Jim_Lafleur
Occasional Visitor
Hi,
I've installed a Wi-Fi setup in a Seniors' residence.
We've had weird problems since one month (or more...). I'll explain all the problems we've had in details later in this post (See *** below). For now I'll explain the current issue:
There's an Asus RT-AC3100 in building 3, configured as a router, serving as a Wireless Access Point (WAP) which works for a couple of days and then after that the internet is no longer available. Can connect to the Wi-Fi, receive an IP, no internet... Yesterday I went there to troubleshoot. The RT-AC3100 is connected to a switch 225 feet away. On the switch, there was no activity on the port where the RT-AC3100 connects to. It looked like the port was down. Rebooted the switch : Same issue. Looked like the WAN port of the RT-AC3100 was down. Rebooted the RT-AC3100 : Internet came back... for 5 minutes. The CPU temp was 81°C (But I mean, those run at 75°C on idle when you first cold start them.) I had the Merlin 380.61 firmware installed. Installed the latest original Asus firmware (2016/08/05 3.0.0.4.380.3941). Now it's working good since yesterday (Knock on Wood). I don't have much faith in the solution because of all what happened before (See *** below). (I'm starting to get crazy , so that's why I've decided to post here . )
Why did this happened? I mean it worked for 10 days with Merlin firmware without any problems.
Note : The RT-AC3100 in building 3 is located at the second floor of the building (The building has a ground floor and a second floor). It is attached to the ceiling upside down (would this matter?).)
ere's 3 buildings all connected together. The main one and 2 other buildings, constructed later, extending from the main building. There's many WAPs in the main building but I'll spare the details since the problem is in building 3.
Here's the floor plan:
Here's the Network Diagram :
Here's the Network Diagram with more details :
*** : The whole story : I explain this because this is too weird. It might be related to my current problem. It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack :
In march I've installed a new switch in building 3 (used Cisco Catalyst). There was already a used Cisco Catalyst in building 2. The 2 switches would talk good together for 1 hour or so and then the connected ports would go down. Troubleshooted and didn't find the problem. Figured I had bough a bad switch. I did replace the Cisco switch by a small, temporary, "dummy" belkin switch in building 3. An Asus RT-AC3200 WAP (with Merlin) was connected to the belkin switch. All worked good for months. Then the residents of building 3 lost connection to the internet. They could connect to the Wi-Fi and get an IP but no internet.
Troubleshooted :
(For troubleshooting purposes, I've removed the Belking switch in building 3. I've connected the WAP in building 3 directly to the Cisco switch in building 2 with a patch cable joining the 2 ports on the patch panel of building 3).
Then I did what I've explained at the start of the post : changed the firmware from Merlin to the original Asus firmware. We'll see next if it helps.
Right now there's only 3 things connected to the TP-Link switch :
If you see this, it means you read the whole thing! (or you skip to the bottom of the post ). Thanks! Any help would be really appreciated.
I've installed a Wi-Fi setup in a Seniors' residence.
We've had weird problems since one month (or more...). I'll explain all the problems we've had in details later in this post (See *** below). For now I'll explain the current issue:
There's an Asus RT-AC3100 in building 3, configured as a router, serving as a Wireless Access Point (WAP) which works for a couple of days and then after that the internet is no longer available. Can connect to the Wi-Fi, receive an IP, no internet... Yesterday I went there to troubleshoot. The RT-AC3100 is connected to a switch 225 feet away. On the switch, there was no activity on the port where the RT-AC3100 connects to. It looked like the port was down. Rebooted the switch : Same issue. Looked like the WAN port of the RT-AC3100 was down. Rebooted the RT-AC3100 : Internet came back... for 5 minutes. The CPU temp was 81°C (But I mean, those run at 75°C on idle when you first cold start them.) I had the Merlin 380.61 firmware installed. Installed the latest original Asus firmware (2016/08/05 3.0.0.4.380.3941). Now it's working good since yesterday (Knock on Wood). I don't have much faith in the solution because of all what happened before (See *** below). (I'm starting to get crazy , so that's why I've decided to post here . )
Why did this happened? I mean it worked for 10 days with Merlin firmware without any problems.
Note : The RT-AC3100 in building 3 is located at the second floor of the building (The building has a ground floor and a second floor). It is attached to the ceiling upside down (would this matter?).)
ere's 3 buildings all connected together. The main one and 2 other buildings, constructed later, extending from the main building. There's many WAPs in the main building but I'll spare the details since the problem is in building 3.
Here's the floor plan:
Here's the Network Diagram :
Here's the Network Diagram with more details :
*** : The whole story : I explain this because this is too weird. It might be related to my current problem. It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack :
In march I've installed a new switch in building 3 (used Cisco Catalyst). There was already a used Cisco Catalyst in building 2. The 2 switches would talk good together for 1 hour or so and then the connected ports would go down. Troubleshooted and didn't find the problem. Figured I had bough a bad switch. I did replace the Cisco switch by a small, temporary, "dummy" belkin switch in building 3. An Asus RT-AC3200 WAP (with Merlin) was connected to the belkin switch. All worked good for months. Then the residents of building 3 lost connection to the internet. They could connect to the Wi-Fi and get an IP but no internet.
Troubleshooted :
(For troubleshooting purposes, I've removed the Belking switch in building 3. I've connected the WAP in building 3 directly to the Cisco switch in building 2 with a patch cable joining the 2 ports on the patch panel of building 3).
- Unplugged the cable from the Cisco switch in building 2 : The internet came back... for 10 minutes or so.
- Rebooted the Cisco switch in building 2 : The internet came back... for 10 minutes or so.
- Unplugged the cable from the Asus WAP in building 3 : The internet came back... for 10 minutes or so.
- Rebooted the Asus WAP : The internet came back... for 10 minutes or so.
- Installed the latest Merlin firware on the Asus WAP: The internet came back... for 1 day or so.
- Replaced the RT-AC3200 with a brand new RT-AC3100 (with Merlin). : The internet came back... for 1 day or so.
- Replaced the Cisco switch in building 2 with a TP-Link switch: The internet came back... for 10 days.
Then I did what I've explained at the start of the post : changed the firmware from Merlin to the original Asus firmware. We'll see next if it helps.
Right now there's only 3 things connected to the TP-Link switch :
- The main router (internet),
- the WAP in building 2 and
- the WAP in building 3.
If you see this, it means you read the whole thing! (or you skip to the bottom of the post ). Thanks! Any help would be really appreciated.