# Connection drop/Invalid IP on Netgear wireless AP



## Sephias (Dec 8, 2010)

*Problems with long ethernet cables.*

Hi. First of all, here is my current network configuration: 

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s35/Sephias/Network diagrams/Edestantverksdiagram.jpg

If there is anything in there that should be different, please advice  I am pretty confortable around networks and I have been building smaller networks (Home and LAN party) For some time now. But I have not got any education or so, so newb advice is welcome (As long as it is not "Have you tried restarting your router" etc )

Anyway, to my problem. If you look at the provided diagram you can see that there are 2 groups of computers, 3 Tabletops directly connected to the switch and 2 laptops connected to a wireless accesspoint. In reality, the accesspoint and the 2 laptops are located in a house about 50 meters across the yard, and the AP is connected to the switch via a cable in the ground.

The third tabletop PC (PC3 in the diagram) is also located in another house about 70 meters away. That PC is directly connected to the switch via a ca 80meter long cable thats also in the ground. 
Now the thing is that when the cable to PC3 is connected the network gets unstable. And the Wireless access point looses connection to the internet. The 2 laptops cannot connect. And both laptops and the accesspoint dissapears from my Windows 7 network map (I am PC1) But i can still log in to the access point from PC1.

Could a damaged cable (The one to PC3 that is) be causing this problem? I suspected that because the connection between PC3 and the switch is poor
at best.

I know that there are software to test for damaged cable, packet loss etc. But I'm not good at understanding that kind of data and I don't know any good free ones. So any help is very welcome. 

Greetz!

Sephias


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## Sephias (Dec 8, 2010)

Hi! I have a problem with a newly installed wireless access point. It is a Netgear WN802T. It is connected to my switch --> http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s35/Sephias/Network diagrams/Edestantverksdiagram.jpg.

The 2 laptops I have connected to that access point keeps getting disconnected with the error "Invalid IP adress" When I restart the access point it all works for a while then it happens again. 

Please help! 

Thanks

Sephias


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

can you connect to the AP via its ip address from one of the pcs?
did you set it up as its own dhcp server or is it just passing dhcp thru from the main router?


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## Sephias (Dec 8, 2010)

DHCP is disabled on the AP. And yes i can connect to it via its ip from any of the PCs connected to the switch.

Thanks for swift answer!


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

when the laptop gets the invalid ip address can you do a ipconfig /all and post it here for review?


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## Sephias (Dec 8, 2010)

Will do as soon as i can.


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## 2xg (Aug 5, 2009)

Sephias - I have merged your other Thread here because it seems to be related to this Thread. We'll continue assisting you here.


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## Sephias (Dec 8, 2010)

Laptop 1: 

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7600]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C: \ Users \ Ronnie> ipconfig / all

IP Configuration for Windows

Host Name. . . . . . . . . . : Ronnie-Computer
Primary DNS Suffix. . . . . . . . :
Node type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . : No

Wireless Connection Wireless Network Connection 2:

Permits. . . . . . . . . . . . : Disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix. :
Description. . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . . : 96-4C-E5-06-44-D0
DHCP enabled. . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled. . . : Yes

Wireless Connection Wireless Network Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix. :
Description. . . . . . . . . . . : Atheros AR9285 802.11b / g WiFi Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . . : 90-4C-E5-06-44-D0
DHCP enabled. . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled. . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address. . . . . . : Fe80:: d54f: 6bff: 3f78: 2e28% 12 (Standard)
Subnet Mask. . . . . . . . . . . . . : 169.254.46.40 (Standard)
Subnet Mask. . . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway. . . . . . . . . :
IAID for DHCPv6. . . . . . . . . : 311446757
DUID in DHCPv6 client. . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-14-48-E9-10-00-26-9E-9F-14-E8

DNS servers. . . . . . . . . . . : Fec0: 0:0: ffff:: 1% 1
fec0: 0:0: ffff:: 2% 1
fec0: 0:0: ffff:: 3% 1
NetBIOS over TCP / IP. . . . . . . : Enabled

