Motel wireless drops connections

What's the DHCP lease table look like? What sort of timeout is it using? Might want to make sure you've got enough addresses being allocated and that they're not timing out too fast. Or that you don't have a ton of folks from someplace else nearby chewing up all the leases.

Some routers have syslog capabilities, turn up the debug level and see what the logs have to say.

Also consider using kismet or netstumbler to see what other networks are nearby, and the signal strength of your own devices. Could be a lot of interference or conflicting channels.

Bill,

The IP pool has 150 addresses with a 300 minute lease time. All logon's have unlimited user sessions. The logs have shown no more than 6-7 users at one time.

Netstumbler shows all of the AP's providing strong signal throughout the property with no conflicting channels from the outside.

I tested a steady stream radio feed for over eight hours today with no interruption. But, when I accessed an additional URL and paused to read for a few minutes the connection was dropped. I had to repair the connection to connect and then restarted the radio stream. I then accessed a second URL and rapidly changed pages for ten minutes with no interruption.

With the sessions set at unlimited, I am puzzled as to why the connections are dropped.

Thanks for the help

Brian

Hmmm, can you get a wired connection to work reliably? As in, can you test it such that you're sure it's not your upstream cable link? Or that it's not the hotspot router having trouble? And is this happening when connecting to *any* of the access points or just one?

Then, of course, you have to wonder about the sources you're connecting with. If you've got any sort of intermittent problems locally, or in the nearby upstream network and you're trying to connect to a distant server (number of hops-wise, not mileage) and that server's also intermittent, well, it can be tough to debug.

I'd start with confirming that a wired connection works reliably and then work your way out from there. It might even be worth rearranging things such that you connect to an access point WITHOUT the interaction with the hotspot router and it's configurations. Might as well make sure that "simple" parts of the links work first and then put the hotspot "control" back into place. It may well be a combination of things, or even some sort of outright problem with the how the hotspot controls attempt to work.

-Bill Kearney

I made a few changes to the setup of the system the "seems" to have calmed the dropped connection problems.

After re-scanning the area with NetStumbler, I found that there were a number of "Lynksys" networks operating near the fringe of the property, that were all transmitting on channel 6. Not to mention the network that the motel uses to handle it's reservation and credit card system.

First, I changed the channels of all the AP's, including the router, to channel 1. Initially, I thought that using different channels would be better for roaming, but now I'm convinced that it was a bad idea. Secondly, I removed the switch the was controlling two of the AP's and wired both of them direct to the router. I felt that there was nothing better than a home run.

As of today, all seems well, and the complaints have stopped.

Thanks for the help. It was much appreciated.

Brian

One sincerely hopes you're NOT running those on a wireless network.

Yes, when in doubt it helps to minimize the number of debugging points. It may well be worth having a switch that has some intelligence in it. One that'll at least let you see per-port statistics and arp tables.

No, the motel functions are on a wired network. The router is WEP encrypted and used for periodic laptop use in the back office.

So far, it's been two days with no dropped connections on the guest network.

On Thu, 31 Aug 2006 06:28:51 -0400, "Bill Kearney" wrote in :

I see nothing wrong with running such applications on a wireless network with appropriate security (WPA and perhaps VPN as well). The important issue is completely separating guest traffic from sensitive applications, which applies just as much to wired as it does to wireless.

Is the wired network completely isolated from the wireless network? Even when laptops in the back office are on wireless?

WEP is too weak to be on any real value.

On Thu, 31 Aug 2006 07:06:12 -0400, "bad65" wrote in :

The guest wireless network is completely separate from the motel operations network. It's in a different building on a different cable account.

As far as the motel operations network is concerned, the server and its wired workstations acquire web access through a wireless router in the back office. An additional back office PC and printer are also using this router. The router, a Lynksys WRT54G requires a WEP key for access through wireless.

If there is a weak link or any vulnerability, please advise.

Brian

As I wrote before, WEP is too weak to be on any real value. Definitely use WPA instead. Upgrade hardware if necessary. Seriously.

On Thu, 31 Aug 2006 19:06:49 -0400, "bad65" wrote in :

Cripes, I hope your clients get second opinions because your advice is sorely lacking. While using WPA may secure the traffic it does nothing to assure it's availability. Going hard-wired not only avoids the sniffed packets risk it also avoids interruptions based on interference (deliberate AND accidental).

On Fri, 1 Sep 2006 15:15:18 -0400, "Bill Kearney" wrote in :

1. We'll just have to agree to disagree yet again.
2. You'd be more persuasive if you resisted the urge to insult.

Does secure. WPA2 Enterprise in the case of clients that warrant it.

Which isn't a wireless security issue.

It's subject to wired interruptions, Internet service disruptions, etc. No one method is perfect. Regardless, wired is simply not an option in some cases.

Availability is simply a different issue from security. When I design networks for clients it's of course one of many factors taken into consideration. Different clients need/can afford different levels of availability. In one notable case the failover backup is 3G (with VPN security). As it happens, it took less than a week to prove its value.