Random connection dropping

john231 · Tue Oct 29, 2019 7:31 pm

Hello,
I’m still having problems with my mikrotik setup (Previous post: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=145719 ).
Problem is that from time to time the internet connection drops while a device is still connected to the AP. The problem specially affects mobile devices but PCs and Macs are affected as well.
Now the problem occurs for example when browsing the internet watching videos etc and at that precise moment you can’t event connect to the main router (gateway) @ 192.168.88.1. The device itself stays connected to the AP.

The setup is very simple and i have attached every single devices configuration export as well (except switch). Switches have been assigned static ip addresses and on 192.168.88.5 switch i have ticked the box that says Long PoE in cable.

Also i have attached the network topology:

network_topology.png

Every AC lite box runs 2.4GHz and 5GHz on different channels to make sure they don’t overlap. There is only one exception for that and that is 192.168.88.2 and 192.168.88.3 have 2.4Ghz wifi netowrk set on channel 1 because they are both in different buildings and distance between those buildings is about 30-40 meters. Underground Cat5 cable runs between those buildings as well.

Can anyone please tell me what am i doing wrong? I have been searching for a solution for months now and still got problems. This however is the most stable setup i could get. Default configuration with minor tweaks, as putting the router in bridge mode and assigning static ip address, will not work at all.

 SXT-LTE is in default configuration only minor changes:

automatic upgrade enabled

sim card pin added

some static ip addresses assigned

dhcp lease time set to 1 day

dmitris · Tue Oct 29, 2019 8:51 pm

Let's assume that when interruption occurs and you client connected to the "AP Maja" try to ping all others ap's and switches, what is the result than?

BTW try login into your switches and check that you don't have tx/rx errors on ports.

How long is the cable between sw1 and sw2?

john231 · Wed Oct 30, 2019 10:49 am

Will try to ping them on friday when i get back there.

One of the first things i checked was TX/RX errors on switches, there are none.

Cable is around 40-45 meters long.

The same problem happens if connected to 192.168.88.2 (AP Saun) and from there the distance to the switch is about 30 cm and from switch (192.168.88.4) to SXT-LTE (192.168.88.1) the distance is 4 meters.

The SXT-LTE is positioned behind the house (outside) with a perfect line of site to the cellular tower. There is nothing blocking the signal from SXT-LTE to the cellular tower you can see the tower and it is about 3km away

dmitris · Wed Oct 30, 2019 1:35 pm

Thx for precise information...

Do you have any PC's which are connected to this network with cable or all devices using internet only over WiFI?

Also i will suggest to check ether1 port on SXT for link downs. Look at Interfaces>ether1>statusTAB>Link downs= number.

john231 · Thu Oct 31, 2019 12:18 am

All devices are using wifi only. Will check for link downs on friday.

john231 · Thu Oct 31, 2019 9:12 am

Any other ideas to check or test?

Should i give more details about something?

If i can’t resolve this is there perhaps a service i can call in estonia that will come and try to inspect and fix the problem on site?

One thing i noticed is that if you have the AP a floor above you (4 meters) (floor has sand and wood) the signal is not poor but given that is only 4 meters away from you should be way better. Also the problem happens when you are connected to the AP next to you like 50 cm.

dmitris · Thu Oct 31, 2019 11:19 am

NB!
Do backup from all devices before modifying config...

1. On router and all APs define IP-address on the bridge1 not interface.

/ip address
add address=192.168.88.x/24 comment=defconf interface=bridge1 network=192.168.88.0

-
2. On all APs you have configured dhcp-relay! Why? Disable it because all your devices have connection to the router bridge1 and hence receive IP directly from dhcp-server.

/ip dhcp-relay
add dhcp-server=192.168.88.1 disabled=yes interface=bridge1 name=relay1

-
3. Disable RSTP on all of you devices. Including switches.

/interface bridge
set  [ find name=bridge1 ] protocol-mode=none

On switches>
Go to the RSTPtab and switch off RSTP tick on all ports.
-

Debugging
1. try to use PC which is connected to the network using cable. So you can understand better where is the problem, is it in WiFi part or somewhere else. From this computer put all devices on ping including outside IP f.e 8.8.8.8. It will help you a lot to understand what is happening.

