Netgear router - intermittent problem with FTP traffic

My dad's Netgear DG834G V5 router has developed an intermittent problem
passing FTP traffic. When you connect to an FTP site to upload pages to a
web site, it will sometimes fail to display the contents of the folders on
that FTP server. All other traffic (eg HTTP, POP/SMTP) seems to be fine.

It affects all PCs on his network, and also my own laptop which definitely
works using the same FTP server and logon using my own router and broadband
connection. This seems to eliminate firewall problems on the PC.

I've tried using:

- WS-FTP
- the FTP client built into FrontPage 2003
- the command-prompt client built into Windows XP/Vista/7

In the case of the command-prompt FTP client, I can see that the responses
are initially OK and then the server stops responding:

ftp homepages.force9.net
user: [username]
password: [password]
ftp> ls
200 PORT command successful
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for file list
htdocs [this is the top-level folder]
226 Transfer complete
ftp> cd htdocs
250 CWD command successful
ftp> ls
200 PORT command successful
[and that's as far as it gets - there's not even another "ftp>" prompt]

Using my router and broadband, that second "ls" gives further responses

150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for file list[list of folders]
226 Transfer complete



I've tried to a variety of FTP servers and the result is the same.

Rebooting the router usually solves the problem, but I'm not sure whether
it's the act of rebooting it which helps or the fact that doing so
disconnects and reconnects the ADS: connection.

Has anyone seen symptoms like this? Is it likely to be a duff router or a
problem with the ADSL connection?

Mortimer wrote:
> My dad's Netgear DG834G V5 router has developed an intermittent problem
> passing FTP traffic.

I'm sorry to say that most of the Netgear kit we've bought in recent years
(including a model similar to yours) has been very poor. I've never had the
particular symptoms you describe, but I've seen similar problems develop
with other connection types, particularly HTTP/HTTPS ones.

As these got worse over time and the need to reboot the router increased to
almost daily, we swapped out our old router for one of the newer
generation, also from Netgear, but that is even worse and has had silly
connectivity interruptions from the start.

As pure speculation, I'm guessing some of the QoS functionality they've
been pushing recently isn't up to scratch. In any case, the cause of the
problem doesn't really matter. The bottom line is that the kit doesn't work
properly and has worsened over time.

As you can tell from my other recent post to this group, my solution is now
to dump Netgear entirely and find another manufacturer. Sorry I can't be
more helpful, but after having a string of different Netgear devices over
the past 3-4 years and not a single one actually working reliably for a
normally expected lifetime, I've just given up and concluded that they
simply aren't what they used to be. :-(

Regards,
Chris

Chris Newton formulated on Thursday :
> Mortimer wrote:
>> My dad's Netgear DG834G V5 router has developed an intermittent problem
>> passing FTP traffic.
>
> I'm sorry to say that most of the Netgear kit we've bought in recent years
> (including a model similar to yours) has been very poor. I've never had the
> particular symptoms you describe, but I've seen similar problems develop with
> other connection types, particularly HTTP/HTTPS ones.
>
> As these got worse over time and the need to reboot the router increased to
> almost daily, we swapped out our old router for one of the newer generation,
> also from Netgear, but that is even worse and has had silly connectivity
> interruptions from the start.
>
> As pure speculation, I'm guessing some of the QoS functionality they've been
> pushing recently isn't up to scratch. In any case, the cause of the problem
> doesn't really matter. The bottom line is that the kit doesn't work properly
> and has worsened over time.
>
> As you can tell from my other recent post to this group, my solution is now
> to dump Netgear entirely and find another manufacturer. Sorry I can't be more
> helpful, but after having a string of different Netgear devices over the past
> 3-4 years and not a single one actually working reliably for a normally
> expected lifetime, I've just given up and concluded that they simply aren't
> what they used to be. :-(
>
> Regards,
> Chris

I have the same Netgear routers but the V2 and V3. I do regular FTP to
two sites and usually both at the same time. I do sometimes have
problems, but usually it will be with one site or the other only rarely
do I have problems with both at the same time - so my guess would be
that the problems are with the remote server, rather than my Netgear.
If consistently had problems with both sites at the same time, then I
would be more inclined to blame my Netgear.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

"Harry Bloomfield" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed). uk...
> Chris Newton formulated on Thursday :
>> Mortimer wrote:
>>> My dad's Netgear DG834G V5 router has developed an intermittent problem
>>> passing FTP traffic.
>>
>> I'm sorry to say that most of the Netgear kit we've bought in recent
>> years (including a model similar to yours) has been very poor. I've never
>> had the particular symptoms you describe, but I've seen similar problems
>> develop with other connection types, particularly HTTP/HTTPS ones.
>>
>> As these got worse over time and the need to reboot the router increased
>> to almost daily, we swapped out our old router for one of the newer
>> generation, also from Netgear, but that is even worse and has had silly
>> connectivity interruptions from the start.
>>
>> As pure speculation, I'm guessing some of the QoS functionality they've
>> been pushing recently isn't up to scratch. In any case, the cause of the
>> problem doesn't really matter. The bottom line is that the kit doesn't
>> work properly and has worsened over time.
>>
>> As you can tell from my other recent post to this group, my solution is
>> now to dump Netgear entirely and find another manufacturer. Sorry I can't
>> be more helpful, but after having a string of different Netgear devices
>> over the past 3-4 years and not a single one actually working reliably
>> for a normally expected lifetime, I've just given up and concluded that
>> they simply aren't what they used to be. :-(
>>
>> Regards,
>> Chris
>
> I have the same Netgear routers but the V2 and V3. I do regular FTP to two
> sites and usually both at the same time. I do sometimes have problems, but
> usually it will be with one site or the other only rarely do I have
> problems with both at the same time - so my guess would be that the
> problems are with the remote server, rather than my Netgear. If
> consistently had problems with both sites at the same time, then I would
> be more inclined to blame my Netgear.

I had a Netgear DG834GT which lasted for about eight years until it packed
up totally (random lights at power-on), though until then it worked
flawlessly. I've now got a DG834PN and it's mostly OK though occasionally
(perhaps once every couple of weeks) it drops the ADSL connection or else
refuses to renew IP addresses over Ethernet and wireless when a PC
re-connects, requiring rebooting. I can live with having to reboot every so
often. Certainly it seems to be better than my parents' DG834G V5.

On Thu, 10 Feb 2011 07:27:55 -0000, "Mortimer" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> My dad's Netgear DG834G V5 router has developed an intermittent problem
> passing FTP traffic. When you connect to an FTP site to upload pages to a
> web site, it will sometimes fail to display the contents of the folders on
> that FTP server. All other traffic (eg HTTP, POP/SMTP) seems to be fine.
>
> It affects all PCs on his network, and also my own laptop which definitely
> works using the same FTP server and logon using my own router and broadband
> connection. This seems to eliminate firewall problems on the PC.
>
> I've tried using:
>
> - WS-FTP
> - the FTP client built into FrontPage 2003
> - the command-prompt client built into Windows XP/Vista/7

Sorry to hear of the problem. If those servers can support it, maybe try
using PASV - it's a far simpler protocol for your own router to handle.

"Harry Bloomfield" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed). uk...
>
> I have the same Netgear routers but the V2 and V3. I do regular FTP to two
> sites and usually both at the same time. I do sometimes have problems, but
> usually it will be with one site or the other only rarely do I have
> problems with both at the same time - so my guess would be that the
> problems are with the remote server, rather than my Netgear. If
> consistently had problems with both sites at the same time, then I would
> be more inclined to blame my Netgear.
>


Agreed- the v2, 3 and most of the time v4 are far more resilient than the
v5.

Tim..