Routers go flaky?

[cglaeser 0]

A few days ago I began experiencing problems trying to connect to the internet. I bypassed the Netgear FSV328 router and connected directly to the DLINK 520B (which was set in bridge mode as an ADSL modem). That seemed to work fine. AT&T checked the line at my site, and that checked out fine too. When I reconnected the Netgear router, the problems returned. I have many devices on the LAN, and some can sporadically connect, and other times get DNS errors. This configuration has worked for quite a while, and I've not made any changes recently that I recall.

 

Anyone have a router go flaky before? I guess the cheapest solution is to drop in a new router and see if that resolves the problem. Any favorites? I'm considering switching the router to DLINK for the more advanced port forwarding.

 

Best,

Christopher

[thewireguys 3]

I like Sonicwall, Routerboard, Cradlepoint, Cisco.

[Birdman Adam 0]

What DNS server does AT&T provide you with?

 

I had some problems, until I specifically set my computers to use AT&T's DNS server. for some reason, my router would ignore requests from some devices, and not pass them on to the DNS server.

 

(BTW Wireshark is great for diagnosing these types of things!)

[cglaeser 0]

What DNS server does AT&T provide you with?

 

Good question. I had serious problems with the AT&T DNS servers a couple years ago, and began using OpenDNS. The problems persist using either.

 

I had some problems, until I specifically set my computers to use AT&T's DNS server. for some reason, my router would ignore requests from some devices, and not pass them on to the DNS server.

 

I tried that too with no improvement.

 

(BTW Wireshark is great for diagnosing these types of things!)

 

Yeah, I've used it the past, but it's one tool I'm not particularly proficient at. Not sure if it's easier to replace the router or try and drill down the problem with a tool like Wireshark.

 

Best,

Christopher

[Soundy 1]

I've seen plenty of routers flake out, both mine and friends'/customers'. The hardware can fail, especially if they run hot a lot... sometimes settings get muddled and you need to do a hard reset and then reprogram everything.

 

If it's a DD-WRT-capable router, you could always try flashing it with that firmware (or check for support for other third-party firmwares, like Tomato or OpenWRT), and see if that breathes new life into it.

 

Sometimes they just die and need to be $#!tcanned.

[shockwave199 0]

Amen on sh-canned. With routers, frequent odd behavior warrants a new one, if you ask me. IME, netgear was my worst router, linksys was better but died a fairly early death too. Currently I'm using belkin and it's been surprisingly stable, even now when stressed with eight channels of cctv. Two things help- firmware updates when available, and if you router supports it- a self healing schedule. That's just setting a once a day schedule to do an internal soft reboot. Man has that been great. I set it an hour or so before I get going for the day and it has really helped clear up stalls and jams along the way. If I could set it for twice a day I would, it's that great. My dvr supports the same function, but I don't need to do it. Any gear you have in line that supports scheduling an automatic soft reboot- do it. Everything in life needs a fresh start- especially finicky network stuff. Good luck. Btw- when this belkin dies I'm going for d-link as well. So many people love d-link. I'll be next in line.

 

Dan

[thewireguys 3]

FYI.... Routerboard is cheaper then Dlink and just as powerful as Cisco....

[rory 0]

Yes, switched out plenty bad routers over the years.

Seen them do all kinds of trippy things.

 

Also replaced many Cable Modems .. or had the Client get the Cable company to do so (they have a policy). But those were more likely damage from lightning, which ofcourse may also be to blame for some of the bad routers. We now pay $2 a month lightning insurance to the Cable company, so if the modem gets hit least its free to replace.

 

Powers been off at least 5 times in the past 3 days, 2-4 hours a time, that surely doesnt help either.

[Birdman Adam 0]

Modems have failed on me much more often. Always been DSL modems - the the ones they give us around here run REALLY HOT. The one at my house is now a tan from the heat, (it used to be white)! You can't hold it for much longer than 30 seconds before your fingers will start to hurt!

