time for a wifi upgrade......looking for suggestions

H

haunter

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jul 20, 2011
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cliffs bolded at bottom of post

Current Setup:

Surfboard DOCSIS 3 Modem

Linksys WRT310N Running DD-WRT as my main router

Dell PowerConnect 2724 Switch



In my wifes office I have a Linksys WRT54Gv8 running in client bridge mode with her PC and a printer plugged into it

I have some PC's, all wired, at gig, some directv BS on the network, and a Wii on G

Max copy speed I can get across from her PC to my server is ~2.5 MB/s. The 54G is obv also G.

Wire to her office is out of the question, PITA and my to do list around the house is huge.

I want to get her PC up at a real speed(I did have her on N, until I got the printer. But the N card would not wake up from sleep and make her piss and moan about her PC being slow/shitty even though it was just the WLAN card(USB)


I was thinking of just getting a nice main router with real newer N and moving the 'slow' 150mpbs N router up as a client bridge. If my whole N network has to throttle to 150 thats fine by me. and the G stuff can run at G that way. I need to get her backing up properly to the server so I can carbonite/mozy stuff out of here

I saw the EnGenius ESR750H on sale at newegg and thought it would fit the bill if its not crap

anyone hear anything about them?

There is a small chance she will get wire in her office this fall sometime but it depends on how easily that stupid ceiling fan she wants installs, if it goes quick and easy then running wire while I am knee deep in insulation wont see as bad :p


cliffs:
looking for newer fancier mimo N router, considering EnGenius ESR750H

beyond that I need to sort out why Im not seeing much over 30MB on big file transfers from my PCs to my server.....but thats another thread some other time and involves learning more about ESXis network switch
 
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My setup pretty much consists of a Surfboard DOCSIS 3 modem connected to my pSense box than to my ASUS RT-NI6 (tomato) for wireless connectivity and my Netgear ProSafe JGS524E (24 port) which feeds the entirety of my parents house where I live now, all devices are directly wired, but I allow wireless for people who come over to visit (alot of relatives come over and still work from parents house).

I usually suggest to everyone to just directly wire with gbit switch for futureproofing and run a single wireless - N router just for any necissary wireless options.
 
I use Ubiquiti UniFi APs, I have two of them on either side of the house and they are quite nice.

http://www.ubnt.com/unifi

Engenius has been around for a while and I think they are at least respected, but I've never used one.

You could keep using DD-WRT for routing/firewalling and turn off all wireless and set up UniFi AP's, and then maybe later get a better dedicated router/firewall.
 
yeah I have those at work(unifi's)

one unifi will cost me almost as much as the engenius if I buy in the next few days since the enginus is on sale for 99 w free shipping at the egg

I have a machine I could pfsense/untangle for routing.

FrEaKy said:
My setup pretty much consists of a Surfboard DOCSIS 3 modem connected to my pSense box than to my ASUS RT-NI6 (tomato) for wireless connectivity and my Netgear ProSafe JGS524E (24 port) which feeds the entirety of my parents house where I live now, all devices are directly wired, but I allow wireless for people who come over to visit (alot of relatives come over and still work from parents house).

I usually suggest to everyone to just directly wire with gbit switch for futureproofing and run a single wireless - N router just for any necissary wireless options.
Click to expand...

yeah easier said than done, especially to the main TV. It would be different if I had lots of spare time, but I dont and running wire is way low on the list
 
+Eric said:
I use Ubiquiti UniFi APs, I have two of them on either side of the house and they are quite nice.

http://www.ubnt.com/unifi

Engenius has been around for a while and I think they are at least respected, but I've never used one.

You could keep using DD-WRT for routing/firewalling and turn off all wireless and set up UniFi AP's, and then maybe later get a better dedicated router/firewall.
Click to expand...

I'm going with UniFi APs after I finish ebaying a few items. Even with DD-WRT on my E3000, it still flakes out. I'm done with soho/home gear.
 
Yeah, I decided some time ago that I'm done with junk networking stuff. Its a decision that I'm glad I made everyday.

My stuff works and works consistently, I almost NEVER even think about it. I try again and again to get my friends to go with good gear and they insist on junk best buy sells. It's funny they spend TONS more on gear than I do and have problems.

