“Web Front End (WFE) Server Unreachable” – Troubleshooting Guide

📌 Overview

The “Web Front End (WFE) Server Unreachable” error occurs when SharePoint cannot connect to the WFE server. This issue may arise due to:
✅ Network connectivity problems
✅ IIS (Internet Information Services) issues
✅ Service interruptions
✅ Misconfigured SharePoint farm settings
✅ Firewall restrictions

A Web Front End (WFE) server is responsible for handling user requests, serving pages, and managing SharePoint site collections. If it’s unreachable, SharePoint users will experience slow responses, errors, or complete inaccessibility of the web application.

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🔍 Step 1: Verify Network Connectivity

First, check if the WFE server is reachable from other servers in the farm.

✅ Ping the WFE Server

1. Login to the Application Server (or another WFE server).
2. Open Command Prompt (Win + R, type cmd, press Enter).
3. Run the following command: ping WFE_Server_NameExpected Output:
   • If the ping succeeds, the WFE server is reachable.
   • If the ping fails, there’s a network issue.

✅ Check Firewall Rules

1. Open Windows Defender Firewall → Click Advanced Settings.
2. Ensure the following ports are open:
   • HTTP (Port 80)
   • HTTPS (Port 443)
   • SQL Server (Port 1433)
   • SharePoint Services (Port 32843, 56737)
   • Distributed Cache (Port 22233)

Use PowerShell to check the open ports:

Test-NetConnection -ComputerName WFE_Server_Name -Port 80

If the connection is blocked, allow the required ports on the firewall.

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🔍 Step 2: Verify IIS (Internet Information Services) on WFE Server

IIS is responsible for handling HTTP requests in SharePoint. If IIS is stopped, the WFE will be unreachable.

✅ Restart IIS on WFE Server

1. Login to the WFE server.
2. Open Command Prompt (Admin).
3. Restart IIS using: iisreset /noforce
4. Verify IIS is running: net start W3SVC

✅ Check IIS Application Pools

1. Open IIS Manager (Win + R, type inetmgr, press Enter).
2. Click on Application Pools.
3. Ensure SharePoint-related pools (SharePoint Central Administration, SharePoint Web Services, etc.) are running.
4. If stopped, right-click and select Start.

✅ Ensure IIS Bindings Are Correct

1. In IIS Manager, go to Sites → Select SharePoint Web Application.
2. Click Bindings on the right.
3. Ensure bindings include HTTP (Port 80) and HTTPS (Port 443).
4. If missing, click Add, select the correct binding, and save.

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🔍 Step 3: Verify SharePoint Services on WFE Server

The WFE server must run critical SharePoint services.

✅ Restart SharePoint Timer and Web Services

1. Open Command Prompt (Admin) and run: net stop SPTimerV4 net start SPTimerV4 net stop SPAdminV4 net start SPAdminV4
2. Restart SharePoint Web Services: Restart-Service -Name SPWebService

✅ Check SharePoint Service Instances

Use PowerShell to check service status:

Get-SPServiceInstance -Server WFE_Server_Name

• If any service shows “Disabled”, enable it using: Start-SPServiceInstance -Identity "ServiceID"

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🔍 Step 4: Verify Database Connectivity

If the WFE server cannot connect to the SQL Server, it will be unreachable.

✅ Check SQL Server Availability

1. Open SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS).
2. Click Connect → Select Database Engine.
3. Enter the SQL Server name and click Connect.
4. If it fails, check SQL Server services on the database server: Get-Service -Name MSSQLSERVER If the service is stopped, restart it: Restart-Service -Name MSSQLSERVER

✅ Verify SharePoint Database Access

Run the following PowerShell command to check database status:

Get-SPDatabase | Select DisplayName, Status

• If a database is in “Offline” or “Failed”, run: Mount-SPContentDatabase -Name "WSS_Content" -DatabaseServer "SQLSERVER"

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🔍 Step 5: Verify SharePoint Farm Configuration

An incorrect farm configuration can prevent WFE from working.

✅ Check if WFE is Part of the Farm

Run the following command on the Application Server:

Get-SPServer

• Ensure the WFE server appears in the list.
• If missing, rejoin the farm: Connect-SPConfigurationDatabase -DatabaseServer "SQLSERVER" -DatabaseName "SharePoint_Config"

✅ Check Alternate Access Mappings (AAM)

1. Open Central Administration → Application Management.
2. Click Configure Alternate Access Mappings.
3. Ensure the WFE server’s URL is correctly mapped.

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🔍 Step 6: Verify Load Balancer and DNS Settings

If using multiple WFE servers, check load balancer settings.

✅ Check Load Balancer Health

1. Login to your load balancer admin panel.
2. Verify that the WFE server is listed and marked healthy.
3. If it’s failing, restart the load balancer service.

✅ Check DNS Resolution

Run the following command:

nslookup WFE_Server_Name

• Ensure it resolves to the correct IP.
• If incorrect, update DNS records in your domain controller.

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🔍 Step 7: Reset SharePoint Configuration Cache

A corrupted SharePoint configuration cache can cause WFE failures.

✅ Steps to Clear Config Cache

1. Stop SharePoint Timer Service (SPTimerV4): net stop SPTimerV4
2. Navigate to: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\SharePoint\Config\GUID-Folder
3. Delete all .xml files (except cache.ini).
4. Open cache.ini, change its value to 1, and save.
5. Restart the SPTimerV4 Service: net start SPTimerV4

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