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alpreston
@telus.net

alpreston

Anon

[AB] V1000H: unable to print to LAN printer

During Optik-TV set up, the tech replaced my older modem and router with an Actiontech V1000H. Most things are working fine, but we are unable to use a network printer connected to one of the LAN ports. It looks from the LAN status that the router is seeing a connection, but it isn't detecting the print server's MAC address or assigning it a URL I tried setting up DHCP reservation, manually entering the server's MAC address and assigning it a URL, but that didn't help.
I should add that on the LAN status page, the device's connection speed is shown in yellow rather than green like the other connections. There's nothing else in the instructions or on Actiontech's website about configuring the LAN connections, so I'm stymied as to what to do.

spock8
join:2012-07-08

spock8

Member

I'm sure you have already done this but check to see that the printer is not assigned a static IP and reboot the printer.

alpreston
@telus.net

alpreston

Anon

I removed the DHCP reservation and rebooted the print server, but no change in results. LAN status still shows the connection speed in yellow, and the server is not showing up in the list of connected devices.

nss_tech
join:2007-07-29
Edmonton AB

nss_tech

Member

What modem did you have before the Actiontec?
ruiner3
join:2012-03-10
Canada

ruiner3 to alpreston

Member

to alpreston
You're saying that its showing up on the section that shows the port status but not under the IP listing at the bottom?

First thing I would try is using a different ethernet cable.

alpreston
@telus.net

alpreston

Anon

Yes - the print server's connection speed shows up (in yellow - the other connected devices are shown in green), but no entry shows up in the connected devices list - only the set top boxes and computer(s).

I've tried using different cables with no change. Today I hooked up the server through my old router and made sure it wasn't assigned a static URL. After rebooting it, it showed up in the DI-624's DHCP dynamic connection list, so I know that part works. I then reconnected it to the V1000H and rebooted it, but got the same indications as before.
alpreston

alpreston to nss_tech

Anon

to nss_tech
The server was previously connected to a Dlink DI-624 router, not a modem.
WackyGaru
join:2009-02-10
Grande Prairie, AB

WackyGaru

Member

The V100H is a router as well.

nss_tech
join:2007-07-29
Edmonton AB

nss_tech to alpreston

Member

to alpreston
said by alpreston :

The server was previously connected to a Dlink DI-624 router, not a modem.

I guessed as much but what modem did you have?

The Actiontec is... not perfect and is likely the cause of you problems. Are you on ADSL only or do you have TV also?

alpreston
@telus.net

alpreston

Anon

We have both ADSL and TV on the system. The old setup was a Telus-supplied modem, which I think was a Speedtouch, to which I'd connected my own DI-624 router. I can't check the name or model, as the tech took it back when he hooked up the V1000H.

I suspect the V1000H router is not responding to the print server's DHCP query, or not recognizing/accepting it's MAC address: though it sees there is a connection, detects the connection speed, and reports a number of packets sent and received, it's not assigning an IP address to the device.
ruiner3
join:2012-03-10
Canada

ruiner3

Member

You could also have a bad port on the Actiontec. Have you tried another port?

Placing a switch between the printer and Actiontec could fix it if its a handshaking issue. If you don't have a switch you can use, just disable DHCP on the DI-624 and hook a cable from the Actiontec to the D-Link, and another from the D-Link to the printer. Both should be in the D-Link's LAN ports.

Otherwise I would check if you can set the printer to a static IP in the printer's settings. Use an IP outside of the Actiontec's DHCP range so it doesn't get assigned to another device using DHCP.

rustydusty
join:2009-09-29
Red Deer County, AB

rustydusty to alpreston

Member

to alpreston
Always setup printers on static. A big company found out wrong way that DHCP reservations on thousands of printers isn't a good idea. They ended up wasting a ton of time having to re do every printer with a static.

alpreston
@telus.net

alpreston to ruiner3

Anon

to ruiner3
I've tried different ports. I had a switch between the print server and the router to start with - that was the way I had it set up with the DI-624. The Actiontec saw the switch, but not the print server, I couldn't even ping the server. I'm going to try using the DI-624 in place of the switch, to see if that helps.

rustydusty
join:2009-09-29
Red Deer County, AB

rustydusty to alpreston

Member

to alpreston
When you say print server, are you talking fiery or Server 2008 R2 with Print Management installed and simply holding drivers and possibly spooling the documents?
ruiner3
join:2012-03-10
Canada

1 edit

ruiner3 to alpreston

Member

to alpreston
said by alpreston :

I'm going to try using the DI-624 in place of the switch, to see if that helps.

