Wifi Clients Cut Off from Router

[Deleted member 36463]

I have attached a diagram but in essence the problem is this:

1. I have a manageable switch (I refer to it as my Floor switch) for my office workers attached to a backbone switch attached to my router out to the Internet. The manageable switches are all NetGear GS724T.
2. The router also serves as the DHCP server.
3. In some offices I am using small wi-fi access points (TP-Link) that connect to a small dumb switch that connects to a port on the manageable floor switch so that they can have WiFi access in the offices.

I'm seeing some really bizarre behavior - basically, I can connect to the WiFi AP, it (the laptop) will connect to the router long enough to get an IP address from the DHCP server, then it loses contact with the router and is unable to see the internet. It can see any device internal to the VLAN, no problem. It just can't get to the internet.
If the WiFi AP I am using has Ethernet ports and I direct connect to one of those ports, then I can see the Internet no problem. If I direct connect the wifi AP to a port on the floor switch (i.e. bypass the intermediate dumb switch) it seems to work fine. It is only if I have an intermediate dumb switch that the wifi connection starts being problematic. I have tried most of the basic things (I have upgraded firmware on the APs, disabled/enabled interfaces, forgotten networks and reconnected etc.) - No luck.

I'm kind of at my wit's end here. Has anybody seen a problem like this before or have any suggestions on trouble shooting suggestions?

Thanks
Anthony

 

[thiggins]

It's possible that the TP-Link AP isn't properly negotiating its Ethernet link with the dumb switch.

Try a different make/model dumb switch or just connect directly to the GS724TP. Nothing much else you can do.