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Forum Discussion
ORBI RBR/RBS Broadcast Storm Problem / Ethernet Backhaul creates network loop & kills networks
WARNING!!: This may or may not help you, and can be a risky, you may need to factory reset if you break your config. IMPORTANT: This relates specifically for Orbi when you are using an Ethernet b...
I have not seen any broadcast storms for a long time now. I have a RBR connected to a RBS that has 4 Gb LAN switches in between that are daisy chained. Have not seen any problems like this in a long time. I know Did see this once and I fould the RBS and my VoIP devices were in IP address conflict at the time. Once I got the VoIP device on a IP address reservation away from the RBS IP address, all was good.
How do you have RBS ethernet connected?
This is NG recommendation:
" Recently after buying a new fully managed switch to try and give me tools to fight this it actually had a bigger impact to my network, but this allowed me to do more troubleshooting and verify my suspicions." What is the mfr and model# of the switch being used? If this is a managed switch, you need to disable ALL IGMP protcols on this switch if you use it between the RBR and RBS when ethernet connected. Possible your switch your using maybe a cause as well.
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-MR-2-1-Update-3-23-18/m-p/1553749/highlight/true#M30673
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Using-Router-Configured-as-Access-Point-Cannot-see-Satellites-in/m-p/1612052/highlight/true#M37974
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-Ethernet-Backhaul-with-Managed-Switches/m-p/1613897#M38123
Also disable any green ethernet features on this switch if possible. Some switches you might not be able to so you'll need a non managed non green ethernet switch to use with Orbi.
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/switching-requirements-for-ethernet-backhaul/m-p/1653718/highlight/true#M43817
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Ready-to-chuck-this-system-through-the-window/m-p/1658470/highlight/false#M44394
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-AC3000-with-Cisco-SG112-24-Switch/m-p/1700690/highlight/true#M51879
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-Netgear-GS908E-100PES-Backhaul-Connection/m-p/1784425/highlight/false#M67633
Its always best to connect the RBS wirelessly FIRST to make sure it connects well to the RBR, then once this gets established, connect the RBS to the RBR via ethernet directly to the RBR using a good quality LAN cable. CAT is is recommended. Once the RBS is connected and everything is working here, then place the RBS out at the remote location and connect it there.
Thanks for trying, but I wasn't looking for more community answers, I am satisifed with my diagnosis. My intention is to provide some more information to those who might be having this problem, as I hadn't found any other real solutions through my search, and I had also found other long running threads that did not end with a resolution.
The issue is that Orbi creates it's own network loop between the router and satellite. This is independent of any other connected devices or topology. This is independent of whether you connect to the rest of the LAN via the RBR WAN or LAN port, and regardless of directly connecting orbi's together with no other devices connected to Orbi's ethernet ports.
It's probably not likely that someone would notice/encounter this problem unless running in AP mode with Ethernet backhaul. Also as this only occurs on device boot, many may not even notice it. Before I obtained my current switch I had suspected something else in my network. But it's obvious when looking at the stats for huge numbers of broadcast packets all flowing into the switch interface connected to the Orbi router.
<all other devices> -> [lan switch] <- [Orbi RBR] <- [Orbi RBS]
Simply having an ethernet backhaul connected causes Orbi to create the network loop on boot. Yes Orbi later prioritises Ethernet backhaul traffic, and the broadcasts stop, but the network loop still exists on boot where both the Wifi Backhaul and the Ethernet backhaul are active for a time until it completes initialisation. It's possible to see evidence of this in the "Statistics" on the device when viewing WLAN backhaul packet numbers immediately after boot, but it was much more clear when I connected it to a decent switch to see the numbers.
Thanks again,
Damien.
Ive had both Orbi AC and AX in AP mode. Haven't seen a storm problem. Switches in the middel as well. I would know. I watch my switch activity for any constant use.
I would suspect how you have your system configured or a devices on your network or even a bad LAN cable could be a cause. IF you have gone thru many FW updates and still see this, possible that your system is just faulty as well. Something to see if a different system does the same thing or not.
There hasn't been any reports of someone have a storm in a long time. I would not assume that others are not seeing this either or assume that everyone may have this issue. This would cause problems and some would be postings about it. Just haven't seen any in a while now. You seem to be the only one currently. There are reasons why we ask about configurations and switches. Help to vet some of these issues out to find where the real problem is.
Good Luck in your endeavors.