How to Troubleshoot Connections Server connectivity issues

If the ESC Connections Server periodically or continually loses connection or has difficulties restarting, there can be a number of possible causes to these issues.

Details:

• Reboot the computer and see if the connection server works better. Sometimes people leave their main computer on without a reboot and services can crash and require a refresh.
• Confirm that you are using the latest version of ESC and the latest version of the ESC Connections Server. If not, upgrade and retest.  The ESC Connections Server must always be at the same version as Electronic Service Control.
• Make sure that you do not have two installations of the connections server running. They will conflict and cause connectivity issues.
• Change the network library within the connection server. If it is set to Named Pipes, change this to Winsock TCP/IP and test.
• Change the authentication being used within the Connections Server. If it is currently set to Windows Authentication, we recommend changing this to SQL Authentication. Just uncheck the “Login using Windows Authentication” box and test.
• Try and uninstall and then reinstall the Connections server. A failed installation can cause problems.
• Check your Internet access and connectivity. The ESC Connections Server depends on continuous access to the Internet and if your Internet provider is having problems and the Internet goes up and down, you will also have problems with your connection server connectivity. Contact your Internet provider to check your line and bandwidth if this is a problem.
• Confirm that the machine does not have any issues with spyware or viruses by running full scans with updated virus protection software. More than a few viruses can and do interrupt processes on a computer.
• Perform all Windows Updates and confirm that the computer has sufficient available hard drive space.  Always reboot the machine after running updates.
• Check Windows performance to confirm that it is not maxing out its available memory. This certainly can cause issues with processes and services running in the background. If this is found to be a problem, upgrading the memory is a cheap and easy solution.
• The Windows Firewall can without warning block connections. We recommend making exclusions for the Connections Server program, as well as its Port - 6090.  To test is the Windows Firewall is affecting the Connections Server's function, disable the Windows Firewall and then restart the ESC Connections Server.  If this resolves the issue, then the firewall is the cause.  Otherwise, you may re-enable the Firewall.
• Also, try and disable any other third party firewall and anti-virus programs and test. If the Connections server remains stable after that, one of those programs was most likely interfering with it.
• Confirm that the computer is not having issues with its network card or connectivity to the local network. Involving a tech in the troubleshooting process may be necessary in this case.  Replacing the network card or cable may be the solution in some cases.
• Uninstall the ESC Connections Server on the current computer and then install it on different computer and test. If it works properly on the 2nd machine, this will confirm a problem localized and exclusive to the original server.

Additional Information:

It may be necessary to contact a local computer tech to assist in troubleshooting issues with Microsoft Windows and/or computer hardware.