[vox-tech] Router annoyances (again!)

[Bill Kendrick]

Ok, we've got the following:

  * Netgear WRT54G v.8 wireless router
  * Zoom DSL modem

with the following attached:

  * Brother laser printer [wired]
  * Dell 1525 laptop [wifi]
  * Roku Netflix player [wifi]
  * IBM X41 laptop [wifi]


Every once in a while, it just becomes impossible to get on the network,
and the damned router needs to be rebooted.  It happened this morning while
I was using my Dell, and Roku was playing a movie.  My wife unsuspended
her X41 started using it, and moments later, all three lost network.

I got fed up and switched to a Sprint cell modem, and power-cycled the
router a couple times until the Roku and X41 were able to get back on.
I'm still on the Sprint, with my wifi switched off.  (They have a physical
switch on the Dell, which at first I thought was absolutely silly.)

Usually, what I do when I have wifi problems is a kind of 'wifi reboot.'
I've got a script that does this:

  ifdown eth1
  ifconfig eth1 down
  rmmod iwl3945
  rmmod rfkill mac80211 cfg80211
  modprobe rfkill
  modprobe mac80211
  modprobe cfg80211
  modprobe iwl3945
  iwconfig eth1 essid MYESSID
  iwconfig eth1 key PASS-WORD-PASS-WORD-PASS-WORD-YO
  ifconfig eth1 192.168.2.7  # static IP
  ifconfig eth1 broadcast 192.168.2.255
  ifconfig eth1 netmask 255.255.255
  route add default gw 192.168.2.1  # the router; DSL is apparently 192.168.1.1
  cp COPY_OF_RESOLVE.CONF /etc/resolve.conf
  /etc/init.d/networking restart  # give it a big kick
  ping 192.168.2.1  # did it work!?

Often, it works.  Often enough, it does not.  It gets down to the 'ping',
and all I get back is "Destination host unreachable" (or what-have-you).

For my wife, kicking the router sufficiently hard and waiting seems to
do the trick for her.  Ditto for the Roku.  For me, I switch to my Sprint
modem or reboot, or just give up and shut down and find something less
infuriating to do with my time. :)


Any ideas?  Some friends suggested they could reflash the router with
something called "Tomato", but Melissa looked into it, and apparently our
router is too new (version 8), and is not supported.

The router is not _that_ old, and was something we got to replace a
non-wifi-router + WAP setup we had before, which was also infuriatingly
unreliable.  However, it's been a hot summer, and I think hardware is far
less robust these days -- to say nothing about how crappy software seems
to be getting. ;)  So I'm not beyond saying "it's broken, get a new one."
In that case -- what can I get?

I know zilch about this crap, and dislike being "the guy to blame" when
this crap breaks.  It should Just Work (tm).  So says my wife, so say I.
Argh. >:^(


(Ugh, that reminds me, my NAS's light turned red and it started beeping a few
days ago.  I was busy working, so I simply yanked the power cord, and
haven't gone back to see what the hell _it's_ problem is.  And no, none
of this stuff is stored in the water heater closet.  It's up on a shelf.
And no, it's not covered in a comforter, either.)

-- 
-bill!
Sent from my computer