routers, and switches.

I hope the information above is helpful.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to let us know.

Regards,
Jill Zhou