nmenaker

why on earth isn't the wifi the same? are you using 802.11b?

cblaisd

No, G.

nmenaker

so, why do you think the wifi throughput is 2/3rds of the ethernet throughput. It should really be the the same. I get 20MB on wired computers and 20MB on wireless computers.

cblaisd

Don't know. I'm happy.

UnitedFlyGuy

Wow. 20MB or 20 Mb? If the former, impressive. Sweden? Haha.

gfunkdave

Depending on how fast his new internet connection is, he may be running up against the throughput limits of 802.11g. It's marketed as 54 Mb/s, but you'd only ever see that in a lab. In the real world, the upper limit is somewhere around 10-11 Mb/s. If his new internet connection is faster than that, wireless connections will max out around 10-11 Mb/s.

cblaisd

That's most helpful to know; thank you.

cblaisd

I have a trusty Linksys WRTG54 (flashed to DD-WRT) as my router and another one at that far end of the house set up as a client bridge. Things are going well

My question, though, is whether there is any advantage re speed, stability, or ??? to replacing that router with an N one. If so, is there any advantage of a dual band one?

Note that all of my network's connected devices (iPhone, iPad, internet radio, other family members' laptops) are Gs, not N.

The only things hooked directly to the router via ethernet are a) my laptop when at home, b) my Pogoplug, c) my old (it came back to life) SimpleTech NAS, and d) my Ooma box.

nmenaker

well, the ipads should be N as would any iphone 4 or 4s, you'll do best with an N capable radio even if you have other G devices on it. But, you're really only going to notice it on LAN performance.

cblaisd

Didn't realize that. ^ (including the iPad 1, I presume?) Sounds like N might really help when streaming Netflix et al to the iPad.

ETA: Have been looking at the Cisco/Linksys WRT400N and the WRT610N

gfunkdave

As for dual band, the iPads are all dual band, but it is only useful if you live in a place with a lot of APs interfering with each other. Otherwise, there's not much of a point.

I have a Linksys E3000 (it is dual band) that I frequently see for sale on Newegg for about $40. I run TomatoUSB on it.

cblaisd

I splurged and got the Cisco E3200 (can return it within 30 days if I want to).

So far, very impressed.

I've taken my Linksys DD-WRT'ed WRTG54 and set it up as a client-bridge at the far end of the house. Works beautifully.

Some more follow-on questions, if I can try the forum's patience :

a) I am using this (that I've had for years) as switch to connect some network devices. Would getting a "fast internet switch" increase throughput? (I'm not using the Print Server feature and have the wifi turned off on it)

b) Would it be worth it (in terms of the client-bridge aspect) in terms of speed increase to get the cheapest DD-WRT flashable N-router I can find and set it up as a client-bridge to replace the WRTG54? (Mostly what connects at that end of the house is iPad and iPhone)

nmenaker

B much more than A. getting a fast switch is pretty darn cheap these days, you can find a nice 8-port GIGE switch for about 25-35$, It WOULD make a difference on LAN performance and I find that even without that, I get better performance of internet/conferencing with the increased overhead. nearly 10x that is regular 100based ethernet.

cblaisd

New Comcast question....

Suggestions for least expensive but reliable Docsis 3.0 modem? Seems like the Motorola Surfboard 6120/6121 get a lot of recommendations but is there something better/less expensive?

tev9999

Be careful with your own modem on Comcast - and watch your bill. I used my own for many years - I was one of the first self-install customers when they rolled out internet in my area. They started charging me $3 a month for a rental fee for the modem they owned. They insisted that I had to send the receipt to prove I owned it. I didn't have the receipt as it was at least five years old. They refused to budge, even though one of the customer service reps told me it was very common for them to do this to people.

I ended up dumping them, they charged me $50 for not returning the modem I owned, I refused to pay it, they sent me to collections....... I only got it resolved because a friend of a friend was a project manager for them. She looked up my account and realized how stupid they were being and cancelled everything out. They lost a 12 year customer because they refused to remove a bogus charge.