Troubleshooting a router, stops responding periodically (D-Link Xtreme N Gigabit)

Question

I have a D-Link Xtreme N Gigabit Router (http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=530), which has worked fine for the past year since I bought it. I recently moved and changed internet providers. Now, once every day or two, the router stops responding - no internet traffic goes through, and I can't even bring up the admin interface for the router. I have to cycle the power on it, then it works fine again. LAN traffic seems unaffected. I updated the BIOS, what else could the problem be?

Solution 1

Something you might want to consider:

In this area, we tend to get frequent power glitches and brownouts in the summer months. If the power goes out-- even for the tiniest fraction of a second-- the router lights will be on but it becomes non-responsive. But, like you, a simple power cycle solves the problem.

I'm not sure why the electricity going out for a second acts any differently than disconnecting the power cord for a second. But the solution was to plug the router into the UPS.

P.S. My router is a LinkSys WRK54G wireless router.

Solution 2

Try disabling DNS Relay at Setup > Router Settings > Router Settings and uncheck Enable DNS Relay. I've done a fair amount of reading on this fix and there's no noticeable performance hit. I have had the same problem with my DIR-655 and a DGL-4300 before that. The symptoms I experienced are that the internet would slow to a crawl then stop responding, LAN continues working, but the admin screen on the router does not load. Disabling DNS Relay resolved this for me.

Solution 3

Have you made any changes in your usage patterns? Many routers have issues with services like bittorrent. I've seen this happen with a few models of d-link and linksys and it behaves exactly as you describe.

Basically anything that creates a big amount of connections like bittorrent and emule can cause your router to behave like that.

Comments

[Mindfulgeek]

Could it be overheating?

[sangretu]

Not likely, the lights keep flashing and a quick power cycle brings it back up for another 12-48 hours.

[Mindfulgeek]

Cable, fiber, or phone coming in from isp?

[sangretu]

Input is ethernet from the cable modem. In the past, this router has been pretty forgiving about losing its external link, and picks it back up pretty reliably when it returns. Also, when I cycle the power on the router, I don't do anything else - the cable modem and its connection remain as-is.

[sangretu]

The router is connected to a UPS device. I will take a look at the connection, however, and run some tests to make sure it's being protected adequately. Good point, thanks.

[sangretu]

What do you mean by "AP"? Wireless access point? I'm not trying to connect to the router wirelessly - all of the systems on the network are currently wired.

[Mindfulgeek]

Have a licensed electrician test the receptacle, you may have bigger problems then you router not working.

[sangretu]

Hmm. I've been reserving IPs for my systems. Maybe next time it happens I'll try accessing the administrative console from different systems and see if any of them can get through. Not having a view into what's happening is making it difficult to troubleshoot.

[Robert Cartaino]

@tester101 - Me? I live in Central Florida. Everyday: "Hazy, hot and humid, high in the upper 90's, chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon" all summer. The local utility is nick-named "Florida Flash and Flicker" for a reason. It's pretty much a state-wide problem.

[Admin]

You said you have LAN traffic correct? I couldnt always get a fix by unplugging and plugging back in, i had to reboot from the router itself to get the DHCP reset.

[Mindfulgeek]

While the electrician is there have him install a surge suppressor on the main circuit panel as well. (Keep in mind that even with such a device, it is recomended that surge supressor power strips be used to protect devices).

[sangretu]

I think I still have LAN traffic (need to verify), but I can't bring up the administrative console on the router.

[ayaz]

Seconded. I face this problem with my D-Link router. Despite being behind a voltage stabilizer, once in a while when there is some sort of a power fluctuation that gets through to the router, the router stops responding while still glowing its several indicator lights. The solution is a quick power-cycle.