I was in the process of replacing my Linux server at home. New one was 80% ready when old server gave up the ghost. I pent 8-10 hrs trying to get the new server to route packets over from one interface to the other. Nothing, I could either get the internal network to respond or the external. Changed NIC cards, swapped cables, rebooted, tapped away at the keyboard - nothing...

Finally shut the server off and went to bed tired and pissed around 4:30 in the morning...

Woke up a few hours later, turned the server back on and it worked. Never did figure it out.

I've been working with Cisco routers and switches since about 1999, and got into their security stuff about 3 years later. Yeah, I've seen lots of weird behavior, like _____ not working, then you turn on a debug to see what's happening and it starts working. Sometimes the debug will turn something on and off like a switch.

Or back in the day when getting NAT to work consistently meant "no ip route-cache" had to be turned on everywhere.

*Sigh*

This whole post is making me nostalgic for my days in the trenches, cable maker in one hand, quad latte in the other......

*sip of merlot*

....ok, I'm over it. :)