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Server keeps losing Wifi connection

kay23
Newbie
Posts: 2
Registered: ‎10-06-2015

Server keeps losing Wifi connection

Hi,
First off I'm no techie so please bear with me. I joined a few months ago. I have fibre optic broad band with a static IP address to received emails to a home based server. We also connection other mobile devices to the router.
Recently the server loses it connection and it appears that the router randomly assign the same IP address to the server and another device.  A friend has suggested that we turn all devices and the server off, switch the router off. then reboot the server and then router and the router assigns the first IP address to the server again. Then we connect the other devices. There isnt a warn when this happens and the first that we know about is when we try to retrieve emails and a error message appears. 
We have to keep doing this every month and its becoming annoying. i never had this issue with BT Broad band and though that the Static IP address was all that was required.
Any ideas?Huh
5 REPLIES 5
dvorak
Moderator
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Registered: ‎11-01-2008

Re: Server keeps losing Wifi connection

if you're running a mail server you really should be running it cabled rather than on wireless.
which router is it that you have?
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sjptd
Grafter
Posts: 494
Thanks: 4
Registered: ‎01-09-2014

Re: Server keeps losing Wifi connection

There are two aspects of static IP address.
One is whether your address on the internet is static.  That is effectively the external (WAN, wide area network) address of your router: all your internal devices will be seen on the internet as coming from this address.  If you have a static address from PlusNet this is the address that will be used; otherwise they will generate a new one each time the router connects to the internet.
The other is the internal (LAN, local area network) address by which all your devices and the router know each other.  Typically the router will be 192.168.1.254 and other devices will have addresses 192.168.1.xxx
The devices addresses can be allocated dynamically by the router (DHCP), or you can set one up explicitly yourself (also known as a static IP address).
If you set up a static internal (LAN) address you must make sure it is not in the range the router gives out for dynamic addresses.  (Someone else can tell you what that default range is on a PlusNet router, I'm still using a BT HomeHub 3).
If two devices get the same LAN address you will have failures such as you see.  This can happen because two devices choose the same static LAN address, or because one chooses an address in the DHCP range and another is then allocated that by the router.  Routers are clever enough to know what DHCP addresses they have currently allocated, but not usually clever enough to notice a device coming in on an address in that range but which the router did not allocate.
I agree with the other poster that it is unusual to connect a server by WiFi, but no harm if it has only light use.  The address issues will be the same wired or wireless.
kay23
Newbie
Posts: 2
Registered: ‎10-06-2015

Re: Server keeps losing Wifi connection

Hi I'm using the Plusnet modem and hardwired to it.  Last night a logged everything off and reset everything and it works fine. this morning, its all gone again
pwatson
Rising Star
Posts: 2,470
Thanks: 8
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎26-11-2012

Re: Server keeps losing Wifi connection

As per the advice given above, it sounds like you're using an address on your server that the router is also offering to a DHCP device.  If you post your router model number then some specific advice will be possible...
Andrue
Pro
Posts: 775
Thanks: 90
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎12-01-2015

Re: Server keeps losing Wifi connection

Quote from: dvorak
if you're running a mail server you really should be running it cabled rather than on wireless.
..and you should really be a 'techie' IMO. It's not difficult running a mail server when it's working as they generally bimble along without requiring any intervention but when they do go wrong they can get complicated.