Networking

Sam has an ARRIS cable modem and when he's plugged it into his router, he's not sure what the lights mean. Leo says that one is for connecting to the cable company for internet access. If it's off, he's not getting access. There's also a "link light" which will be solid when connected via ethernet, and when data goes back and forth, it blinks. Then there's the uplink and downlink lights. The manual should tell him what they mean. If one is off, then he'll know where the problems are.

Ben got a new UVerse modem and an Eero Mesh Router and it was working fine until last week. Now he's having issues with the router, where it drops off the network again and again. Leo says that the UVerse modem is likely a router-modem combo, and he'll need to put the router into bridge mode. And in order for the mesh router to use its advanced features, it needs to be the main router.

Sam lives in a 2 story condo, but with the Wi-Fi enabled cameras he's buying, should he get a new router? Leo says Wi-Fi security cameras are often a challenge because they tend to be in the periphery, but a single router should be able to cover his 1500 square feet. Leo suggests that Sam move his router and modem connection to another spot. He could actually leave the modem where it is, and just connect the router with a longer ethernet cable. Leo also says that Sam's Asus router has added some mesh-like features in a recent firmware update. So he should try updating it.

Ben runs a Drobo 5N, but after he updated Windows 10 to the 1803 update, he started having trouble with it. He reset Windows, and now the Drobo won't connect. He even tried to use the image backup and it didn't work. Leo says that Microsoft changed the way it handles the network stack in 1803, and it may require extra drivers from Drobo to fix it.