I've had a look through several wireless groups but some previous topics only touched upon the issue I have without coming to a solution.
I have set up a wireless network that includes 1 desktop, 1 laptop and
1 router that connect to the Internet via a cable modem. The desktop and laptop have XP Pro SP2 with all the updates, can see each other on the network and are both set up for file/print sharing.
The router is a Sitecom router and has ports for ethernet connections and accepts wireless as well. On the router I have set the following:
- WEP 128bit encryption
- MAC filtering for both wireless network cards
- DHCP enabled
- Firewall enabled but I have put in no settings.
The Internet connection is fine from either the desktop or the laptop and I can upload/download large files directly through the Internet connection. I can also transfer small files (only a few meg) between the laptop and desktop that are local on the network. The files I try to copy are set as being shared.
The problem arises when I try to transfer larger files between the laptop and desktop. I start the copy from the destination PC in "Windows Explorer > Network Neighbourhood", find the other PC on the same workgroup, find and select the files to copy and then paste them locally back on the destination PC. The transfer goes ok to start with and then after a minute or so I lose the wireless connection completely on the destination PC and I get an error in Windows Explorer saying that the folder location on the PC with the source files cannot be found. I check my wireless connection (using the Intel wireless pro s/w) and find that the PC is not connected to any wireless connection at all. I then have to refresh the wireless connection list and then reconnect. I sometimes cannot find my network and have to reboot to get it back up and running again.
Are there any tools/techniques that I can use or go through that can see why I keep losing the wireless connection only when transfferring large files?
On 6 Mar 2007 05:22:01 -0800, snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com wrote in :
Bad idea. WEP isn't secure. Use WPA instead.
Bad idea. Too easily spoofed to be of any value, and can cause problems for you.
OK.
The likely problem is poor wireless signal and/or interference. (See wikis below for possible sources of interference.) Have you tried different wireless channels (1, 6, 11)? Have you tried bringing the wireless machine(s) closer to your wireless access point?
The larger files are probably just making your wireless more vulnerable to problems. See my suggestions above, and lots of other useful info in the wikis below.
I am not sure with the Sitecom Router, however the Linksys router as a problem just like this that a upgraded firmware fix. You may want to try to upgrade your firmware for your router.
To start with I'll try bring the PCs close to the router to see if its a signal issue to start with.
There are a few firmware updates from Sitecom so I think I best read up on those and be confident to complete this just in case I make a change that completely stops any connection to the router.
Would having any encryption on the wireless connection cause any problem with the file transfer? I need to read up on WPA to ensure it is all compatiable with all my hardware. I am sure it all is but I best get onto the manufacturers first and read the manuals.
Any particular model of Sitecom router? A URL pointing to the manufacturer web pile would be useful. I'm not familiar with this beast. Can I assume that you've checked for the latest firmware updates?
Turn it off during testing. One less headache to deal with.
Turn it off during testing. One less headache to deal with.
Those are fine. Basically, run the router and wireless at the defaults.
Yes, but that has nothing to do with wireless to wired file transfers. The router section and the internet could be dead or disconnected, and there would be no effect on local LAN file transfers.
You should not have to share specific files. Try sharing a directory instead for testing. Everything in the directory should be able to be copied in either direction. If you get a permissions error, work on getting the Workgroup names identical, or use some other method of testing (Iperf, see below).
The problem arrises when you don't bother to secify how large is a large file. What size files are you using for testing in megabloats. Thanks to my recent experiments with DIVX, I consider anything over the size of a CDROM (about 700MBytes) to be a large file. Your perception may be different.
That's the result of a wireless disconnect or signal loss. It happens when the wireless error rate exceeds some secret level and the router (or client) decides that it's hopeless to continue. It then tries to re-establish the connection, but usually fails with a lousy signal. If it succeeds, it often takes so long that your transfer will abort before it can reconnect. In any case, do something to improve your wireless signal like drag the laptop closer to the wireless router.
Another missing number. Any particular Intel wireless card? Are you using Proset 10.5.x ? If not, I suggest you update as 9.x had problems and 10.1 had a security issue.
That could be due to a weak wireless signal, interference from other wi-fi systems, or problems with firmware in the router or client.
Yes. Proset has a page full of signal strength and quality diagnostic output. It also generates a log page showing the reason for a disconnect. I don't have a machine with Proset 10.5.x installed available to determine where it's buried. It's in the menu jumble somewhere.
For testing, I suggest you do something a bit different using a diagnostic tool.
Download and install IPerf on both the wired desktop and wireless laptop.
If the desktop is connected via wireless, kindly disable the wireless and run a CAT5 ethernet cable to the router. The desktop will be used as the server part of IPerf. Disable any firewall or virus protection if necessary.
Start with a wired connection from the laptop to the router. In other words, no wireless and no internet involved. This will test how fast the machines can run. A 100baseTX-FDX connection should do at least
70Mbits/sec and will often go to just less than 100Mbits/sec.
On the desktop, run: IPCONFIG to determine its IP address. Then run: IPERF -s to start the server.
On the laptop, run: IPERF -c ip_address_of_server
You should see a speed result. We can get fancy with options, bi-directional transfers, errors, and large files later. First, we check the basic functions and performance.
Now, disconnect the CAT5 cable at the laptop and initiate a wireless connection. It would be of interest to know the speed at which you are connected as indicated by Proset. Use the same command line on the laptop as before: IPERF -c ip_address_of_server What do you get for speed? If it's 25Mbits/sec, you're going as fast as a 54Mbit/sec connection allows. That's considered normal and quite good. If it's much much much less, you've got a lousy RF connection or interference and need to do something at the RF level. If you report your results, please make an effort to not confuse bits and bytes.
We can also try some other tests:
Find a "large" file and run: IPERF -c server_ip_address -F filename In theory, the speed should be about the same with small or large files. If there is any huge differences, then you'll need a 3rd computer to determine if it's on the desktop or laptop.
Also, try it in both directions: IPERF -c server_ip_address -r I sometimes get large differences with broken ethernet switches and rotten wiring.
I can't really guess what's causing your problem without numbers. It could be literally anywhere. However, if there are any issues with drivers, firmware, signal strength, or interference, this test will show it.
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