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Rather a long question. The essence is: how can I configure my RBR750 to stop meddling with things?
Firmware: V7.2.6.31
I have a somewhat complicated network for a home system. Briefly, fibre comes on to the property to a 'modem' in a workshop. This provides the usual functions of a wireless and wired router and it seems to be pretty robust. It's a Genexis router.
One Cat 6 wire runs to the front of the main house. This is intended to feed a wireless access point.
Another goes to a garage where it connects to three small switches (for a set of IP cameras and a wirless access point) and then goes to the house where it connects to another couple of switches. This feed connects to the wired ethernet ports around the house and to more wireless access points.
About three years ago I decided to reduce the number of different wireless access points (mostly cheap routers configured to run in AP mode) and buy an Orbi system: One RBR750 and two RBS750s. It was an absolute pig to set up, largely because the RBR750 seems to want to run everything and of course, in my network, it cannot. Eventually I came to accept that it wasn't important that the 'phone app could see the satellites, nor even that they appeared in the browser interface (they don't) but that they provided WiFi throughout the house (they did, quite well).
So (I hope you're still with me) this uneasy truce held for a few years, and then the network started doing odd things. My gateway is 192.168.1.1 but, suddenly, addresses in the range 192.168.10.x started to pop up in my DHCP clients. Something is clearly acting as a DHCP server, apart from my Genexis Router.
I collected the Orbis together, updated the firmware (V7.2.6.31) went through the tedious process of getting them to synchronize, and put them back where they normally live, connected with Cat 5 cables for better "back haul".
It sort-of worked for a few days, but then the old problem of "connected without internet" croped up on wireless devices again and closer examination of the issue showed that something was still handing out addresses in the 192.168.10.x range.
By trial-and-error, pulling components out, resetting the network and testing again, I found the culprit. It's the RBR750. But, it's doing this when its DHCP server is supposed to be off, and it's configured as a access point, not as a router.
Right now, I'm tempted to take a hammer to it and put the remains in the bin, but this would be a waste of an expensive piece of kit. Is there any way of making it behave like a dumb access point and doing what I want, instead of it trying to take control of (and breaking) my network? I haven't, so far, found any alternative firmware that can do this with my particular model.
The system has been running without a glitch for several days now. What seemed to do it was:
1) Hard reset of the RBR750 by holding a pin in the hole for 20 seconds 2) Setting it up with a laptop plugged into the Orbi 3) Telling it to skip trying to set up satellites.
The satellites are working. The "Router" is working as a wireless access point. Whether they are aware of one another, I neither know nor care. The non-Orbi access points are fine. It is time to stop tinkering and take the win.
Thank you to everyone for your helpful suggestion.
Thanks for replying. Everything was fine until a few weeks ago. It was because of the problems that I updated the firmware, hard-reset the three Orbis, and set everything up from scratch. Sadly the problem persists, but only when the RBR is plugged in. Everything (including the two satellites) works well without its malign presence.
How did you establish that the RBR750 is responding to DHCP requests when the DHCP function is disabled?
(For example, do DHCP messages appear in the Orbi log?)
(I would attempt to capture the actual DHCP conversation between devices and the network to observe the MAC address of the DHCP server. This can be tricky when WiFi devices are involved.)
Can you describe how the router and satellites are connected?
The Orbi system expects that the router WAN port will be connected to the internet source (the Genexis router) and that the satellites will be connected to the router LAN ports (when 'wired'). There have been a number of posts on the forum this year describing issues with Orbi systems in AP mode where all devices are wired to the primary network and the Orbi satellites are not connected to the router LAN ports.
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?
What was the prior version of FW used on the system?
@Nick-Hack wrote: Thanks for replying. Everything was fine until a few weeks ago. It was because of the problems that I updated the firmware, hard-reset the three Orbis, and set everything up from scratch. Sadly the problem persists, but only when the RBR is plugged in. Everything (including the two satellites) works well without its malign presence.
So many supplementary questions: I'll try to address them all if I can.
I established that the Orbi router was to blame through brute force. The error only happens if the Orbi is connected, never when it isn't. There's nothing else on the network capable of functioning as a DHCP server, apart from the Genexis.
Can I describe the topology? Well, one cable runs straight to the front hall from the Genexis router. No switches, no patches, simply one long cable.
Another runs to a switch in the small garage, this gives off a “spur” (if you will) to more switches and kit in the big garage and connects to the cable which runs to the attic where there is ... another switch.
I have tried a number of different schemes: Orbi Router in the hall, satellites in the attic connected to the switch there; RBR in the attic, connected to the switch, one satellite in the attic wired straight to the RBR, the other in the hall; the attic feed from the garage going to the RBR and running everything distal to that point from connexions to the RBR...
What *used* to work was having a satellite in the hall (connected directly to the Genexis router) apparently invisible to the RBR, but nonetheless working as a good access point, with the RBR in the attic, connected to the switch there by one cable and the other satellite (which the RBR could see) also connected to the switch.
Right now (fingers crossed, it's been up for eight hours and still works) the RBR is in the hall (direct connexion to the Genexis) and the satellites are up in the attic, each connected to the switch. All three APs work and have the same wireless SSIDs on the same channels.
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The Genexis router provides the following information:
Platform Lunar
Product name DRG7820
Product number 99615010
Product date December 19, 2017
Hardware revision 1.2
Serial number W.0617493842
Bootloader revision bootloader-lunar-3.2.0-R
Firmware revision geneos-lunar-3.17.0-R
It's not broken. I'm not going to try to fix it. It's always stuck to its configuration as 192.168.1.1
Before installing the latest firmware I was on V3.2.18.1_1.4.14. If I remember correctly - this was three years ago - I tried V4.6.3.16 and it caused me more problems so I forced an installation of the older software.
The whole setting up nightmare took an entire weekend, so once it was working I left well alone.
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Somebody asked - I don't see their post now, for some reason - how I knew that something was handing out 192.16.10.xxx addresses. It was nothing sophisticated, when my Android 'phone says “connected without internet” there's a little cogwheel icon, press on it and there's the option to log into the router which was set to 192.168.10.1 - There is nothing in my network at that address.
Getting system details for the 'phone showed that it had been given addresses like 192.168.10.19 - hence “connected without internet”.
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Someone wanted to know (again, I don't see their post now, as I look at the forum) if I was on a class B or C network. I have to confess that I set the network mask to 255.255.0.0 today (/16) but only to try to aid trouble-shooting. Pinging 192.168.10.xxx from a 192.168.1.xxx/24 network wasn't going to be very helpful, I didn't think. The ridiculous mask (for such a small system) came after the errors.
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I should emphasize that I know precious little about networks. I tend to do a bit of reading when I have a problem and otherwise get on with things that I'm more competent to deal with. I'm pretty sure that a network guru would not be happy with the way that my little network has evolved. But, it did work for three years, until it didn't.
Is there any alternative software for the RBR750, other than Netgear's own?
[It seems that my post has been automatically changed to remove invalid HTML, but I cannot see what's missing]
I would try to keep default DHCP configuration to help trouble shoot those odd issues. Don't change subnet masks either. Just default. You'll not gain anything by changing that.
The system has been running without a glitch for several days now. What seemed to do it was:
1) Hard reset of the RBR750 by holding a pin in the hole for 20 seconds 2) Setting it up with a laptop plugged into the Orbi 3) Telling it to skip trying to set up satellites.
The satellites are working. The "Router" is working as a wireless access point. Whether they are aware of one another, I neither know nor care. The non-Orbi access points are fine. It is time to stop tinkering and take the win.
Thank you to everyone for your helpful suggestion.
