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Solved
RBK353 AP mode no internet
RBR350, in AP mode + 2 satellites RBS350
Firmware version: V4.3.4.7_1.9.53
Hardware version RBR350
Hardware Type ORBI
This is operating in an environment with 40+ devices and several NETGEAR and other switches. Servers (desktops, laptops, etc.) are wired using CAT6G or CAT5E. Mobile phones are connected via 5G and IoT devices via 2.4G with the ISP cable modem WiFi (Virgin Media Hub 5) on a different SSID from Orbi. DHCP and DNS are served from my own servers (with failover provision for when a server is unavailable).
Servers with attached 10-bay HDDs (acting as NAS) are noisy, so have been relegated to the garage, but the CAT6G cable between garage and cable modem is ugly and hard to disguise.
The purpose of the Orbi plus Satellite is purely to replace this CAT6G cable. Line of site distance about 5m through 1 single skin brick wall. In other words: 1 ethernet cable into the Internet port of the RBR350 and one ethernet cable into an ethernet port of the satellite RBS350, WiFi is unused apart from the fronthaul and backhaul. Administrative access to the RBR350 is via the wired ethernet from a desktop web browser.
During setup (before I switched to AP mode) I noticed that there was no internet connection for the RBR350 as shown via the web browser. After switching to AP mode, there is still no intenet connection. Devices connected via the satellites (or for test purposes only, via Orbi WiFi) do have internet access and can run speedtest etc.
The RBR350 reports that the gateway address is 0.0.0.0. This is wrong. My DHCP servers are configured with
option routers 192.168.0.1,82.37.32.1;
and all other devices pick these gateway addresses correctly.
Without an internet connection, the RBR350 NTP service does not work (so time is incorrect), I cannot run speedtest and I cannot update the firmware.
Should I expect internet access, and if so, any suggestions on how to achieve that?
Thanks again CrimpOn and FURRYe38 for nudging me in the right direction. I have done multiple factory resets and an enormous number of experiments with different settings.
As it turns out, I have to use AP mode because it is the only way to get DHCP settings served to clients that are wired to one of the satellites. I have not experienced any problems with AP mode, per se, but thanks for the warnings.
The real problem is that the RBR350 does not accept a comma separated list of gateway IP addresses from a separate DHCP server. I think this is a bug in RBR350 because, strangely, other Netgear products that I use (e.g. web managed switches GS108Ev3) do correctly pick the first gateway address from the list of those supplied by my DHCP server(s).
A detail: I am operating a HA service, and all storage devices (NAS) and services (e.g. DHCP server) have live copies which reside on more than physical machine with automatic failover capability dropping to an alternative when the first selected becomes unavailable. When I first experimented with DHCP server settings to see if changing from a list of gateways to a single gateway address made any difference, I missed one of the several locations that I should have changed. Unbeknown to me, a list of gateways was being served by DHCP to the RBR350 by the one instance that I had failed to adjust. My mistake, and I paid sorely in time wasted trying to track down what was actually wrong.
16 Replies
How is the RBR set up for AP mode? Dynamic IP address or Static IP address on the RBR? Static IP address configuration is recommended that resides outside of the host routers default DHCP IP address pool range.
How is the RBR connected to the host router while in AP mode? The YELLOW WAN port is required on the RBR to be used in AP mode.
Is the front LED on the RBR OFF or ON and PINK? Should be OFF if it's getting good internet services from the host router.
Also CAT# comes in CAT5, CAT5E, CAT6 and CAT6A. There is no CAT6G cabling.Thanks FURRYe38
In AP mode, the option for setting Static IP (ADVANCED | Setup | Internet Setup) is greyed out, otherwise I would try that. Before switching to AP mode, I tried Static IP, but things got into a big mess and I was forced to start again with a factory reset.
(If you could walk me through a procedure for setting Static IP (unsetting RBR DHCP, etc) and then switching to AP mode, I'd give that another go.)
[I understand about setting static IP address outside pool range].The host router (VirginMedia Hub 5), has 4 ethernet ports, one of these is connected to the yellow WAN port (internet port, as opposed to other ethernet ports).
The RBR front LED is solid magenta (pink/purple) = "The router cannot connect to the Internet." (from p9 of the user manual).
Oops, typo (well actually I was focused on the "no internet" problem, not the specific type of cabling I used). It's CAT6A. All wired connections have been tested and are proven to support 1Gbps.What am I doing wrong?
While in router mode on the RBR, does the RBR get internet services from the ISP router at all?
Bockeman wrote:
The RBR350 reports that the gateway address is 0.0.0.0. This is wrong. My DHCP servers are configured with
option routers 192.168.0.1,82.37.32.1;
and all other devices pick these gateway addresses correctly.
This is the place to start. The RBR350 router has made a DHCP request which has failed to return the correct information.
Did the RBR350 and the RBS350 receive the correct IP assignments, subnet mask, and DNS server IP through DHCP?
Could you please describe the DHCP configuration in more detail? "option routers 192.168.0.1,82.37.32.1" is a bit unusual.
Thanks
Thanks CrimpOn
I agree, I am concerned about the gateway address 0.0.0.0. One thought I had was that the RBK350's are designed to be hooked up to an ISP modem with only one ethernet port that accepts or routes packets for 0.0.0.0 as the only way they can go. I hope this is not the case.
I have not worked out how to see inside the satellites to examine their IP configuration. But from my DHCP servers perspective, and other information, I know they have picked up the correct IP address from the DHCP server. The RBR is correct apart from the gateway address 0.0.0.0.
The "option routers" line is from dhcp.conf in my DHCP server. I changed it to simplyoption routers 192.168.0.1;
and checked that other devices worked without the alternate gateway.I then rebooted the RBR. Still no internet.
Bockeman wrote:
One thought I had was that the RBK350's are designed to be hooked up to an ISP modem with only one ethernet port that accepts or routes packets for 0.0.0.0 as the only way they can go. I hope this is not the case.
Correct. This is not the case. All Netgear Orbi WiFi routers are designed for the WAN (yellow) port to be connected to some device that eventually leads to the internet. This can be:
- An ISP modem or Optical Fiber Termination (ONT) that assigns the router a public IP address through the DHCP or PPoE process
- An ISP combination modem/ONT/router/WiFi device that assigns the router a private IP address through the DHCP process and acts as the gateway from the ISP local LAN to the internet. A Virgin Media Hub5 would be one such device.
- Any network connection that uses the DHCP process to provide the required private IP address, subnet mask, gateway address, and DNS server IP. This appears to be your setup. The Hub5 is the gateway, but the Hub5 DHCP process is not active and network information is being provided from a separate server.
Once connected, the Orbi has two modes:
- In router mode, the Orbi creates a local network (LAN) with a private IP space that is different from the LAN that its WAN port is connected to. If the primary network has assigned an address of 192.168.0.x to the Orbi, then the Orbi create a LAN with 192.168.1.x It the primary LAN happens to be 192.168.1.x, then the Orbi creates a LAN of 10.0.0.x. In router mode, the Orbi uses DHCP to assign network information to devices connected to it. (IP, mask, gateway, DNS server).
- In Access Point (AP) mode, the Orbi LAN and DHCP processes are disabled. The Orbi simply relays DHCP broadcasts from devices connected to the Orbi to the primary network and relays responses back to devices.
When the Orbi router boots up, it should broadcast a DHCP request through the WAN port and expects to be informed through DHCP of the correct IP, subnet mask, gateway IP, and DHS IP. This information is displayed on the Orbi web administration "Internet" page. Note that the only way to reach the Orbi web admin is through the LAN side of the Orbi.
