Is this a router problem? (intermittently stops working)

[eli2k]

I have a situation where a DSL modem is connected to a router, which is connected to the rest of the network at home. For the past several months, the router has stopped working intermittently, in this case, I cannot access the internet. I switched to the different router last week, but the situation remains the same. One lasts longer than the other, though.

After 10s of minutes the internet connection will stop working (can't ping, visit any site). I can access the router itself, however, and everything there works fine. I can connect the DSL modem to my desktop via ethernet cable and it will work. If I power cycle (hard-unplug/replug, or soft-reboot inside the router config), it will work again for a little bit.

They are both Asus modems. One is the WL-520gU and the other I don't remember. The 520gU is probably > 4yrs old, but I have used that one for many years before I stowed it away.

What do you think the problem could be? Should I just upgrade to a different router? I'm not sure if the router itself is the problem. One thing I have not done is reset the router to factory settings. But besides that, do you think the problem lies in the router?

 

[VirtualLarry]

What happens if you keep a PC direct-connected to the modem, over a 24hr period? Do you still lose internet connectivity? It may be your line or the modem.

Btw, is your DSL modem also a router? And do you need to run a PPPoE dialer on your direct-connected PC, or just plug in an ethernet and it just works? If you plug in direct, your modem may be doing PPPoE, and then may also be acting as a router and do NAT and router tasks like acting like a DHCP server.

It would also be informative, if you are running Windows, to open a Command-Prompt window, when you are direct-connected to the modem, and run "IPCONFIG /ALL" and paste the results here. Specifically, I am wondering if you are getting a 10.x.x.x or a 192.168.x.x IP address from the modem directly, or if you are getting a public internet IPv4 address, which would mean that your modem is set up as a bridge. (If it's a public IP, you DO NOT want to post the full address here, just the first two octets.)

 

[eli2k]

Thanks for your reply. I haven't had a PC connected to the modem for a 24 hour period. When I lost internet connection, I plugged the ethernet cable attached to my PC directly to the modem, and I had a connection again. Modem diagnostics look okay. I don't suspect the modem because any reboot of the router fixes everything for a few minutes.

The DSL modem is also a router. In the past, all I had to do was plug my router to the modem and it will work. In the past I disabled the wireless function of the modem. Nothing has changed recently (hardware-wise). It just started acting like this for a few months. To access my router I would navigate to 10.0.0.1. To access the modem from my LAN, I would navigate to 192.168.1.254. My router gets an IP address from the modem in the form of 192.168.1.x. I can get additional data from the ipconfig command in the future and post it here.

 

[VirtualLarry]

The DSL modem is also a router. In the past, all I had to do was plug my router to the modem and it will work. In the past I disabled the wireless function of the modem. Nothing has changed recently (hardware-wise). It just started acting like this for a few months. To access my router I would navigate to 10.0.0.1. To access the modem from my LAN, I would navigate to 192.168.1.254. My router gets an IP address from the modem in the form of 192.168.1.x. I can get additional data from the ipconfig command in the future and post it here.

What IP address range do you get for PCs on your LAN? 10.0.0.x?

First of all, you are doing double-NAT. Which works for some things, and doesn't for others.

If your modem will act as a router, then you should use it to do NAT and handle DHCP. You should configure your router as an AP for wireless only.

JackMDS should be along shortly with a link that will help you configure your router as an AP.

Edit: Here's the link, I dug it up for you.
http://www.ezlan.net/router_AP.html

 

[John Connor]

Does your router have the latest firmware?