[Kyomi]

Recently I starting having problems where I would get disconnected about every 15 minutes on my pc and on my ps3.
As far as I know the problem is coming from the switch, since I only have issues once I plug that in.

Info about the network:

Cable from Charter Communications
(1) BEFSR41 linksys wired router
(3) Linksys 5 port wired switch
(1) WRT54G Linksys Wireless router (working as a wireless hub)
(1) Linksys Wireless N router (not sure of model, belongs to another family member)

*can't remember exact positioning*
BEFSR41: Internet = Cable Modem
Port 1: Leads to wireless router that also has a blu-ray player wired into the WRT54G
Port 2: Leads to one of the switches that runs a PC and a PS3 on top floor
Port 3: Leads to the Linksys Wireless N router in basement
Port 4: Leads to the switch plugged in near the BEFSR41 (well call this Switch A)

The switch on port 4 (Switch A) leads to a connection on the top floor with another switch running about 2 pc's.

If I have everything connected except for the switch, everything works fine and I wont get disconnected. Once I plug
in the switch, every few minutes the router's power LED will blink 7-8 times and then the LEDS for ports 1-4 will go
dark for a second and then come back on, this will happen constantly. Most always I'll lose all internet connection but will still be able to connect to the router from one of the connections NOT in Switch A.
A trip to the "Status" page of the BEFSR41 will list all the connections (public IP, subnet mask, etc.) as 0.0.0.0 Clicking the "DHCP Release" and "DHCP Renew" buttons will do nothing. I have to power cycle the cable modem and then the router *without* Switch A powered on to get a internet connection.

I've replaced both the router and Switch A thinking that was the issue but obviously not. This all started because I wanted to get NAT Type 2 on my PS3 and once I got it everything else broke. The only router settings I've changed are:
Enable UPnP = Enabled
Allow Users to Make Configuration Changes = Enabled
Filter Multicasting = Enabled
Filter Internet NAT Redirection = Disabled
Changed Local IP Address to 192.168.0.1 instead of 192.168.1.1
I have MAC Address Clone on this PC

Everything else is default with all the individual systems cept for one (set for the DMZ) to obtain their addresses
automatically. I've been through 3 days of troubleshooting and nothing works. I was thinking it may be too many connections split too many times for this router or possibly something to deal with the subnet mask?

Thanks in advance

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Wow. That's a lot of switches. Are all the hubs using direct patch UTEP cables between themselves? That's where the normal wiring gets switched, (wires 1&2 on one side become 3&6 on the other). Hub to hub & PC to PC should use direct patch cables to maintain addresses. Normal cables will sustain a connection for awhile but eventually lose the thread...

Hope this helps

[Mark D]

Wow. That's a lot of switches. Are all the hubs using direct patch UTEP cables between themselves? That's where the normal wiring gets switched, (wires 1&2 on one side become 3&6 on the other). Hub to hub & PC to PC should use direct patch cables to maintain addresses. Normal cables will sustain a connection for awhile but eventually lose the thread...

Hope this helps

[Kyomi]

I'm not quite sure what you mean with UTEP cables. Is that another term for crossover? Or are they "special" cables that aren't commercially available?

To my knowledge it's always been normal cables (RJ45 cat 5, I believe straight-through cables, Is there a way to check?) and it's worked perfectly till recently. So basically, you think it's because its the wrong type of cable between switches and that should fix the problem?

I'd like to know what is going on in the router when in I plug in the switch and the power LED keeps blinking and then the router seems to reset itself if you or anyone else know.

Thanks for the reply

[Kyomi]

Update, I got the switch working with an actual patch cable and I found the actual problem.

The wireless router (WRT160N updated to latest firmware) in the basement seems to be the issue.. but only when a
device connects to it using a wireless connection. The ps3 is hardwired into the wireless router (WRT160N) and it
works fine on the internet and even streaming video and it doesn't interrupt anything. As soon as the wireless
connects and does what it has to do, the Power LED on the BEFSR41 (main router) blinks 7-8 times and then "resets"
itself. When the wireless isn't in use it's fine, I've have completely re-done the setup to make it easier.

Wired Router (BEFSR41) = 192.168.0.1
Wireless (WRT54G Upstairs) = 192.168.0.2
Wireless (WRT160N basement)= 192.168.0.3

Which all seems to be working fine except for the WRT160N when it uses wireless. I have read lots of forum posts
about how to connect multiple routers to the same network and they all say to have the DHCP server, NAT & RIP and
UPnP disabled, which they all are. The WRT54G is set to "Router" per setup page instruction and there was no option
for that on the WRT160N. What could possibly be causing the issue?

Thanks again

[Mark D]

Howszit? Yes "Direct Patch" & Cross over are terms for the same wiring. If you look at the end of your UTEP and all the wires are the same, then that's a straight cable. If the wires in 1&2 are in the 3&6 positions of the other end of the cable, that's a cross over. It used to be more important a few years back before "intelligent switches". Still a must for PC to PC though.

I'd try to setup the WiFi devices in the basement so that they had their TCP/IP addresses defined, (The DNS can be the same as the gateway, although sometimes I do enter the actual DNS addresses assigned by your ISP). Its probably more likely that that basement router is beginning to fail and will need to be replaced. (I've had routers here where systems gradually lose their addressing the farthest from the WiFi signal 1st, and gradually move in closer to the router over time. By manually addressing the systems, they do not have to get addresses from the router and it does extend the range a bit. I think your basement router will still freak out though, but this would be a good test.)

Good luck..

[Kyomi]

Sorry for the long wait but I've fixed the internet problem, now I'm just getting disconnected every so often and then it'll pick the connection back up 10 sec later.

I've just removed the wireless router in the basement and put a wired hub down there, which is the same type of connection I have.. but it doesn't work and it seems to "reset" everything. I've given up trying to keep NAT type 2 on my ps3 and have turned off UPnP.

What am I missing?

EDIT: Just noticed some strange things in the wired router (BEFSR41) when I enabled the log.. there's a bunch of lines like:

TCP screen:::meet thdrp->flags=18,thdrp->herport=33623,thdrp->myport=5190

The flags, herport, myport numbers change alot.. I've never seen that before and it's worrying me

Edited by Kyomi, 25 March 2010 - 11:11 PM.