[NCLUG] Perplexing wireless issue - Voodoo accepted

[Stephen Warren]

Paul Hummer wrote:
>...
>   Here's where it gets weirder.  I changed the MAC address of wireless
> interface on the WRT54GL, because it seemed MAC related.  No joy.  That was all
> last night.  I started writing this email this afternoon, and thought "What if
> I change my laptop wireless interface NIC?"  So I did it.  NetworkManager gets
> an IP.  About 5 seconds later, NetworkManager then loses the connection.  If I
> change my MAC again, it connects, then loses the connection shortly after.

Something else on your network is running a DHCP server, even something
on your laptop you set up for testing? Are you running any VMs on the
laptop; is the VM system running DHCP and it's leaking to your external
NIC somehow?

Or, perhaps your laptop has N copies of dhcpcd/similar running that are
fighting?

Other than than, I think wireshark + verbose logging on the DHCP client
are about all I could suggest.