Cisco Troubleshooting
If you have trouble connecting to the Internet through
our Cisco network, here are a couple of things you can try before
calling
support...
1. Check the antenna
Make sure that your antenna hasn't changed direction due
to
wind, children's activities, or any other reason. The
antennas
used for wireless networking are highly directional, and usually need
to be pointed within 5 degrees of the direction to the access point.
2. Check the antenna cable
With the Cisco systems, the heavy LMR-400 antenna cable
is
extremely important. Make sure that the connection between
the
cable and the antenna, and between the cable and the radio unit at the
other end, are screwed in tightly. For a laptop, check the
cable
connection by pressing in firmly on the small gold connector at the end
of the thin white cable -- these are only held in by friction, and
sometimes pop out. For a Workgroup Bridge, make sure the
antenna
cable is screwed into the connector labeled "R/P" and not the one
labeled "L" -- the labels are embossed into the plastic casing, and
can be difficult to see unless you look for them.
On the outdoor (antenna) end, it's also a good idea to
check
and make sure that water has not gotten into the connection.
This
can cause serious signal loss. If you unscrew the connection
and
find water inside, attempt to dry it out with tissue or paper towels --
if possible, leave it in the sun for a while to air-dry. When
reconnecting the cable, make sure that the connection is covered by a
good waterproof sealant such as Radio Shack Coaxial Cable Connector
Sealant (part #278-1645).
If you have a laptop which is connected to either a
large
outside antenna or to one of the white "brick" antennas Velcroed to the
lid of the laptop, you'll have a short, thin white cable which connects
to the PCcard radio in your computer. Check this cable for
sharp
bends and/or breaks. Also, the connector which plugs into the
card can become loose and make poor contact if it is disconnected and
reconnected frequently. If any of the above happen to this
cable,
it will have to be replaced.
3a. Workgroup Bridge — Check Status Lights
A Cisco Workgroup Bridge has three status lights on the
top of
the unit. Looking at the unit so that the antenna connectors
are
in the back, the LEDs should look like this:
The bottom LED (closest to the front edge of the case) shows the radio
link status. This LED will normally flash green intermittently,
indicating that the radio is actively sending or receiving.
If it
flashes amber instead of green, that can indicate poor radio
conditions, or that the access point you connect to is overly busy.
In either case, no adjustments on your end are needed.
The center LED is the system status for the WGB. Normally,
this LED glows a steady
green. If it flashes
green, that indicates that it does not see the wireless connection --
see #1 and #2 above, and/or call to see if the access point is having
problems. A color other than green indicates a problem with
the
unit -- try unplugging the power for 30 seconds. If the
non-green
status persists, you should bring the unit to the office for testing.
The top LED (closest to the label) shows the Ethernet network status.
Like the radio LED, this LED will normally flash green as data
is sent and received. If it flashes amber, that
indicates data errors on the wired network -- unusual, but not normally
something to worry about. If it flashes red,
that indicates that it does not see a wired connection through its
ethernet port -- check the network cable and whatever is attached to it.
3b. Computer with PCI card or Laptop with
PCcard
If you have a computer which connects directly to the antenna cable
with a Cisco wireless card, first check the cable connection to make
sure it's screwed in tightly. Next, start the Cisco Aironet
Client Utility -- there should be an icon for it on your desktop, or
you can find it from the Start Menu, under All Programs, Cisco Aironet.
The status bar at the bottom should show the name and Internet address
of the access point to which you are connected. If the status
bar
says "...not associated" instead, then it's not seeing a signal.
Check the antenna and cable as in #1 and #2 above.
If
everything appears well connected but there is still no signal, and our
office reports no problems with the access point you connect to, then
the computer probably needs to be brought to the office to be checked.
If you are associated properly to the access point, the next thing to
check is the "Status" button at the top of the client utility -- second
from the left on the button bar. That should bring up a
dialog
box similar to the following:
First, check the signal strength meter at the bottom.
Generally,
you want to see no less than 40% here. A weaker signal than
that
will be usable occasionally, but not reliable. For a weak
signal,
check the antenna and cabling, but also check to see if any trees or
plants have grown across your line of sight to the access point -- they
will interfere with the signal. (So will new houses!)
Also, check the IP address shown near the center of the box (right
below "MAC Address (Factory)" and above "Current Link Speed") to see if
it is of the proper form. IP addresses on our wireless
network
should look like "172.16.1.x" for normal connections, or either
"206.170.15.x" or "66.52.176.x" for static IP connections. If
your address looks like anything else, try restarting your computer and
check again. If it doesn't change to one of the above forms,
then
go to Control Panel, Network Connections, right-click on your Local
Area connection and choose "Properties" from the menu that pops up.
Scroll down the "connection...items" list to the Internet
Protocol (TCP/IP) and double-click it. If "Use the following
IP
address" is selected and the numbers match what you saw in the Status
box, call the office to see what they should be. Or, if you
aren't paying extra for a static IP address, select both "Obtain an IP
address automatically" and "Obtain DNS server address automatically",
then click "OK" there and in the previous dialog box. You may
have to restart your computer to make the change take effect.
(Note:
the above
paragraph applies to systems running Windows XP. Settings in
older Windows operating systems are similar, but may differ slightly.
Call if you have any questions.)
4. Grandma's Home Remedy
Sometimes the simplest solutions are really the best. We've
found
that this will usually solve about 75% of reported problems.
What is it? Simple. Turn it off.
That's right. If you have a computer with a PCI card or
PCcard
installed, just shut it down, wait 30 seconds or so, then turn it back
on.
If you use a workgroup bridge, it's a little more complicated, but
still pretty simple: power down everything,
then re-power from the
outside in.
First, turn off the workgroup bridge and anything connected
to it
(by unplugging power if necessary). Wait 30 seconds, then
turn
the workgroup bridge back on. Wait another 30 seconds, then
turn
on whatever the network cable from the back of the workgroup bridge was
connected to. If that was anything besides a computer, wait
another 30 seconds, then turn on whatever was connected to that.
And, so on down the line, until everything is running again.
And most of the time, the problem is gone.
If not, give us a call!