FIOS Ethernet - dropped packets

[davidr]

First post but quite the lurker...

I switched my FIOS connection from coax to Ethernet Saturday and can't seem to make it work directly from my router. When running the ethernet cable into the Verizon supplied router (Actiontec MI24) it works perfectly with my router (Asus RT-N16) connected to a LAN port on the actiontec. If I move the ethernet cable from the Actiontec WAN to the N16's WAN I can successfully renew my lease and get an address from Verizon's network. Unfortunately I get a ton of dropped packets (ping to google) and the port seems to reset itself quite often. Internet is totally unusable.

The merlin firmware is pretty much stock. I set my password, set the WAN to get an IP address automatically, and setup the wireless. That's it. Tried to post the actual log entries but cloudflare is blocking it. In a nutshell I get entries, all within 8 seconds, that say port1(vlan1) goes from disabled, to listening, to learning, then a topology change is detected and propagated, followed by the port entering forwarding state. It then reads the host file 2 seconds later followed by a "WAN Connection" message that the "ISP's DCHP did not function properly". A ping test during that time shows 40% packet loss on 5 packets sent.

Any ideas? Some folks on another site (dslreports) suggested that VLAN tagging was causing the issue but I've verified (via robocfg) that the WAN port is untagged. The LAN side appears to be but not the WAN.

Also in terms of troubleshooting I've released and renewed addresses, cloned MAC from the Actiontec, powered off for 10-15 minutes, and get the same results using Tomato on an ASUS RT-N66U.

Thanks in advance.

 

[L&LD]

Try powering it off for 30 minutes or more.

 

[saytr79]

First post but quite the lurker...

I switched my FIOS connection from coax to Ethernet Saturday and can't seem to make it work directly from my router. When running the ethernet cable into the Verizon supplied router (Actiontec MI24) it works perfectly with my router (Asus RT-N16) connected to a LAN port on the actiontec. If I move the ethernet cable from the Actiontec WAN to the N16's WAN I can successfully renew my lease and get an address from Verizon's network. Unfortunately I get a ton of dropped packets (ping to google) and the port seems to reset itself quite often. Internet is totally unusable.

The merlin firmware is pretty much stock. I set my password, set the WAN to get an IP address automatically, and setup the wireless. That's it. Tried to post the actual log entries but cloudflare is blocking it. In a nutshell I get entries, all within 8 seconds, that say port1(vlan1) goes from disabled, to listening, to learning, then a topology change is detected and propagated, followed by the port entering forwarding state. It then reads the host file 2 seconds later followed by a "WAN Connection" message that the "ISP's DCHP did not function properly". A ping test during that time shows 40% packet loss on 5 packets sent.

Any ideas? Some folks on another site (dslreports) suggested that VLAN tagging was causing the issue but I've verified (via robocfg) that the WAN port is untagged. The LAN side appears to be but not the WAN.

Also in terms of troubleshooting I've released and renewed addresses, cloned MAC from the Actiontec, powered off for 10-15 minutes, and get the same results using Tomato on an ASUS RT-N66U.

Thanks in advance.

You have to call Verizon to have them terminate the existing lease so you can pull another IP. I'm running ethernet from my ONT directly to my router as well.

Even though Ethernet seems to be enabled from the ONT i would make sure to let Verizon know that you want to use Ethernet as oppose to MoCa for internet.

Keep your Fios router handy as they may want to confirm functionality with a supported router (the one they provide) while troubleshooting.

 

[davidr]

Thanks for the ideas. I'll try turning it off for 30+ minutes tomorrow. I'm also going to double check the wiring.

Regarding Verizon I did speak with them to get the ONT converted to ethernet and I can get a DHCP lease on the new router. It also works perfectly from the Verizon actiontec. That's the part I can't figure out. There is something different about the ASUS router or some configuration that I'm missing...or it could be some weird cable problem.

Thanks again and anymore thoughts are certainly appreciated. I'll post again tomorrow after I check cabling and have the device off for 30+ minutes.

 

[davidr]

Had some time to experiment more today. I rechecked all the cabling and it seems to be wired fine all the way to the ONT. Cat6 or Cat5e the whole way. I also turned off the devices for a considerable time 30+ minutes before putting them back on to the network. In addition I made sure that all the router's WAN ports were cloned to the same MAC address as the Verizon router.

Still no love with the ASUS routers. The N66 (tomato) behaved pretty much as before with no significant change. The N16 (Merlin) failed even worse with the port not even staying up long enough to get a DHCP address. Interestingly I had an ancient Linksys/Cisco RVL200 laying around and I hooked it up. Didn't do any configuration other than to clone the MAC. It worked perfectly. Grabbed an address and pings went through without issue...it's so old though that running speedtest caused it to drop a couple of packets but that was it.

So I'm stumped. Still feels like something related to the port or VLAN's or routing strangeness. I've double checked tomato (N66), Merlin (N16), the ActionTEC, and the Linksys and the WAN port is untagged in all of them.

Any other ideas of what to look at or do? I'd consider buying a new (non-ASUS) router if that might make a difference (ie. Linksys/Cisco and ActionTEC work).

 

[CaptainSTX]

The recommended time to leave your router powered down on FIOS in order to force a new public IP to be issued is TWO HOURS.

I also have tried to short cut this by cloning the MAC of my Actiontec to the ASUS and have never had any success getting a connection.

Several weeks ago I took my Actiontec out of my network and connected my ASUS directly to the OTN and it worked fine for ten days. To trouble shoot I had to put the Actiontec back in play. Have tried a couple of times to again put the ASUS back as the primary router but haven't got it working again. Will try again when I have lots of time.

To be honest I can't see any reduction in performance in having my ASUS double NATed behind the Actiontec so I'm not in a big hurry to remove the Actiontec again.

Shut everything on your network down for at least two hours then reboot your ASUS router then everything else and eventually it will pull an IP.

 

[davidr]

That's what has me puzzled. I am getting IP's on all the various routers. The lease get's renewed successfully from Verizon in every case.

In most cases (all except the N16 today) I'm able to ping internet sites using the new DHCP address on the WAN. The issue is that I get seemingly intermittent packet loss while doing it. At times, particularly with the N66, I can get email and messages with sporadic web access as well. The packets get dropped/lost somewhere between my router, the ONT, and the Verizon supplied default gateway as I see dropped pings between the router and the gateway.

 

[davidr]

Wanted to provide a follow up to this. Verizon came out yesterday and replaced my ONT. That turned out to be the problem. Once it was replaced I was able to connect my laptop and routers to the port without issue. No packet loss and worked great.

Thanks for all the help and advice.