Issues with home network - diagram included

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Ricksta123

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So at the moment im currently running 10mb ADSL, im getting fibre installed in a 1-2 Months by Evotel, hope they are at least decent cause this was my complex's decision.

I have made up a diagram regarding my home network, in the diagram the only difference is that ive labeled the router as a Fibre router but actually for now its still a ADSL router, also i have 10/100 hubs in places of the switches i labeled, im looking at replacing the hubs to gigabit switches for more reliability and speed so i made the diagram with the switches cause at the moment theres no question that i should be replacing them.

http://i66.tinypic.com/el8u4w.jpg

At the moment, the bottom right AP is giving me issues, its actually a ADSL router but i have set it to act as a AP, so in the LAN settings i have disabled DHCP and given the AP an IP of 192.168.1.4 , everything works fine but then sometimes it decides its going to reset its settings to default and screw up the whole network which is really frustrating, for some reason all the settings are the same regarding the wifi same ssid same password but then i get a IP conflict on the network, the LAN on the AP/router defaults to 192.168.1.1 and literally renders the whole network useless because of the conflict with the ADSL routers gateway. After the the network is broken i have to either restart the AP or i have to hard reset and restore the the profile i set. The AP has been next to a cordless phone like literally 20cm from it for most of its life, never really had problems only up until about a year now when now & then it just screws up the whole network, i have tested the AP with the cordless phone switched off for a week and still the same issues. I am about to order a new AP because im just done with it. I was just wondering if it could be the way my network is setup that is causing the AP to go crazy.

As for the home network, i was wondering if anyone has a better idea of how i should set it up ? Should i run individual cables from each AP & PC to one central switch or should i be good with the daisy chain type setup i have ? Would the cost of running individual cables make up for the reliability and stability i would get or is it not worth it ? Im trying to set up a network here with the least down time and stability as possible while not spending too much money. Any help will be greatly appreciated and if im missing any details please do say so.
 
Does the problematic router have DHCP forwarding/relay enabled? What model is it?
 
I presume the existing ADSL router has more then one Ethernet port? If so connect the switches direct to those port instead of the daisy chain idea. Change the switches if you have to but you may not notice any difference to what you get now with the existing switches.

Why is the ADSL router resetting itself? No idea, except to suggest as already suggested check the DHCP settings carefully.
 
if the router is resetting by itself... i think better change that instead of the switches...

You can buy some cheap AP, like Tenda. they are not great, but they work, unless you want to put some money and I would invest in some Ubiquity equipment. In that case, you can buy some Switches with POE and two proper AP's with Gigabit connectivity.

in scoop.co.za you can check prices and manage your budget.
 
YingYang said:
Does the problematic router have DHCP forwarding/relay enabled? What model is it?
Click to expand...

Using a Totolink N3GR, on the WAN connection type its set to DHCP auto config, i have options for static, ppoe or 3g.
On the LAN settings i have disabled DHCP and given it a IP of 192.168.1.4
 
daniellgr said:
I presume the existing ADSL router has more then one Ethernet port? If so connect the switches direct to those port instead of the daisy chain idea. Change the switches if you have to but you may not notice any difference to what you get now with the existing switches.

Why is the ADSL router resetting itself? No idea, except to suggest as already suggested check the DHCP settings carefully.
Click to expand...

For sure, it has 4 ports, so i would connect both switches directly to the router, then the standalone AP on the bottom right i presume i would connect also directly to the router ?

Well like i mentioned its the AP on the bottom right causing the issues, it is a ADSL router but i have set it up like an AP, the main ADSL router which has my ISP settings and all in doesnt have problems at all. Like i mentioned the bottom right AP now and then just goes crazy, defaults its IP and there we go again no network in the whole house. Could just be a hardware problem and i need a new one.
 
webtailor said:
if the router is resetting by itself... i think better change that instead of the switches...

You can buy some cheap AP, like Tenda. they are not great, but they work, unless you want to put some money and I would invest in some Ubiquity equipment. In that case, you can buy some Switches with POE and two proper AP's with Gigabit connectivity.

in scoop.co.za you can check prices and manage your budget.
Click to expand...