2. If problem in WiFi try to disable on all APs 5Ghz and check if problem is solved. If not try same with 2 GHz

3. Check logs on all mikrotiks, maybe there is something interesting...

john231 · Fri Nov 01, 2019 1:00 pm

Why should i disable RSTP ? I don't really understand that.

dmitris · Fri Nov 01, 2019 1:28 pm

First of all it's useless in your network topology, the second one that it can be a source of your current problem...i'm just proposing an ideas what can help you...

john231 · Fri Nov 01, 2019 9:37 pm

Also i will suggest to check ether1 port on SXT for link downs. Look at Interfaces>ether1>statusTAB>Link downs= number.

0 link downs.

john231 · Fri Nov 01, 2019 10:01 pm

NB!
Do backup from all devices before modifying config...

1. On router and all APs define IP-address on the bridge1 not interface.
Code: Select all
/ip address
add address=192.168.88.x/24 comment=defconf interface=bridge1 network=192.168.88.0
-
2. On all APs you have configured dhcp-relay! Why? Disable it because all your devices have connection to the router bridge1 and hence receive IP directly from dhcp-server.
Code: Select all
/ip dhcp-relay
add dhcp-server=192.168.88.1 disabled=yes interface=bridge1 name=relay1
-
3. Disable RSTP on all of you devices. Including switches.
Code: Select all
/interface bridge
set  [ find name=bridge1 ] protocol-mode=none
On switches>
Go to the RSTPtab and switch off RSTP tick on all ports.
-

Did all 3 steps will be monitoring the network closely now.. will let you know..

I did not really understand what RSTP was.. that's why i asked about it..

dmitris · Fri Nov 01, 2019 10:05 pm

RSTP - Rapid Spanning Tree Protcol, it help prevent bridge loops in networks.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanning_Tree_Protocol

john231 · Fri Nov 01, 2019 11:07 pm

Okay so after about an hour on my tablet the problems came back.

After the changes switches started to say this error on the upgrade page:
ERROR: Could not determine latest version, probably no internet connection. Use manual upgrade.

The problem seems to affect only mobile devices (phones, tablets).. for example my macbook pro that is connected to the 5GHz network does not get these hangs at all. When the problem occurred i could only ping the AP i was connected to not even the gateway.

