Cannot Connect to Client

[Dev63]

My Retrospect Professional software can no longer find the single client I have on the network.  But ... under Configure | Clients | Add | Test I can type in the IP address of the client machine and instantly get a message that there is a Retrospect Client there, and it gives the correct name of the machine.  Typing in a different IP address gets a failure. 

 

So, it can find the client, but it can't.  What do I do??

 

BTW, on the client there is a checkbox that says "Protected by a Retrospect Server".  The documentation is a little unclear on this, and I don't know for sure whether to have it checked or unchecked ... but in any case, everything used to work, and now it doesn't.

Can anyone help? 

 

I'm running v8.2 on the main machine (upgraded from v8.1 during this troubleshooting process), and the client is v8.1 (please don't tell me to update the client, because the server can't talk to the client to get it updated!).

[dan.jordan]

Try pulling the client since the push-upgrade isn't working.  From the client PC you need to either load the 8.2 CD/DVD and run the client install from there or drill down to wherever you have the 8.2 client install files downloaded.  So I recommend (1) uninstalling the current client, (2) rebooting the client, (3) delete the client from Retrospect ( Configure/Clients), (4) install the 8.2 client, then (5) make Restrospect aware of the client (Configure/Clients/Add).  (6) See if things are talking they way they should, now.

 

I went through similar motions on a few clients during our upgrade from 8.0 to 8.1.

[Dev63]

Thanks for the advice, but it didn't help either.  I uninstalled, reinstalled, and upgraded ... twice.  Didn't accomplish anything.

 

I also turned off everything I could find to turn off in Norton, with no impact.  

 

I can still find the client via direct IP, but nothing else. 

 

Any other ideas?  The software is useless if it can't find clients...

[bobbodavis]

Have the same issue with a few of my clients.  Have not found a fix.  However, once you enter by IP, it seems to work as long as you don't try to search for it by name or double click it in the client list again.  I hoped that removing the client from the server setup, closing down the server side applicaiton, restarting the server side application and re-adding the client (since it sees it as an available client still) would do the trick, but no dice.  Like you, for these "problem" clients, I just manually connect by IP and once it says that it's successful, I don't touch that client again and it will then continue to work.

[Mayoff]

If you can add a client by the IP address, but you can't see it in Multicast or Subnet broadcast, then it means something on the network is blocking UDP packets over port 497. This could be a firewall on the backup server or client. It could also be a network switch.  The network could also be blocking multicast or subnet broadcast packets.

 

You can try connecting 2 computers together with a crossover ethernet cable or a simple network hub.  If clients can be seen, then it means the issue is with your network.  If clients still can't be seen, then it is an issue on one of the 2 computers. 

[bobbodavis]

Might also want to try resetting the Windows firewall option from the client as well.  Retrospect has a built in application for this already.  

 

On a Win 7 x64 system, it resides on: 
C:\Program Files (x86)\Retrospect\Retrospect Client\retfwset.exe

 

for Win 7 x86:

C:\Program Files\Retrospect\Retrospect Client\retfwset.exe

 

I'm not sure about XP.  Might be in the same location as Win 7 or perhaps under the default user profile such as "C:\documents and settings\all users\app data\retrospect\retfwset.exe"

[Dev63]

Mayoff, thanks for replying.  I did previously connect the 2 computers directly through a simple switch: it didn't help.  I hear you saying the issue must be on one of the 2 computers, but ... what then?  What's frustrating is that this worked wonderfully, then stopped working for some unknown reason (an auto-upgrade?).

 

Cawsc1, I did try the firewall applet you mentioned, but again, it had no effect.  Like you, I have simply resigned myself to doing this by IP address.  It's frustrating because I am a Retrospect customer because I like the technical elegance of their solution, and this is somewhat counters that.