AP/printer network problems

[ascanio1]

I need help to print through an AP.

There are 5 devices (plus many clients) in my network. Four of them (A, B, C and D) are routers connected via Ethernet to a hub and then to another Router/modem (E):
A) Asus RT-AC66U (w/ 3 tall, booster, antennas, I think +12dB)
B) Netgear R6300
C) Asus RT-AC56U
D) TP-Link TL-WR1042N
(E) ?? Italian Fastweb Router/modem

In a previous thread it was explained to me that APs deliver better throughput than Routers (all other things being equal) in a home network where client's only necessity is to access internet and print. I thus begun configuring all my Routers into APs. Router (C) was first but I stopped because I experienced problems.

When I try to print from my laptop (MS surface book) to my printer (Epson EcoTank 4550) through (C) I receive error messages.

When I try to print from my same laptop to my same printer but through (D) I can print flawlessly.

I checked that both laptop and printer are on the same network.

Are APs limited to sharing internet and cannot be used to print? What other reason can there be for my printer not working? Please guide me throught troubleshooting...

Thanks in advance, I will appreciate anyone's time and expertise,

Tommaso

 

[helio58]

I need help to print through an AP.

There are 5 devices (plus many clients) in my network. Four of them (A, B, C and D) are routers connected via Ethernet to a hub and then to another Router/modem (E):
A) Asus RT-AC66U (w/ 3 tall, booster, antennas, I think +12dB)
B) Netgear R6300
C) Asus RT-AC56U
D) TP-Link TL-WR1042N
(E) ?? Italian Fastweb Router/modem

In a previous thread it was explained to me that APs deliver better throughput than Routers (all other things being equal) in a home network where client's only necessity is to access internet and print. I thus begun configuring all my Routers into APs. Router (C) was first but I stopped because I experienced problems.

When I try to print from my laptop (MS surface book) to my printer (Epson EcoTank 4550) through (C) I receive error messages.

When I try to print from my same laptop to my same printer but through (D) I can print flawlessly.

I checked that both laptop and printer are on the same network.

Are APs limited to sharing internet and cannot be used to print? What other reason can there be for my printer not working? Please guide me throught troubleshooting...

Thanks in advance, I will appreciate anyone's time and expertise,

Tommaso

I used to print not from a "surface book " but windows 7 without problems.
It takes same time before it prints.
Devices i used Asus RT-AC56U and Asus RT-AC66U
Print from Mac Windows and Linux.

 

[ascanio1]

I used to print not from a "surface book " but windows 7 without problems.
It takes same time before it prints.
Devices i used Asus RT-AC56U and Asus RT-AC66U
Print from Mac Windows and Linux.

Thanks for replying but it does not help me in trouble shooting...

 

[ColinTaylor]

Is your printer a network printer (rather the USB)? How is it connected to your network? What router is it connected to?

If your laptop and printer are both connected to router D then I would expect to see the behaviour you describe.

Devices behind a router are running in their own subnet and as such are isolated from the devices connected to the other routers. That is why it is recommended that you change them all from routers to access points. Once that is done all the devices will be on a single subnet and be able to communicate with each other without problem.

 

[ascanio1]

Thank you for investing your time and expertise to help me.

Is your printer a network printer (rather the USB)?

Network
Espon ET4550

How is it connected to your network?

WiFi

What router is it connected to?

Either through AP (C) or through router (D)

If your laptop and printer are both connected to router D then I would expect to see the behaviour you describe.

When laptop and printer are connected through router (D) all works perfectly.
When laptop and printer are connected throgh AP (C) then I receive errors.

Devices behind a router are running in their own subnet and as such are isolated from the devices connected to the other routers. That is why it is recommended that you change them all from routers to access points. Once that is done all the devices will be on a single subnet and be able to communicate with each other without problem.

Thank you for explaining. This was my plan. However, after I configured router (C) into an AP I experienced this printer problem so I suspended the transformation. As soon as I can resolve/fix this printer issue I will convert all routers to APs

 

[pege63]

Look if you have G & N band on not only N, is it a G band printer maybe?

 

[ColinTaylor]

When laptop and printer are connected through router (D) all works perfectly.
When laptop and printer are connected throgh AP (C) then I receive errors.

