Question

Hi ,

I have an RUT241 router with RUT2M_R_00.07.03.3  FW.

The router is using mobile for WAN access and use DHCP to address devices on its wifi interfaces.

The WiFi interface is 2.4G AP with WPA2 PSK encryption.

I encounter some wifi setup issue when trying to connect several devices exactly at the same time. Devices are the same (same hw , same fw).  In such conditions, the router is not able to established the wifi connection.  Sometimes we can observe (on webui/ wireless clients table) that it starts to get some of them but it immediately loses them again.

If I turn on the devices one by one, everything is working well.  

Are there some limitations with RUT241 ?

Comments

We are having perhaps similar wifi issues with RUT241 Global version on firmware 7.04.03. About 50% of the time we are not seeing a wifi network from the router. Requires a power cycle / restart in order for it to work. These were new devices and we upgraded to latest firmware before testing.

Any suggestions / fix - rollback firmware?

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I have a similar problem.  Maximum of four devices connected to the wifi and the RUT241 is dropping the connections about once every 20mins.

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Hi all,

It seems that the only way to solve the issue on my side is to use static lease. 

But I get another problem with wifi overload: Sometimes rekeying GTK (by default every 10 minutes) causes the wifi connection to be lost . Is there a way to disable rekeying ? As a workaround I can set a very long period but I would prefer to disable it. 

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The RUT241 router is a versatile device that supports mobile WAN access and provides WiFi connectivity using the 2.4GHz band with WPA2 PSK encryption. While it should be capable of handling multiple device connections simultaneously, there might be some factors that could affect its performance in your specific scenario.

Here are a few potential factors that could contribute to the issue you're experiencing:

1. WiFi Channel Congestion: If you're in an area with heavy WiFi usage, the 2.4GHz band can become crowded, leading to interference and decreased performance. Try changing the WiFi channel on your router to a less congested one to see if it improves the situation.
2. WiFi Signal Strength: If the devices are located far from the router or there are physical obstacles in the way, it can weaken the WiFi signal. Ensure that the devices are within a reasonable range of the router and that there are no obstructions hindering the signal.
3. DHCP Pool Exhaustion: If your router's DHCP pool is small and doesn't have enough available addresses, it may struggle to assign IP addresses to all the devices simultaneously. Check the router's DHCP settings and consider increasing the number of available addresses in the DHCP pool.
4. Firmware Updates: Ensure that you have the latest firmware version installed on your RUT241 router. Firmware updates often include bug fixes and performance improvements that can help address such issues.

If the problem persists after considering these factors, it would be advisable to contact the technical support or customer service of the router manufacturer. They will have a better understanding of the ahsaasprogram device's capabilities and any potential limitations specific to the RUT241 model.

Answer 1

Hello,

RUT241 is a relatively low performance device, it has a single WiFi channel, no MIMO capabilities, thus it is possible that it might get overwhelmed, when too many connections are received at once.

Could you tell what are the devices, that you are trying to connect to the router and what is the actual number of them?

Best regards,

Comments

Hello.

Does RUT241 have the same poor performances than RUT240 ?

Devices are new product developed by my company.  The device is using espressif ESP32-WROOM-32E for wifi communication.  

And we try to connect 10 products.  It seems we have difficulties as soon as 3 or 4 of them try to connect at the same time. The test is done in France. 

Another thing very strange, the same setup is working well in another place (Switzerland)  using :

- RUT241 and RUT2M_R_00.07.01.6

- RUT241 and RUT2M_R_00.07.02.4

Could it be possible there is anything linked with mobile too ?

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RUT241 is almost identical in features and performance to RUT240, differing in hardware components only.

Since you have working setup, the issue might be firmware related. 

I would like you to test the following:

Take one or both working devices, replicate your scenario by disconnecting all of the wireless client devices and reconnecting them simultaneously again. Then access router's WebUI, go to System -> Administration -> Troubleshoot section and download troubleshoot file from there. Update those routers to RUT2M_R_00.07.03.3 with Keep settings option set to off. Again, try to connect all wireless clients at once. See if the issue replicates. Then generate a new troubleshoot file, if it does.

Attach both files by editing your question or send them in a private message. I would have them looked at.

Best regards,

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Hi.

Thanks for the feedback.

We found the root cause of the issue : DHCP server of the router.

When connecting several devices at the same time the RUT241 DHCP server slows down dramatically.

For instance with only 7 devices, it takes 18 seconds (!!) to between wifi physical connection and ip assignement. It takes 2 seconds with one. Our devices are programmed to wait for 5s.

We have temporary workaround by using static lease.  But it will be not fit for final application.

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It would seem that the router is simply not capable of handling multiple simultaneous connection attempts.

I have tested this as well with 8 client devices, and in my case, it took 35 seconds until every device received an IP. The logs indicate that several devices were disconnected and had to reconnect within the first 20 seconds.

Also, from the logs, each received DHCP discover packet was followed with a DHCP offer response, indicating that dnsmasq service, responsible for router's DHCP server, is functioning properly. However, the fact that there were numerous recurring DHCP discover packets coming from the same client devices would indicate that their distribution over wireless medium was not successful, bringing back to physical limitations of the router.

I redid this same experiment with RUT955, and it took almost twice less time to provide IP leases, which, considering that the device has two WiFi channels and supports 2x2 MIMO, seems to support the radio link issue. 

Best regards,

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sei riuscito a risolvere il problema?

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Not really.

Only way to get IPs in a "acceptable" delay is to use static lease.  

Regards

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Nonostante ho messo gli indirizzi IP statici il problema non è risolto. Sono costretto ogni volta a togliere l alimentazione della corrente elettronica.

Cosa mi consigliate di fare?