Losing internet connectivity intermittently on network

Smousie · 5 Oct 2018 at 21:55

Hi,

I hope someone can help with my problem where I am losing internet connectivity on the network for a few seconds (between 15-60 seconds) at irregular intervals. It happens about once a hour, sometimes less, sometimes more and always "fixes" itself.

Here is the kicker, the internet never goes down - it only goes down on the network. I have a SKY router with 2 ethernet ports and when my pc is plugged in directly on the router I never lose connection, it is only when I go through the 16port switch that this happens. Problem is all other devices connected to the 16 port switch loses connection intermittently.

This is my network setup - WIFI devices are not shown.

How can I diagnose this problem?
Is there some sort of network monitor software I can run that can shed some light on the problem?
Help is much appreciated.

Smousie · 7 Oct 2018 at 09:25

Thank you for the replies so far.
I can not detect any loops. I have double checked everything now.
I think it has come down to the ugly part of diagnosis where I have to keep unplugging devices until it is stable.
The upstairs part of the network has now been disconnected and fingers crossed I can find the source of the problem.

Smousie · 7 Oct 2018 at 11:00

Yes only 1 cable from router to switch.
The Tenda Nova MW6 is a mesh system than can be hard wired or use wifi to extend the mesh. I chose hard wired because the signal to the garage unit is pretty weak.
It might be that the Novas are causing the issue. That is the next thing that I will unplug.

Smousie · 7 Oct 2018 at 13:22

I have checked all devices and can't see any other that are trying to act as a DHCP server. The screesnhot is the result with the top floor disconnected. As you can see it is a unreliable problem that happens random times most of the times it is only down for 15 seconds. I have now disconnected the garage and will continue to monitor.

Smousie · 7 Oct 2018 at 20:14

Thanks. I was sceptical that it could be the switch. It is only about 11 months old but I am beginning to suspect now. Problem is I dont have anything which I can replace it with.

Tried to get in touch with netgear support for a warranty replacement but couldn't get through.

Smousie · 14 Oct 2018 at 22:43

The problem was the Sky Q hub. I have been running a openwrt flashed homehub5 for about 5 days now and had no problems whatsoever.

The line connects slower with the openwrt firmware on the homehub5 so I am going to buy a decent router. Asus dsl-ac88u or Netgear D7800 nighthawk looks to me like the best options. I will also request a replacement router from Sky as a backip.

Smousie · 24 Oct 2018 at 16:39

I finally got this resolved. After trying a HH5a flashed with openwrt and not having any issues I came to the conclusion that it is a router problem. Got a sky replacement router and all is well. Thank you all for suggestions.