Problem with router connected to router

[nallera]

Hi there, I'm having an issue with my home network. I live in a two story house, and I have this setup:

• ISP: 12Mbps downstream, 1.5Mbps upstream.

• Main router: TL-WDR4300
Lower plant. Connected to the ISP modem. Emits WiFi in 2.4GHz and 5 GHz with bad coverage upstairs. Two desktop PCs and the second router connected to it by Ethernet cables.
DHCP enabled, from 192.168.1.110 to 192.168.1.199.

• Second router: Linksys WRT54G2
Upper plant. Emits WiFi in 2.4GHz to cover the area the main router doesn't. Nothing connected by Ethernet (except the connection to the main router).
DHCP disabled. IP address: 192.168.1.200 (I configured it by connecting it to a PC).

So, when I first set it up, everything worked fine. But some time ago, something started to happen. Every few minutes, the network kinda collapses. The Ethernet lights at the first router start blinking all together, and the Internet connection everywhere lowers dramatically, you can't practically use it. After those minutes, everything works fine for a while.
So, is there any problem with this set up?

The only thing I think maybe is causing trouble is that the second router doesn't have a fixed IP address in the main router DHCP.

Other ideas?

Thanks a lot for your help.

 

[Rogue Leader]

First things first, are you sure nobody accidentally hit the reset button on either router, killing the settings, because that will cause all sorts of weird issues.

How you have the second router configured is how you want it, an address outside of the DHCP.

Its possible the first router is beginning to fail for some reason. The only other interference could be between the WiFi if they are not on set channels they could cross, but that would only mess up WiFi, not your hard wired computers.

 

[joex444]

Your second router should still be reachable at 192.168.1.200. Since it's outside the DHCP range of the first router it is a proper address to use and machines connecting to it should get their IP address from the first router.

Two things worth trying here:

1) Turn the second router off. Your coverage upstairs will not be good but the TPLink's 2.4GHz channels should have stronger signal than the 5.0GHz ones. If the network still "collapses" then your issue is confined to the first router. Once you get that working correctly then you can worry about adding the second router.

2) Ensure the second router is on a wildly different channel than the 2.4GHz portion of the first router. They could be interfering with each other.

3) Setup the second router to be a full blown router. Ensure the Ethernet connection to the first router goes from the LAN side of the TPLink to the *WAN* port of the Linksys. Set the Linksys to obtain an IP address via DHCP on the *WAN* port (it will then have a 192.168.1.1xx address). Now enable the DHCP server on the Linksys and have it hand out addresses in the 192.168.2.100 - 192.168.2.199 range. Ensure the subnet masks everywhere are 255.255.255.0. When someone connects to the Linksys router they should be getting a 192.168.2.1xx IP address, and they should be able to hit the Internet by going through the Linksys router then through the TP Link router.

If you absolutely need the first and second floor machines to be on the same network and intend to share files, eg, over the private LAN then you'll need to come up with something other than the configuration in option 3.

 

[nallera]

First things first, are you sure nobody accidentally hit the reset button on either router, killing the settings, because that will cause all sorts of weird issues.

How you have the second router configured is how you want it, an address outside of the DHCP.

Its possible the first router is beginning to fail for some reason. The only other interference could be between the WiFi if they are not on set channels they could cross, but that would only mess up WiFi, not your hard wired computers.

Rogue Leader, thanks for your answer.
I'm certain that nobody reset any of the routers, so that's not the problem. The main router (the TP-Link) is new, I hope it isn't failing, but I'll try to turn off the second one to see what happens, good idea.

 

[nallera]

Your second router should still be reachable at 192.168.1.200. Since it's outside the DHCP range of the first router it is a proper address to use and machines connecting to it should get their IP address from the first router.

Two things worth trying here:

1) Turn the second router off. Your coverage upstairs will not be good but the TPLink's 2.4GHz channels should have stronger signal than the 5.0GHz ones. If the network still "collapses" then your issue is confined to the first router. Once you get that working correctly then you can worry about adding the second router.

2) Ensure the second router is on a wildly different channel than the 2.4GHz portion of the first router. They could be interfering with each other.

3) Setup the second router to be a full blown router. Ensure the Ethernet connection to the first router goes from the LAN side of the TPLink to the *WAN* port of the Linksys. Set the Linksys to obtain an IP address via DHCP on the *WAN* port (it will then have a 192.168.1.1xx address). Now enable the DHCP server on the Linksys and have it hand out addresses in the 192.168.2.100 - 192.168.2.199 range. Ensure the subnet masks everywhere are 255.255.255.0. When someone connects to the Linksys router they should be getting a 192.168.2.1xx IP address, and they should be able to hit the Internet by going through the Linksys router then through the TP Link router.

If you absolutely need the first and second floor machines to be on the same network and intend to share files, eg, over the private LAN then you'll need to come up with something other than the configuration in option 3.

Hi joex444, thanks for your answer. As I said to Rogue Leader, I'll try to turn off the second router to see if the problem is the main one.
The channels of the 2.4GHz WiFi are 2 (main) and 11 (second), so I don't think that could be causing any trouble.
And in the third option you shared, do you know how to set the second router to obtain an IP address? Because on the configuration I need to input an IP address for the router.
Thanks a lot.

 

[Rogue Leader]

I would not do Joe's option 3 thats not going to fix your problem. Try turning off the second router and report back.

 

[nallera]

Hi there, I couldn't try turning off the second router yet as the connection is used for work, but as soon as I can I'll report the results.
I did however some speedtests, and got some info to share. When everything is working fine, I have around 25Mbps downstream, 1.2Mbps upstream, and a 12ms ping. Doing the same test in the "collapse" moments, I have 12Mbps downstream, 0.9Mbps upstream and a ~1000ms ping. Maybe this is useful for you to better understand the problem.