Networking help.

[vb86]

Hi guys!

Need some help with my current networking setup at home. It's pretty simple:

Router 1: Dlink 2750u wireless modem+router with an 8mbps Airtel DSL connection on 2nd floor (DHCP enabled).
Router 2: Cisco E900 wireless router on the 1st floor connected to the Dlink router via LAN cable (DHCP disabled).

The LAN cable that connects both the routers is connected to a numbered LAN port on BOTH routers. Both routers have the same wireless SSID and password. This helps in wireless roaming between the 2 routers without dropping the connection. Since the Cisco router has DHCP disabled, all connected devices have their IPs assigned by the main Dlink router. Also, the wireless channels are 11 and 6.

There are approx. 15-20 devices connected on this setup when everyone is home, which is every evening/night.

Problems:
1. The internet stops responding very frequently, literally every few seconds.
2. The range of the Dlink router is not sufficient for the second floor.
3. We will require another router in 1-2 months to cover the 3rd floor.

Now, regarding problem 1, I disabled the wifi on the Dlink router and disconnected the other router to check if the problem was with the Airtel connection. I connected my laptop via LAN. The internet was working perfectly fine. I used the internet for a while, there was no problem. I feel that the Dlink router can't take the load of so many devices running on it's wifi and the connected router's wifi, for which it also assigns the IPs.

So yesterday evening, I changed the SSID, password and also enabled DHCP on the second router to see if everything works fine. The idea was to let the Cisco router assign it's own IPs for the connected devices. The problems didn't go and I realised that the Dlink router was still assigning the IPs. I think I need to attach the LAN cable on the WAN port of the Cisco router for this to work.

The long term solution I've come up with is:

Have a separate DSL modem and have 3 wireless routers installed on it, each assigning its on IPs and running different SSIDs. Now, since wired routers come with only one LAN port, I can use my Dlink router as the "wired router" by disabling wifi on it. Then I can connect 3 wireless routers using the numbered ports on the wired router and WAN ports (maybe?) on the 3 wireless routers. Wiring is not a problem.

How does this sound?

Thanks in advance..

 

[blr_p]

I feel that the Dlink router can't take the load of so many devices running on it's wifi and the connected router's wifi, for which it also assigns the IPs.

This is a possibility, can you confirm the model number (revision number) of this dlink, need to figure out which chipset it uses.

Can you also post a screen grab of your modem stats page.

 

[vb86]

Hi,

Thanks for taking the time to go through my post.

Firstly, I changed the cable connection on the Cisco router (router 2) from the LAN port to WAN. As expected, now, on the Dlink client list, I see the Cisco router, and on the Cisco client list, I see the devices connected to the Cisco router. The devices on the Cisco router no longer show up on the Dlink client list. This may help in reducing the load on the Dlink router.

Regarding your query, the revision number is: C1 (Broadcom chipset I assume)
Firmware version: IN_1.10 (latest as per the Dlink India site)

I've also attached the screenshot for your reference.

 

[blr_p]

Firstly, I changed the cable connection on the Cisco router (router 2) from the LAN port to WAN. As expected, now, on the Dlink client list, I see the Cisco router, and on the Cisco client list, I see the devices connected to the Cisco router. The devices on the Cisco router no longer show up on the Dlink client list. This may help in reducing the load on the Dlink router.

Monitor it for a few days and see how the internet connection holds.

Regarding your query, the revision number is: C1 (Broadcom chipset I assume)

lets get a positive id

telnet into the modem, after you login, type help, then type sysinfo, paste that info here, it should indicate the chipset.

Also try and type sh which will create a shell to work in. if sh does not work and there is no sysinfo command then its a realtek chipset and have to figure out a way to find out which one it is.

I've also attached the screenshot for your reference.

Had to realise that the 0.1 multiplier needs to be used so your SNR is 14.3/18.9 and attenuation is 15/11.4. The SNR is just over the minimum so you should have a stable connection and the attenuation indicates you are within a km from the exchange so the connection and signal is generally good.

 

[vb86]

Thanks again.

Another thing I forgot to mention. The only change I made to the Dlink router was change the SSID and password. Somehow after a while, it started rejecting all connected devices saying that the wifi password was incorrect. I double checked the password and it was indeed correct.

In any case, after switching to the WAN port on the Cisco yesterday (and having changed the password on the Dlink), everything was working fine for a while. Then, suddenly my Macbook got disconnected from the wifi and it doesn't connect to the router anymore. Even my iPad says incorrect password. I've rebooted the router numerous times, but nothing helps.

I've gone ahead an ordered a cheap TP-Link DSL wifi router to use as a wired router for now. Hope that solves most of the issues.