Wireless router/switch: Wireless not working

[Fushigi]

I've got an SMC 7004AWBR 802.11b wireless router/switch/print server. The other day the wireless connections just stopped. It's been working fine for many months and no network changes have taken place lately. No indication why it failed; the SSID just no longer shows up as available on the workstations. The switch & router portions still work fine.

I know it's the SMC because I have two wireless devices & neither can see the SMC. Also, at least one of the devices can see two neighborhood WLANs. One of the wireless devices is only about 6 feet from the SMC with no walls in the way. The other device is upstairs and down the hall; maybe 30-35 feet through 1 wall and maybe a floor (maybe as a straight line between the two mostly goes through our stairwell). Wood frame construction.

Troubleshooting I have already done:
1. Reboot all devices.
2. Reboot (power cycle) the SMC.
3. Reset the SMC to factory defaults & reboot.
4. Upgrade the SMC to current firmware & reboot.
5. Disable WEP.
6. Move the SMC antennae around.

After all of that I still get exactly zero connectivity; no signal whatsoever.

The wireless devices, again, were both working just fine before this happened. They are:
1. My work notebook using an SMC PC Card wireless adapter.
2. My wife's PC using a D-Link USB wireless adapter.

Any thoughts on additional troubleshooting?

Any recommendations on a replacement wireless router w/ switch if I can't get it fixed (I'm not sure if the warranty is still in effect)? I don't need a print server any more. So far I'm considering this bundle.

 

[Mercutio]

DLink's APs are lousy. I strongly dislike their lack of configurability. I have a DI624 in service where I'm working right now and I hate the damn thing.

e.g.: Can't manually assign a DNS server address, hard-coded use of the 192.168.0 network, no support for RADIUS (Linksys supports RADIUS for wireless authentication as an alternative to shared-key access) or MAC-based ACLs...

Netgear (and I never thought I'd say this) is a better choice, or Linksys.

 

[Fushigi]

OK, so I'll avoid D-link. Theire USB 802.11b NIC works well, though. Anyway, assume Netgear or Linksys or any other company other than SMC & D-Link. Hmm. What about US Robotics, Netgear, or Hawking? The LinkSys is a tad more expensive and has the shortest warranty.

 

[Mercutio]

Let me know if you see an AP that supports WPA. I have yet to see one.

 

[Fushigi]

Let me know if you see an AP that supports WPA. I have yet to see one.

Several mention it as part of the product details on their sites. D-link and LinkSys, for example. Or do these fall into the "the-hardware-supports-it-but-we-won't-write-the-firmware-for-another-9-months" category?

 

[Mercutio]

That is correct.

In fact, every vendor I've looked into is doing that.

 

[Buck]

Have you checked with Netopia?

 

[Mercutio]

Their 3300W product is at present WEP only.

My DSL access device is a 3300-ENT, oddly enough.

 

[mubs]

Let me know if you see an AP that supports WPA. I have yet to see one.

I installed a Linksys WRT54g Router/AP + 3 x Linksys WPC54g wireless PC Cards for somebody circa November 2003. It didn't support WPA out of the box, but:

* flashed the Router/AP to the latest firmware available at that time and
* updated the PC card drivers to the latest available at that time

and WPA worked. You do, however, need to install MS Q815485 to Windows XP to enable WPA.

 

[Fushigi]

I just submitted a lightly edited version of my first post in this thread to SMC support. We'll see if they have any suggestions.

I suppose I don't mind replacing it with a faster wireless solution, but I don't really need the extra bandwidth and I hate to toss electronics in the landfill.

 

[Mercutio]

That's weird. Do you know what firmware rev. you were using, mubs?

 

[sechs]

Can you create an ad hoc network with the two client devices?

If the clients are working fine, the wireless probably just poopoo'd on you, and the device will need to be replaced.

 

[mubs]

That's weird. Do you know what firmware rev. you were using, mubs?

1.30.7. The txt file that came with it reads (in part):

Linksys, A division of Cisco Systems, Inc.

Product:               WRT54G

Classification:        Frimware Release History

Firmware  Date:	     7/08/2003

Release Date:          7/16/2003

Last Firmware Version: 1.30.7 
__________________________________________________________________________

Firmware Version 1.30.7
- Adds UI control to enable/disable frame bursting
- Resolves issue with firmware upgrade error in Internet Explorer 6.0.2800.1106.xpsp2.030422-1633, on Windows XP pro.
- Send 192.168.1.1 to disable DynDNS
- Resolves issue with using the 4th tx key for WEP
- Resolves issue with disconnecting PPPoE causing WPA to be disabled **************************************

Firmware Version 1.30.1
- Adjust PPTP max MTU value from 1400 to 1460 
- The router is now certifiable for the UPnP logo
- Complies with final 802.11g standard
- Improved performance asymmetry between the transmit and receive paths
- Receive Broadcast packets from renew state. Some DHCP server (Dlink 300G+) send broadcast ACK after it receives a REQUEST
- Fix: The firmware upgrade will fail, if DDNS updates while upgrading
- Fix: If first DNS address fails, the second or third DNS address will be used to resolve domain names
- Added the following items under Setup Page:	
    - Router Name
    - Manual Time Server
    - MAC Clone
    - wireless domain
    - Security Settings 
- Added the following items under System Page
    - UPnP enable/disable
    - Ping Test and Traceroute
- Added the following items under Wireless Page
    - CTS Protection Mode
    - Basic Rate
- Added the following items under Status Page
    - Router Name
    - Start IP Address
    - End IP Address
- Added Wi-Fi Protected Access(TM) support including AES and TKIP encryption ************************************
- Resolves issue with Port Forwarding name showing up as garbage characters
- Added "B-Only" option to wireless modes
- Added "Default" option to Basic Rate settings

Note the last line for FW ver. 1.30.7. Also note that the 4th last line for FW ver. 1.30.1. I've starred them; couldn't bold them within the 'code' block.

They released v. 1.42.2 as of 11/21/2003, but I didn't get a chance to flash it; the Router is 45 miles away and I decided to let sleeping dogs lie.

I still have v1.30.7; let me know if you want it.

 

[Fushigi]

I just submitted a lightly edited version of my first post in this thread to SMC support. We'll see if they have any suggestions.

Their first suggestions, another reset to factory defaults, didn't do anything. We'll see if they come back with anything else. My confidence continues to dwindle.

In the mean time, I'm going to check the local stores for the Netgear. It seems to be the nicer unit of those I mentioned above and can be had for a decent price after rebate.

 

[Fushigi]

They sent another firmware rev for me to try and it, too, failed to make a difference. I'll keep working with them to see if it can be fixed but I needed something in the mean time so I just bought the Netgear WGT624. If I get the SMC going it'll do as a backup.

I like the Netgear's setup a lot better than the SMC. For one, I restricted wireless access to my 2 wireless device's MAC addresses. So unless someone spoofs the MAC address, the wireless is pretty much already secure. Nice and easy.

I did the firmware upgrade and WPA is now available. My PC Card will do it but I don't know about my wife's D-Link USB jobber. If it doesn't, then I'll still be stuck with WEP for the moment. But I'll look into that later.