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Computer network question

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JPSmit

JPSmit

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Well friends, I had a friend over to help diagnose a problem - we have some observations but no solutions.

Here are the multiple issues.

1. Our internet will be rock solid for a few days and then we go a few days where we have to restart it 2-3 times a day.

2. Our wireless printer (Epson) has been rock solid till about a month ago when it started dropping off the network with troubling regularity. Sometimes restarting worked (rarely) often time did - the page might print 20 minutes later - though today nothing worked.

3. The printer acting up seems to coincide with the arrival or my wife's Macbook air and/or a samsung smart TV.

4. Incidentally the Macbook will regularly kick itself off the internet every time a new page is clicked on.

5. There might be an issue with the number of devices on the network. (11+)

Tonight we went down to 1 or two devices and gradually entered devices till the printer stopped. (about 6 devices) we also discovered that somehow the printer had been assigned an invalid IP number 169.254.XXX instead of 192. XXX. XXX

so, that's what I know or surmise - any ideas?

and please no ads for linux - I understand those who love it really love it - but, we aren't going to go that route and folks around here can get er distracted.

BTW this network has at least 2 macbooks, one windows 7 , smart tv, blueray player, Kobo, Kindle, 3 smart phones, tenants computer, ipad..... <I know - sheesh>

thanks all
 
I assume by "restart it", you mean you power the wireless router off, let it rest a bit and power it back on ?

Sure sounds like a problem with the router, especially the printer getting a bad IP address (which suggests it 'talked' to some other DHCP server, presumably on the other side of the router).

You could retry the process of adding devices, in a different order, and see if you can find any particular device that causes the issue. But if there doesn't seem to be any correlation, I'd swap out the router. They're cheap enough to have a spare on hand (if it turns out not to be the problem), or maybe you could borrow one from a friend.

Having two of them isn't a totally unreasonable idea either.

BTW, I've had several wireless routers now that seem to have trouble with heat buildup. They seem much happier when located away from any other sources of heat, and propped up for better air circulation through the case. Also worth blowing the dust out occasionally, as it is a surprisingly effective insulator.
 
One modem one wireless router. And yes, unplug, count to 30, plug back in.
 
We had a similar problem with the network intermittently dropping off, our service provider changed the router with a new one and the problem went away. We have other problems at times, but that's due to our service provider still being in the pony express era!:square: PJ
 
Another angle: is your one single router trying to assign dynamic IP addresses to *all* those devices? Some routers have a default limit to the number they can assign. And this can be made worse if an individual device expects a certain IP, but the router gave that IP to a different device because the first one was powered off.

If all else fails, you might try to assign static IPs to each device. Just use my denitrification formula:

gle185.gif


My motto: simplicate, simplicate, simplicate

Tom
 
NutmegCT said:
Another angle: is your one single router trying to assign IP addresses to *all* those devices? Some routers have a default limit to the number they can assign. And this can be made worse if an individual device expects a certain IP, but the router gave that IP to a different device because the first one was powered off.

If all else fails, you might try to assign static IPs to each device. Just use my denitrification formula:

gle185.gif


My motto: simplicate, simplicate, simplicate

Tom
Click to expand...

Tom, I'd have a hard time just putting that on paper, let alone trying to applying it to something!:highly_amused: PJ
 
Now all we need is how to measure the pH of the network ...

Always eschew obfuscation.
 
if the printer did not acquire an IP from the router (i.e. the IP it has does not fit your network pattern -- Class C network in this case), or the printer "falls off" the network semi-often, then I would suspect there is weak wifi connectivity in the area of the printer.

For my network, I have a mix of "hard wired" and "wireless" devices and a combination of 4 routers (only 1 handles DHCP) configured as Wireless Access Points for wireless G and 5GHz wireless N. Those items that don't move (i.e. desktops, printers, cable boxes, etc) get hardwired to Gigabit network. Those that need to be mobile (i.e. laptops, tablets, phones, etc) get wireless. Using hardwires for the immobile devices ensures they're always available on the network.

Even though the network is perfectly fine the Win7 machines attached will intermittently loose all of the other devices on the network in Windows Explorer, even though it can still connect to them using network addresses.

