Wireless clients not getting IP address

[Steve202]

I've got an issue at a local B&B where clients connected via the wireless don't get an IP address. It doesn't happen all the time and from what I can see, it's intermittent.

Setup goes like this

Building 1: BT Hub (SSID: Guestnetwork) - > Outdoor access point (SSID: GuestBridge) -> Building 2: Outdoor access point (SSID: GuestBridge) -> Netgear access point (SSID: Guestnetwork)

Building 1 works perfectly fine no issues. The problem occurs in building 2, if I open up my laptop and connect to Guestnetwork, sometimes I won't get an IP address, yet if I connect directly to the access point via a network cable, it works every time.

I've been running a constant ping from building 1 to the netgear access point in building 2 and there has been no drop outs.

The only thing I can think it the wireless signal from building 1 can just about reach building 2 and the wireless clients are connecting to that instead of the netgear. However it doesn't happen all the while and I've only experienced it once, the rest of the time it's worked perfectly fine for me.

 

[frederick]

Are there any VLANs going on on this network? I've seen plenty of networks where the wireless is its own VLAN, with its own pool. If it is a very small pool, this can cause problems.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Hard to say, but when you see a bunch of mix-matched residential gear trying to run together....not a surprise. Without looking into how the devices are connected to/configured to each other, in their management console...and physically, it's hard to say.

 

[Moltuae]

If it's intermittent, I'd look at lease times and the DHCP IP pool size. It may just be running out of IPs because the lease time is too long.

 

[Markverhyden]

I've seen situations where there are two AP's and the devices will try hang onto the first signal it got even though it becomes weaker instead of just hopping over to the stronger one. What type of AP's are these?

 

[Steve202]

Are there any VLANs going on on this network? I've seen plenty of networks where the wireless is its own VLAN, with its own pool. If it is a very small pool, this can cause problems.

No VLANs on the network.

If it's intermittent, I'd look at lease times and the DHCP IP pool size. It may just be running out of IPs because the lease time is too long.

I did think that but if I plug directly into the access point that has the issue, I get an IP address. The lease is set to 24 hours which should be plenty as the maximum number of guests they have at any one time is 4-10.

I've seen situations where there are two AP's and the devices will try hang onto the first signal it got even though it becomes weaker instead of just hopping over to the stronger one. What type of AP's are these?

I also thought this, that the devices were trying to connect to the wireless signal in the main building. I changed the name of the wireless network in building 2 to something completely different and told the guests to use that instead. Same problem unfortunately.

The access point in question is a Netgear.

 

[karloz]

Hey Steve,

Just to confirm, is the firmware on the Netgear AP in Building 2 up to date? Can you hang a different AP here to confirm whether it's the AP in Building 2 or not that's the problem?

 

[Markverhyden]

I also thought this, that the devices were trying to connect to the wireless signal in the main building. I changed the name of the wireless network in building 2 to something completely different and told the guests to use that instead. Same problem unfortunately.

The access point in question is a Netgear.

Was speaking to a NOC on Sat during a call about these types of issues. A hotel guest was having the same type of issue. The tech pointed out that having the AP set on auto may cause symptoms like this. Try setting each AP to a different channel.

 

[Robando]

if I open up my laptop and connect to Guestnetwork, sometimes I won't get an IP address, yet if I connect directly to the access point via a network cable, it works every time.

Dhcp is working fine.
Is some other electrical or magnetic device interfering with the netgear signal?
on the netgear try different channels for guestnetwork

Is another wifi network interfering with the netgear signal?
Run a wifi analyzer program and see if channels are congested.

 

[glennd]

Other wireless technology in the area, eg. cordless phones? Possibly faulty access point. Have you swapped in another unit or just swapped the two access points.

 

[Martyn]

If it's only on wireless check the channel it's using, clash of channel? Try fixed channel after doing a wireless survey

 

[Steve202]

Currently using channel 6. The only other wireless network around is on channel 1. I swapped out the netgear last week as that was the only logical thing that's causing the issue. I've just gotta check with the client to see how its been since I swapped it out.

I've got a laptop onsite which is pinging all the access points and there's not been a single drop out since the beginning of May.