ip-subnet question

[dbwillis]

Picked up a new small business customer (1 server, 8 desktops, 1 laptop), while doing an inventory and looking at there list of 'problems and issues' noticed this one thing...

server (ad, dns, dhcp) is 10.10.10.4 - 255.255.255.0
router/gateway (Netgear WGR someting) is 10.10.10.2 - 255.255.255.0 (wifi disabled)
DHCP (by the AD server) range is 10.10.10.200 to 240

Most of the machines are 10/100 and connected to a 16 port Netgear ProSafe switch.
They are complaining about slow internet access, and when I tested connecting in from outside (via PPTN VPN to the server) it seems really really slow for me as well.
DSL via AT+T, they think they have the 3mb plan, Id guess by the owners use of stock trading stuff he wouldnt skimp on 'slow' internet when he ordered it years ago.

Should the subnet be 255.255.255.240 and not 255.255.255.0 ?

 

[klank]

All of the IPs you have listed are Class A private addresses. With that you can have whatever subnet mask that you want (depending on the size of subnet you want)

Did you run a speedtest to see what you are getting from one of the LAN machines?

 

[/usr/home]

With a class A network you can have pretty much any subnet you want. You are using a /24 subnet and all the addresses are in that subnet so that should be no issue.

Do a speedtest.

 

[robvas]

What's the upload on their DSL plan? If it's only 768k, accessing via VPN is going to be turtle-speed.

 

[timberdoodle]

There is nothing wrong with that setup, other than the dsl link. As said, do a speedtest. DSL performance can vary greatly depending on your location despite the advertised speed.

If the subnet was changed to 255.255.255.240 you would have a bunch of problems, your dhcp would be split into several subnets and wouldn't be able to access the router (based on your current setup).

 

[Electrofreak]

Everyone says to run a speed test and while that can be a good quick check, it doesn't actually prove anything. I hate it when people run speed tests because it only proves that there's a bottleneck somewhere between two endpoints, and one of those endpoints is the workstation on one side of a LAN while the other is a bandwidth server that might not even lie on your ISP's network.

The first thing I would do (and I troubleshoot dozens of issues like this every day) is run an extended ping test across the local loop. That's the DSL line, so you'll be pinging from the router on site to the edge router on first hop on the ISP's network. In short, you're pinging your router's gateway IP address.

If you see packet loss, latency or significant jitter, THIS is something you can take to the ISP and tell them to get taken care of and you shouldn't get much argument.

If you don't see an issue, you should be running pings and traceroutes (or better yet, pathpings) across your LAN and out across the WAN (understanding that some WAN network devices don't respond to ping all the time) looking at DNS performance, bandwidth utilization (particularly signs of maxing), ethernet port speed and duplex settings, firewall performance and workstation performance.

When someone tells me their net is slow, I ask them to describe it further.

Does the webpage trickle in slowly? (Usually errored circuit or high bandwidth utilization)
Does it sometimes time out and others not? (Bouncing circuit or bandwidth maxing hard)
Does it sit there a while after typing in the URL then suddenly pop up? (DNS performance issue)
Does it load without images? (Akamai / path MTU issue)
Do certain webpages load and not others? (DNS / ISP routing issue)

 

[tangoseal]

There have been accurate statements about speed test here for sure however.... you need to find out what they are paying, whom they are paying, and what for when it comes to their subscribed internet. That is one of the first things I do when I take over a new account in my business. I like to profile their network from head to toe first before troubleshooting anything. If you do not know what they are paying for how do you know what and where to begin to fix a problem that very well might not even be an issue and just ends up being bandwidth or just an old shitty ass netgear VPN prosafe piece of shit.

DSL is so yesterday. I would be looking at Docsis 3 if available in your area or Metro E depending on budget.