The switch on the DI-624 won't make it work if a different switch didn't help.

It sounds like you need to either set up a static IP in the PRINTER SETTINGS, or a second DHCP server using a different IP range.

The DI-624 would be able to act as a secondary DHCP server but setting a static IP is probably less work. You would need to make sure the DI-624's LAN address is in the Actiontec's subnet (probably 192.168.1.xxx) and change the range of the addresses it gives out. By default the Actiontec should be assigning 192.168.1.64 to 192.168.1.253 so you want it to be below that range.

If that doesn't work, the printer's ethernet port may have gone bad with very coincidental timing.

alpreston
@telus.net

alpreston to rustydusty

Anon

to rustydusty
When I say print server, I mean a box into which I plug a printer and which connects to the router or switch with an ethernet cable.
alpreston

alpreston to ruiner3

Anon

to ruiner3
before the new router arrived, I had it set up with a static IP on the DI-624, and tried to do the same with the Actiontec by assigning a static IP to the server's MAC address - which didn't work. It seems that the Actiontec is not seeing the device's MAC address. But I'll give it another try in case something wasn't right the first time.
ruiner3
join:2012-03-10
Canada

ruiner3

Member

What you are talking about is a DHCP reservation not a static IP. You need to get into the print server's settings and manually enter an IP that is outside of the Actiontec DHCP range.

If the print server only has a web interface then you'll need to hook it back into the DI-624 how you were using it before so you can log in and set the static IP.

rustydusty
join:2009-09-29
Red Deer County, AB

rustydusty to alpreston

Member

to alpreston
You never want to do DHCP reservations, anyways. Why they have them is beyond me. A DHCP server can and eventually will crap out, where as a static there is 0% possibility of issues, except hardware failures.
ruiner3
join:2012-03-10
Canada

ruiner3

Member

If its beyond you then don't comment on it. Any server can crap out so why bother with anything?

With a static there is an exponential increase in the chance of a conflict with each new address you add. Good luck finding it when the conflict doesn't occur until hours or days after you have assigned the IP.

Do you think its better to manage a large list of IP's on a piece of paper? There is this thing called a backup that is used when a server craps out.

rustydusty
join:2009-09-29
Red Deer County, AB

rustydusty to alpreston

Member

to alpreston
There's hundres of network scanners you can download if you don't have a proper network diagram in place. May take 2-3 minutes to run . Talk to Flint, a giant oilfield company about printers being on DHCP reservations. They will tell you the horror story, and why they now do static's. Is that large enough scale for you? Probably not, that was only a 3k of printers.
ruiner3
join:2012-03-10
Canada

1 edit

ruiner3

Member

There are people that don't know what they are doing in companies of all sizes.

What happened? Their DHCP server crashed and they didn't have the configuration backed up? Yeah that's really a huge flaw in DHCP. What happens if you lose your network diagram? Why should I waste a bunch of time running a scanner when its not necessary?