john231 · Fri Nov 01, 2019 11:11 pm

This is all the info that /log print shows me on the AP

oct/31 04:00:18 system,error,critical router was rebooted without proper shutdown 
oct/31 04:00:20 bridge,info "bridge1" mac address changed to B8:69:F4:D7:80:E7 
oct/31 04:00:26 bridge,info hardware offloading activated on bridge "bridge1" ports: ether1 
oct/31 04:00:26 bridge,info hardware offloading activated on bridge "bridge1" ports: ether2 
oct/31 04:00:26 bridge,info hardware offloading activated on bridge "bridge1" ports: ether3 
oct/31 04:00:26 bridge,info hardware offloading activated on bridge "bridge1" ports: ether4 
oct/31 04:00:26 bridge,info hardware offloading activated on bridge "bridge1" ports: ether5 
oct/31 04:00:28 interface,info ether1 link up (speed 100M, full duplex) 
22:08:24 wireless,info 24:1B:7A:94:74:AF@wlan2: connected, signal strength -61 
22:08:30 wireless,info 58:E2:8F:0F:AA:31@wlan2: connected, signal strength -78 
22:22:08 wireless,info 64:A2:F9:F3:79:FB@wlan2: connected, signal strength -70 
22:22:14 wireless,info 64:A2:F9:F3:79:FB@wlan2: disconnected, registered to other device in network 
22:23:02 wireless,info 64:A2:F9:F3:79:FB@wlan2: connected, signal strength -65 
22:23:12 wireless,info 64:A2:F9:F3:79:FB@wlan2: disconnected, received deauth: sending station leaving (3) 
22:26:17 wireless,info 64:A2:F9:F3:79:FB@wlan2: connected, signal strength -58 
22:27:14 wireless,info 78:4F:43:80:2F:87@wlan2: connected, signal strength -69 
22:28:59 wireless,info 64:A2:F9:F3:79:FB@wlan2: disconnected, registered to other device in network 
22:30:11 wireless,info 58:E2:8F:0F:AA:31@wlan2: disconnected, registered to other device in network 
22:32:29 wireless,info 58:E2:8F:0F:AA:31@wlan2: connected, signal strength -76 
22:34:38 wireless,info 64:A2:F9:F3:79:FB@wlan2: connected, signal strength -63 
22:35:15 wireless,info 58:E2:8F:0F:AA:31@wlan2: disconnected, registered to other device in network 
22:37:10 wireless,info 58:E2:8F:0F:AA:31@wlan2: connected, signal strength -68 
22:38:20 wireless,info 58:E2:8F:0F:AA:31@wlan2: disconnected, registered to other device in network 
22:38:44 wireless,info 58:E2:8F:0F:AA:31@wlan2: connected, signal strength -89 
22:39:15 wireless,info 58:E2:8F:0F:AA:31@wlan2: disconnected, extensive data loss 
22:39:42 wireless,info 64:A2:F9:F3:79:FB@wlan2: disconnected, registered to other device in network 
22:40:07 wireless,info 64:A2:F9:F3:79:FB@wlan2: connected, signal strength -72 
22:40:52 wireless,info 58:E2:8F:0F:AA:31@wlan2: connected, signal strength -67 
22:40:53 wireless,info 58:E2:8F:0F:AA:31@wlan2: disconnected, received disassoc: sending station leaving (8) 
22:41:43 wireless,info 24:1B:7A:94:74:AF@wlan2: disconnected, registered to other device in network 
22:47:01 wireless,info 64:A2:F9:F3:79:FB@wlan2: disconnected, group key exchange timeout 
22:47:32 wireless,info 64:A2:F9:F3:79:FB@wlan2: connected, signal strength -67 
22:47:35 wireless,info 24:1B:7A:94:74:AF@wlan2: connected, signal strength -69 
22:47:41 wireless,info 58:E2:8F:0F:AA:31@wlan2: connected, signal strength -72 
22:48:00 wireless,info 58:E2:8F:0F:AA:31@wlan2: disconnected, registered to other device in network 
22:48:01 wireless,info 24:1B:7A:94:74:AF@wlan2: disconnected, registered to other device in network 
22:52:24 wireless,info 58:E2:8F:0F:AA:31@wlan2: connected, signal strength -71 
22:52:27 wireless,info 24:1B:7A:94:74:AF@wlan2: connected, signal strength -61 
22:52:34 wireless,info 24:1B:7A:94:74:AF@wlan2: disconnected, registered to other device in network 
22:53:33 wireless,info 24:1B:7A:94:74:AF@wlan2: connected, signal strength -70 
22:55:46 wireless,info 24:1B:7A:94:74:AF@wlan2: disconnected, registered to other device in network 
22:55:49 wireless,info 24:1B:7A:94:74:AF@wlan2: connected, signal strength -73 
22:57:14 wireless,info 58:E2:8F:0F:AA:31@wlan2: disconnected, registered to other device in network 
22:59:04 wireless,info 24:1B:7A:94:74:AF@wlan2: disconnected, extensive data loss 
22:59:07 wireless,info 24:1B:7A:94:74:AF@wlan2: connected, signal strength -75 
23:07:40 system,info,account user admin logged in from 192.168.88.151 via web 
23:08:30 system,info,account user admin logged in via local 
23:09:16 system,info,account user admin logged in from 192.168.88.226 via web 
23:09:16 wireless,info 58:E2:8F:0F:AA:31@wlan2: connected, signal strength -82 
23:09:16 system,info,account user admin logged in via local

dmitris · Fri Nov 01, 2019 11:57 pm

From your logs i see that devices is roaming very often in short time for some reason...

f.e this one

22:52:34 wireless,info 24:1B:7A:94:74:AF@wlan2: disconnected, registered to other device in network 
22:53:33 wireless,info 24:1B:7A:94:74:AF@wlan2: connected, signal strength -70 
22:55:46 wireless,info 24:1B:7A:94:74:AF@wlan2: disconnected, registered to other device in network 
22:55:49 wireless,info 24:1B:7A:94:74:AF@wlan2: connected, signal strength -73

Here is good video about WiFi...
https://youtu.be/JRbAqie1_AM?list=PLfpN ... ubjrFCmEM5

john231 · Sun Nov 03, 2019 10:55 am

At the moment logs are clear but there was issues still in the morning when ipad dropped the connection. After a couple of minutes it could connect again (the wifi connection didn't drop just the internet connection). It could only ping the AP it was connected to and itself, gateway ping timed out.

