How many on a Wireless LAN?

[Dapper Dan]

I have a Linksys "Wireless G" router.

On my LAN I have five machines:

1. wired
2. wireless B (used rarely but on the LAN.)
3. wireless G
4. wireless G
5. wireless G

When I had just four machines, everything worked satisfactorily. When I added the fifth machine it seems as though machines 4 and 5 are fighting over a connection. When "4" is working good, connection problems arise with "5." Then, when I correct the wireless problems on 5, connection problems arise on box 4.

Have I reached the limit on the number of machines my router is capable of supporting?

[spencerf]

I don't have that many machines hooked up but I don't think there is a limit per se.

usually the address works as follows.

192.168.100
192.168.101
192.168.102
etc......

I believe this can go ad infinitum but not positive.

[gtmtnbiker98]

Technically, you are limited to the IP subnet for which you are using in conjunction with the subnet mask. Since you are using a Linksys device and an IP subnet of 192.168.1 and a mask of 255.255.255.0 you are limited to 255 hosts on that Class C network. As for adding hosts and losing connectivity, check your DHCP scope on your router to ensure that you are allocating the entire IP subnet.

[Zelmo]

I had once read that a wireless access point can support up to 28 wireless clients, but I don't recall the source of that info. Looking at Linksys literature just now didn't turn up any answers at all, but I did find this bit of info at wireless-access-point.net:

One IEEE 802.11 WAP can usually communicate with 30 client systems within a radius of 100 m.

[gtmtnbiker98]

Actually, there isn't a "technical limitation;" however, once you reach a certain saturation - connectivity and throughput may be influenced. Then again, manufacturers may limit this via their firmware. We use Cisco Aironet's with multiple concurrent connections (50+) without issue. But then again, we don't use Linksys in our production environment.

[Dapper Dan]

Hmmm, all interesting posts, thank you.

My machines run: 192.168.1.101 through 192.168.1.105, all static ips. Subnet mask for all is 255.255.255.0. The two I'm having trouble with are almost an equal distance away from the router. When I run kwifimanager from either after a boot, I'll get good to excellent reception. If I terminate the wireless connection on the other showing "poor" and reconnect, it usually comes back up as good to excellent. Then as expected, the first box's signal degrades and I get poor to not at all out of it when before it was good to excellent!

[gtmtnbiker98]

That's strange! Have you tried power cycling your AP? As long as you get valid TCP/IP settings then you have basic functionality and your problem isn't the protocol but more in line with the actual radio signal. If you have both of the troubling devices close to the AP do they both maintain signal strength? Have you tried broadcasting your AP on a different channel aside from the default channel 6? Are there any other AP's nearby?

This is a unique problem, if you ask me.

[AlexK]

this is a strange problem indeed Dan. Try bringing the problematic wireless computers closer to the AP and see if the problem occurs then.

Also take the two good ones (2, 3) to the point i.e. move away from AP to where 4 and 5 are having problems and see if 2 and 3 have similar problems.

Turn off DHCP on the router to be sure.

Also when the two mis-behaving computers drop off, does dmesg show anything strange regarding the connection?