Networking Issues drops entire office (2)GS748Tv5, FVS336Gv2 and WC7520 with (4)WNDAP360

[dmarko]

I'm looking for help with a few issues we are having at our office.  First I want to stress I am not a networking expert.  I have a broad knowledge with IT, I've searched this forum for the past couple days for tips and solutions.  I tried multple troubleshooting tips and read over every diagrams on this site. I also read the documentation PDF for each product we have installed. Many which are are extremely useful. 

The issue we are having is periodic network drops during the day.  The entire network will slow then eventually drop.  The connection loss will be between 60 seconds to upwards of an hour.  The quick fix for this is turning off the router and turn it back on then we are speedy for awhile.  Which makes me believe that the network 1 design is not configured correctly. We have also eliminated our ISP as the problem by connecting directly into the modem during these drops. 

The Layer 1 Physical design is outlined below

ISP Comcast --> Netgear Prosafe Router FVS336v2

FVS336v2 Router to --> WC7520 Wireless Controller --> Netgear WNDAP360 Access Points (4 x Total)

FVS336v2 Router to --> GS748Tv5 Prosafe 48 Port Switch --> GS748Tv5 Prosafe 48 Port Switch

Troubleshooting Ive tried

1. Updated all Netgear equipment to latest Firmware

•   WC7520 - 2.5.0.35
•   GS748Tv5 - 6.3.1.11
•   WNNDAP360 - 2.5.0.35

2. Created VLans to seperate floors and departments

 VLan 10 - First Floor - HR and Customer Support

 VLan 20 - Second Floor - Sales

Suggestions I've read on the fourms that may help

1. Enable Storm Control

2. STP Spanning Tree Protocol (unsure of which to use STP, CST or MST)

3. Layer 1 Physical design issues.  Is it possible the design of this network is unstable?  Should we be running a Cat5 from the router to each switch instead of daisy chaining the switch?  Should we be using the LAG interface to connect from the switch directly to the router?  

if anyone can reference an article or previous solution that would be great. Any help would be greatly appreciated

[DaneA]

Hi dmarko,  

It appears that you have already got an ongoing case with NETGEAR Support.  Let us also isolate the problem here in the community.  Kindly answer the questions below:

a. Are you able to access the internet just fine if you connect a PC directly to the modem?

b. Is the modem provided by Comcast a modem-only device or a modem-router combination?

d. What is the current firmware version of the FVS336Gv2?

d. Did you perform a factory reset on the NETGEAR devices then reconfigure the devices from scratch afterwards you have upgraded the firmware?

I look forward to your response.  Welcome to the community! 

Regards,

DaneA

NETGEAR Community Team