I work as a network tech and have many small business clients with whom I have installed various models of EnGenius high power (600mw) AP's. So far, I have used the EOC-2610, the EAP-3660 (smoke detector) and the more expensive EOC-3610S-EXT. The problems I am having is with not with the latter model, but with both of the former two. When configured as access points on a LAN, they will work fine at first. At some point down the road (usually within a day or two), clients can connect to the AP, but they cannot get a DHCP from the LAN.
It's as though the AP has stopped routing traffic to the LAN. I can still manage the AP from the LAN, so I know the ethernet is not frozen, but apart from a successful wifi connection, no DHCP is obtained. If we then cycle power on the AP, it works fine again until a day or two (or more.it seems pretty random) and they stop working again. I have a couple of EOC-2610's that seem to work fine, but others that exhibit this weird behavior.
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They have 1.0.39 firmware (I see now there is one newer version which I will try). I have contacted EnGenius but gotten the equivalent of a blank stare. I can't think of what I could be mis-configuring, and since it happens over two different models, I'm a bit confused what the problem could be. I hear nothing but accolades for the EOC-2610, but I am leery of using more of them because of this problem. Is anyone else having similar issues?
Is there a fix? Should I try the DD-WRT firmware? Thanks for any help on this. It's driving me (and my clients workers), nuts! Said by: I work as a network tech and have many small business clients with whom I have installed various models of EnGenius high power (600mw) AP's. So far, I have used the EOC-2610, the EAP-3660 (smoke detector) and the more expensive EOC-3610S-EXT.
The problems I am having is with not with the latter model, but with both of the former two. When configured as access points on a LAN, they will work fine at first. At some point down the road (usually within a day or two), clients can connect to the AP, but they cannot get a DHCP from the LAN. It's as though the AP has stopped routing traffic to the LAN.
I can still manage the AP from the LAN, so I know the ethernet is not frozen, but apart from a successful wifi connection, no DHCP is obtained. If we then cycle power on the AP, it works fine again until a day or two (or more.it seems pretty random) and they stop working again. I have a couple of EOC-2610's that seem to work fine, but others that exhibit this weird behavior. They have 1.0.39 firmware (I see now there is one newer version which I will try).
I have contacted EnGenius but gotten the equivalent of a blank stare. I can't think of what I could be mis-configuring, and since it happens over two different models, I'm a bit confused what the problem could be. I hear nothing but accolades for the EOC-2610, but I am leery of using more of them because of this problem. Is anyone else having similar issues? Is there a fix? Should I try the DD-WRT firmware?
Thanks for any help on this. It's driving me (and my clients workers), nuts! Have you contacted EnGenius about your issues? Are they still under warranty protection still?
If so I would check with them first. But sounds like the hardware is faulty. Did you change anything lately or prior to this problem like flashing the firmware? Yes, I have contacted Engenius and hence my comment about getting the equivalent of a blank stare. Could be defective hardware, but why am I the only one getting it?? Regarding the WEP128. Again, the EOC-2610 is in AP mode, so the unit is not doing DHCP itself.
The Wifi connection between the PC and 2610 says its OK, so it seems the wifi connection is good. The PC just cannot reach the LAN thru the 2610 (or the other model I mentioned). I did find out that doing a soft reset (via the web interface) does not fix the problem, but a power cycle does. Said by: Yes, I have contacted Engenius and hence my comment about getting the equivalent of a blank stare. Could be defective hardware, but why am I the only one getting it??
Regarding the WEP128. Again, the EOC-2610 is in AP mode, so the unit is not doing DHCP itself.
The Wifi connection between the PC and 2610 says its OK, so it seems the wifi connection is good. The PC just cannot reach the LAN thru the 2610 (or the other model I mentioned). I did find out that doing a soft reset (via the web interface) does not fix the problem, but a power cycle does. Tell me about that PC what are you running on it? OS and wired or wireless NIC (brand name). Again power cycling usually means a hardware error.
What does the logs say for the AP or the other one you have. Why are you using WEP128 and not the more secured WPA2 AES? Turn off the encryption does the PC reach the LAN? I've take it you have fiddle with different wireless channels settings and also using the same SSID if your using 802.11g or 802.11n AP correct? From the PC can you access these AP thru telnet session or under web administration?
