[Wlug] ISP/Router/Modem Ethernet communications

[kstratton at fastmail.us]

My initial problem was that I lost all connectivity with my router
connected to the DSL modem.  this was after my setup worked consistently
for over 9 months.  I was on the phone for over 4 hours total (2
sessions, the first one blamed it on an outage).  The ISP technicians
can "see" the modem when I was having this problem and confirmed my
setup of the router.  All the LEDs were positive (green).  The ISP
technician then asked for me to connect the modem directly to the
computer.  Various things were tried, including powering down the modem
and computer.  Still no connection (ping would not work).  The last
thing tried was to force the computer to talk to the mode at 1/2 duplex
10 base T and try to connect.  This seemed to kickstart everything and
everything now works with the router or directly to the PC.

This may also seem to be a coincidence, but this problem happened about
a week and a half after changing the terms on my DSL service (cheaper
bundle).   

It is looking like the solution is one of the following:

1) Buy a new DSL modem that sopports 10 and 100 base T (I think I saw
one at best buy, mine only supports 10 base T)
2) Buy a router that I can put linux on so that I can configure the
router for 10 base T.this sounds like fun, but the likelyhood of
eventually breaking it is great.
3) Buy both a new modem and router.  I am confident that my equipment
predated the gigabit standard release, so this is not a totally
irrational solution (based on the autonegotiation standards).
4) Ignore the issue and kickstart the connection again if the problem
re-occurs.

My guess is on #4 for now, but #1 then #2 or #3 is still a possibility.

Thank you everybody for your help.  My biggest issue was not realizing
that this kind of autonegotiation issue is not very unusual.  I REALLY
dislike it when I call tech support and my equipment is at fault.


On Mon, 3 Dec 2007 12:18:24 -0500, "John Stoffel" <john at stoffel.org>
said:
> 
> kstratton> Thank you everybody for your replies.  I now know that this
> kstratton> autonegotiation issue can be potentially be a much bigger
> kstratton> problem with 100 base T than I thought.  Specifically,
> kstratton> there is no defined mechanism in the spec to autonegotiate
> kstratton> for 100 base T cards.  If I actually have time for this, I
> kstratton> guess I will have to find the spec and read it...
> 
> Don't bother, it's not going to help you really.  Just recognize that
> you can see auto-neg issues and keep it in mind when trouble shooting
> problems. 
> 
> kstratton> My network driver (windows) is a "NVIDIA nForce MCP
> kstratton> Networking Controller".  It is an integrated network
> kstratton> connector on a HP pavilion.  I do not know of a windows
> kstratton> equivalent to lspci, so I cannot get the actual reported
> kstratton> hardware rev.  Maybe I have to get a good live CD distro.
> 
> Hmm... I thought you were having auto-neg problems between your PC and
> the cable modem, you never said you had a Router in there.  At least I
> don't remember and it's monday and I'm not good at memory... :]
> 
> kstratton> In this case, resetting the cable modem did not fix the
> kstratton> problem, although it may have fixed it in the past.
> 
> kstratton> My router is a four port Linksys Router about 5 to 8 years
> kstratton> old.  My modem is a Speedstream 5280.  I am sufficiently
> kstratton> annoyed by this problem to consider buying a new router if
> kstratton> this router has a force 10 base T option for the WAN.  I am
> kstratton> willing to listen to any suggestions.
> 
> So just to rehash the problem, you are seeing problems between the
> router and the cable modem, or between the router and the PC?
> 
> Ok, so I just re-read your initial post and it sounds like you pulled
> the Router out of the mix when debugging with your ISP.  What was the
> initial problem that had you remove the Router?  What were the
> symptoms?
> 
> It could simply be that one of the hardware boxes is getting flaky and
> starting to fail.  But we need more information to really help.
> 
> I've got an old Motorola Cable Modem (bought my own replacement) which
> I'd be willing sell/lend if need be.  I think it's a 3200 something or
> other.  Don't remember off hand.  I'm with Charter, which might be an
> issue.
> 
> Good luck,
> John
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  kstratton at fastmail.us