Yeah definitely going to change it, i have a good feeling its sort of broken, i wish it would just die and not half work though. I have heard very good things about Ubiquity, i was looking at the https://www.ubnt.com/airmax/airgateway/ , pretty cheap, will do the job i assume, id like the Unifi but its kind of out of my price range & dont really need a massive coverage of Wifi around the house.

I would like to bring all needed cables to one point, add a switch, connect the switch to the fibre router and go on from there. Pretty much over the hubs in my house now but ill have to speak to the old man and see if he's keen cause we selling this house in about 2 years time, i guess even if we move its just a case of losing some cabling. The switch, router, ap's and all can easily be taken with us in anycase.
 
You picture wireless both AP's as routers with WAN port connected to uplink. If it is a case, it would explain strange begaviour of AP, as WAN section and LAN sections are on the same subnet, which is pretty illegal. It can explain one AP occassionally resetting to defaults, it is doing it for a reason. If only LAN ports are used on AP's then forgive me and ignore it. :)

As one AP tend to resetting to default 192.168.1.1, you must avoid this IP, don't use it for any device. Change ADSL router LAN interface IP to something different, but unique. Also set DHCP range on the router to be different than default AP DHCP range. It will minimize impact on the entire network when AP goes mad again.
 
sajunky said:
You picture wireless both AP's as routers with WAN port connected to uplink. If it is a case, it would explain strange begaviour of AP, as WAN section and LAN sections are on the same subnet, which is pretty illegal. It can explain one AP occassionally resetting to defaults, it is doing it for a reason. If only LAN ports are used on AP's then forgive me and ignore it. :)

As one AP tend to resetting to default 192.168.1.1, you must avoid this IP, don't use it for any device. Change ADSL router LAN interface IP to something different, but unique. Also set DHCP range on the router to be different than default AP DHCP range. It will minimize impact on the entire network when AP goes mad again.
Click to expand...

This.

I'd change the IP of the main router to non-default.
Check the subnets of the AP also, it could be different and resetting.
If the ADSL router is the DHCP server, then connect the AP to the LAN and not WAN ports.

I wouldn't daisy chain anything. Like daniellgr said, connect them all to the main router.
If you changed the main router out for a "better" one, you can get gigabit ports.
Then cable the other AP's to the main one.
You'll get better reliability from that, then potential interference from overlapping WiFi, conjested frequencies etc.
You'll also most likely get better throughput with each AP/Switch getting access to individual 10/100/1000 ports (2 max per port) vs sharing 1 10/100 port between 4 devices on the right.

Check out the TP-Link hardware. Reasonably priced. Excellent quality. I've got an Archer C7 dual band WiFi with 4x 10/100/1000 ports. Works like a charm. Haven't rebooted it in months, no speed issues on either band. Cabled multiple devices to the wired ports, with one being used for VDSL and one for another gigabit switch. (I don't use the WAN port)
 
sajunky said:
You picture wireless both AP's as routers with WAN port connected to uplink. If it is a case, it would explain strange begaviour of AP, as WAN section and LAN sections are on the same subnet, which is pretty illegal. It can explain one AP occassionally resetting to defaults, it is doing it for a reason. If only LAN ports are used on AP's then forgive me and ignore it. :)

As one AP tend to resetting to default 192.168.1.1, you must avoid this IP, don't use it for any device. Change ADSL router LAN interface IP to something different, but unique. Also set DHCP range on the router to be different than default AP DHCP range. It will minimize impact on the entire network when AP goes mad again.
Click to expand...


Most of the time the AP was connected to either the 2nd,3rd or 4th port and still gave problems, good call though, taught me something new. I did however buy a D-link DAP 1160, seems to be working fine but will monitor it over the week. Would you still recommend i change the DHCP range or just leave it for now ?
 
snowwolf said:
This.

I'd change the IP of the main router to non-default.
Check the subnets of the AP also, it could be different and resetting.
If the ADSL router is the DHCP server, then connect the AP to the LAN and not WAN ports.

I wouldn't daisy chain anything. Like daniellgr said, connect them all to the main router.
If you changed the main router out for a "better" one, you can get gigabit ports.
Then cable the other AP's to the main one.
You'll get better reliability from that, then potential interference from overlapping WiFi, conjested frequencies etc.
You'll also most likely get better throughput with each AP/Switch getting access to individual 10/100/1000 ports (2 max per port) vs sharing 1 10/100 port between 4 devices on the right.

