Instrument is not assigned an IP address in Waters DHCP - WKB64713

SYMPTOMS

• Instrument does not appear in Waters DHCP
• Instrument is not assigned an IP address
• Logging in to the CORP domain appears to interfere with instrument connectivity
• Having logged on to CORP domain, the changes appear to be persistent
• Disconnecting from the CORP domain and testing still doesn't work
• When taking a LAC/E from the box and not plugging in CORP LAN - Local Waters Logon - instrument connectivity works
• When Active Directory is switched off for one LAC/E to test - instrument connectivity is working

ENVIRONMENT

• Empower Enterprise
• Active Directory (AD)
• Group Policies (GPOs)

CAUSE

The GPO "Prohibit connection to non-domain networks when connected to domain authenticated network" was being applied to the LAC/E nodes. The instrument LAN connection is set as a public connection, so the GPO was preventing connections. The Waters DHCP could neither receive DHCP requests nor send DHCP addresses.

FIX or WORKAROUND

1. Exclude the LAC/E from this or similar GPOs.
2. Best practice is to locate Empower nodes within a separate operation unit (OU) in the active directory. Applied GPO's can thus be limited to the minimum required.
3. Customers should test proposed GPOs in a test environment before implementation in the live Empower installation.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

https://www.waters.com/waters/support.htm?cid=10190669&lid=134790604 - Empower Software and Security Interactions.