Hello there. We have a small network at work: 18 workstations: 2 Servers: 2 Switches etc..
We have been suffering with intermittent internet connection loss we lose connectivity for about 2 minutes to the internet. The intranet still works, we do not lose mapped directory drives or anything, so this is not an server problem, I think.
This happens at any particular moment, so finding out the cause of this issue has been troublesome. However, during the last blackout I managed to try and ping the default gateway the first time I got 100% packet loss, the second time I got 75% packet loss. So indeed, this would indicate a problem with the router?
I called BT, who installed the router and have access to the router interface/logs and asked them to check our ADSL line, test the line and also to check the router logs. Well, they said there was no problem; but this does still keep happening not often, but it is something I need to look into.
So in essence, Im going to change the company router (its 5 years old anyway). So I need help with the following (want to make sure I get this right and fully understand the implications of changing the router on the network it might be as simple as plugging it in, then again it might not; first time I have done this).
Our setup: ADSL>Router> Firewall > Server > Switch > Ethernet | Telephone > Workstations.
We currently have this router:
Siemens 5830:
http://www3.shopping.com/xPF-Efficient-Networks-SIEMENS-5830-ADSL-BUSINESS-GW-W-FW-NAT-VPN-4PORT-ENET-GENERICI can connect to the status page of the router (this image will form part of my question)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/Jertsy/rd.jpgSo basically I want to upgrade our current router, but with as little downtime and / or configuration as possible.
Questions!
1) I take it I will have to get another ADSL router, as this is our connection
2) The current router has a VPN/Firewall build in, would the new router have to have the same? (Dont think so, we have a hardware firewall?)
3) We have a few users connecting via a VPN connection after looking at the image above of the status page would I have to configure a new router to allow anymore configurations.
4) Can I just plug the new router in, and walk away? J I mean, would any IP address change we currently least 5 static IP address, so I take that it is not the router that assigns the 192.168.0.1 (Server IP), but this is a static setting configured on the server itself. At home I notice that the router I have just assigns each host a random 192.168.0.# number.
Are there any other areas you think I should look into before upgrading our router?
Thank you very much indeed, I know this is a easy question; but I can use this information as a learning experience, so thats why Im asking all the questions to make sure I get it right.
Thanks.
