Networking Nightmare- Advice Please

[p12anav]

I need advice on the following network (were the lines represent wired connections)

A)Linksys WRT54G2 <---- B)Motorola SBG6580 ----> C)Netgear WGR614 ----> D)Linksys WRT54G2

A)Linksys WRT54G2: Set at AP (a.b.c.d+1); Channel 1
B)Motorola SBG6580: Router (a.b.c.d); Channel 6; DCHP range (a.b.c.d+5) onwards
C)Netgear WGR614: Set as AP (a.b.c.d+2); Channel 11
D) Linksys WGR614: Set as AP (a.b.c.d+3); Channel 1

All the routers (except the motorola) were set as AP's by disabling DCHP and setting IP address outside the DCHP range of the main router. AP's are connected to each other and to the router via LAN to LAN ports. I followed the "Ultimate Network Guide" to set these up. Now the problem I keep having is that almost once everyday I have to go and unplug the APs because they no longer are able to be connected to by any device wirelessly (laptop's and smartphones). Sometimes the linksys on left goes out and other times the netgear or linksys on the right. I have not been able to pick up a pattern and it seems random. Im really not sure what I am doing wrong but having to manually power cycle the routers will not work indefinitely.

Also as a note, the router and all the AP's are in the attic of the building (As I am in Wisconsin the winters get very cold and the summers get really hot in the attic so I have kept all the equipment off the floor on the rafters). Also you may wonder why I have so many AP's and why the attic. It is because the building this network is serving has all brick walls and putting equipment in the conditioned spaces drastically reduces the coverage and so i need to put them in the attic (as the ceiling are only sheetrock) and have four wireless devices for guests to connect to.

Sorry for long post but any help would be greatly appreciated. I know I am new to this but I have tried doing as much research as I could before setting the above up.. however I am clearly missing something

Thank you

 

[jimpz]

I believe you problem is having the AP's connect to each other as well as to the Motorola, your giving you data multiple ways to get to the motorola, either straight from the AP or thru another AP. In home equipment(or business), this is usually not a good thing, having loops.

 

[arossetti]

Well ... There's a lot of information needed to properly address the issue but here's my take from what you've listed: First off, I'm assuming that you are trying to operate one large WiFi network over the same SSID; next I am assuming those are generally SOHO routers with limited enterprise functionality (I haven't researched the models you listed); lastly, I'm not going to address security concerns.

It seems like by placing your WAPs outside the scope of the DHCP server they are not receiving an IP lease and thus cannot connect to the network gateway. I'm pretty sure they have to be within scope. Are your secondary WAPs statically or dynamically assigned? I'm assuming you may have dynamically.

Try this. Turn on the DHCP back on on the other routers. Let them receive a dynamically assigned IP address.

Or assign each WAP a different network host ID - Essentiaaly putting each WAP into their own network segment sharing the same Gateway.

So if your first WAP is 192.168.1.x then assign the next to 192.168.2.x and so on. You can assign each WAP the same SSID and passcode. Your devices will essentially hand off to the new WAP. Also keep the channels separated.

Of course if your routers have an AP or client mode you could keep them on the same network segment without a problem.