I hope this is the right forum to post this, since the router is wireless, but the problem isn't....
I am a computer volunteer at a mid-sized non-profit child care center: I'm not very familiar with networking. We have been having network problems lately, and I could use some suggestions for what to look at next.
We have about 18 PCs (3 are laptops) and 10 Macs (4 are laptops.) Most PCs have XP Pro SP3, with ~3 Win7 machines; most Macs are 10.4 or greater. Most users run typical office applications: email, web browser, MS Office, and QuickBooks. A few users use special web-based applications using https connections. We have 3 high-volume printer/copiers and 3 other workgroup printers, all attached via Ethernet. Desktops are all connected via Ethernet; laptops mostly connect wirelessly.
Our network has a LinkSys WRT54G2 router (wireless is off at the router.) Each of the 4 ports is connected to an 8-port switch which are then connected to the patch panel. A few of the rooms have an additional switch. There are 5 Wireless Access Points distributed through the 2 buildings.
Our setup has been as described for almost a 1 year, and has been very stable. Over the past month, we have been losing our connectivity to the Internet. The connection will be gone for 1 - 5 minutes, then comes back. Usually, the period of instability will last for about an hour, when the Internet will be out 4 or so times. Typically, not all users are affected by any one particular outage; but outages do eventually hit everyone. If I look at our network as 4 segments, where a segment corresponds to one of the ports on the router, 2 - 3 segments are affected each outage, but the affected segments change from one outage to the next. No segment is ALWAYS affected; no segment is NEVER affected. It seems to be random.
When an outage occurs, I try to use ping to probe what's happening. A ping of 8.8.8.8 (a Google public DNS server) always fails from an affected segment. A ping of 192.168.1.1 (the router) might work or might fail. A ping of another internal IP address (e.g. a printer) will generally work, but not always. (I assume it would always work if the address is on the same switch as the computer sending the ping.)
If I pull the power plug on the router and then plug it back in, the Internet connection is restored immediately. But it may fail again in 2 minutes or 20 minutes or an hour. Another power reset brings it back online. Then things will be stable for 18 - 36 hours, when it will happen again.
Outages often occur during peak use times, but they have also happened on a Sunday morning with 1 user on, and have happened several times at 7:30 AM with only a few users on.
These outages started happening with use of a new web-based application that requires a login that connects using https. Although 1 user can use the web app without problems, the outages often occur when ~4 users are trying to use the app.
I made a call to our ISP during a particularly bad period this week. Their traces showed no outages nor errors during the whole previous 24 hours. So it seems the problem is on our side.
I have been focused on the router, since a reset clears the problem. I swapped out the WRT54G2 for a WRT54G, but the outages continued to occur.
1) Does anyone have suggestions for how I can identify what is going on and what the problem is?
2) I have been looking at the router reviews to understand the router's capabilities. It says that the WRT54G2 supports only 8 simultaneous connections. If we are exceeding that count, I would assume that things slow down. If we FAR exceed that count, would the router go wacko and drop segments, thus causing our problems? Do we need a router that can support many more simultaneous connections? Would we be better off with a business-class router rather than the "home" equipment we currently use? If so, any suggestions?
Thanks for any help.
I am a computer volunteer at a mid-sized non-profit child care center: I'm not very familiar with networking. We have been having network problems lately, and I could use some suggestions for what to look at next.
We have about 18 PCs (3 are laptops) and 10 Macs (4 are laptops.) Most PCs have XP Pro SP3, with ~3 Win7 machines; most Macs are 10.4 or greater. Most users run typical office applications: email, web browser, MS Office, and QuickBooks. A few users use special web-based applications using https connections. We have 3 high-volume printer/copiers and 3 other workgroup printers, all attached via Ethernet. Desktops are all connected via Ethernet; laptops mostly connect wirelessly.
Our network has a LinkSys WRT54G2 router (wireless is off at the router.) Each of the 4 ports is connected to an 8-port switch which are then connected to the patch panel. A few of the rooms have an additional switch. There are 5 Wireless Access Points distributed through the 2 buildings.
Our setup has been as described for almost a 1 year, and has been very stable. Over the past month, we have been losing our connectivity to the Internet. The connection will be gone for 1 - 5 minutes, then comes back. Usually, the period of instability will last for about an hour, when the Internet will be out 4 or so times. Typically, not all users are affected by any one particular outage; but outages do eventually hit everyone. If I look at our network as 4 segments, where a segment corresponds to one of the ports on the router, 2 - 3 segments are affected each outage, but the affected segments change from one outage to the next. No segment is ALWAYS affected; no segment is NEVER affected. It seems to be random.
When an outage occurs, I try to use ping to probe what's happening. A ping of 8.8.8.8 (a Google public DNS server) always fails from an affected segment. A ping of 192.168.1.1 (the router) might work or might fail. A ping of another internal IP address (e.g. a printer) will generally work, but not always. (I assume it would always work if the address is on the same switch as the computer sending the ping.)
If I pull the power plug on the router and then plug it back in, the Internet connection is restored immediately. But it may fail again in 2 minutes or 20 minutes or an hour. Another power reset brings it back online. Then things will be stable for 18 - 36 hours, when it will happen again.
Outages often occur during peak use times, but they have also happened on a Sunday morning with 1 user on, and have happened several times at 7:30 AM with only a few users on.
These outages started happening with use of a new web-based application that requires a login that connects using https. Although 1 user can use the web app without problems, the outages often occur when ~4 users are trying to use the app.
I made a call to our ISP during a particularly bad period this week. Their traces showed no outages nor errors during the whole previous 24 hours. So it seems the problem is on our side.
I have been focused on the router, since a reset clears the problem. I swapped out the WRT54G2 for a WRT54G, but the outages continued to occur.
1) Does anyone have suggestions for how I can identify what is going on and what the problem is?
2) I have been looking at the router reviews to understand the router's capabilities. It says that the WRT54G2 supports only 8 simultaneous connections. If we are exceeding that count, I would assume that things slow down. If we FAR exceed that count, would the router go wacko and drop segments, thus causing our problems? Do we need a router that can support many more simultaneous connections? Would we be better off with a business-class router rather than the "home" equipment we currently use? If so, any suggestions?
Thanks for any help.
