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I have a LAN with a TP-Link router (AXE5400, 3 months old), a Mac Mini (2020, osX Monterey) as file-server, and Windows 11 Laptop and a Macbook Pro laptop (c. 2020/2022). Both the Windows and Macbook Pro laptops are regularly failing to connect to the file-server's network shares. Additionally, my Windows laptop often says that "Network discovery and file sharing are turned off". In both cases, the problem mysteriously rights itself after a few minutes, and then loses connection again a while later.

I can ssh/vnc into the file-server without problems. It's only the samba/cif network sharing that's affected. It doesn't seem to matter whether I'm connected over ethernet or WiFi.

I suspect the TP-Link router, possibly something to do with TCP broadcast signals or whatever similar thing that "network discovery and file sharing" is based on. I had the same problem with a TP-Link Archer C5.

What tools can I use to troubleshoot? Are there any (easy to use, free) network monitoring tools that would help?

Alternatively, does anyone know of this as a known problem with TP-Link routers and ways to work around this?

Toaomalkster
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1 Answers1

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The most common tool that is used to troubleshoot any network-related issues is Wireshark https://www.wireshark.org/. It is free and pretty easy to use after watching a 1-5 minute related video on YouTube. As for the detailed troubleshooting routine, you may follow the official Microsoft documentation on that matter https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/file-server/troubleshoot/troubleshooting-smb.

Working for an MSP, I have to deal with different kinds of routers, including TP-Link gear. TP-Link routers do not work any differently from other ones in terms of file-sharing protocols support over the network. That is why I think your problem is rather related to endpoint configuration.

Alternatively, you can try switching to NFS instead of SMB. NFS is more native to Linux/UNIX-based systems and may work better in your mixed environment.

Net Runner
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