Devices attached to satellites unable to talk to each other

[hoverduck]

For the last few weeks I've noticed issues where devices on my network aren't able to reliably talk to each other.  Specifically I have a NAS and a server PC attached via Ethernet to a satellite in the basement, and my laptop connected to either an upstairs satellite or the main router via WiFi.  All of these devices can talk to the internet, but my laptop can't reach the NAS or the server (or vice versa).  I have port forwarding set on the router to forward SSH to the server, and it works fine for me to SSH from the laptop to my external IP address - traffic is correctly forwarded to the server.  But if I try to SSH directly from my laptop to the server it isn't routed.  Pings return nothing.  If I reboot the satellite then I get connectivity back for a while, but then it stops working again.

Yesterday I updated to the latest firmware (v2.3.5.30), and also disabled the Daisy Chain Network Topology.  I thought the latter resolved it, but now about 24 hours later my connectivity disappeared again.

I have telnetted into the satellite and confirmed that even from there I can't ping my laptop.

Is anyone else seeing this problem?  Any advice or suggestions?  I'm about ready to just put the satellite on a smart plug and schedule a reboot every night while I'm asleep.

[FURRYe38]

Is the RBS wired or wireless connected to the RBR?

What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?
What is the distance between the router and satellite(s)? 30 feet is recommended in between them to begin with depending upon building materials when wirelessly connected.

What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channel on 5Ghz.
Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?

Try enabling Beamforming and MIMO(MIMO may or maynot be needed) and WMM. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings

Try disabling the following and see:
Daisy Chain, Fast Roaming, IPv6 and Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s).

Port Fowarding isn't used needed for internal LAN side connections...

Has a factory reset and setup from scratch been performed since last FW update? 

[hoverduck]

Thanks for the quick response and all the suggestions.  I'll give them a try and report back, but in the meantime here are the answers to your questions:

> Is the RBS wired or wireless connected to the RBR?

  Wireless

> What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?

  ~5000 sq ft

> What is the distance between the router and satellite(s)?

  I don't have exact measurements, but a rough guess is about 30ft.

> What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channel on 5Ghz.

  I initially saw the problem with 2.4GHz set to Auto, but I've since reconfigured to channel 4.  I'll try 1, 6, or 11 next.

> Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?

  No, not really.  I see a very faint signal from one neighbor, but not enough to really connect to.

> Port Fowarding isn't used needed for internal LAN side connections...

  Yeah, I know.  I just mentioned that as a point to prove that there's at least one network pathway from laptop -> RBR -> RBS -> server.  Going via the server's local IP doesn't work, but going via the external IP with port forwarding the Orbi routes the data just fine.

> Has a factory reset and setup from scratch been performed since last FW update?

  No, is this recommended anywhere?

---

[FURRYe38]

Why not put the Server connected at the RBR iinstead of the RBS?

Factory resets have proven to help fix odd issues seen after FW updates. 

[hoverduck]

> Why not put the Server connected at the RBR iinstead of the RBS?

  I can't relocate the server itself, so I'd need to run Ethernet across the house...possible, but part of the reason I bought this system was in hopes of avoiding that.  And besides...if I connected the server to the RBR then I'd just reverse the problem and have issues when my laptop is connected to the RBS instead (which is less frequent, but still a fundamental problem).

> Factory resets have proven to help fix odd issues seen after FW updates.

  Interesting.  I guess I'll give that a try.

[FURRYe38]

Let us know how it goes...

[hoverduck]

It's been a week since I last posted on this thread.  Actually when I was in the middle of typing that last reply the issue cropped up again and my RBS started having connectivity issues.  I didn't have time to start any troubleshooting steps at the time and just rebooted it, but it failed to get an IP from the RBR on boot (indicated with a solid magenta light).  I tried re-syncing it without any luck at first, but then I powered all three units down (RBR and two RBSes) then powered the RBR on and confirmed a good connection.  Then I powered on the problematic RBS and re-synced it, at which point it connected fine.  The other RBS powered on fine and connected with no issue.

Since then I haven't seen any problems, but I'll of course continue to keep an eye on it.  Fingers crossed that it's cleared up for good 🙂

[FURRYe38]

Thanks for letting us know the update. 

[hoverduck]

I went 3 months without an issue, since my last comment here, but today I started having problems again.  At least for the short term my workaround from last time of powering everything down and then back on one at a time seems to have solved it, but it's apparently not the permanent solution I'd hoped for 🙁

Other than that I don't have any additional information to help track down the root cause or a 100% solution, I just wanted to note that it's still a problem in case anyone else is seeing it.  Now that I have a better sense that the workaround can fix it at least temporarily I'll be better equipped to perform the troubleshooting mentioned earlier in the thread if it happens again.

[FURRYe38]

You might make contact with NG support. Ask them to help you collect debug logs from the system and maybe they can see where something is failing. 

https://www.netgear.com/mynetgear/registration/login.aspx

@Blanca_O