Singing the wireless VPN blues

My old super-reliable Linksys BEFW11S4 died on me recently. This 'B'
wireless router was working perfect for 4-5 months after I updated the
firmware to fix a DHCP problem. About 2 weeks ago the wireless quit
working on it, so I figured I would go out and buy a 'G' router. I
purchased the Linksys WRT54G and my VPN (and network in general) would
not stay connected for more than 30-60 minutes. My old 'B' router used
to stay connected to my VPN for up to the 18 hour max (set by my
company). I tried updating the firmware on the WRT54G, but it did not
help. I took the router back and got the Netgear WGR614, and the same
thing is happening. My wireless laptop network keeps disconnecting
after 1-2 hours. What the hell is going on? Does the 'G' network have
some type of inactivity time-out? Also, the range on my Netgear won't
reach my deck outside (the Linksys routers did not have this problem).
As much as I don't want to buy a Belkin, I may just have to try that.
Any others having a similar problem or resolution/suggestion? I may
also buy another Linksys and use third-party firmware. Also, I was
using WEP security on my 'B' router, and tried no security, WEP and WPA
on the new G Linksys and that did not matter. Thanks for any advice.

Also, speed is way over-rated on wireless routers, I could care less
about speed. What I do care about is reliability and range. Thanks.

On 6 Jul 2006 16:59:13 -0700, (E-Mail Removed) wrote in
<(E-Mail Removed) .com>:

>My old super-reliable Linksys BEFW11S4 died on me recently. This 'B'
>wireless router was working perfect for 4-5 months after I updated the
>firmware to fix a DHCP problem. About 2 weeks ago the wireless quit
>working on it, so I figured I would go out and buy a 'G' router. I
>purchased the Linksys WRT54G and my VPN (and network in general) would
>not stay connected for more than 30-60 minutes. My old 'B' router used
>to stay connected to my VPN for up to the 18 hour max (set by my
>company). I tried updating the firmware on the WRT54G, but it did not
>help. I took the router back and got the Netgear WGR614, and the same
>thing is happening. My wireless laptop network keeps disconnecting
>after 1-2 hours. What the hell is going on? Does the 'G' network have
>some type of inactivity time-out? Also, the range on my Netgear won't
>reach my deck outside (the Linksys routers did not have this problem).
>As much as I don't want to buy a Belkin, I may just have to try that.
>Any others having a similar problem or resolution/suggestion? I may
>also buy another Linksys and use third-party firmware. Also, I was
>using WEP security on my 'B' router, and tried no security, WEP and WPA
>on the new G Linksys and that did not matter. Thanks for any advice.

My guess is interference. Perhaps the new G routers are using different
channels than your old B router. Try different channels, preferably
those with minimal overlap (1, 6, 11).

--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_How_To>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>

>
> My guess is interference. Perhaps the new G routers are using different
> channels than your old B router. Try different channels, preferably
> those with minimal overlap (1, 6, 11).
>
> --
Thanks for the reply, however I never had any interference with my B
router and I am using channel 11.

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) oups.com...
> My old super-reliable Linksys BEFW11S4 died on me recently. This 'B'
> wireless router was working perfect for 4-5 months after I updated the
> firmware to fix a DHCP problem. About 2 weeks ago the wireless quit
> working on it, so I figured I would go out and buy a 'G' router. I
> purchased the Linksys WRT54G and my VPN (and network in general) would
> not stay connected for more than 30-60 minutes. My old 'B' router used
> to stay connected to my VPN for up to the 18 hour max (set by my
> company). I tried updating the firmware on the WRT54G, but it did not
> help. I took the router back and got the Netgear WGR614, and the same
> thing is happening. My wireless laptop network keeps disconnecting
> after 1-2 hours. What the hell is going on? Does the 'G' network have
> some type of inactivity time-out?

i have a netgear wgr614 (v6). i just spent all day connected to the vpn at
work (work uses a Cisco VPN client into a VPN3030 server). i am running
V1.0.11_1.0.7

1 thing that might help is to use TCP encapsulation if the VPN allows it -
this helps for me with difficult connections such as GPRS.

Also, the range on my Netgear won't
> reach my deck outside (the Linksys routers did not have this problem).
> As much as I don't want to buy a Belkin, I may just have to try that.
> Any others having a similar problem or resolution/suggestion? I may
> also buy another Linksys and use third-party firmware. Also, I was
> using WEP security on my 'B' router, and tried no security, WEP and WPA
> on the new G Linksys and that did not matter. Thanks for any advice.
>
WEP (and WPA) seem to work here.

--
Regards

(E-Mail Removed) - replace xyz with ntl

On 7 Jul 2006 11:08:26 -0700, (E-Mail Removed) wrote in
<(E-Mail Removed). com>:

>>
>> My guess is interference. Perhaps the new G routers are using different
>> channels than your old B router. Try different channels, preferably
>> those with minimal overlap (1, 6, 11).
>>
>Thanks for the reply, however I never had any interference with my B
>router and I am using channel 11.

Please read what I wrote more carefully. And just because you didn't
have interference before doesn't mean that you won't have interference
now -- things change. Do try different channels, and look for possible
sources of interference (as described in the wikis below).

--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_How_To>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>