Aggravating home networking issue

[ColKurtz]

For several weeks now I've been having a really annoying networking issue. Multiple times each day my network connection to all of our computers will go out for 5-15 minutes at a time. Resetting the router and modem rarely helps. Both wired and wireless connections are dead. Eventually it just magically comes back on.

At first I thought it was my ISP, Time Warner, but then I noticed that I could not connect or ping my router's local management IP during the outages either. So it seemed like a flaky router. But I've tried 3 routers, 2 WRT54G's (one v1 and one v4) and a WRT54GL. They all have the same issue. I even loaded the latest Tomato firmware on the V1 but that had the same issue.

Though I do occasionally run bittorrent, I haven't in a few weeks... to see if that was the problem, and the issue exhibits itself even when BT hasn't been running. I've never gotten a letter or call from my ISP. With all of the recent government intervention in the Comcast bittorrent interference case, I'd be very surprised if TWC was interfering with my connection.

Any ideas on how to narrow down what keeps taking my router down? TIA.

 

[JackMDS]

Disconnect the computers from the Router and start adding them one at the time.

 

[Sauro]

Have you considered the possibility of the circuit going dead? I know it sounds dumb, but have you checked the power going to the router when this occurs?

 

[her209]

Power issue?

 

[ColKurtz]

Hmm... power is one issue that I hadn't considered. I was sharing a PSU between the two WRT54Gs, but the GL has a completely different PSU. But all are on the same power strip. I'll try a different outlet, hoping it's on a different circuit. That's not a bad idea.

 

[QuixoticOne]

The main reasons for flakiness I've seen are:

a) Actual broadband link failure

b) EMI / AC power coupled interference with the broadband modem (use an EMI filtering power strip / UPS, not just surge protected; watch out for light dimmers and solid state ballast lighting).

c) DHCP leases expiring and software being too brain dead to handle the interruption during the renewal gracefully without things breaking. Try setting your default / minimum and maximum lease time to something like a week.

d) Firmware problems in a router or modem or especially wireless/wired router that cause a breakage / flakiness that may or may not resolve itself after time. Sometimes they auto-reboot. Sometimes they lock up. Sometimes they just stutter.

e) Manual configuration problems with potentially multiple computers on the same IP address or MAC address and havok ensuing when one of them comes online and collides with the other(s). Multiple routers of course would be just as bad, i.e. multiple disconnected DHCP servers or multiple route / default gateway advertisements.

f) Over Wireless LAN flakiness in client side software / drivers that makes the link just break for some random time.

g) Over Wireless LAN, actual RF noise / interference / congestion.

 

[ColKurtz]

FYI... Loks like it was something in my Powerline adapter(s). I actually forgot it was plugged in to the router. We got it for a flaky wireless printer that constantly dropped connections and an older PC that sits unused. The powerline adapter was very hot when I unplugged it... I guess it's faulty and was flooding the router or something. It's been fine ever since.