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Sharing this to hopefully help someone else, as well as welcoming comments from experts out there.
I had an extended power outage (7 hours), with some brown outs/false starts, and when things came back up had lots of network issues - devices not connecting, unstable wifi, etc. After clean-restarting everything I could, it turned out there were numerous duplicate IP addresses creating issues. Once I resolved the duplicates, things were back to working great. I'm using the RBR50's DHCP server to assign IP addresses.
To identify duplicate IP addresses, I used the browser interface to the router: Advanced Tab -> Security -> Access Control. This lists all active devices, click on "IP Address" column header to sort by IP Address. A quick scan of the list can help to identify duplicate IP Addresses.
My first step to eliminate duplicates was to go to Advanced Tab -> Setup -> LAN, and make a small change to the ending IP address (for example, from 255 to 254). When I hit apply, the router changed some device IP's to eliminate some of the duplicates (I guess it depends on the device whether this will help). There were still a few duplicates left, and for those, resetting the devices with bad IP addresses did the trick.
I'm sure some of you are more proficient experts than I, so any additional comments or suggestions would be appreciated, just so I'm prepared for the next such occurence.
Also, it seems like there might be an opportunity for improvement in the RBR50's DCHP server's handling of this situation.
FYI I have an Orbi RBR50 (V2.5.1.8) with 3 satellites (2xRBS50 V2.5.1.8 + 1xRBW30 V2.3.5.6). My RBS50's are backhauled wired, RBW30 is backhauled wireless. Total of 60 or so devices, typically 40-50 connected at any given time.
Re: Handling Orbi Router Issues after Power Outage
Before jumping through any hoops to sort out a network after a power cut, the first move has to be to restart everything systematically and in the correct order. Don't just leave them to reboot in random order.
Turn off everything, then restart things on the correct order: modem (wait until it is ready) > router (wait until it is ready) > satellites and other network infrastructure and then other devices such as PCs, NSAs, etc.
In that way, they will get their addresses in the right order, with less risk of confusion and duplication.
You can also make life easier by reserving IP addresses for devices so that they always get the same address.
Re: Handling Orbi Router Issues after Power Outage
Before jumping through any hoops to sort out a network after a power cut, the first move has to be to restart everything systematically and in the correct order. Don't just leave them to reboot in random order.
Turn off everything, then restart things on the correct order: modem (wait until it is ready) > router (wait until it is ready) > satellites and other network infrastructure and then other devices such as PCs, NSAs, etc.
In that way, they will get their addresses in the right order, with less risk of confusion and duplication.
You can also make life easier by reserving IP addresses for devices so that they always get the same address.
Re: Handling Orbi Router Issues after Power Outage
@michaelkenward thanks for the feedback! You are correct that powering everything down first would be ideal, however, for me, that's a lot more hoops to jump through versus the process I described. Powering down and starting up 60 devices is a pretty big hassle (devices scattered over 3 stories). The process I shared sped things up considerably by focusing on the devices needing attention.
Also, in my case, I have a lot of Kasa smart switches that cannot be "turned off" (without flipping breakers that also power router). They can be restarted, but it appears they were not giving up their IP lease on restart. Maybe this is more of an issue with the Kasa devices.
I agree that reserving IP's should help prevent future issues, so I'm gonna do that.
I'd really like my network to have a chance at coming back on-line when I'm out of town in case of power outage/restoration. My alarm system will still work (connects via cellular if internet access gone), however, supporting technologies like cameras and lighting won't work after power restoration if network is messed up.