Thank you for explaining. This was my plan. However, after I configured router (C) into an AP I experienced this printer problem so I suspended the transformation. As soon as I can resolve/fix this printer issue I will convert all routers to APs

What you describe is not unexpected. Devices behind routers are in different subnets which means that they will be given IP addresses from different ranges. When moving devices between subnets the IP address of the device should change but sometimes the devices don't pick up the change straight away. Also, sometimes things like printers (either the device itself or the configuration on the PC) have their IP address fixed to a specific address. Moving the printer to a different address range means that these settings need to be manually changed.

 

[pege63]

If he has used the LAN port he should not get different subnets this happends if he use the WAN port

 

[ascanio1]

The printer is an Epson ET4550 of latest generation. Wireless LAN (802.11 b/g/n) on 2.4GHz

And below are my AP's settings. Remeber, this is device (C), not device (D):

 

[ascanio1]

Thank you for helping, Page63

If he has used the LAN port he should not get different subnets this happends if he use the WAN port

I used the WAN port. In another thread https://www.snbforums.com/threads/ap-vs-router.40869/ I asked about this.

So, should I connect the ethernet cable going into the AP (C) on the LAN socket, rather than the WAN socket?

 

[ColinTaylor]

I used the WAN port.
In another thread https://www.snbforums.com/threads/ap-vs-router.40869/ I asked about this.

So, should I connect my ethernet cable going into my AP (C) on the AP's LAN socket rather than WAN?

No please don't do this. pege63 does not understand your setup. It will only complicate matters.

 

[ascanio1]

Here https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless?id=30355&start=1 it says that APs should be connected through their LAN sockets but I have my AP connected through its WAN socket.

1. To which one of the AP's sockets should I connect the ethernet cable (WAN or LAN)?
2. Should I fix the printer's IP? How do I do that?
3. Anything else?

-----------------------------
Once more my setup is:
Internet > ISP router/modem > cat6 > switch > cat6 > routers (A), (B) and (D) + AP (C)

 

[ColinTaylor]

@ascanio1 Your screenshot shows that the AC56U is part of the 192.168.1.x network. This should be the same network at your Italian Fastweb Router/modem (probably 192.168.1.1). So first you need to determine what the IP address of your printer is when it is connected to the AC56U. Once you know that you can try to ping this IP address from your laptop to confirm the connection is working.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Here https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless?id=30355&start=1 it says that APs should be connected through their LAN sockets but I have my AP connected through its WAN socket.

Those instructions are generic ones for routers that don't have an "access point mode". Your Asus does which is what you are now using so you don't need to follow those instructions.

 

[ascanio1]

Colin, thank you for your help!

@ascanio1 Your screenshot shows that the AC56U is part of the 192.168.1.x network. This should be the same network at your Italian Fastweb Router/modem (probably 192.168.1.1). So first you need to determine what the IP address of your printer is when it is connected to the AC56U. Once you know that you can try to ping this IP address from your laptop to confirm the connection is working.

The ISP router/modem is on 192.168.1.67

I will now check what IP the printer has when connected to my Asus RT-AC56U.

 

[ascanio1]

Those instructions are generic ones for routers that don't have an "access point mode". Your Asus does which is what you are now using so you don't need to follow those instructions.

I really appreciate your time and explanations. Thank you.

 

[ColinTaylor]

The ISP router/modem is on 192.168.1.68

Are you sure, that's a very unusual address for a router. From your screen shot it looks like to routers address might be 192.168.1.254 (which is quite common).

You can check you PC's address by typing ipconfig but it looks like it's 192.168.1.67.

 

[ascanio1]

This is my printer setup:

Image deleted for security

 

[ColinTaylor]

OK That all looks good. You get the same IP address when connected to the router/modem as you do to the AP.

So you've got:

Fastweb Router/modem = 192.168.1.254
RT-AC56U AP = 192.168.1.84
Laptop = 192.168.1.67
Printer = 192.168.1.85

So you should be able to "ping 192.168.1.85" from your laptop.

If this works then there is nothing wrong with your network setup. You just need to fix the printer software/configuration on your laptop. The easiest way to do that might be to delete the printer device and redetect/add it back in.

 

[ascanio1]

I have found the correct command... so, this is the IPCONFIG/all when I am connected to the ISP modem/router:

And this is the IPCONFIG/all when I am connected to the Asus RT-AC56U: