[CampusManager] Problems with XP

I am new to the list so if this has been posted before, please forgive
me.

Skidmore went live with our Campus Manager 3000 for the spring semester.
It was certainly an eye opener as we found many hubs, switches and
routers.

We also found a problem with windows XP

It seems that by default, XP likes to bridge cards together. The
firewire adapter (1394 adapter) is the one that causes the most
headache. When a computer is first plugged in it follows all the rules.
The traps alert CM and everything works according to plan. After the
reboot (which we require because it makes the instructions easy to
follow for our non-technical students), the trap springs again because
it sees the bridged second card (so far only 2 instances of the wireless
card causing this). The problem is that the brdiged second card is not
connected and therefore didn't request a dhcp address. This means the
cycle is broken and the computer stays connected to a port that has been
put into the registration vlan.

You can manually change the vlan but the next time the computer is
restarted, it happens again. I believe the CM is polling the switches
(even though that has been deleted from the scheduler) because I was
working on the wiring in a students room while her room-mate was using
IM. Out of the blue she suddenly stopped working. I checked the switch
and she was back in the registration vlan. I turned off the bridge in
her computer and reset her switch port to her normal vlan, and she has
been working fine since.

So - after this long explanation - if you are having these issues
withXP, check for bridging.

Mark
Received on Sat Feb 07 2004 - 15:55:15 EST