We have a NetGear FS728TP Switch that constantly falls offline. I cannot connect to the Web UI or even ping the device. The device is still powered on but it will not communicate and devices attached to it lose connectivity. Power-cycling the device brings it back online immediately. This will sometimes happen multiple times a day and other times it will go a few days without needing a power cycle. How do I even begin troubleshooting this if I can't view logs that are purged during the power cycle? Any thoughts on possible causes? Do I need to give up and replace it?
NetGear FS728TP Switch Offline
- Thread starter Tgroneck
- Start date
Solution
- May 29, 2013
- 37,401
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- 156,790
Are you using the POE capability of the switch? My first guess is overheating. Have you tried adding a small fan to blow on the intake side ?
Also you can get the switch to send logs to a SYSLOG server. That would allow some insight even with the device locked up.
Also you can get the switch to send logs to a SYSLOG server. That would allow some insight even with the device locked up.
The only records in the log are SNTP requests. If I have the severity level set to debug, shouldn't it report everything? I tried changing a port to disabled to see if anything was recorded and the switch went down again with nothing on my syslog server except SNTP requests. Thoughts?
That thought occurred to me but I figured if the WAP was still online, it wasn't the problem. Could the switch be shutting down ports if the connection is not consistent? The WAP is connected to the router via Coax since the run is about 700 feet, we couldn't use Cat6.
The coax to Ethernet device is specifically for PoE devices that I bought specifically to run the WAP. The switch has PoE ports so theoretically, I could do that; however, the bridge device doesn't seem to run unless a device requiring PoE is detected. Seems like a design flaw to require that. I might just have to buy a different bridge and try what you suggested. Cheaper than buying a new switch considering I don't know if there is actually anything wrong with the switch.
- May 29, 2013
- 37,401
- 3,300
- 156,790
This is way more complex than your original post. BUT, your statement that you can't connect to the UI of the switch seems like the switch is off in the weeds. Do you know what the LEDs on the switch look like when this happens?
When you can't get to the UI, are you on a local port or connecting through the WAP ?
When you can't get to the UI, are you on a local port or connecting through the WAP ?
- May 29, 2013
- 37,401
- 3,300
- 156,790
If it doesn't ping, and you can't get to the UI, I would say "door stop". Since that is just a fast ethernet switch and you aren't using all the POE, I would recommend replacing it with a gigabit switch and use a POE injector for the one POE port you are using.
The Dell managed switches are fairly inexpensive. You can find good deals on used HP managed switches on E-Bay.
The Dell managed switches are fairly inexpensive. You can find good deals on used HP managed switches on E-Bay.
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