Unstable DSL Connection

[boxboy]

Hi!

Our current network setup is modem (speedtouch st536) --- router (belkin wireless g plus mimo) --- switch1 (cisco 5-port 10/100) --- switch2 (cisco 8-port 10/100). I am using Cat5 and Cat6.

3 ports of the wireless router are directly connected to 3 PCs

3 PCs are directly connected to switch 1

6 PCs are directly connected to switch 2

10 PCs via wireless connection

When I tried connecting my laptop directly from the modem there seems to be no problem. We would restart the modem to solve the issue but after couple of hours the Internet would disconnect again but network is okay.

Is there anything wrong with mu setup? Do I have to configure the router or switch?

Thanks a lot!

 

[Strikr]

The problem is the modem, if you have three connected PC's I assume that it is your DNS and maybe your DHCP. Modems are cheap. Its what behind it that makes it work. The belkin cannot handle all those Wireless connections either.

- Belkin
- Dlink
- Linksey
- Netgear
- Trendnet
They are all big No No's.

Linksys, 3Com and Cisco are the only way to go. The only other is Juniper but you are looking at Data Centers.


You need a complete Network Overhaul.

1. Setup the speedtouch as modem only. No routing.
2. That belkin wireless G needs to be scrapped.

I recommend Cisco 500 series. (They are the bottom of the line for business solution)
Cisco 500 Series Secure Routers - Cisco Systems

3. If you have servers, I recommend putting them onto one of the switches and the desktops on the other.
If you can I would recommend buying a 16 port Cisco switch with failover. If that is not a possibility, getting another 8 port would be minimum.
4. You need to buy a WAP (Wireless Access Point) since you have 10 wireless connections. A regular router cannot handle all those connections plus roung over 22 machines.)

Once again the Cisco 500 series would be good for Wireless.

Cisco AP 500 Series Wireless Access Points - Cisco Systems

 

[boxboy]

Hi strikr! Thanks for the reply!

Our setup is basically home network only so I suppose upgrading to high-end hardware is not an option right now. I checked the specification of our router (Belkin wireless g plus mimo) and it says it can be an access point. Does putting all wired connections in one switch makes a difference?

 

[Strikr]

Having 2 switches and a 1 router all on the same network forces alot more work for the Belkin router.

I know that the Belkin routers can be an WAP but the problem is they are cheap and not designed to have 10 connections on the Wireless at once let alone have another 12 computers.

What I am saying is that if I handed you the workload of 5 other people and told you to do it all in 8 hours. So you have the work of 6 people to do and it takes you 8 hours to do your job alone. You cannot do it. That router is the same. It is ment to handle 1 to 4 connections. Anything more then that it will begin to have issues.

That is why brands such as Cisco have their own routers and switches. Because they are designed to handle your type of high-end workload.

When you have multiple switches going to one router and that router is DHCP & DNS it makes it tough because It has to constantly hand out packets to three different routes. If you have them all on one, it makes it easier for the packet to be sent and less chances of them being dropped.