Hello everyone!
I really need some help today. I have had issues with my home network for more than a year. Today, I decided to scrap everything and do a fresh install hopping that I would get my problem fixed. Guess what...it didn't. So I am here asking for any help! There is good amount of info below, but I tried to organize everything so that it is easier to read/understand.
The gear
Modem (also used as router #1): 2wire 2701HG-G (my ISP's modem)
Gigabit smart switch: Linksys SLM 2024
router #2: D-link Dir-825
router #3: Asus RT-N12
The problem
Under normal load, my network is working fine. However, when under heavier load (torrent, streaming HD movies, etc.), my internet simply stops responding and eventually gives me DNS errors. However, the content being initially loaded with keep on loading at a fast speed. For example, if I am downloading a torrent on a computer, it will slow the whole network down to a point where it's not even working anymore, but the torrent will continue to download at a speed of 450-700 kbps depending on the torrent. Same with movies. If I watch a movie (HD) on my apple tv, the whole movie will play just fine. However, until the movie finishes loading in the apple TV's internal buffer, other devices won't be able to use Internet on the network only 95% of the time.
Network size
Although this is a home network, I think you could compare the size of this network to the one of a small business. The area to cover is rather large (hence the three routers). There are between 15 and 30 devices connected to the network at all times, including three computers (wired), several laptops (wifi), a NetGear ReadyNas NV+ (wired), a gaming server (wired), several smart phones (wifi), apple tv (wired), five Sonos ZonePlayer (for music, wired), xbox 360, etc.
The setup
Here is how I setup the network today. Following the Ultimate modem/router thread. I started by the two slaves routers. I set their IP addresses to 10.128.3.251 and 10.128.3.252 (no it is not the real IPs I used, but the logic is the same). I turned off DHCP server, point their DNS to 10.128.3.250 (which will be my master - the modem) and setup the wifi with a secure connection using the same name and password. Then, I moved along to my modem. I assigned it the IP 10.128.3.250, enable DHCP server, set his range of IPs from 10.128.3.1 to 10.128.3.249, and set it's DNS to OpenDNS's one (to make sure the DNS issue is not caused by my ISP). Configured the wifi with same name and password, again. Then I connected all of my cables. From the modem to the switch, and from the switch to every other devices in the house (the two routers are connected to the LAN connection, not the WAN, as stated in the Ultimate modem/router thread).
The conclusion
After having done all of this, I start a few torrents, wait for a minute or two, try connecting to www.google.com, wait, wait, wait, DNS error (tried it from multiple computers).
Questions
-What could be the possible causes of this problem?
-Could it be that my modem is not able to handle all of the connections? Even though I changed it's dns to OpenDNS' one?
-Does my connection speed affect my network? That is, if I have a [D:6Mbps U:0.70Mbps] connection, would having a [D:15Mbps U:15Mbps] connection help in any way?
-Is it normal for the network to drain all of it's "available internet speed" to one computer, and leave the rest of the network with a connection so slow that it doesn't even work and eventually gives DNS errors?
-Any idea(s) of how to fix this ?
Thanks a lot!
I really need some help today. I have had issues with my home network for more than a year. Today, I decided to scrap everything and do a fresh install hopping that I would get my problem fixed. Guess what...it didn't. So I am here asking for any help! There is good amount of info below, but I tried to organize everything so that it is easier to read/understand.
The gear
Modem (also used as router #1): 2wire 2701HG-G (my ISP's modem)
Gigabit smart switch: Linksys SLM 2024
router #2: D-link Dir-825
router #3: Asus RT-N12
The problem
Under normal load, my network is working fine. However, when under heavier load (torrent, streaming HD movies, etc.), my internet simply stops responding and eventually gives me DNS errors. However, the content being initially loaded with keep on loading at a fast speed. For example, if I am downloading a torrent on a computer, it will slow the whole network down to a point where it's not even working anymore, but the torrent will continue to download at a speed of 450-700 kbps depending on the torrent. Same with movies. If I watch a movie (HD) on my apple tv, the whole movie will play just fine. However, until the movie finishes loading in the apple TV's internal buffer, other devices won't be able to use Internet on the network only 95% of the time.
Network size
Although this is a home network, I think you could compare the size of this network to the one of a small business. The area to cover is rather large (hence the three routers). There are between 15 and 30 devices connected to the network at all times, including three computers (wired), several laptops (wifi), a NetGear ReadyNas NV+ (wired), a gaming server (wired), several smart phones (wifi), apple tv (wired), five Sonos ZonePlayer (for music, wired), xbox 360, etc.
The setup
Here is how I setup the network today. Following the Ultimate modem/router thread. I started by the two slaves routers. I set their IP addresses to 10.128.3.251 and 10.128.3.252 (no it is not the real IPs I used, but the logic is the same). I turned off DHCP server, point their DNS to 10.128.3.250 (which will be my master - the modem) and setup the wifi with a secure connection using the same name and password. Then, I moved along to my modem. I assigned it the IP 10.128.3.250, enable DHCP server, set his range of IPs from 10.128.3.1 to 10.128.3.249, and set it's DNS to OpenDNS's one (to make sure the DNS issue is not caused by my ISP). Configured the wifi with same name and password, again. Then I connected all of my cables. From the modem to the switch, and from the switch to every other devices in the house (the two routers are connected to the LAN connection, not the WAN, as stated in the Ultimate modem/router thread).
The conclusion
After having done all of this, I start a few torrents, wait for a minute or two, try connecting to www.google.com, wait, wait, wait, DNS error (tried it from multiple computers).
Questions
-What could be the possible causes of this problem?
-Could it be that my modem is not able to handle all of the connections? Even though I changed it's dns to OpenDNS' one?
-Does my connection speed affect my network? That is, if I have a [D:6Mbps U:0.70Mbps] connection, would having a [D:15Mbps U:15Mbps] connection help in any way?
-Is it normal for the network to drain all of it's "available internet speed" to one computer, and leave the rest of the network with a connection so slow that it doesn't even work and eventually gives DNS errors?
-Any idea(s) of how to fix this ?
Thanks a lot!