[wplug] wireless networking stability

[Rick Reynolds]

I'm running Debian testing (Etch) on a Dell D800.  I've had problems 
with the wireless going spotty on this laptop ever since I've owned it.  
I've even replaced the original wireless card (an atheros based card) 
with one that seems to have better Linux support (a prism54 card) in an 
attempt to get better wireless behavior.

I'm hoping that someone on this list has more networking savvy than I 
have (not an unreasonable hope, really).  I'm thinking this has to do 
with networking settings and not with the card or driver.  Here's what I 
observe:

1. I get an IP address via DHCP just fine.

2. I have decent wireless networking for up to an hour or so before it 
drops out

3. at some point, the wireless networking just drops off.  At this 
point, the following is the state of the networking:

A. ifconfig confirms that I still have a good IP address

B. iwconfig shows that it still thinks it is talking to the correct AP, 
ESSID is still there, etc.

C. pings to the local wireless adapter itself work fine

D. pings to the wireless access point fail with "Destination Host 
Unreachable."

4. I don't find anything conclusive in /var/log/syslog.  Sometimes it 
seems to be coincident with ntpd attempting to sync, but not always.

5. doing an ifdown/ifup cycle doesn't fix the problem, but a reboot 
usually will get me working again.

Can anyone give me some pointers on what to check next?  I can usually 
reproduce this problem easily enough (within in hour or so of working 
wirelessly).

Thanks,
Rick Reynolds
-- 
 There is no reason ever to have the same thought twice, unless you like 
having that thought. -- David Allen