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The network connectivity status incorrectly appears as "Local only" on a Windows Server 2008-based or Windows Vista-based computer that has more than one network adapter

Article ID: 947041 - View products that this article applies to.

SYMPTOMS

The network connectivity status incorrectly appears as Local only on a Windows Server 2008-based or Windows Vista-based computer. The incorrect network status may remain awhile until programs generate Internet traffic.

This problem occurs when the following conditions are true:

More than one network adapter is installed on the computer.
The computer is not behind a proxy. Or, the computer is behind a proxy that is transparent to the network.

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CAUSE

Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 include a Network Location Awareness (NLA) service to provide information about the computer's connectivity. A Network Connectivity Status Indicator (NCSI) component of the NLA determines connectivity to the Internet.

To first determine connectivity, NCSI performs an active probe that is based on HTTP traffic or on DNS traffic. In an environment that does not have a visible proxy, a DNS probe will be used if the system remains in the same network as the network that a previous active probe detected. If more than one network adapter is present, after the DNS probe succeeds, the system cannot determine which network adapter has Internet access. Therefore, all the network adapters continue to indicate a Local only status.

When other programs generate Internet traffic, NCSI begins to use passive monitoring, and passive monitoring detects the correct network status. Then, passive monitoring indicates the correct network status for the appropriate network adapter.

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