Weird network issue

[Jim .E.]

I'm having a weird issue and I'm pretty much stumped.

I have a Linksys 310N running DD-WRT v24-sp2 mini bin for the past month or so. I have the following devices connected to it:
- XBOX 360
- Cisco VOIP phone
- Desktop computer
- Work Laptop
- Personal Laptop

Now the problem is I'm trying to connect my blackberry, work phone and another laptop to WiFi but all the devices keep saying that they "failed to obtain IP address".

I rebooted the router twice already [full hard reset 30/30/30] and after doing so it works for a bit, but then the devices lose the connection (the 3 mentioned).

The DHCP list is set for allowing up to 20 devices to connect with a lease time of 1440 with the firewall settings disabled.

It's getting extremely aggravating, any help would suffice.

Thanks,
Jimmy.

[Jim .E.]

It seems to be okay for now...I'm not sure why, but as soon as I disconnected a Cat6 cable I'm using for the voip phone...everything seems okay.

Should I toss the Cat6 and just get another Cat5e?

[damameke]

Maybe its just a glitch...network connection does that at times..
I would plug back the cat6 and see if it caused other devices to fail..if it does..
try a Cat5 cable...

[2slow2race]

whats the difference between cat5 and cat6?

[dcramer]

cables go bad all the time, try another one

[Jim .E.]

Originally Posted by 2slow2race

whats the difference between cat5 and cat6?

Cat 6 has higher transfer rate and reduced data loss (lost packets).

[propr'one]

^^cat5e is pretty much as fast as cat6 (both gigabit).

Sounds like you could have a bad cable, or if it persists with other cables, perhaps there's a bad port on either the router or voip ATA. Its strange you'd get that error though. Does the router have an ACL? What range is the DHCP set to use? Are any of the devices set to a static IP?

[dcramer]

btw, cat6, or cat5e is probably not worth buying if it is a short cable. Over short spans, anything will work.

[Jim .E.]

Originally Posted by propr'one

^^cat5e is pretty much as fast as cat6 (both gigabit).

Sounds like you could have a bad cable, or if it persists with other cables, perhaps there's a bad port on either the router or voip ATA. Its strange you'd get that error though. Does the router have an ACL? What range is the DHCP set to use? Are any of the devices set to a static IP?

No static IP's are being used - just a DMZ port for the 360 because it acts weird sometimes and thinks it's on a restricted NAT.

As far as ACL - I have no idea what that is but I'm going to say the router supports it (Linksys 310N) but I have it off?

Client lease is default 1440 minutes and start range is at 1.100 to 1.114 (DHCP table is set to use 15 clients now max). Friend came over tonight and was able to use her macBook pro without a hitch.

Originally Posted by dcramer

btw, cat6, or cat5e is probably not worth buying if it is a short cable. Over short spans, anything will work.

all cables are Cat5e - the only cat6 is the new one I bought, needless to say it's getting junked out. The devices are all within 5 feet of the router (the ones being connected via cables).

I'm guessing it was just a faulty cable, everything is good now