 

Even at my friends cabin, two days after installing the new modem during my install, it failed! The ISP seems to think they ought to be 'disposable'. BTW it failed with a POP and smoke.

[Soundy 1]

Funny, I've had the same cable modem for probably ten years (Motorola Surfboard 5110), no problems. Just offhand, can't think of anyone else who's had a cable modem die. DSL modems, on the other hand... I've replaced two or three for customers in just the last three years.

[Birdman Adam 0]

You know, now that I think about it, I know why the DSL modems run so hot...

 

Many DSL modems I've seen (that ran hot) had their transmit power very high to make it down the line to the DSLAM.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Subscriber_Line_Access_Multiplexer#Bandwidth_versus_distance

[shockwave199 0]

I've also had my cable modem for over a decade- a surfboard. I think this thing will outlast me. If a dsl ran THAT hot, it would call for a cooling fan mod for sure.

 

 

Something like that or even just a small fan on the modem 24/7 would be very worth it. The heat is not only killing the device faster, but I'm sure it's effecting it's performance in a very bad way as well.

 

Dan

[rory 0]

Funny, I've had the same cable modem for probably ten years (Motorola Surfboard 5110), no problems. Just offhand, can't think of anyone else who's had a cable modem die. DSL modems, on the other hand... I've replaced two or three for customers in just the last three years.

 

Our Cable comes in on the poles and they like to get hit when lightning strikes around here .. most common cause for those failures here.

[fa chris 0]

The surfboards are very solid cable modems. Rare to find anything comparable.

 

I've had a lot of junk DSL modems in the past...

[shockwave199 0]

Funny, I've had the same cable modem for probably ten years (Motorola Surfboard 5110), no problems. Just offhand, can't think of anyone else who's had a cable modem die. DSL modems, on the other hand... I've replaced two or three for customers in just the last three years.

 

Our Cable comes in on the poles and they like to get hit when lightning strikes around here .. most common cause for those failures here.

There are no poles in my neighborhood- everything is run underground. This is the first place I ever lived with this setup. Always had poles. Sounds great? Not the case. Everytime it rains things can get funky. If the system isn't sunk properly or maintained well, water will wreck havoc and it's a LOT more likely than a lightening strike. So as much as I thought it was great to have all cables underground and not hanging on poles, it has it's problems too. About the only thing that's really better about it is that trees don't pull down lines in storms and the need for the town to prune [and that budget] is absent.

 

Dan

[Soundy 1]

I've also had my cable modem for over a decade- a surfboard. I think this thing will outlast me. If a dsl ran THAT hot, it would call for a cooling fan mod for sure.

Lotta guys do this when they flash a router with DD-WRT or some other firmware that lets you crank the WiFi power. There are some really ghetto mods... and some that are really, really clean:

 

[Birdman Adam 0]

Sounds great? Not the case. Everytime it rains things can get funky. If the system isn't sunk properly or maintained well, water will wreck havoc and it's a LOT more likely than a lightening strike.

 

Funny you mention that, I have had people tell me their cable modem speeds actually go down during/after rains and storms too! Just recently a friend had to convince the cable company that the line from the little distribution box (main line split to 5 customers) to his home was compromised - he was getting much slower speeds, and the cable modem was transmitting on its highest settings, while reception was very bad. They finally ran a new line and all is well...

[fa chris 0]

Air makes an excellent insulator, which is why long rural power line runs will never be buried. You have a lot of power loss in the ground, and when it's wet and the soil closes in or water fills any gaps around the line and cracks in the insulation, power will be seeping out in the ground which is conducting which will lead to signal loss. Power companies have to plan for this constant loss from buried cable.

 

Works the same with anything conducting electricity in the ground... another advantage to using fiber is you don't have these problems.

[Birdman Adam 0]

Gotta imagine the loss is far more with a 100Kv line than with cable!

 

Relevant youtube video: