Member Avatar for ForestTech

Hi All,

I've recently setup a new SBS 2003 Premium server, following all of the wizards and avoiding anything "under the hood". The site has a static IP (forwarded to the server - can TS in no troubles), all necessary ports open and forwarded (80, 443, 25, 110, 1723, 3389, 4125). For some reason I can't access RWW or OWA. I've run and re-run CEICW a handful of times.

The only non-microsoft software on the server is MYOB Premium, a UPS managment utility and (the big one) Symantec Endpoint. I believe Endpoint to be the problem but have no proof.

Does anyone have any experience with this product, or any other ideas as to what the problem might be?

Thanks in advance
ForestTech

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Member #248785

Dani AI

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Practical follow-up and a compact troubleshooting checklist to complement the thread and the suggestions from and .

Start with easy-to-gather evidence

  • From a truly external network (not the LAN), confirm the public FQDN resolves to the expected public IP and try a simple TCP connect to the service port. If that fails, the problem is almost always upstream of the server (NAT/firewall/ISP).
  • Capture a packet trace on the server while an external connect attempt is made. A trace that shows no incoming SYNs is strong proof for the ISP or managed-router admin.

Things to check with the router/ISP

  • Ensure there is only one device performing NAT. Double-NAT (ISP modem + customer router) will break simple port-forward rules.
  • Ask whether the managed device applies ALGs, deep packet inspection, or port blocking for common services. Those features can rewrite or drop HTTPS/HTTP traffic.
  • Confirm the router’s forwarding maps the public port to the correct internal IP and that the server has a static LAN address. Some routers also require explicit virtual-server or DMZ host configuration rather than simple forwarding.
  • If you can’t control the upstream device, ask the ISP to put the modem/router into bridge mode or to apply the forwarding on their side while you test.

Practical cautions and tips

  • Use short, controlled disables when testing endpoint/firewall software and re-enable immediately.
  • Provide the ISP with timestamps, public IP, port numbers tested, and packet captures—this accelerates resolution.
  • Test from a mobile data connection or another offsite network to avoid false negatives due to lack of NAT loopback on some routers.

These focused checks usually locate whether the fault is local or upstream and help get managed-router/ISP staff to fix the configuration quickly.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for Member #248785

It just may be Endpoint that's causing your problems. Check the security section in Endpoint and make sure you grant all the necessary permissions. Also, another question is, are you using a firewall (hardware or software) and/or a router? If you are, you need to perform some extra configurations work to allow proper access to OWA and RWW. Hope this helps...

Member Avatar for ForestTech

We are using a router, which has the appropriate ports open and forwarded to the server. It is a managed router on a business-grade plan though, so I don't actually have access to it to check it's settings. It does all seem to be ok when I use the tool at www.grc.com though.

I did try disabling Endpoint (and two of the services that it left running in the background) and that didn't work. To be honest, only the management console for EP is running on the server, so I don't know that the server is being protected by EP at this stage.

So the troubleshooting fun continues I guess. We will try installing a modem and try to bypass the router soon to see if it's a router or a windows/software problem this afternoon. Thanks anyway Andavari.

I'm still open to any other suggestions though! :)

Member Avatar for Member #248785

Yeah it sounds as if it may be the router. Check that and see if it still continues. You never know when you're not controlling every aspect of the process. Glad I could help in some form.

Member Avatar for ForestTech

It was the router.

We ended up going to the trouble of installing a dial-up modem and connecting to the net directly to prove it. As soon as we did that and called the ISP, they had the necessary "oh yeah..." moment and all is fixed now.

Thanks a lot for your help!

Member Avatar for Member #248785

Great to hear! Glad I could help!

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