Re: Assistance with DWL-2700A access point
- From: Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2008 08:36:38 -0700
On Sun, 22 Jun 2008 14:06:54 GMT, Bob <rmiers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
That one doesn't look like the installed modem, this is the one we
have
http://www.qwest.com/internethelp/modems/2wire2701/index.html?option=installation
Ooops. I didn't know that Quest had switched vendors to 2wire
routers. My appologies. That makes more sense as to the NMAP
returns. 2wire makes (IMHO) very good products and is the only
product line that is secure by default instead of wide open. The
router password is on a yellow sticker on the 2701HG.
<http://www.2wire.com/?p=106>
Incidentally, the Wi-Fi xmitter power output is 400mw, which 10 times
what a typical wireless router outputs. It also has 3 antennas. Two
for diversity receive and a seperate antenna for xmit. Seems to work
quite well.
If I do a reset button, it will reset to the default setting,
including having no Qwest account setting. I know the account name,
but I'm not sure the owner has the account password.
If the owner does not have the account password, the best he can do is
get it changed. Most ISP's do not store and record customer passwords
for obvious security reasons. If Quest is anything like PBI/SBC/AT&T
on the left coast, you can do the whole thing over the phone without
talking to India, using the IVR (interactive voice response) support
system.
That isn't hard
to get from Qwest (we just haven't done it yet as we are not sure that
the problem is really Qwest's.)
You should have the password anyway. It's apparently now your system.
I'm not sure exactly what's going on here. Methinks you'll have to
use the NMAP scan trick.
Apparently you were reading Top Down. To be expected.
Actually, I bounce around considerably, reply in stages, forget what I
previous wrote, hate to read my own drivel, and generally reply in a
disorganized manner. In this case, it was 102F at my house, so I
decided to spend the afternoon in my palatial and air conditioned
office. My reply was assembled in approximately 5 short sessions
while I waited for Windoze (yawn) to update, reboot, scan, or
otherwise waste my time. If my ranting seems a bit disjointed, my
appologies, but I don't have the time to reply in one session.
Then a10/12 INCH Cat5 cable to a small
rectangular aluminium box. I assume (you know what that means --
ass-u-me).
"Assumption, the mother of all screwups". (Me, about 1971, running
for my life, after making a very bad assumption).
This one perhaps?
<http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=0&pid=368>
The DWL-2700 supports 802.3af PoE and does not specifically require a
Dlink PoE box. It can be anyones. If it has a wall wart coming out
of the box, and the wall wart says 48VDC, then it's probably a real
802.3af power injector. However, if the wall power supply says 12VDC
or something else, I would be seriously suspicious of its quality and
function.
that this is some kind of lightning protection box since it
has, what appears to be, a ground connection. However, there isn't a
ground attached. UGH! Then they connect the cable going outside to
the D-Link(down through the floor).
The owner paid how much to have this done to them? I'm not very
familiar with Florida weather, but I do read that you have a potential
lightning problem. While this "protector" (probably just a PoE
injector) will probably not survive a direct hit, a bit of grounding
might be useful.
Two things that bother me. No actual ground and the short
interconnect cable. If there are ethernet transceivers inside that
box, then the 10" cable is way too short.
Nope. I have CAT5 jumpers that are 4" long, that work fine. You're
thinking of the bad old days of 10base2 (coax cheapernet) that had a
minimum cable length limitation, that would not work with T connectors
spaced less than about 2ft apart. 10baseT and 100baseT do not have
this problem and can use cables as short as can be crimped. A clue is
that the average ethernet switch INTERNALLY has CAT5 connections about
1/2" apart.
I'm going to replace with a
longer one as a test. As a test, I'm also going to totally remove the
aluminium box from the circuit.
It probably won't work. My guess(tm) is that it has the PoE injector
circuitry inside.
I'm at a disadvantage here, I'm located about 400 feet from the
office, which is not always open. By the time, I get there and locate
the owner, the problem is over. I'm going to have the owner turn the
Qwest modem around physically, so that I can see the lights through a
nearby window.
Run some temporary CAT5 cable between the 2701HG and your computah.
Take the wireless out of the picture. (Note: I've gone considerably
farther than 400ft so don't worry about CAT5 cable length). Monitor
the 2701HG ADSL connection *AND* the DWL-2700 signal quality web
pages. In other words, try to isolate the exact location of the
disconnects. You might also wanna try your microwave oven to see if
you can detect it on the DWL-2700 signal quality indication.
I put the modem and the access point on a UPS on Wednesday -- and yes
it works -- we had a power glitch and it stayed up this time. A week
ago we had a power glitch and it was down for hours -- partially our
fault and partially Qwest (they were out over a wide area around
here).
