Re: bouncing connection and a netgear router..

strider@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx hath wroth:

I'm working on a problem for a friend. She uses DSL filtered thru a
Netgear router for wireless access on her laptop.

I just love questions with absolutely no useful names and numbers. It
add a challenge to troubleshooting. The following are rhetorical
questions that you should ask yourself before blameing the DSL line.

- What model Netgear router?
- What hardware version of the Netgear router?
- Are you in the USA or elsewhere?
- Is the router firmware the latest? Are you sure it's the latest?
- What speed DSL line? What type of service (PPPoE, ADSL+, etc)?
- Have you had the ISP perform an ATM ping and line quality test?
- Have you checked the status page of the router for S/N ratio and
signal level numbers? What does the status page say about the
DSL line quality?

Her problem is, when
she tries to use certain streaming programs, such as IM progs, she gets
a bouncing effect.

IM programs are normally NOT streaming. Streaming is playing MP3's,
videos, and file sharing. A "bouncing" effect would seem to indicate
that the connection is intermittently stopping and restarting. More
questions:
- What exact operating system is the laptop using? What laptop?
- What exact "certain" programs is she using that have problems?
Are there any streaming programs (itunes, Winamp, Real One,
Google video, MS Media Player, etc) that do work as expected?
- What happens when she takes the wireless out of the picture and
connects directly to the Netgear router with a CAT5 cable?
Does "streaming" now work?
- Is the IM program with the problem doing VoIP or video?
- Have you done any download benchmarks and speed tests?
Are the download and upload speeds roughly what the service is
suppose to deliver? Try:
http://nitro.ucsc.edu
for the west coast of the USA. There are other servers listed with
might be closer in other parts of the planet. Run the test with a
directly connected (CAT5) cable, not the wireless. We're testing
the DSL here, not the wireless link.

Nothing is noticed on her wireless connection, but
the program constantly stops and restarts. For example, using Yahoo IM,
it will continuously log her on and off, usually several times within a
30 sec period..

OK, we have Yahoo Messenger. I had the same problem with GAIM and
Miranda IM and Yahoo Messenger. Loose a few packets and Yahoo says
I'm disconnected. However, it doesn't actually log me off which
requires logging back in. Does it really log her off, or just
disconnect and reconnect constantly?

I have seen where Dlink routers have an issue with wireless spikes, but
it usually covers the whole connection, not just certain ports.

OK, now we have some clues. Can I deduce from this that it's ONLY the
Yahoo Messenger client that's having a bad day and that everything
else (web browsing, email, file transfers, file sharing, downloads,
online games, and the wireless itself) are working normally?

Ummmm.... what's a "wireless spike"?

Has anyone else seen this in a Netgear router? If so, any solution
would be appreciated.

Clue: Not all Netgear routers are from the same manufactory in China.
Different models and series of models use radically different chipsets
and board designs. You can't say that they're all the same.

Incidentally, I did have a problem with flakey performance with a
Netgear DG834 wireless router. I'm guessing that this is similar to
what she has except she probably has a built in DSL modem model. I
had to upgrade the firmware to get it to work reliably on a satellite
link.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
.

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