DHCP issue with multiple WG302/WAG302

[EdSF]

Originally Posted by milo145

To All:

I've got an open ticket with NetGear. The following are their suggestions.

We infer that the issue is not with the Time Zone Settings.

Possible Solution :

1. Please try changing the channels (Non interfernce Channel : 2,7,9 etc)
2. Also try change the security settings from WPA-PSK to WEP.

I've provided the same tips in a previous post in this thread:
http://forum1.netgear.com/showpost.p...8&postcount=49

Those were the exact steps we took, from our own experience (not from any advice from Netgear).

Somewhere on this thread, there was a post about this being a "known issue" and that Netgear is working on a firmware fix.

The WEP and channel settings will work, but as stated in my past posts, this model seems to be extremely sensitive to "dirty" radio environments - problems will resurface. I don't know what the "limit" is, but if the channel you're on is shared by "x" number of APs, it seems to just progressively degrade.

We've done our own "poor man" experiment and swapped this unit out for another model, 602v3 (firmware V1.2.2NA); which is a much less feature packed "home use" AP, and it's been doing great for about 3 weeks now, no downgrading to WEP necessary (it's on WPA).

So with this experiment, combined with the steps provided to you by Netgear, my opinion seems to point to "feature bloat", where the unit has too much of a feature set to handle effectively, particularly when it is "stressed" (re: dirty radio environment).

[afterburner]

We've still got the same issue. We do use our 302v2 with another unit, but there's only the one. We have a couple of other wireless networks in range, but nothing serious.

Interestingly enough our other unit is a 302 'v1' (an older unit), and it seems to work fine as far as we can tell.

[firetree]

We have the same issue no matter what sort of security protocol used. I swapped out the unit for an older WG102 last Friday and things are stable. I've got the problem 302 in my lab here, and it will work so long as there are not more than five people trying to access it at once (which isn't an issue at this location). I've been able to duplicate the problem by trying to access using six wireless machines concurrently...have no clue why that number is "magic".

Waiting on something from NG.

[CMUK]

Ditto with Firetree - 6 is the magic number here too, and WEP makes no difference. Plugging the wireless device into a cable makes it magically work though ,as previously found with other posters.

c'mon netgear, this thing cost a fortune

[ILUVSCARLETT]

Hi folks,

I think there is an issue with the WG302 ver 2.0 with wpa-psk security.I think the suggestion is to have Netgear replace it with a WG302 ver 1.0.

regards and keep rocking,

[milo145]

The lastest from Netgear support....................

I reviewed your case and your postings in http://forum1.netgear.com/showthread.php?t=1346 and found that few customers are facing the same issue. We will address this issue to be fixed in the forth coming firmware

Based on the complexity of this case, I am escalating the case to next level for further review.

[firetree]

FEW customers? Hmmm......

Anyway...how many of you are also using an FVS124G router whom are having this issue? After swapping the 302 AP out for an older 102, we thought the problem was fixed...but it wasn't. Same thing. (The 302 is working OK in the lab, BTW)

I happened to notice on another forum that similar behavior was being seen with the FVS124G router. We used that model at the school because of the dual-WAN feature...they have their own wireless broadband link, but use the Dept of Educ link as their backup on rare occasions. On a hunch, I swapped out the FVS124G for an FVL328 (again, from our lab) and the problem went away. 30+ kids on their laptops, plus the intranet, can now do their thing without any problems...and it's been consistently stable for a week.

I put the FVS124 in the lab, and although it handles our requirements as far as users, our Internet file transfer rate has dropped from an average of 60-70 KB/s to only 17 KB/s. We'll be replacing it soon with another 328, most likely.

[luccianoduckman1]

Hello all,

Well, let's add one more person to the list who is having this exact same issue. I have two WAG302v2 AP's, and one WG302v2. All three of them exhibit the same behavior as described by everyone else on this thread.

Hasn't this product been on the market for a while? How is it that they would have shipped this unit without knowing about this obvious problem? Is there any consensus as to weather or not this may be related to a bach of deffective hardware?

In any case, I'm planning on contacting Netgear support by phone so that they can hear from one more customer...

[EdSF]

Originally Posted by luccianoduckman1

Is there any consensus as to weather or not this may be related to a bach of deffective hardware?

Well, I've been avoiding that exact perception, but it seems like it is so. One other possibility is over-engineering, where I mentioned in a different post as "feature bloat" - that basically overwhelms whatever hardware runs these units...which maybe why WEP seems to be more stable (less overhead than WPA).

I am still on a less feature packed home-use 602v3, same environment where that WAG302 was in, subjected to the same "noise" from neighboring APs, and while I still have disconnects, it does recover...whereas the WAG302 never could on it's own.

Not saying this "proves" it, just uncanny coincidence. An even older unit I installed about 4 yrs ago, on "legacy" 802.11b, is still purring without problems to this day (coincidentally one of the reasons why I stuck with Netgear all these years). Simpler days I guess...

[luccianoduckman1]

Alright, I just got off the phone with Netgear support with basically the same experience that most of you have described here. The agent had me run through the same steps, i.e. making sure I had the most recent firmware, switching the AP from getting a DHCP address to assigning a static address to the AP, etc. Making changes like this causes the AP to work correctly for a couple of hours and I explained this to the support agent. He told me to call back once it fails again. To his credit, he was very polite.

Does anyone have any update as to when a new firmware version might be released? From reading this thread it appears that they've been working on it for some time.

Thanks.