Said by: Yes, I have contacted Engenius and hence my comment about getting the equivalent of a blank stare. Could be defective hardware, but why am I the only one getting it?? Regarding the WEP128.
Again, the EOC-2610 is in AP mode, so the unit is not doing DHCP itself. The Wifi connection between the PC and 2610 says its OK, so it seems the wifi connection is good. The PC just cannot reach the LAN thru the 2610 (or the other model I mentioned). I did find out that doing a soft reset (via the web interface) does not fix the problem, but a power cycle does. Tell me about that PC what are you running on it? OS and wired or wireless NIC (brand name). Again power cycling usually means a hardware error.
What does the logs say for the AP or the other one you have. Why are you using WEP128 and not the more secured WPA2 AES? Turn off the encryption does the PC reach the LAN?
I've take it you have fiddle with different wireless channels settings and also using the same SSID if your using 802.11g or 802.11n AP correct? From the PC can you access these AP thru telnet session or under web administration? It's not just my PC.
These AP's are at client sites (different sites, even), and users have a myriad of different notebooks. I have glanced at the logs once, but the contents were a bit meaningless. I am not using WEP128. A previous response mentioned that, not me. I typically use WPA-PSK/TKIP or WPA2, depends on the location. If there are older notebooks, I stick with WPA. Yes, I have fiddled with the channels.
Once it seemed to help, but alas, it went out again. Also, only using 802.11g. No 802.11n AP's, and we're only using ONE AP as it is. To answer your last question, YES, you can manage the AP through the web admin screen, so I know the ethernet interface is working. I was lucky enough this past weekend to be in one of the offices, and my own notebook would not get an IP. It would connect to the wifi, but no IP (169.x.x.x). This is when I tried the warm reset.
No difference. Then, a power cycle, and voila! It started working again. This was the EOC-2610. Thanks for all the help, btw, everyone. Said by: Yes, I have contacted Engenius and hence my comment about getting the equivalent of a blank stare.
Could be defective hardware, but why am I the only one getting it?? Regarding the WEP128.
Again, the EOC-2610 is in AP mode, so the unit is not doing DHCP itself. The Wifi connection between the PC and 2610 says its OK, so it seems the wifi connection is good. The PC just cannot reach the LAN thru the 2610 (or the other model I mentioned).
I did find out that doing a soft reset (via the web interface) does not fix the problem, but a power cycle does. Tell me about that PC what are you running on it? OS and wired or wireless NIC (brand name). Again power cycling usually means a hardware error.
What does the logs say for the AP or the other one you have. Why are you using WEP128 and not the more secured WPA2 AES? Turn off the encryption does the PC reach the LAN?
I've take it you have fiddle with different wireless channels settings and also using the same SSID if your using 802.11g or 802.11n AP correct? From the PC can you access these AP thru telnet session or under web administration?
It's not just my PC. These AP's are at client sites (different sites, even), and users have a myriad of different notebooks.
I have glanced at the logs once, but the contents were a bit meaningless. I am not using WEP128.
A previous response mentioned that, not me. I typically use WPA-PSK/TKIP or WPA2, depends on the location.
If there are older notebooks, I stick with WPA. Yes, I have fiddled with the channels. Once it seemed to help, but alas, it went out again. Also, only using 802.11g. No 802.11n AP's, and we're only using ONE AP as it is.
To answer your last question, YES, you can manage the AP through the web admin screen, so I know the ethernet interface is working. I was lucky enough this past weekend to be in one of the offices, and my own notebook would not get an IP.
It would connect to the wifi, but no IP (169.x.x.x). This is when I tried the warm reset. No difference.
Then, a power cycle, and voila! It started working again. This was the EOC-2610. Thanks for all the help, btw, everyone. You're using the same brand at all the client sites. But only one is acting up. You've done everything update firmware correctly.
Can you to 90 second reset (holding done the reset button first 30 seconds then unplug the power while still holding down the rest button, next 30 seconds you would plug-in back the power and hold for another 30 seconds) back to factory defaults then reconfigure it for your client to use again. See if that works other than that, replace unit. My situation mirrors lancorp's problems precisely. I have this problem at almost all of my client sites to one degree or another, some severe. I started using engenius ap's 2 years ago and have seen only a small improvement in their ability to stay connected. These are some of the most powerful ap's around and coupled with a good external antenna, i get excellent signal coverage in some of the hardest building types (hotels motels) but all of that is offset by the connection problems. Firmware upgrades have offered no respite and the 'blank stare' from engenius tech support is standard.