Ethernet connectivity Local Area Connection:

Permits. . . . . . . . . . . . : Disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix. :
Description. . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek PCIe FE Family Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . . : 00-26-9E-9F-14-E8
DHCP enabled. . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled. . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter isatap. {12394465-55C7-454E-B214-919 451 306 676}:

Permits. . . . . . . . . . . . : Disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix. :
Description. . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP enabled. . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled. . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface:

Permits. . . . . . . . . . . . : Disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix. :
Description. . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP enabled. . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled. . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter isatap. {4E34A613-E8CB-4550-B479-CE3B4D07E1D5}:

Permits. . . . . . . . . . . . : Disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix. :
Description. . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter # 2
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP enabled. . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled. . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter isatap. {F68C92D3-AC6F-48FA-A740-B69C7B8613C7}:

Permits. . . . . . . . . . . . : Disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix. :
Description. . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter # 3
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP enabled. . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled. . . : Yes

C: \ Users \ Ronnie>.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Laptop 2:

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6002]
Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C: \ Users \ Bjorn> ipconfig / all

IP Configuration for Windows

Host Name. . . . . . . . . . : Bear-computer
Primary DNS Suffix. . . . . . . . :
Node type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . : No

Wireless Connection Wireless Network Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix. :
Description. . . . . . . . . . . : Intel (R) Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . . : 00-1D-E0-A7-D3-99
DHCP enabled. . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled. . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address. . . . . . : Fe80:: 38f2: 1192: b138: 634a% 17 (Standard)
IPv4 address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.191 (default)
Subnet Mask. . . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
The loan was obtained. . . . . . . . . . : December 8, 2010 15:41:52
The loan ends. . . . . . . . . . . : December 9, 2010 17:45:34
Default Gateway. . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCP server. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
IAID for DHCPv6. . . . . . . . . : 218111456
DUID in DHCPv6 client. . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-10-95-71-6D-00-14-0B-45-1C-B2

DNS servers. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
NetBIOS over TCP / IP. . . . . . . : Enabled

Ethernet connection, Bluetooth Network Connection:

Permits. . . . . . . . . . . . : Disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix. :
Description. . . . . . . . . . . : Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network)
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . . : 00-10-60-D1-3A-D9
DHCP enabled. . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled. . . : Yes

Ethernet connectivity Local Area Connection:

Permits. . . . . . . . . . . . : Disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix. :
Description. . . . . . . . . . . : Generic Marvell Yukon 88E8055 PCI-E Gigab
IT Ethernet Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . . : 00-14-0B-45-1C-B2
DHCP enabled. . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled. . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection * 6:

Permits. . . . . . . . . . . . : Disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix. :
Description. . . . . . . . . . . : Isatap. {2D25E12F-8A04-4274-A151-313B6C0A1
4dB}
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP enabled. . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled. . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection * 7:

Permits. . . . . . . . . . . . : Disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix. :
Description. . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . . : 02-00-54-55-4E-01
DHCP enabled. . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled. . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection * 12:

Permits. . . . . . . . . . . . : Disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix. :
Description. . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter # 2
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP enabled. . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled. . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection *:

Permits. . . . . . . . . . . . : Disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix. :
Description. . . . . . . . . . . : Isatap. {7D91A33F-F6E9-4191-8A9B-EFA5475EE
631}
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP enabled. . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled. . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection * 2:

Permits. . . . . . . . . . . . : Disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix. :
Description. . . . . . . . . . . : Isatap.kava.lt
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP enabled. . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled. . . : Yes

C: \ Users \ Bjorn>

The logs are translated from swedish so sorry for any miss spelling 

Thanks


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

Ronnie-Computer
169.254.46.40 <--- auto assigned ip usually a result of not being able to talk to the dhcp server.

Bear-computer
192.168.0.191 appears to be a valid ip address.

