Weird networking problem (SOLVED)

[phuzz]

So I have an Unraid NAS which usually works just fine, it's connected via ethernet directly to my router. In my old house, I could use a wired connection from my main computer (Win10) to the router, and everything worked great. Now I've moved house, and I've had to move to a wireless adaptor for my computer (the NAS is still wired) and it worked...fine, but I wanted more speed.

So, I've got a set of powerline ethernet boxes, and set them up, one next to the router  and the other next to my computer and it works great.

Except I can't connect to my NAS any more. I can ping it, I can even connect via ssh, but I can't reach the web interface, or connect to shares via SMB. If I switch back to wireless everything works fine.

I'm pretty sure this is a Windows network problem, not Unraid, but I'm really scratching my head here and could do with any hints anyone can think of.

If I flat out couldn't see it via wired that would be one thing, but some services working, but other not really confuses me.

(Also, I have Pihole in a docker on the NAS, DNS lookups work fine, but the web interface doesn't).

 

 

client > wireless > router > wired > Unraid  = works fine

client > wired > router > wired > Unraid  = mostly doesn't work

Edited October 28, 2023 by phuzz
solved

[Axon]

Check if you have a static IP on the wired side. Change it to "obtain automatically" on the ethernet adapter if set statically.

[phuzz]

It did have a static IP (left over from my old setup, which did work), but changing it to DHCP didn't help. I've also tried rebooting everything, and connecting directly to the IP instead of relying on DNS. I just can't work out why ping and ssh work, but web and smb don't??

Given that the only thing that's changed in networking terms is the powerline adaptors, that's going to be my first focus. Now I'm going to look if I've got a network cable long enough to go all the way down the stairs so I can connect directly...

(The powerline adaptors are PL1000-100UKS if that reminds anyone of anything)

[Frank1940]

I have used cold air returns to run CAT5 cables between floors.  You can often save cable length this way. 

 

Have a look at Flat CAT5 cables also.  They can be more easily concealed than round cable and be run under rugs without a tell-tale bump. (The flat cable are also available with CAT6, CAT7 an CAT8 ratings.)

Edited October 27, 2023 by Frank1940

[JonathanM]

If you run cable in ductwork, be absolutely certain you are using plenum rated cable.

[phuzz]

Well, it was Windows somehow screwing it up.

I tried running a cable direct (and ended up having to plug a switch in halfway because I didn't have a single cable long enough) and still had the exact same problem; so, not the powerline adaptors. (Running a cable through the walls was never an option, I'm in a rented place, and hopefully it's temporary).

Then looking through the Windows 10 network settings (again) I found an option called 'Network Reset', which resets all networking settings (after a reboot), and after that it's working fine.

 

Well, I say fine. Over wifi, ipperf said I was getting ~190 Mbits/sec, and now via the AV1000 powerline connectors I'm down to ~90 Mbits/sec. Oh well, guess this was a failed experiment. Hopefully they'll come in handy in my new house v0v

[phuzz]

Small update, it was because I had jumbo frames enabled on my network adaptor (on the Windows client). Which is weird because it used to work fine. It's also the first time I've ever seen an issue with enabling jumbo frames, even though I've been reading warnings about enabling it for years. Now I know why! (I'm still going to enable it by default if I can though)

But hopefully this will help someone in future to diagnose a strange issue where some services work (in retrospect, the ones sending small packets), and some don't (when the packet gets big enough to make the frame jumbo sized).

[itimpi]

1 hour ago, phuzz said:

Well, I say fine. Over wifi, ipperf said I was getting ~190 Mbits/sec, and now via the AV1000 powerline connectors I'm down to ~90 Mbits/sec. Oh well, guess this was a failed experiment. Hopefully they'll come in handy in my new house v0v

I used to use powerline adapters with a notional 1000Mbps speed but found that in reality the actual data throughput ended being more like 200-300 Mbps.   I think that other noise on your electrical circuits can also adversely affect throughput.   I can also see that using jumbo frames may not be a good idea as those adapters are probably not optimised for that.   Nowadays jumbo frames provide little (if any) performance befit so not normally worth trying them because of the additional complications they can cause.