I see this problem in other manufacturers hardware also, even Cisco ap's to a rare degree, but not like Engenius. I tried the DD-WRT routers, embedded m0n0wall firewall/router in hopes of stimulating reconnection, all to no avail. I would like to see this fixed as i enjoy installing and maintaining wireless networks, but this is business suicide. Said by: my situation mirrors lancorp's problems precisely. I have this problem at almost all of my client sites to one degree or another, some severe.
I started using engenius ap's 2 years ago and have seen only a small improvement in their ability to stay connected. These are some of the most powerful ap's around and coupled with a good external antenna, i get excellent signal coverage in some of the hardest building types (hotels motels) but all of that is offset by the connection problems. Firmware upgrades have offered no respite and the 'blank stare' from engenius tech support is standard. I see this problem in other manufacturers hardware also, even Cisco ap's to a rare degree, but not like Engenius. I tried the DD-WRT routers, embedded m0n0wall firewall/router in hopes of stimulating reconnection, all to no avail. I would like to see this fixed as i enjoy installing and maintaining wireless networks, but this is business suicide.
Thanks for the reply and info. Coincidentally, we are both in San Diego! Your comment about the DD-WRT not correcting it saved me the money to purchasing and trying that, because I thought that would probably do it! I sent Engenius 2 brand new 2610's that were really messed up out of the box (bad power injector and the other doing the no response thing), and after a long RMA, they returned to me two obviously used 2610's that do the same thing. That was about 6 mo's ago. Since then, I have not purchased either of the models that crap out.
Instead, I am sticking with the more expensive EOC-3610S EXT's, as they are rock solid (I've installed at least 4 of those, including one in my home that my kids use continuously). It's too bad that Engenius tech support does not take issues like this seriously. I mean, how hard is it to configure an AP? If all of them I have installed have this problem, am I screwing up or is there some sort of hardware issue? I wish it was me, but I've looked over and over the firmware screens, and apart from default settings, my changes are just IP addresses and SSID and WEP settings! Let us know if you ever discover how to fix this!
Said by: I could be way off on this or not. We had similar problems with DHCP server on our controllers giving out IP to iPhone's and not releasing them. The DHCP lease was set to 7 days and it was restricted to only 50 IP. Well once those 50 IP were handed out no one else would be assigned one. Just something else to check! The Engenius units are in AP mode, no DHCP enabled. DHCP comes from the server on the LAN.
When I've had the time, I've done a bit more troubleshooting, and determined that when the AP is in this 'mode' of not working, that setting the Wireless security to other types does not work, except if I turn off security. When set to disabled, the AP starts working properly.
I don't reset, or power cycle, just disable the security. I've also tried setting up another SSID profile with security, still no joy. Of course, as I mentioned before, power cycling the AP fixes it (temporarily). The 2610 I have here at the office works for a longer period of time, but does exhibit the behavior. Since I don't want an unsecured wifi connection, power cycling is my only option at this point.
Said by: Is this problem strictly limited to DHCP requests? IOW, if users have their IP assignments from prior successful DHCP requests or manually configure their clients, do they continue to function normally once DHCP requests begin to fail, or does EVERYTHING stop at that point (all networking across the WAPs, Internet access, etc.)?
Good question. Next time it happens at my office or a clients, I will configure my notebook manually, and connect to the AP and see if I can reach the server or internet.
Not trying to hijack this thread, I have an Engenius ECB-3500 running 1.0.38 that is doing exactly the same thing the OP has described. Configured in AP mode, just like the OP, it randomly decides to stop allowing associated devices to get a DHCP address from the DHCP server in the LAN. Normally a power cycle 'fixes' the issue, or erasing the configured SSID and recreating again, only to have the issue show again. I did configure the IP address manually on the device after seeing the last post here and it does pass traffic fine. So whatever it is that is happening on the Engenius AP, it is affecting the ability to pull an IP via DHCP, not a big deal in a house setup, but I can see how it would be a headache in an environment with dozens of users. Said by: Not trying to hijack this thread, I have an Engenius ECB-3500 running 1.0.38 that is doing exactly the same thing the OP has described.
