random connection drop between 2 macs on LAN

[maxf]

Hi there,
I've got a few computers on my LAN, among which 2 mac minis.
I usually ssh from one (call it mac1) to the other (mac2), or share screens. But inexplicably, some days the connection is impossible to establish. I can't ssh, not even ping (mac2 is still visible in the "shared" list on finder windows, though). I use IP addresses when ssh'ing or pinging.

Other devices on the same LAN (linux laptop, MacBook pro, iphone) ssh into mac2 absolutely fine. Also, mac1 can ssh into those other computers without a problem.

Sometimes it works, then I can't connect any more, then it comes back a few hours later. All randomly AFAICT. It may well be the router (http://www.zoobab.com/bbox2) but that's where I'm lacking skills to find out if it is, or if it's some strange OSX thing.

Thanks for any help.

 

[satcomer]

Make all the Macs are using the same Time Server in System Preferences->Date & Time.

 

[Damo01]

Since this more of a network issue, How are you assigning the IP addresses to your macs? Static IP addressing or using DHCP server? Have you check firewall? whether that's blocking pinging or not.

have you check the configuration of your LAN? There maybe nothing wrong with the way you configured your LAN but there could be.

 

[maxf]

I checked the time on each machine. All were pretty much the same and use the same NTP server. However I noticed something funny, on the date&time pref panel on mac1, there's a 1 second difference between the digital & analog clocks. The other macs don't show that difference.

Regarding IP address assignment, all the IPs are from DHCP except mac2 which I have statically set. Also mac2 is connected via ethernet while the rest is wi-fi (it's the same address pool, though).

Regarding the firewall, I must admit I know little on how it works. All I can say is that ipfw list returns "65535 allow ip from any to any" from both machines. I assume this is ok, but I may be wrong.

Finally, my LAN seems properly configured, but I may have missed something. That's why I'm asking here, see if someone has a clue which could lead me in the direction of the LAN or the Macs themselves.