Check out the TP-Link hardware. Reasonably priced. Excellent quality. I've got an Archer C7 dual band WiFi with 4x 10/100/1000 ports. Works like a charm. Haven't rebooted it in months, no speed issues on either band. Cabled multiple devices to the wired ports, with one being used for VDSL and one for another gigabit switch. (I don't use the WAN port)
Click to expand...

Ill give the network a test with the new AP for a week and see how it goes, otherwise im going to leave it as is until i get the fibre installed and then change up routers IP to something non default like you mentioned.

Doubt ill ever daisy chain again unless its very temporary, ive made up another diagram of the new setup, basically the router will connect to the switch and then ill have the switch split up the rest of the 4 ports around the house. I do however have to connect the fibre router to the PS4 and another PC so i might be using up 3 ports on the fibre router, should this be fine ?

alq1xd.png


Ive owned some TP link devices and they work pretty well, had a power adapter and AP from TPLINK died in like 2 years but i guess it happens.
 
Ricksta123 said:
Doubt ill ever daisy chain again unless its very temporary, ive made up another diagram of the new setup, basically the router will connect to the switch and then ill have the switch split up the rest of the 4 ports around the house. I do however have to connect the fibre router to the PS4 and another PC so i might be using up 3 ports on the fibre router, should this be fine ?

alq1xd.png
Click to expand...
I am afraid, it might be wrong. By example on Vumatel fibre installation a wall unit is not a router, but a managed switch. You are allowed to connect only one device, so it must be a router (with WAN port and NAT), not a switch, as only single IP is being served. It is why they also give a new router. The other three Ethernet ports on the wall unit are reserved for future add on services like TV streaming or VOIP.
 
OP - I'm with Evotel and the PON router that is supplied is not the greatest piece of hardware. Biggest gripe that I have with it is that there's no DDNS support and port forwarding on this thing is a PITA. I've also been experiencing random disconnects.

I'm in the process of trying to source another PON router to replace this thing. Other than that, their service is pretty decent.

http://i00.i.aliimg.com/img/pb/355/565/210/1210565355_629.jpg

This is the unit that was supplied in July when they installed my fiber.
 
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sajunky said:
I am afraid, it might be wrong. By example on Vumatel fibre installation a wall unit is not a router, but a managed switch. You are allowed to connect only one device, so it must be a router (with WAN port and NAT), not a switch, as only single IP is being served. It is why they also give a new router. The other three Ethernet ports on the wall unit are reserved for future add on services like TV streaming or VOIP.
Click to expand...

Wait so they give you a managed switch and a router when they install ? Apparently evotel are only giving me a router, they said they stopped supplying other networking devices for customers and outsource that instead if needed.
 
TheDoctor said:
OP - I'm with Evotel and the PON router that is supplied is not the greatest piece of hardware. Biggest gripe that I have with it is that there's no DDNS support and port forwarding on this thing is a PITA. I've also been experiencing random disconnects.

I'm in the process of trying to source another PON router to replace this thing. Other than that, their service is pretty decent.
Click to expand...

Take it that its just a normal cheap 10/100 fibre router ? Damn : / port forwarding is the easiest thing and its a pain in the ass with these routers ? : / That sucks hard, if you find any alternative routers to use please do let me know.
 
Evotel supplies a router and it's not locked down. You can use any/all of the ethernet ports and make changes to settings.
 
TheDoctor said:
Evotel supplies a router and it's not locked down. You can use any/all of the ethernet ports and make changes to settings.
Click to expand...

Good to hear ! thanx for the heads up man. I wanted to ask could you give me a model number for that router ? I phoned and emailed Evotel a week ago and no reply, im pretty confused here, they said we can use our current landline phones and connect them up without buying new ones, im confused how this works ? does the router have a RJ-11 port ? Or do they convert it from RJ-45 to RJ-11 ? Please excuse me if i sound stupid.
 
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Ricksta123 said:
Good to hear ! thanx for the heads up man. I wanted to ask could you give me a model number for that router ? I phoned and emailed Evotel a week ago and no reply, im pretty confused here, they said we can use our current landline phones and connect them up without buying new ones, im confused how this works ? does the router have a RJ-11 port ? Or do they convert it from RJ-45 to RJ-11 ? Please excuse me if i sound stupid.
Click to expand...
It is a good question, actually.
 
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