Configured in AP mode, just like the OP, it randomly decides to stop allowing associated devices to get a DHCP address from the DHCP server in the LAN. Normally a power cycle 'fixes' the issue, or erasing the configured SSID and recreating again, only to have the issue show again. Caps Clinician Administered Ptsd Scale Pdf In Vector.
I did configure the IP address manually on the device after seeing the last post here and it does pass traffic fine. So whatever it is that is happening on the Engenius AP, it is affecting the ability to pull an IP via DHCP, not a big deal in a house setup, but I can see how it would be a headache in an environment with dozens of users. Ahh, as I suspected. So that's a big difference since it means it's a problem limited to its DHCP server but otherwise not affecting connectivity.
Frankly, I dont understand why anyone would be using DHCP services at the WAP and not their primary router, domain controller, etc., anyway. The WAP is usually an auxillary or alternate route into the network.
So using the WAP, or worse, several WAPs, just makes it harder to manage. Anyway, that suggests to me that dd-wrt might be a good alternative since its apparently not a hardware issue, just a DHCP bug. Or maybe keeping the current firmware and placing DHCP responsibilities elsewhere.
Thanx for the update. Said by: Ahh, as I suspected. So that's a big difference since it means it's a problem limited to its DHCP server but otherwise not affecting connectivity.
Frankly, I dont understand why anyone would be using DHCP services at the WAP and not their primary router, domain controller, etc., anyway. The WAP is usually an auxillary or alternate route into the network. So using the WAP, or worse, several WAPs, just makes it harder to manage. Anyway, that suggests to me that dd-wrt might be a good alternative since its apparently not a hardware issue, just a DHCP bug. Or maybe keeping the current firmware and placing DHCP responsibilities elsewhere.
Thanx for the update. First, glad to see someone else has the same problem! Second, I think you are misunderstanding the DHCP aspect of this.
We are NOT using the DHCP in the WAP, it's the failure of the PC to get a DHCP from a DHCP server on the LAN! That's what is interesting! So, apparently, manually setting your IP on the PC works fine, but DHCP does not. Go figure that one! I also had a conversation with another local guy who has a bunch of Engenius AP's in various installs with the same problem, and he did try the dd-wrt firmware and said it did NOT fix the problem. Thanks to everyone for the info. Maybe this will somehow turn into a fix!
Said by: WiFi connection success but DHCP failure is often caused by an decryption error - due to WEP/WPA settings, bugs in WPA TKIP key rotation, etc. Try WEP or none temporarily. It's also not unheard of for a vendor to have an incorrect DHCP client or server implementation - that standard has many options. For lease renewal.
Yes, as was stated previously, setting security to NONE does fix it, but I (think) I tried WEP unsuccessfully. Not sure what you mean, though, by your last comment, as again, DHCP is via the LAN (ie., MS Server 2003 or 2008), not the WAP. Said by: If setting security to NONE enables the DHCP requests to succeed, you have your clue. Yeah, my clue is that it's the fault of the Engenius device and therefore, will never get fixed. Why is it, though, that only a few of us have the problem?
I think that every EOC-2610 and EAP-3660 that I install has this problem, yet the more expensive EOC-3610S-EXT does not? I know Engenius has firmware updates to fix bugs, but I'm not sure how they find them, because given my experience, they are like ostriches with their heads in the sand. Said by: I have an Engenius EOC-2610ext and it's always worked well for me but it's had a few quirky problems. One time just out of the blue it quit responding and something had happened to the firmware which required me to use a comm cable and reset the box.
I also had a problem with it getting flaky and not accepting wireless clients after working flawlessly for months. You could have the same issue. I suppose most people would just power-cycle the AP (which makes it start working again), and go on with life.
Since I have a bunch of these out to clients and was noticing that none of them were reliable, I began to wonder. I always just thought it was some sort of power problem or a problem with one of the cables that I had made myself but now that I think about it I always ran the box from a UPS. AND the homebrew outdoor AP that I'm running in it's place has been up and running for at least 6 months without a power cycle.
It's a Linksys WRT54G V5 with DD-WRT firmware mounted inside of a sealed outdoor electrical enclosure that I got at Home Depot. It ran without complaint through a very cold winter rain and everything else handling a fair amount of wireless traffic without complaint.