MVP-8400 and MVP-7500 communication problem

rcervenan

Hello everybody,

I have a several small wireless networks with this configurations: one NI master, one WPA (D-Link or AMX....), one MVP (7500 or 8400). I'm always placing into my program code in DEFINE_PROGRAM section this piece of code: [dvMODERO,2] = 1. On touch panel MVP side I have one button with code=2, feedback=channel - everybody knows I have it there for easy and quick checking MVP is connected to my AMX network. I have the problem: on some (not all) installations I can very often see on MVP side this button OFF while Link Quality and Signal Strength is very good at the same time - and of course MVP do not work properly - it is not showing my feedback levels, channels, master is not receiving pushes etc... Sometimes it works, sometimes not - and I think there is not a problem with signal quality, because MVP is very close to the WAP.

Does anybody have any idea, where should be a problem?

DHawthorne

Unfortunately, there are lots of things that could be wrong. The signal strenth and link quality as shown on the panel refer to its connection with the access point, and have nothing to do with its connection with the master. And that is where your problem is - the connection to the master is getting lost. So you need to concentrate not on your wireless connection, but the connections of the access point and the master itself to the rest of the network.

One thing I have seen is the access point itself dropping off the network. More often than not, this is a probelm with the WAP having problems with the local DHCP server. Similarly, I've had NetLinx masters and touch panels fall off the network as well. All of this can be fixed with givng all your NetLinx devices static IP's so they no longer depend on the DHCP server keeping their route alive.

Way back in the early days of NetLinx, I had an issue with a particular network switch. What drove me crazy was that certain panels on the system would not work unless I extended the ethernet wire feeding them. I had 20' coils of wire at the switch just for that purpose, and if I took them out, the panels would go offline. Working with AMX, we narrowed it down to the switch itself ... our best guess was that the NIC in the panels was confusing the auto-rate circuitry in the switch. I believe it was a commercial Linksys, and when we swapped it out for a Netgear, all the problems went away. The point here is there may be a network issue as well, and any link in the chain could be causing trouble.

JohnMichnr

An issue I had early on was the connection between teh WAP and the NI unit. I was not using a switch or hub, just a crossover cable between the 2. One would drop offline and then never re-establish the connection without a reboot. Tech support suggested to never connect up teh systems that way.

rcervenan

Additional question

Thank you for ideas, I have to be more concrete:
I'm using only static IP addresses.
You wrote: "Tech support suggested to never connect up the systems that way" : so what exactly tech support suggest?
Thanks in advance for any ideas.

JohnMichnr

Sorry - I was not clear - they said to never connect a WAP up to an NI unit with just an ethernet crossover cable. Alway use either a WAP with the built in switch/router etc. or use some type of external switch/hub between the WAP and AMX unit.

The responce they gave me at the time was that the NI or the AMX WAP would not necessarily re-establish a connection that has gone down, without a reboot, where some other active component between them would allow the connection to be re-established without a re-boot. (rebooting either the WAP or NI) At least I think that is what they said, this was several years ago and I am relying on some fading gray cells right now...

rcervenan

OK, now it is clear. Thank you for ideas, I will try it in the near future.