I have done all 3 changes suggested by user dmitris and also disabled 5GHz network (there is no need for it cause the connection to the internet is only 30 down / 5 up Mbps. Also there is no need for a faster lan connection because devices on the network regularly only connect to the internet not each other and hap ac lite is limited to an 100Mbps ethernet port.

Will monitor the connections and keep this thread up to date (there could be a week delay).

The problem with the switches still does presist: ERROR: Could not determine latest version, probably no internet connection. Use manual upgrade.

The current config is as follows:

192_168_88_1.txt

192_168_88_2.txt

192_168_88_3.txt

192_168_88_6.txt

192_168_88_8.txt

SwitchMaja (192.168.88.4) config:

192_168_88_4_LINK.png

192_168_88_4_SFP.png

192_168_88_4_FORWARDING.png

192_168_88_4_RSTP.png

192_168_88_4_STATISTICS.png

192_168_88_4_ERRORS.png

192_168_88_4_VLAN.png

192_168_88_4_VLANS.png

192_168_88_4_HOSTS.png

192_168_88_4_IGMP_GROUPS.png

192_168_88_4_SNMP.png

192_168_88_4_ACL.png

192_168_88_4_SYSTEM.png

192_168_88_4_UPGRADE.png

john231 · Sun Nov 03, 2019 10:57 am

SwitchSaun (192.168.88.5) config:

192_168_88_5_LINK.png

192_168_88_5_SFP.png

192_168_88_5_FORWARDING.png

192_168_88_5_RSTP.png

192_168_88_5_STATISTICS.png

192_168_88_5_ERRORS.png

192_168_88_5_VLAN.png

192_168_88_5_VLANS.png

192_168_88_5_HOSTS.png

192_168_88_5_IGMP_GROUPS.png

192_168_88_5_SNMP.png

192_168_88_5_ACL.png

192_168_88_5_SYSTEM.png

192_168_88_5_UPGRADE.png

dmitris · Sun Nov 03, 2019 11:57 am

The problem with the switches still does presist: ERROR: Could not determine latest version, probably no internet connection. Use manual upgrade.

Don't be concerned about this problem now....It's not related to your current issue at all...

Find you iPad MAC address, than log in your AP's and look at this parameter > "Wireless>Registration>TX/RX Signal strenght" . If signal strenght for ipad <=-80 dBm (-120..-80 very poor signal, wifi will not work with such parameters). Second one what you should look it's a signal quality CCQ and SNR

Here is good explanation of SNR,CCQ, ... signals.
viewtopic.php?t=73562

john231 · Tue Nov 05, 2019 10:13 am

The problem with the switches still does presist: ERROR: Could not determine latest version, probably no internet connection. Use manual upgrade.
Don't be concerned about this problem now....It's not related to your current issue at all...

okay but i would like to get to the bottom of that problem as well.. any ideas on that?

dmitris · Tue Nov 05, 2019 11:31 am

In my opinion, Mikrotik switch can't obtain upgrade software info because you defined a static IP on it. As you can see you defined only static IP but there are no fileds for mask, gateway and dns and hence device don't know how to reach update server.
P.S
Personally i have same behavior on this device, but it's not bothering me and a'm doing upgrade manually.

john231 · Wed Nov 06, 2019 7:43 am

Ookay will test it out but that is kind of backwards why can i just put static ip address but not any other parameters like gateway, dns etc. As i understand the gui has no such option and there is no option to log into the terminal as well?

Seems like a lack of functionality on mikrotiks part on the swOS.

dmitris · Wed Nov 06, 2019 9:15 am

This is why i don't like SwOS at all...no logs, no ssh....but it's very cheap

)

john231 · Wed Nov 06, 2019 10:26 am

Also question on a another subject. What is the real world link speed of SXT-LTE? My ISP is offering me an "unlimited" speed package but i can only get 30 Mbps down and 5 Mbps up speed. I want to understand if that is the limit of the SXT-LTE device (speedtest conducted from SXT-LTE itself against mikrotik bandwidth test server) or my ISP is screwing me over.

dmitris · Wed Nov 06, 2019 11:09 am

https://mikrotik.com/product/RBSXTLTE3-7

The SXT LTE (product code RBSXTLTE3-7) is a special variant of our popular SXT device, and doesn’t include a 802.11 wireless device. Instead, it has a built in high quality LTE Category 3 modem for speeds of up to 100Mbit/s downlink and 50 Mbit/s uplink.