Once you establish connectivity to both devices, methinks you need to
do some monitoring. Since you're addicted to free software, I sugges
Free Ping:
<http://www.tools4ever.com/products/free/freeping/>
Set it up to monitor connectivity to:
1. The 2701HG router
2. The DWL-2700 access point
3. The ISP's internet gateway IP
4. Some nearby web site on the internet.
That will give you a good clue as to what actually happens when it
disconnects. At this point, we only have my admittedly marginal
guesswork as to the where the disconnects are happening. While
wireless inteference is the most likely culprit, there are plenty of
other things that could go wrong.
Incidentally, I spent about 15 minutes listening to a customers expert
detail why my wireless installation was defective and unreliable. A
few minutes later, I had found that he had set the router to
disconnect from the ISP after about 1 minute of inactivity. The ISP's
authentication servers was overloaded and would frequently fail to
authorize and authenticate, resulting in a fairly good simulation of
an unreliable wireless system. As I mumbled, "Assumption, the mother
of all screwups".
According the emulator screens this unit keeps some loging
information. In the sample, there was a listing about loosing
connection with ethernet ports. That is what pointed me into getting
into the access point.
Good plan. Reading log files is a great way to do troubleshooting. I
have a somewhat different style, but I eventually get around to
inspecting the logs. The problem is that the log files rarely
disclose the cause of a problem, only the effect on the device.
A hint please as to a good Syslog server, preferably free -- I'm
cheap.
Free Syslog server:
<http://www.kiwisyslog.com/kiwi-syslog-daemon-overview/>
Note that the DWL-2700 supports SNMP. It's on the
Tools -> Administrator Settings -> SNMP
pull down menu. You might want to try SNMP monitoring using PRTG:
<http://www.paessler.com/prtg>
The free version only allows monitoring 3 OID's (object identifiers)
but will be good enough for monitoring traffic, signal strength, and
whatever else the DWL-2700 offers. You might need the 802.11-MIB. I
archive it at:
<http://www.LearnByDestroying.com/crud/IEEE802dot11-MIB.my>
There are plenty of other SNMP MIB browsers and monitors to choose
from. However, learning to use SNMP at this point is probably a major
distraction and should be avoided. The PRTG demo program should be
sufficient to get something running quickly. Ask if you want more on
SNMP.
I have a Toshiba laptop with a switch that I used to trun off the
WiFi. Remember that I was able to get to the Qwest modem setup pages
when I was wired to the modem port 3. But not to the D-link.
You should be able to get to the web servers on both devices. If not,
this should be investigated. The IP addresses (and MAC addresses) are
now known, so there should be no problem. Start with ping. If that
doesn't work, HTTP probably won't. Look for configuration or wiring
problems. Avoid doing troubleshooting via wireless at this point.
When we loose connection, I can, from the wireless side) successfully
ping the D-Link but not the modem. Thus, my conclusion that there is
something a rye between the two units.
Agreed. It can also be something causing the DWL-2700 to hang or go
insane. Power cycling the DWL-2700 might bring it back. The 10
minute delay might be the time needed for some kind of watchdog timer
to realize that the DWL-2700 is hung, and to reboot it. I didn't see
any evidence of this in the DWL-2700 setup, but it is a common feature
in allegedly high uptime devices.
Do you know if the D-Link supplied 30m cable had connectors
pre-installed. The run from the POE box to the antenna is within 30
meters. However, I didn't see any extra cable coiled up. It is
possible that it is under the floor.
Dunno and I doubt it. DLink sells boxes, not cables. If the PoE
injector does NOT say DLink on the box, then it's likely that the
service company assembled their own cables, connectors, and
accessories. If they crimped their own connectors, a bad crimp job is
a real possibility. Since the CAT5 cable goes through the floor, you
might have vermin chewing on the cable. I kinda like the "pull test".
I pull on both ends. If the cable falls apart, it's bad.
Just thought, what if the
installation company put on new connectors and didn't do a good job. I
think that I'll take my crimping tool up and apply some more pressure.
Can't hurt. (Let's hope that this isn't the problem and it isn't the
connector up on the pole. UGH!
Unplug the PoE injector power supply before you do that.
Re-crimping a bad connector is worth doing. However, my attitute is
that if I have to go through all that trouble, I might as well chop it
off and replace it with a connector that I know works. I've had lots
of issues with users installing RJ45 connectors made for stranded
wire, on solid CAT5 wires. That doesn't work and *WILL* be
intermittent.
Also, if you're going to be working with CAT5, spend the money and get
a decent _ratcheting_ crimper and a continuity tester. You don't
really need a cable certifier if you're not doing this professionally.
Total cost is about $80 for both. Look for a "network cable tester"
with 8/9 lights, not 4. Also, avoid cheap crimpers that look like a
nut cracker. Bug me if you want recommendations.
--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@xxxxxxxxxx
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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