Seek general advice - how to keep internet connection active (800 series)

[jimwillsher]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some GENERAL advice for the 800 series router - I have the 877, running 12.4(24)T1.

This morning I had no internet access. There was nothing obviously wrong with the router (though I'm a newbie). I logged in and issued a reload and everything has been fine since. What I'm looking for is some general advice, particularly:

- If this happens again, what commands should I run on the router to check the status. I looked at show int and they all looked fine.

- Is there a simple command I can run to drop the connection and re-establish it, since reload seems a bit of a sledgehammer.

- More importantly, is there anything I can configure on the router so that it will try to maintain the internet connection, and re-establish it if it seems to have gone.

Looking at mrtg, my connection has been down since about 00:33 (it's now 07:51), and it just required a reload to get it going. That would be a nuisance if I was away for a few days....

My log shows this:

Sep 22 00:33:38 192.168.1.1 74: .Sep 22 00:33:17.230: %LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface Virtual-Access3, changed state to down

Sep 22 07:29:20 192.168.1.1 75: .Sep 22 07:28:59.765: %SEC_LOGIN-5-LOGIN_SUCCESS: Login Success [user: root] [Source: 192.168.1.242] [localport: 22] at 07:28:59 GMT Tue Sep 22 2009

Sep 22 07:34:28 192.168.1.1 76: .Sep 22 07:34:07.746: %SEC_LOGIN-5-LOGIN_SUCCESS: Login Success [user: root] [Source: 192.168.1.242] [localport: 22] at 07:34:07 GMT Tue Sep 22 2009

Sep 22 07:38:36 192.168.1.1 77: .Sep 22 07:38:11.221: %SYS-5-RELOAD: Reload requested by root on vty2 (192.168.1.242). Reload Reason: Reload Command.

Many thanks,

Jim

[paolo bevilacqua]

What ADSL FW is in there ?

Check "show dsl interface".

[jimwillsher]

Hi, and many thanks for replying.

Up until this morning it was the "shipped" firmware, which I think was 3.0.14. I had upgraded the IOS from 12.4(15)T to 12.4(24)T1 a few weeks ago, but not the FW. However I read a recent thread on this forum (the 877W, just below this thread) and saw the link to the more recent firmware. As such I'm now running:

Init FW: init_3.0.33_nobist.bin

Operation FW: AMR-3.0.033.bin

FW Source: external

FW Version: 3.0.33

My router has been superbly reliable since I bought it (a couple of months ago) and I have agood line (full 8Meg sync), and this is the first time it has happened. As I didn't know the right diagnostics, I had to just reload in order to get things up and running. So it would be useful to find out the right diagnostic steps if this happens again, and also if there's a way of keeping the link alive if it drops.

Many thanks

Jim

[paolo bevilacqua]

The thing is that it should NOT happen, router is supposed to re-connect automatically on loss of signal.

Could be an IOS bug, so upgrading or downgrading could help.

Also, there are even newer ADSL FWs, but these require paid-level CCO access.

If it happens again, try "shut" then "no shut" under atm interface. But, if you have the router handy, a physical reset can be faster.

[jimwillsher]

I did wonder if it was an IOS bug.

Are you able to point me to a link for later firmware? I have support for this device, and I've looked under "Cisco IOS and NX-OS" and "Routers" in the Download Software (http://www.cisco.com/kobayashi/sw-center/index.shtml) page.

Jim

[paolo bevilacqua · Accepted solution]

Do ftp to ftp.cisco.com with your CCO credentials, then cd to /cisco/access/800.

Only the 3.x FWs are good for your router.

Please remember to rate useful posts with the scrollbox below.

[jimwillsher]

Many thanks, you've been very helpful. I will rate accordingly.

I've logged in uccessfully, and the latest seems to be 3.0.43 - though the readme says it's only for Telefonica Spain (I'm BT in United Kingdom). Is it worth applying anyway?

Also, any reason not to apply the 4.0 range? The readme files list the 877 as supported. For reference my sh ver is:

Cisco877#sh ver

Cisco IOS Software, C870 Software (C870-ADVIPSERVICESK9-M), Version 12.4(24)T1, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc3)

Technical Support: http://www.cisco.com/techsupport

Copyright (c) 1986-2009 by Cisco Systems, Inc.

Compiled Sat 20-Jun-09 02:20 by prod_rel_team

ROM: System Bootstrap, Version 12.3(8r)YI4, RELEASE SOFTWARE

Cisco877 uptime is 2 hours, 28 minutes

System returned to ROM by reload at 08:29:04 GMT Tue Sep 22 2009

System image file is "flash:c870-advipservicesk9-mz.124-24.T1.bin"

Last reload reason: Reload Command

If you require further assistance please contact us by sending email to

export@cisco.com.

Cisco 877 (MPC8272) processor (revision 0x300) with 177152K/19456K bytes of memory.

Processor board ID FHK125126EN

MPC8272 CPU Rev: Part Number 0xC, Mask Number 0x10

4 FastEthernet interfaces

1 ATM interface

128K bytes of non-volatile configuration memory.

28672K bytes of processor board System flash (Intel Strataflash)

Configuration register is 0x2102

[paolo bevilacqua]

4.x could be for annex M models only.

You can try any FW no matter what the readme says.