You should check LTE signal quality under Interfaces > LTE > CellularTAB, if signal good than your location is just overcrowded. This is normal for some places in Estonia f.e Viimsi or Pirita.

mkx · Wed Nov 06, 2019 12:35 pm

As @dimitris wrote, achievable LTE speed highly depends on load of your serving LTE cell. I suggest you to test speeds during different times of day to see if there's a difference. I guess it depends on particular network, but in network of my former employee (largest MNO in my country) we would see usage low in early morning hours (around 4h in the morning) and usage high during evening (say between 18h and 23h). And the overall load difference between the two extrema was factor of 20 or so. Surely this varies between cell towers quite much (make sure your neighbours are fast asleep when you're trying to break speed record

).

john231 · Thu Nov 07, 2019 12:21 pm

The LTE issue has been fixed. Contacted the ISP and problem was communication. I was described a unlimited package but that unlimited only meant data not transfer speeds. So the speed cap is from ISP side. Had it upgraded to 50/20 because they don't offer 100/100, it's only 50/20 or unlimited which costs like 50 euros a month. The price is too much taking into account that i could theoretically get only 100/100 speeds.

john231 · Thu Nov 07, 2019 12:24 pm

Next weekend i'll be back on that location and i will check on the signal qualitys from the AP's to the devices. Also i will try to set the switches to "DHCP with fallback IP address" mode and from the DHCP server try to assign a static ip for the switches as well. Will see if that fixes that upgrade issue.

mkx · Thu Nov 07, 2019 1:38 pm

The price is too much taking into account that i could theoretically get only 100/100 speeds.

Actually SXT-LTE is limited to 150/50, so using this gadget you'd ideally be able to get 100/50. Then it depends how much you need higher uplink speeds ...

john231 · Thu Nov 21, 2019 10:38 am

Okay so the RSTP thing has probably did the trick. No more connection dropping. Also disabled 5Ghz wifi network cause the outside link speed is around 50/20 so there is no need for 5Ghz speeds 2.4 will do just fine. Due to the fact that 2.4Ghz has better range i removed one of the three AP's from one house.

dmitris · Thu Nov 21, 2019 6:24 pm

Glad to hear that your connection performing better.

bpwl · Mon Nov 29, 2021 9:45 pm

In my opinion, Mikrotik switch can't obtain upgrade software info because you defined a static IP on it. As you can see you defined only static IP but there are no fileds for mask, gateway and dns and hence device don't know how to reach update server.
P.S
Personally i have same behavior on this device, but it's not bothering me and a'm doing upgrade manually.

The trick is that the PC or iMAC is checking for a new version of the SwOS software. Not the SwOS switch. Indeed the switch has only an IP address, and knows no default gateway, DNS, or the path to Internet. The browser is combining the information from the SwOS device and the download site into one browser page.

john231 · Sun Jun 05, 2022 5:18 pm

Hey so the connection dropping is back. Now a bit different i replaced the sxt-lte with LHGG and it usually works fine but randomly at some point there is not connection to the internet. ping to google dns failes but to the router itself is okay. Once i use winbox to connect to the router then immediately the ping to google dns 8.8.8.8 starts working again. How can i start to analyse this problem to find out what is the problem?

john231 · Sun Jun 05, 2022 5:36 pm

Another thing that happens is that the uptime of LHGG after each incident goes back to 0 like it did a reboot. But in the log it does not say that it did a reboot. The session uptime on lte1 interface also goes to 0.

john231 · Sun Jun 05, 2022 8:49 pm

Upgraded the lte modem firmware lets see if that fixes anything.

> /interface lte firmware-upgrade lte1
installed: R11e-LTE6_V033
latest: R11e-LTE6_V033

john231 · Mon Jun 06, 2022 10:14 am

Nope same thing again. Added lte logging, no info there as well.

Screenshot 2022-06-06 at 10.14.27.png

Random connection dropping [SOLVED]

Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping [SOLVED]

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Re: Random connection dropping

Who is online