Adding WiFi to LAN drops connection

[Poissionnariat]

Sup guys. Tryin to figure out this mindbender. So heres the inital config before we get into details

2Wire Homeportal DSL Modem is primary source of connection
-Connects to Linksys Wireless router
--Connection from here goes into a 16 port hub to provide ample amount of connections for people in LAN
--Only wireless device not receiving issues is my iPhone.
Now for basic IP addressing

2Wire DSL modem
Router Address:    172.16.0.1
Subnet Mask:        255.255.0.0

Linksys Wireless Router
Router Address:    10.0.0.1
Subnet Mask:        255.255.255.0

Now all computers connect through the 16 port hub which the Linksys router provides the 10.0.0# addresses.

So heres the issue...
Any computer that's connected via Ethernet doesn't have connectivity issues but when I connect a wireless laptop, my network gets scrambled and any connected nodes lose connection status. It comes to physically power cycling both modem and router to regain connectivity. Now keep in mind, ive had this issue with and without DHCP. Ive statically assigned computers, wired and wireless, before and still received this same issue.

Now just a small recap:
LAN mainly comprised of wired connections loses connectivity upon a wireless laptop being added to the network.
Not sure if its my configs between router/modem but its highly annoying.

PLEASE HELP

Thanks

Another side issue ive pondered is this. Feel free to ponder too.
Heres the situation based on configuration

Situation 1:
2Wire Modem connects to Linksys router, which goes into 16 port hub. Now with this config my internet speed is up to par with 100mpbs throughput.

And

Situation 2
2Wire Modem connects directly to 16 port hub. With this config, internet speed lacks heavily and doesnt seem to obtain addresses or pretty much do anything

Once again, a side issue.

[TechGeek]

Does the 16 port hub have any config page on it? Does it have any routing functionality or anything?

[Poissionnariat]

Manual never showed any sort of configuration "how-tos". Oh and to correct my post, its a switch, not a hub. I know there is a fine line between the two. So yeah, its a switch. And once again, no, its not configurable. Id imagine it takes a connection and just branches it to available ports. But that still doesnt explain why a wireless laptop is connecting straight to the wifi in the Linksys router. I mean, its not connecting into the switch so I wouldnt see where the switch affects that situation.

[Poissionnariat]

Still don't know the problem to this issue if anyone comes across this post. Your help is very much appreciated.

[Computer_Commando]

One thing comes to mind; the 2Wire DSL modem has wireless channels, too.  You have 2 wireless routers, the 2Wire and the Linksys.  Is the wireless laptop connecting to the Linksys or the 2Wire?  I know the 2Wire firewall must be configured through a wired connection to allow access by all downstream routers, etc.  BTW, the Linksys router LAN address of 10.0.0.1 is not a valid LAN address.  The default should be 192.168.1.1

[Poissionnariat]

Heres an update:

Changed my Linksys router's IP address from 10.0.0.1 to 192.168.0.1 (basic class C address) and the subnet to 255.255.255.0. My 2Wire modem is still the 172.16.0.1/255.255.0.0 address setting. Ive successfully connnected wirelessly to the linksys router without any sort of disconnects through my laptop and iPhone. So as of now, I can close the topic with success. Btw, to answer the question, anything wireless connects through to the Linksys router due to its faster 54mbps speed as compared to the 2Wires 22mbps speed. Just better by default in my opinion. But anyway, all is well. Any other problems I have will probably be started within a new topic or maybe this one if any arise but for now, problem solved. My guess is the invalid config of the Linksys IP address. Dunno, im more of a specialist in computer software/hardware and not necessarily in anything Cisco related. Thanks for all the help

[Poissionnariat]

UPDATE:

