Server Loss

[popcorndog]

I am experiencing very weird behavior with my home network. My network consists of:
DSL modem
connected to
Linksys router running DD-WRT
connected to
D-Link 8 port Gigabit Switch
connected to
Windows Home Server
Computer
Canon Printer
2 HD 200s
Wii
D-Link 5 port Gigabit Switch
connected to
PS3
HD 200
Computer

Now for the weird behavior. I can go for weeks using any HD 200 without experiencing any issue connecting to the Sage server. If I connect to the internet using my PS3 and then try to use any of my HD 200s, the HD 200s do not see the server. I can use any computer and see the server and the internet after this happens. If I look at the D-Link 8 port switch, all the port lights will be blinking.

To reset the system, I have to first unplug the D-Link 5 port switch and then unplug the D-Link 8 port switch. After a few seconds, I can plug them back in reversing the order. I can then turn any HD 200 on and it will connect to the Sage server. To add another interesting tidbit, I changed routers for a short period of time to a NetGear router. While using the NetGear router, I experienced no issues. The NetGear router recently died and I brought out the old trusty Linksys router running DD WRT - wahla - the problem returned.

Any network guru have an idea what might be happening to cause this issue?

[routerunner]

• How's your HD200 is getting the local IP address, Static or DHCP?
• How's the DNS server on your HD200 is specified, the same IP address as your gateway (i.e. something like 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1)? If so then please change it to use the first DNS server that your router is currently using. (On the Linksys it should be in the first page of your router's web page as "Static DNS 1:" or something similar.

The reason of this is because there is some wrong interaction between some Linksys routers and the HD200 when is time to detect the DNS server address, basically if you specify the DNS server on your HD200 to be the same as the gateway, as you should do so that if the DNS address changes in your router then HD200 will be getting a new one automatically, the router fails to produce a valid DNS server to the HD200 within a very short timeout, as a consequence the HD200 refuses to try to connect to the SageTV server instead it goes in stand alone mode.

Eddy

[popcorndog]

Running DHCP, not static addresses.

[routerunner]

Originally Posted by popcorndog

Running DHCP, not static addresses.

Some routers like the Linksys can return the same IP address based on the MAC address, do you have this feature enabled? My Linksys WRT54GC has the feature but never worked properly so I wonder whether the router is returning the same IP address of the PS3 by mistake.

I recommend to configure your HD200 with a static IP (manual) configuration and follow the instructions in my previous post to see whether it fixes your issue, basically you should have:

• Client IP: Set your extender IP address to something free (don't use 192.168.1(0).100 onwards unless you know they are not used, this address is normally assigned to wireless devices) or 192.168.1(0).254/255 as they are normally reserved.
• Gateway IP: Set to 192.168.1(0).1 depending on how you did set your LAN subnet, assuming your DSL modem is set to "bridged" mode so you don't have access to the modem web server otherwise you have two NAT level to care about.
• DNS IP: Set to the first DNS server your router is connecting on.

Originally Posted by popcorndog

To reset the system, I have to first unplug the D-Link 5 port switch and then unplug the D-Link 8 port switch...

I'm also puzzled about your comment above in the original post. Normally network switches have a cache of MAC to IP address correlation tables to speed up traffic avoiding ARP requests to the router...your sequence is suspicious to me as it looks like an ARP issue generated from your router that confuses the switches...

Please let me know how you're getting on.

Eddy

[popcorndog]

A couple updates, checked the settings of the PS3 before making the mass change you suggested. The PS3 was set up with a static address. I remember doing this years ago due to being dropped by the Linksys router with the original Cisco firmware. I failled to change it since, made the change and still experience the same issue.

NetGear replaced the router which I have just installed last night. Interesting, I noticed the issue immediately after the install. I will try to move to static addresses this weekend. It will take some work and time based on the large number of devices I have to configure.

[routerunner]

Originally Posted by popcorndog

A couple updates, checked the settings of the PS3 before making the mass change you suggested. The PS3 was set up with a static address. I remember doing this years ago due to being dropped by the Linksys router with the original Cisco firmware. I failled to change it since, made the change and still experience the same issue.

NetGear replaced the router which I have just installed last night. Interesting, I noticed the issue immediately after the install. I will try to move to static addresses this weekend. It will take some work and time based on the large number of devices I have to configure.

Thanks for the update, the real test here will be the DNS IP address on the HD200 which I know it can fail easily as I had exactly the same problem while ago...changed to be the same as the one configured in your router and bingo!

[KeithAbbott]

Originally Posted by popcorndog

I will try to move to static addresses this weekend. It will take some work and time based on the large number of devices I have to configure.

I would only do that as an absolute last resort. Typically, you would want the DHCP server built-in to your router to handle all of the IP address assignments. Most client devices do not need a predictable IP address assigned, and is therefore best managed by the DHCP server. For server devices and client devices that need a predictable IP address, you should reserve an IP address via the DHCP server, usually by the MAC address of the device. The end effect is very similar to assigning a static IP address within the device itself, except that there is less of a chance using a DHCP reservation to end up with duplicate IP addresses (assuming the DHCP server is functioning properly). As an additional bonus, the management of those DHCP reservations is centralized, you can see a concise list of all of your devices with DHCP reservations in one spot. As I mentioned earlier, I would only assign a static IP address to a device if I have exhausted all options to get it to work properly via DHCP or DHCP reservation.