Need a spot of advice ASAP..

[firedog25]

I need a wireless N router with gigabit ports that can handle the attachment of 2 access points and a 24 port switch. At any given time I have about 15 devices attached and at peak traffic time probably 40-50 devices of combined types like laptops, iPods/Phones, Android devices, and game systems. I've been using a D-Link DIR-655 for about 3 years now and now it's come to the point where that seems to be a weak link in our chain. CONSTANT power cycles although sometimes I can reboot through software it's becoming an increasing rarity. I know it's not my modem because I've connected a laptop directly to the modem when the system goes down and it works AND my access points and switch are still visible. Obviously B/G is a must, N is a bonus but not entirely necessary since the majority of the people I work with don't know B/G/N from a hole in the ground and most don't even care, they just want the outages to stop.

Thanks in advance!

 

[overdrive31]

D-Link routers have had a bad batch of firmwares for about a year or two, so far most devices from them have been fixed with current firmwares. I would suggest trying out one of the latest firmwares. DIR-655 Rev. A latest is 1.34NA, Rev. B latest is 2.00NA. If you're not comfortable with flashing firmware, a temporary solution to the DNS outages that plagues D-Link routers with the bad batch of firmwares is to disable dns relay under Setup>Network Settings in the router by unchecking Enable DNS Relay

 

[thiggins]

If you don't need N, a G router will not run as hot, which can lead to the type of behavior you describe. Add in an internal Gigabit switch for even more heat, heavy use and you may not be able to get reliable operation, even with new firmware.

Since you have a separate (Gigabit?) switch, the router switch doesn't need to be Gigabit unless you have a > 100 Mbps WAN connection. Router with 10/100 ports will run cooler. G router will run even cooler.

To test the heat theory, try putting a small fan aimed at the router, or a laptop cooling pad.

 

[firedog25]

Right now here's the order in which I have things run.

Modem->Router->1. Cisco 4400 access point
->2. Netgear... forget model... access point
->3. Cisco SLM2420 24 port switch

Do I have this run in the right order? I am fairly confident I do, but I could be wrong. I tried reflashing the firmware about 3 weeks ago to no avail. I got the okay to get the new router this morning. I just write the checks and pick up the toys.

 

[thiggins]

That interconnect is fine, or you could move the two APs to switch ports.

 

[firedog25]

I would put them on the switch but all the ports are spoken for at the moment. I think I'll be stacking another 8 port switch in there to link the two day rooms together as well.

 

[stevech]

... I've been using a D-Link DIR-655.... the majority of the people I work with don't know B/G/N from a hole in the ground and most don't even care, they just want the outages to stop. !

I wouldn't use D-Link WiFi at home, much less in a professional setting and with multiple users! Want stable? Get a good pro quality wired router and put a couple of 11g access points on it. No consumer WiFi router crap. VLAN-off those WiFi APs and users.

 

[firedog25]

So can I go...

8 Port Switch-> Access Point 1
-> Access Point 2
-> Access Point 3
-> 24 port Switch

?

If so, the next time our piece of shirt router dies I'll just do it that way or I'll stack another big managed switch on top of the 24 port and run them that way... either way works because I'm so effing tired of power cycling. Mostly because I'm sick of walking up the stairs every 30 minutes.

 

[thiggins]

Sure. But the router switch should not be affected when the router loses Internet connection. LAN traffic should still be fine.

 

[firedog25]

Well, our wired switch problem is a whole other issue. Running 23 ports wired and having a problem with connection with a variety of machines. Most of the computers are Windows based varying OS's from XP to 7. Seems a majority of them are Vista 32. A few Macs which (unsurprisingly) have no issue with the wired network. However when our router would go down it would take the ethernet to the modem with it for some reason. It's not the modem because I've tested that when we had a failure and the modem was still connected to the internet. Personally I have 2 laptops (Gateways), both running Vista 32, neither can see the wired network. My gaming laptop will reflect connection with the LED indicator but Windows says there's no cable connected. I've tried Cat5 and Cat6 cables to no avail.

 

[thiggins]

You could have some bad switch ports. You might also have corrupt networking stacks on your "problem" computers.

If you have Modem connected only to Router WAN port and one cable from
a router LAN port to your switch, router failure should not take down your LAN.

Also be sure the laptops don't have wireless and wired interfaces active at the same time.

 

[overdrive31]

What modem is it by the way? SBC(AT&T) was issuing Speedstream DSL modems a while back. It used class B subnet utilizing 192.168.0.1 as gateway, and 192.168.1.64 for it's single IP in the DHCP pool. Any typical(192.168.0.1, or 192.168.1.1) router connected with double-nat or even bridged modem would cause the router to crash after a short period of DNS queries. If you have such a modem, change the IP scheme on the router to something other than default.