Shortly after my recent post I tested connectivity on my wireless laptop. Heres what I dont understand. I flipped the switch my laptop has for enabling my wireless connection, unplugged my ethernet cord connected to it and then proceeded to connect via wireless. Now what I dont get is this. After I connected, I turned my switch back off on the laptop and went to plug my ethernet cable back in. Upon doing that, I couldnt get a working connection as well as any other node connected to the switch in the LAN. Why is that? Why would shutting off a wireless node and bringing it back to a wired state disrupt the entire network, in turn, calling for either a restart of the router or every computer in the network. Please help me out on this one guys. Thanks

[jason2074]

Might be related : http://sofaware.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1231038134/m/2641007234

[Sid]

Situation 1:
2Wire Modem connects to Linksys router, which goes into 16 port hub. Now with this config my internet speed is up to par with 100mpbs throughput.

And

Situation 2
2Wire Modem connects directly to 16 port hub. With this config, internet speed lacks heavily and doesnt seem to obtain addresses or pretty much do anything

Once again, a side issue.

Is DHCP enabled on the modem or switch?  If not, nothing would get an address automatically in situation 2 anyway.  Also with static addresses you'd probably need to setup static routes as well.

[Poissionnariat]

DHCP is enabled on the modem/routers i have configured. The switch isnt configurable. Its a "plug and play" sorta switch. I just plug a cable into it and its auto configured. It has no addresses of its own or any configuration options.

Here is a picture I created visually describing how my network is set up.

Ill be looking into both the 2Wire and the Linksys modems and see if any settings are what they shouldnt be. Until then, hopefully we can figure out whats up. Dont be scared to get into depth about what I need to do. Im no pro at networking but I know my way around. 2 years of Cisco have branded my brain with at least some knowledge lol.


[recovering disk space - old attachment deleted by admin]

[Computer_Commando]

I suspect it's the hardware firewall built in to the 2-Wire.  You may have to expand it's range of allowed IP addresses.

[Poissionnariat]

The forum isnt letting me post 2 gif images of my 2wire and Linksys configurations to see if you could possibly see if something is not configured right.

The 2Wire only is connected to the Linksys router and the firewall built into the 2Wire modem has DMZ plus enabled. Meaning "All inbound traffic, except traffic which has been specifically assigned to another computer using the “Allow individual applications” feature, will automatically be directed to this computer. The DMZplus-enabled computer is less secure because all unassigned firewall ports are opened for that computer."

Now once again im trying to figure out why when my laptop connects wirelessly, all goes well, but when I turn the wireless switch back off on my laptop and reconnect my ethernet cable, the connection throughout the network is disrupted, forcing me to restart both the Linksys and 2wire modem. Why would that simple revert of connnection type do that?

Upon asking, I can provide anyone with type of configs for both the 2wire and Linksys. It wont let me post pictures so Ill end up typing it out.

Between my previous post and this one, I switched both configs to their default IP addressing ranges

2Wire is 192.168.1.0/255.255.255.0
Linksys is 192.168.2.1/255.255.255.0 (default was same of 2Wire so I increased it one range of addresses to prevent DNS issues

[Computer_Commando]

Remove the Linksys & see if the issues go away.
Or turn off the 2Wire wireless feature
You still have a DNS conflict somewhere.
http://support.2wire.com/?page=view&article=60

[Poissionnariat]

I disabled the wireless feature on it when I originally bought the Linksys receiver. As I mentioned before, I only connect through the Linksys router due to its higher speed output (54mbps over 802.11N compared to the 2Wire's 11mbps over a 802.11B, i think). Both are DHCP enabled. I tried at one point to use static addressing but it still showed issues when connecting wirelessly and so on.

[Sid]

Both are DHCP enabled.

That's bad.  Disable it on one of the devices.

Let me understand this correctly, you'll only using the Linksys as a Wireless Access Point (WAP), right?  If that's the case, I'd be tempted to take it out-of-line (if you have a spare switch port) and let the 2Wire do the routing, firewalling & DHCP, and disable all the un-required features of the Linksys.

So it would go something like attached.

[recovering disk space - old attachment deleted by admin]