Linux server goes "offline"

[Zylstra]

Hello, CH Forum members

I have had a problem with my server for quite a long time, and, I was going to attempt to fix it a while ago, but lost track.

My server goes “offline” randomly, sometimes only for a few minutes, sometimes about an hour (or so), and what it does is this:
It completely stops responding to ALL external connections.

I cannot connect to FTP, SSH, HTTP (Apache), or Webmin. It doesn’t last forever though, it comes back up and keeps on working for a while.

I don’t have the slightest idea what would cause this.


Specifications:
Ubuntu Linux (Always updated)
20GB HDD (Seriously needs a reformat, the disk copy method I used only allocated 3GB of my drive)
366MHz Intel PII
180MB of RAM (about that much) (usually about 45% free)
Apache 2 server

I can provide any system logs, but, since I am limited in my Linux knowledge, I would need instructions on how to get them. I have no GUI at all.

[michaewlewis]

What do you mean by offline? Is the server inaccessible at the terminal or just over the internet? Can you access it from another computer on the same network?
Can you use another pc on the same network, or internet connection, to browse the internet during these outages?

[Zylstra]

By Offline, I mean, its inaccessible from other computers.

The terminal itself on the actual computer works fine though..

I dont know if it always works on the local network or not, but, I will do some testing, I dont think it does, but, who knows..

[Zylstra]

It seems to be a problem on the external Internet, the local network has no problems accessing the server.

I did do a complete reinstall, its not finished yet (few bits of the system still need to be put in place)

So, this could be either a router, ISP, or still possibly a problem with the servers configuration.

[michaewlewis]

If you can access it from your local network, it might be an isp problem. Do you have a static IP from your isp? Any restrictions or timeouts from the isp that could be making it unavailable? I doubt it is a problem with your server.
What type of internet connection do you have? how old is your router or modem?

[Zylstra]

I have a Fiber Internet connection. There is no modem...

The router I have is only... oh.. two years old. Its a Netgear (I can get the exact model if needed, using a computer thats off its network)

The IP address I have is dynamic, but, it doesnt change. (Yet, its still not static)
Its a connection similar to a PPOE connection, which should be fine for a web server.

I have read the policy about our ISP over here, they didnt say anything about timeouts.

Is there a way to have, oh, say, the server reconnect itself automatically without loosing any session information?

Thanks for your help, MichaeWlewis

[michaewlewis]

I'm not a network engineer, but I think the hiccup may be related to having a dynamic IP address. Even though the IP address doesn't change, the DHCP server may be checking in with all of its clients and causing a timeout or delay on your web server.
How often does it happen?

I'll be involved in switching our network at work to DHCP (from all static IPs) this week or next, and I should be learning a lot more about it. I'll check into this more for you then.

[Zylstra]

Thanks MichaeWlewis

I am not in the slightest bit sure how often it happens, to be honest.

[Zylstra]

I fixed the problem

I have my server ping an external address about every 5 minutes, it keeps it connected like a charm.

Thanks, MichaeWlewis

[michaewlewis]

lol. I remember when I had to do that when at college. They had the internet set up so that if the account was inactive for more than 15 minutes, it would kick you off and you would have to sign in again. I made a webpage that would load Yahoo! in a frame and reload it every 5 minutes. But then they got wise to that and I had to rewrite it to load a random page every 5 minutes.
But still the best way to do your server is with a static ip...

[Zylstra]

It is a static IP, rather, they could change it on me, but, its assigned by PPoE, so, it would take more effort than something that would happen automatically. Its not Dynamic, but, its not exactly static.