Say our DNS servers change. Now I have to update them on thousands of machines when DHCP could push it out automatically. Even if you push a script they still have to be restarted to get it. DHCP will update when the lease expires.

rustydusty
join:2009-09-29
Red Deer County, AB

rustydusty to alpreston

Member

to alpreston
That was not the person's fault, however if everything was static and documentation was in place, it would of been a lot easier to re-do the print server. They were also doing the reservations by MAC, which can change when a controller board is replaced on the machine. Nothing but a huge hassle, where as if it's static, you pop the same IP into the copier once the board is replaced and nothing on print server needs to be touched. It's just a huge time saver WHEN things go bad.
ruiner3
join:2012-03-10
Canada

ruiner3

Member

Oh its so difficult to change a MAC address, and a much larger hassle than entering an IP through a crappy copier interface.

rustydusty
join:2009-09-29
Red Deer County, AB

rustydusty to alpreston

Member

to alpreston
Why I said static doesn't need to be changed on anything, where as a MAC needs to be whenever a controller or board is replaced. Any copier can have the IP entered while standing infront of the machine. Print a config page off, replace the board and pop same IP in. No need to even contact the print server operator. Such a pain dealing with changing MAC's and doing DHCP Reservations, unless you have nothing but time on your hands. Less intervention for the print server operator when copier repairs are done. You can tell the tech to input the same IP and the admin doesn't even need to login into server. Are you even a NA or SA or just an 'expert' on home based routers?

alpreston
@telus.net

alpreston to ruiner3

Anon

to ruiner3
I haven't been able to get into any settings on the print server box. It's supposed to be possible to telnet in IF there's a route between it and the computer - but of course, adding a route requires knowing the server's IP address ....
As far as I've been able to discover, the print server doesn't have a web interface.
ruiner3
join:2012-03-10
Canada

ruiner3 to rustydusty

Member

to rustydusty
Yeah with enough printers that would take a little bit more coordination. But you're spouting off about "nightmares" which the only way that would happen is if a big chunk of printers were replaced at the same time. That's just poor planning if it wasn't staged. And not only that but recommending that advice to a forum with SOHO users at most is ridiculous. How many home users have enough devices to warrant a network map? KISS.

@Al: You're going to need to plug the print server and another PC into the DI-624. Then the print server can get an IP from the DI and you telnet in and set a static IP. After that it should work on the Actiontec. The DI doesn't need to be hooked into your home network for this.

alpreston
@telus.net

alpreston

Anon

@rulner: that's what I ended up doing; there were a couple of quirks - after connecting the server to the DI-624, I had to hard-reset it to get a connection to the router, then do "add route server-ip router-ip", ignore the "no such device" error message that gave me, and then telnet in and set a static IP _within_ the V1000H's range, disconnect from the D-624, connect to the V1000H, and do another hard-reset. Then it was just a matter of editing the IP in the printer properties on my Linux boxes, and deleting and reinstalling the printer on my wife's Windows systems ( the latter wouldn't accept just editing the IP address ). Once that was done, everything was working. Thanks for the help and advice.
titan_rw
join:2007-08-23

titan_rw to rustydusty

Member

to rustydusty
said by rustydusty:

You never want to do DHCP reservations, anyways. Why they have them is beyond me. A DHCP server can and eventually will crap out, where as a static there is 0% possibility of issues, except hardware failures.

For devices like printers, routers, switches, then yes, I agree, DHCP reservations are a bad idea. Hard code the IP in the device.

For user devices (PC's, laptop's, phones, etc), I use DHCP reservations all the time. You could assign them static ip's, but then when you take your computer to another network you have to change your ip settings. Leaving it on dhcp assigned, but having a reserved ip at home gives you a 'fixed' ip at home, and will still work when not at home.

One could just leave it on dhcp all the time, but some programs work better when the ip's on the network don't change. QOS settings are typically done by ip. Port forwarding also needs ip's that don't change. DHCP reservations allow things like port forwarding to work, and still allow flexibility when connecting to other networks.

No, they're not required, but there is definitely a use for them.

rustydusty
join:2009-09-29
Red Deer County, AB

rustydusty to alpreston

Member

to alpreston
There is use for them, but for anything printing, server related I always just assign a static and forget it. Makes port forwarding even easier and then there's 0% chance that the IP could change. Just seen reservations fail a couple times, and I would rather not even put it in the chance of having issues. Even if I loose my DC at home which does all DHCP and requests, all servers still continue one, even if client side is buggered till I get it fixed. Static's there is just no chance of issues, except hardware failure which you can't predict, even with proper UPS backup in place, or just fault hardware.