In the router what is the dhcp scope set to? These are the pool of ip address and would look something like this; 192.168.0.100 to 192.168.0.200


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## Sephias (Dec 8, 2010)

The DHCP range is set to 192.168.0.2 to 192.168.0.254. 

I thought about something, if I connect the wireless AP directly to the router, bypassing the switch, could that solve the problem or does it matter at all? I've had the assumption that you should never bypass devices like that but maybe I was incorrect?

The router is a D-LINK DIR-655 if that is to any help. 

Thanks


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

That certainly would be something to try though it shouldn't make a difference.

That one laptop did not get an ip address. The question is why. It is not a dhcp scope issue.

From the laptop that did get a ip you might do the following;

Go to cmd prompt
type ping 192.168.0.1 -t

ping will continue until you press control - c at the same time.

While this is running reboot the laptop that didn't get the ip address. Then want the ping stats. Do they change significally while the laptop is connecting to the network?


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## Sephias (Dec 8, 2010)

I will do that tomorrow when I can access the laptops (Those offices are closed atm) But, say that the ping stats change, what would that mean? Or do you need more specific data from the ping stats to tell? Just so I know if I have to prepare something if I can't get hold of anyone here tomorrow. I'm a little pressed for time to fix this  hehe.

There is also one other thing. When I checked the settings in the AP, I noticed that under IP settings there was, like in every computers NIC settings, the units own IP and subnet mask (192.168.0.233 resp. 255.255.255.0) And there was also the option to put in Default gateway and primary/secondary DNS. Maybe I should put in 192.168.0.1 (Router IP) as default gateway in the AP? Could that help maybe? 

Thanks alot for the help so far!


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

What I am looking for is if there is a major change in the ping stats which indicated bandwidth utilization while the laptop is nogociating a dhcp ip address this would indicated a problem with the AP or the wire.

The AP's management page has no affect on its function to pass thru it the laptops networking. It does not need a gateway or dns ips.

It is incorrect to have the dhcp scope you do and have the AP at 192.168.0.233 which is in the dhcp scope. Better if you assign it .254 and set your scope to end at .253


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## Sephias (Dec 8, 2010)

I've not been able to do the pingtest yet, but I changed the AP's IP as you said.

And then i putted the AP directly into the router to see if that would help. And it seems like it is working so far, but something else strange happened, now the DNS server is not responding to my PC so the internet is acting up and will not let me see pictures and some sites just will not respond. And I also now see my switch in the Windows 7 network map, which I did not see before when the AP was still in the switch. :S


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## Sephias (Dec 8, 2010)

Nevermind the DNS problem, I just putted in 2 openDNS server adresses in my NIC settings  But now it seems that it is working  But I might come back with those pingtest numbers later anyway. I will give it a day and see if it's still works. So don't leave me yet.  hehe


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## Sephias (Dec 8, 2010)

Nope. It did not stay stable  Getting laptop disconnect again.


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

Next step is assign static ips to the laptops like .253 and .252 and take those ips out of the dhcp scope. Lets see if it says.


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## Sephias (Dec 8, 2010)

Okay. Will do that as soon as I can


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## Sephias (Dec 8, 2010)

I have now configured both laptops with Static IP's. It worked for a couple of hours and then the connection dropped again. It is still unstable the way that one of the laptops can sometimes be connected but the other one will have no connection. Both with DHCP and static. I've come to the conclusion that it has to be something wrong with the access point or the cable between the access point and the router. This I think because when one of the computers lost connection I noticed in the widows 7 network and sharing center the network view showed a red X over the connection line between the computer and the router, instead of a red X over the line between the router and the Internet which it usually is when there is a bad IP or some other normal network issue.

I'm planning to test this by replacing the AP with a switch and try the laptops on wired connections for a while. If it's still a problem, it is probably in the cable, if it works, it is probably in the AP.

Sounds good?


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

Yep sounds good. I was beginning to suspect the AP. If it was the cable you shouldn't have had the hour of good access. But test anyway because it can be both.


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