Network issues

[Seismica]

So i'm in university halls, and it seems that there is a vast network of connected routers here, all of which I presume have the same settings.

I've noticed a problem recently where my PC will connect to a distant router instead of the one inside my flat (Right outside my door no less). But as they're on the same network, with the same SSID etc. Windows only recognises it as a single connection, so when I try to connect to the one in my corridor, sometimes it connects to a different one (At least that is my theory) which has 2 connection bars as opposed to 5, and runs significantly slower.

90% of the time I can simply disconnect and reconnect and it will find the right one, but sometimes it persistently connects to the further away router and this is extremely frustrating is it more or less doubles my ping and slows it down to a crawl. As there is no ethernet ports in the router that can be used, is there any solution?

Also, is there any way to get past blocks on online gaming? I can connect but it seems to time out every 15 minutes.

 

[Grayfox]

What you can do is set their priorities, the one with a high signal is the one in your corridor so set that to the top of the list.

If it is possible change the SSID to something that will stop it from doing this or ask the university IT tech to do it as this is causing issues for you.

 

[Seismica]

What you can do is set their priorities, the one with a high signal is the one in your corridor so set that to the top of the list.

If it is possible change the SSID to something that will stop it from doing this or ask the university IT tech to do it as this is causing issues for you.

I'm not sure how I set priorities, as I said, they are both listed as the same in Windows (As in there is only one option) But One has 4 bars of connection, good ping and a decent speed, the other has 2 bars and low connection/speed, so it's easily to tell which one i'm connected to if it makes sense. Maybe there is a different problem that i've overlooked.

Thanks for the advice I will contact the IT helpdesk at the university if it persists when I get back after christmas. I think there is also a second network, a 'secure' network which requires a key, I know someone last year who couldn't connect to the main network (With a browser login) so he asked for the password for this instead, but i'm not entirely sure if it will fix the problem.

 

[Grayfox]

Running Vista/7.
Start>type in network>select network and sharing center>click on manage wireless networks>select your network>right click>select move up.

You can also if you want delete the one you do not want by selecting it then rightc clicking then click remove.


2000/XP
Since I do not have XP and I in away no longer support it.
If I remember correctly.
You do the following

Click on start>run>type in "ncpa.cpl" then enter>this will bring up the network connections window>right click the wireless device>click on properties>select wireless networks tab>highlight your network>then click move up.

You can also if you want delete the one you do not want by selecting it then clicking remove.

 

[Seismica]

The problem I stated before is annoying, but manageable, all I have to do is disconnect and reconnect and it usually works after 1 or 2 tries. But now I wish to fix the other problem, which I am yet to find a solution for;

The connection times out every 15 minutes, but only when playing online games. It never disconnects at any other time. The router in my hallway is a Cisco Aironet 1200. I've skimmed through the manual online but haven't found anything helpful. Obviously I can't configure the router itself as I don't have the administrator password (Could try defaults but honestly, I don't want to mess with the settings as I could get booted off the network permenantly if they find out). When it disconnects, I have to alt+tab out of the game and reconnect from the taskbar.

I suspect there is some sort of measure in place to disconnect devices using certain types of traffic for an allotted time period. I'm just curious if anyone has any knowledge of these routers and what could be the problem, and if there is a way around it.

Running Vista/7.
Start>type in network>select network and sharing center>click on manage wireless networks>select your network>right click>select move up.

You can also if you want delete the one you do not want by selecting it then rightc clicking then click remove.


2000/XP
Since I do not have XP and I in away no longer support it.
If I remember correctly.
You do the following

Click on start>run>type in "ncpa.cpl" then enter>this will bring up the network connections window>right click the wireless device>click on properties>select wireless networks tab>highlight your network>then click move up.

You can also if you want delete the one you do not want by selecting it then clicking remove.

They're connected to a VLAN, so they're part of the same network, it's just two seperate physical routers within range that Windows does not distinguish between when connecting. 9 times out of 10 it gets the closer one but if there are multiple people connected it may direct me to the other to balance the number of users.

 

[wfooshee]

The Aironet access point is most likely not autonomous, but configured and controlled from a central appliance somewhere. As you've determined, each access point is "allowed" a certain amount of traffic, and then it refuses new connections in favor of letting the next one over handle you. It's not multiple routers with the same SSID, it's a system-wide collection of centrally controlled access points. Think of it as a giant router with a bunch of antennas.

You have no ability to specify which of the access points gets you. Your system sees them as the same device, and the only way you know you got the "wrong" one is by signal strength. Mostly it will be the nearest, but if that one's excessively loaded, another one will have to handle you.

I would not be surprised to find that maximum bandwidth is throttled back a little bit as well. You can't have 50 people connected at 56K, after all. The bandwidth limitation may be what's kicking you out of games, by introducing some lag once in a while, especially when busy.

Those kinds of networks are made for general browsing and email, not for gaming, and there's not much you're gonna be able to do about that. The school is buying a certain amount of bandwidth at various points around the campus, and they have every right to determine who gets how much, and even when. You want more, call the cable company and have your own Internet brought in. Don't expect to be able to use wireless, though, as you could well be detected as a "rogue" network and jammed by the Cisco system. You'd have to make sure you configured on a non-interfering channel.

 

[Infinital-NG]

You probably are getting your bandwidth throttled.

With the surge in online gaming, universities have to set some kind of limit on that kind of network traffic. You are there to learn not play online games.

Not being mean, but imagine all the students at your college (-1 smart nerd) all getting online to play games. Then that 1 person needs to look something up for a paper and he/she can't because everyone is hogging the bandwidth.

Depending on the size of your school, I'd say you are being disconnected on purpose. There is someone/something in the IT department watching data and disconnecting those with large data streams.

Do you get disconnected if your stream a HD movie?

 

[Seismica]

Latest update is, i've just stayed up all night and my internet connection hasn't dropped once in over 12 hours. We had an electrician in yesterday and he fixed a problem with the power tripping, and it seems to have fixed the network problems. It's not confirmed yet, but I think the problem was a lot simpler than first thought, that there just wasn't a consistent power supply to the router. If it is fixed this is excellent news

Not being mean, but imagine all the students at your college (-1 smart nerd) all getting online to play games. Then that 1 person needs to look something up for a paper and he/she can't because everyone is hogging the bandwidth.

Depending on the size of your school, I'd say you are being disconnected on purpose. There is someone/something in the IT department watching data and disconnecting those with large data streams.

Do you get disconnected if your stream a HD movie?

IT support staff have confirmed to me that there are no restrictions in place to prevent gaming on the PC, though there are to prevent console gaming. There is a way around the console block, but I was convinced there was some sort of restrictions placed on PC gaming too, but they may have been honest, the problem might have been confined to just our flat. The problems happened randomly but seemed to be more persistent when playing online games (Do larger amounts of data lead to higher power requirements? If so then that might explain it). Streaming video (BBC iPlayer etc.) didn't seem to affect the problem, but I don't stream in HD.