Increase in Latency, Decrease in DL between routers.

[i3ond]

My internet has been dropping packets,slow download speed and latency issues.

My network is setup like this.

I have a dsl connection with att. I get on average 1.3mbs down 385kbs up.

My Modem is a Motorola 2210 from att. The Modem has the PPP, it also set on private ip address.
The modem is connected to a Linksy WRT150N Wireless router with the latest firmware.
The rj45 cable is pluged into the WAN socket of the router. The router is set to automatic config -DHCP.
this router's wireless is turned on with WPA encryption. 1 computer connects to this router via wifi.
The Linksy WRT150N route is connected through the out lan port and connected to the WAN of another router. a Linksy WRT54G .
The two routers are connected via a 525 Foot rj45 cable buried under ground. Its the indoor unshielded rj45 cable.
The Linksy WRT54G is then connected via 15 foot rj45 cable to my desktop. Both routers have the same settings except IP address's.​

Modem's IP 192.168.1.254
Router WRT150N IP 192.168.3.1
Router WRT54G IP 192.168.2.1

Now if you can imagine I had the internet working on the entire network, with no noticeable differences except maybe 3 ms gain. But now the WRT150N router is connected to the internet at 1.3mbs down and has a average ping of 50ms, while the WRT54G has a download of .4mbs with 1-10 pings are timed out with latency from 30-500 on average.

So for some reason all of a sudden i'm getting packet loss and a drop in download speed and a increase in latency. Although its only on one side, the side with the 525 feet of cable and the router. I switched places with the routers hence the IP order. But still the side with the long cabel had the problems.
It worked fine before, nothing really changed.


What do you think the problem is? I don't understand how it worked completely fine before and now it doesn't.

Could it be some sort of ground interference? no electric near the cables. could it be a hardware problem with the router? Could it be a settings error or software problem? could it be a worm?


Any Ideas?

Thanks.

 

[S0ULphIRE]

I believe the max recommended length for an ethernet cable is 100m, or approx 328ft. Running a 525ft cable is bound to cause you trouble.

 

[Yami]

I believe the max recommended length for an ethernet cable is 100m, or approx 328ft. Running a 525ft cable is bound to cause you trouble.

+1 to this, signal degradation.

 

[Kharn]

I believe the max recommended length for an ethernet cable is 100m, or approx 328ft. Running a 525ft cable is bound to cause you trouble.

100% Correct, you will need to add a repeater to get it to cover that distance.

 

[Sheepykins]

the further a signal has to travel the further it degrades networking 101, agreed with saxon repeaters are the way forward

 

[i3ond]

i know the cable is too long. But I had this setup for over a year and had no problems. So it can't be all of a sudden the cable is to long and that cause's the problem. And I can't put a repeater because its the middle of a Corn Field.

 

[Yami]

Any chance the cable has become subject to weathering anywhere, since it's outside?

 

[i3ond]

well the cable is buried 3-4 feet under ground. A root or a crack in the cable could have caused water or moisture to enter the cable. I started to notice the problem one day after a electrical storm. I disconnected the N router but all the rest was plugged in. Possible slow dying router? or maybe some kind of short causing interference?

 

[Kharn]

You can get water proof POE repeaters but they are costly, if you had a ground strike near the cable you could have damage to the cable it's self I am guessing that you don't fancy pulling it up to inspect it all manually.

 

[S0ULphIRE]

When you bury the cables you're meant to enclose them in a casing anyway, normal pvc pipe will do. That's to prevent things like water, roots, and the accidental cut from a spade etc.
It may have worked for you, but it probably wasn't working as well as it could have been at all.

If you really don't want to use a repeater, then a Fibre Optic cable is a possibility, albeit an expensive possibility.

I'd start by testing the cable. You can get cable testers pretty cheap, and they're very easy to use. If it shows the cable is damaged, then you're going to have to dig it up. Just when you put it back down, make sure you do it to spec.