FTTH Connection, Gateway IP timesout/drops multiple times a day for 10-20 seconds.

[Sean_90]

Here is the ping test results I did earlier today. It shows my gateway ip, wan ip, both my LAN IPs for my routers (1 is just an AP mode) and also has the 1st hop from my isp when doing a tracert.

I get intermittent connections every single day for months. Itll drop for 10-20 seconds then comeback. ONT still shows all the lights are on. All of my devices still say connected. They just dont work for 10-20 seconds when trying to access the internet/apps/online gaming etc. It is especialy annoying on xbox cause itll kick me from a game.

ISP tech came out last week and said at the starting point of the fiber line we were getting +11 reading but at the entry to teh house it was down to +5. So he put in a new line. But still same thing... its dropping all the time still. Its random too so I cant plan for it. Dont know what causes it but it just happens.

Anyone have any opinion on what is causing the drops/high ping spikes etc?????

 

[camieabz]

I would start by running the connection with either routers disconnected to see if anything changes. It might be that something on your network is triggering this. If it's such a regular issue, you should know within hours if there's been a change.

Next, I would perhaps look at reducing the potential for ARP broadcast storms on the network by setting up static ARP addresses. For example, on my local machine, I have the MAC address of my router set as a static address to the IP 192.168.7.1, and on my router, I have PC's MAC set static for it's IP. This reduces instances of ARP broadcast requests bouncing around the nodes of your network. e.g.

Who has 192.168.7.2? Tell 192.168.7.1
192.168.7.2 is at xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx

Just be sure to tell all the network nodes of the ARP addresses to eliminate these. If you're constantly changing devices, perhaps defer to DHCP, which ought to bind the first ARP request to the IP until the DHCP session expires. Not 100% sure, but I think you have to bind static ARPs when using static IPs and so on. It's been a while since I did my Cisco, so gimme a break. 😀

You can get your MAC address from "ipconfig/all". Your PC's ARP cache with "arp -a". Adding a static ARP address to your router will be between you and your router user-manual, and adding a static ARP entry to Windows:

netsh interface ipv4 add neighbors "Local Area Connection" xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx

(First set of xxx. is the device IP (e.g. router), and xx-xx etc is it's MAC address)


Assuming it's not cables, or a specific device, look at some of the settings across the devices. Sometimes PnP can cause network issues with some devices. Some network adapters have 'Green' or 'Energy Efficient Ethernet' settings. Can't speak for anyone else, but when I had random disconnects, disabling both and doing a few other tweaks seemed to sort my problem. It was maybe a coincidence, but you never know. I certainly wouldn't want to test my network with these enabled. I presume they are ideally aimed at large enterprises anyway, rather than home users. See image (and entry two down from highlighted):



Lastly, I would suggest considering alternative DNS servers (temporarily at least). It might not solve the problem, but it can't hurt to try. GRC offers a benchmark for this, and you can add your own ISP's servers to the mix to compare to others. I recommend 1.1.1.1 (and 1.0.0.1) as an option.

https://www.grc.com/dns/benchmark.htm

 

[Sean_90]

I cant unplug the routers because its an FTTH connection and the ONT only connects the DataPort on the ONT to the WAN on a router. By itself the ONT cant broadcast an ssid. I could hook directly up to the ONT but with just one device only so that would leave all our other devices at our house offline.

Its such a strange issue cause when it happens the only way I can tell is if im on my xbox cause the 10-20 drop is just long enough to boot me from a game. If im on my laptop or phone browsing the web or something I wnot ever know really it just seems like the page is loading slowly. The connection never fully "drops' all the devices still show as connected even the ONT and the routers. It just really strange.......


for the ARP part. Im a little clueless what youre talking about lol. I mean I have setup on the main router all the IP address reservation for my devices.... if thats what you're talking about?

Are you saying I should do that on the router and then ALSO do it from all the devices themselves?????

I would start by running the connection with either routers disconnected to see if anything changes. It might be that something on your network is triggering this. If it's such a regular issue, you should know within hours if there's been a change.

Next, I would perhaps look at reducing the potential for ARP broadcast storms on the network by setting up static ARP addresses. For example, on my local machine, I have the MAC address of my router set as a static address to the IP 192.168.7.1, and on my router, I have PC's MAC set static for it's IP. This reduces instances of ARP broadcast requests bouncing around the nodes of your network. e.g.

Who has 192.168.7.2? Tell 192.168.7.1
192.168.7.2 is at xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx

Just be sure to tell all the network nodes of the ARP addresses to eliminate these. If you're constantly changing devices, perhaps defer to DHCP, which ought to bind the first ARP request to the IP until the DHCP session expires. Not 100% sure, but I think you have to bind static ARPs when using static IPs and so on. It's been a while since I did my Cisco, so gimme a break. 😀

You can get your MAC address from "ipconfig/all". Your PC's ARP cache with "arp -a". Adding a static ARP address to your router will be between you and your router user-manual, and adding a static ARP entry to Windows:

netsh interface ipv4 add neighbors "Local Area Connection" xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx

(First set of xxx. is the device IP (e.g. router), and xx-xx etc is it's MAC address)


Assuming it's not cables, or a specific device, look at some of the settings across the devices. Sometimes PnP can cause network issues with some devices. Some network adapters have 'Green' or 'Energy Efficient Ethernet' settings. Can't speak for anyone else, but when I had random disconnects, disabling both and doing a few other tweaks seemed to sort my problem. It was maybe a coincidence, but you never know. I certainly wouldn't want to test my network with these enabled. I presume they are ideally aimed at large enterprises anyway, rather than home users. See image (and entry two down from highlighted):



Lastly, I would suggest considering alternative DNS servers (temporarily at least). It might not solve the problem, but it can't hurt to try. GRC offers a benchmark for this, and you can add your own ISP's servers to the mix to compare to others. I recommend 1.1.1.1 (and 1.0.0.1) as an option.

https://www.grc.com/dns/benchmark.htm

 

[camieabz]

All the network devices' MAC addresses statically set on the router is the main thing. It can't hurt to have the router's MAC as static ARP address in each PC / device if possible, assuming nothing is likely to change over time. This is assuming that all connect directly to the router. If connecting via something else, then your ARP table should reflect this.

Suggest you google ARP address vs IP address if you're unsure. It's not hugely important to do, but would reduce potential network noise. Perhaps download wireshark, and monitor the network connection. You'll see a LOT of unfamiliar stuff happening, but after a while you get to recognise what's going on, and you can filter out regular (good) network stuff, and spot odd things happening (i.e. repeated ARP broadcasts).