If you're also loosing internet (in the whole LAN) when you start having LAN troubles, then I would suspect there is something wrong with the modem. I would trouble shoot that by reducing it to 1 device using the modem when you see issues. You shouldn't have to restart your modem multiple times per week. I don't think I've restarted my ISP provided modem in over 3 months (*knocks on wood*).

If your devices are just getting the wrong IPs when you notice your issues, I would double check your routers to make sure only 1 of them is assigning IPs to the rest of the network. If the internet is still accessible when the LAN is going wonky, I'd look into replacing the router.
 
What Rob said.

I don't let ANY device loose to assign IP addresses. Give all the things their own IP (192.168.xxx.xxx) and subnet (255.255.255.0) designation. You have 254 possible device addys available that way.

That 169.254.243.xxx is an "AutoIP" assigned one, usually happens when a device is screamin' fer mama... ie can't find the DHCP domain controller. If you static IP all the devices they have no choice but to play well together. And use a workgroup name common to all. I have a feeling the WiFi router and the modem are arguing as to which will be the domain controller.
 
OK, this is similar to what my friend said - in terms of running out of numbers. So, how do I do this? and, can I assign some - but not all? (I am thinking here of the tenants laptop & visitors) Rob, I like the hard-wired vs. wireless idea. Unfortunately we live in an old house and I really don't want to imagine the wiring fun involved in that.

thanks again
 
NutmegCT said:
JP - what router (make, model) do you have? From that we can assist in IP assignment steps.

Tom
Click to expand...

Tom, it is a Belkin F5D8236-4 v2 (01)

and the modem is a CISCO 3825 - it is owned by the Cable company - and, if this is relevant, it has a built in wireless router which I had the cable company disable as it had no range to speak of.

Also, I do have the IP address for the router so, I can get into that. thanks!
 
Once you're in to the router's admin pages, you need to see how many devices the router is set to support. You may need to raise that number to match the number of devices you have the require IP from the router. At this stage, that's all you'll need to do on the router.

You may need to assign a "static" (permanent) IP address for each device in your network. Each device has a different way of doing that, so you'll have to look in the manual for each device. Basically, you assign a static IP by taking the range of IPs already set in the router, and having a unique number after the last "period" in the IP. So if the range for the router is for example 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.63, you'd assign a number between 1 and 63 on each of the networked devices.

The procedure goes something like this on each device needing a static IP:

1. Select Protocol: TCP/IP,
2. Select Use the following IP address
3. Type a unique IP address using the range between 192.168.2.2 to 192.168.2.254 (or whatever the router's range of IP's is)
4. In the Subnet Mask section, type 255.255.255.0
5. In the Gateway section, type 192.168.2.1
6. Select Use the following DNS Server Addresses, type 192.168.2.1 under preferred DNS server and click OK

Power cycle the device. Now it's got its own, permanent IP, which can't conflict with any other device on the network, whether they're powered on or off.

Clear as mud?

Tom
 
One other thing - if you've never updated the router's firmware, now's the time to do it. If possible it should be done within the router web page menu. Don't try downloading firmware from the Belkin website unless you've very comfortable with doing that. Let the router do its own firmware update.

Here's a page of info that should help:

https://www.belkin.com/us/support-search?search=f5d8236

Tom
 
I had similar problems with various routers. One was solved with firmware update. The others had questionable power supplies.
 
Thanks Tom - managed to increase the number of devices - will look at the rest tonight. In the meantime can I ask again, is it possible to have some with a static IP and others not?
 
JPSmit said:
In the meantime can I ask again, is it possible to have some with a static IP and others not?
Click to expand...
Yes, but you have to make sure that the DHCP server (in the router) knows not to assign the static numbers to another device. Usually it's easiest to assign the DHCP a range of addresses, and then use addresses outside that range for fixed devices. For example, you might allow the DHCP to use range 192.168.2.2 through 192.168.2.63 and then use 192.168.2.64 through 192.168.2.127 for fixed addresses.
 
Like he said!

TR3driver said:
Yes, but you have to make sure that the DHCP server (in the router) knows not to assign the static numbers to another device. Usually it's easiest to assign the DHCP a range of addresses, and then use addresses outside that range for fixed devices. For example, you might allow the DHCP to use range 192.168.2.2 through 192.168.2.63 and then use 192.168.2.64 through 192.168.2.127 for fixed addresses.
Click to expand...
 
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