I've been super happy with Ubiquiti stuff (have a Pico High Power amongst other things), and I'm super happy with my UniFi AP's
 
the biggest roadblock with the UNiFi's for what I want to do, which is do a pretty hefty file transfer over wifi, is that they have 10/100 Ports on them. sure they can do '300mb wifi' but its all going through a 10/100 port

if it was just for browsing around, it would be hands down tossing a unifi on top of my rack
 
haunter said:
the biggest roadblock with the UNiFi's for what I want to do, which is do a pretty hefty file transfer over wifi, is that they have 10/100 Ports on them. sure they can do '300mb wifi' but its all going through a 10/100 port

if it was just for browsing around, it would be hands down tossing a unifi on top of my rack
Click to expand...

I have the 9550 and i love this thing,

this one is the new one with gig network port tho.

http://www.engeniustech.com/business-networking/indoor-access-points-client-bridges/16217-eap350
 
haunter said:
the biggest roadblock with the UNiFi's for what I want to do, which is do a pretty hefty file transfer over wifi, is that they have 10/100 Ports on them. sure they can do '300mb wifi' but its all going through a 10/100 port

if it was just for browsing around, it would be hands down tossing a unifi on top of my rack
Click to expand...

300Mbps is marketing propaganda, you won't max out the Ethernet port on the UniFi.

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-basics/30664-5-ways-to-fix-slow-80211n-speed
 
is there anything out there I can use that would saturate a 10/100 link? or am I stuck around there unless I run cable?

(wifi is NOT my thing if you can't tell)
 
dashpuppy said:
what about Ethernet over power ?
Click to expand...

The time i tried it was lucky to get 15Mbps out of the Ethernet over power adapters. Granted these were older unit from about 2 years ago. So I can't say 100% they're not better now after 2 years. I couldn't even download at 30Mbps which my cable supported.
 
I do have some plenum rated cat6 laying around, and its tempting me to use the air duct that I know the rooms share as its way easier than a true floor/ceiling penetration or going up to attic and back down
 
Are you sure that you are using the correct terms of measurement? 15Mbps vs 15MBps is a big difference.

Also when running WiFi in mixed mode the max throughput will only be as fast as the slowest device. So if you have 802.11B/G clients then the entire network will only be as fast as them. If you have all N clients then the network will be faster.
 
haunter said:
I do have some plenum rated cat6 laying around, and its tempting me to use the air duct that I know the rooms share as its way easier than a true floor/ceiling penetration or going up to attic and back down
Click to expand...

This might be the way to go. Keep in mind that it is very likely against electrical code if your area.
 
klank said:
Are you sure that you are using the correct terms of measurement? 15Mbps vs 15MBps is a big difference.

Also when running WiFi in mixed mode the max throughput will only be as fast as the slowest device. So if you have 802.11B/G clients then the entire network will only be as fast as them. If you have all N clients then the network will be faster.
Click to expand...

yeah thats why I was looking at true dual band routesr, to run 5ghz N and a 2.4 network, which would keep the 5ghz running faster right?

the wii is my killer, its G. everything else is atleast 2.4 N capable, and if not, its a cheap upgrade

klank said:
This might be the way to go. Keep in mind that it is very likely against electrical code if your area.
Click to expand...

plenum rated should be OK. atleast its OK/required for commerical code here
 
haunter said:
yeah thats why I was looking at true dual band routesr, to run 5ghz N and a 2.4 network, which would keep the 5ghz running faster right?

the wii is my killer, its G. everything else is atleast 2.4 N capable, and if not, its a cheap upgrade



plenum rated should be OK. atleast its OK/required for commerical code here
Click to expand...

You may get better performance with 5Ghz, but it doesn't penetrate as good as 2.4Ghz. If it isn't too much trouble and you don't mind running plenum cable through the duct, that is going to be your best bet for a solid fast connection.
 
My house probably isnt big enough for 5ghz penetration to be an issue

1200sq ft per floor

I will poke around with the ducts tonight

I may end up going pfsense and a unifi or something this fall....the wrt310N is getting aged at this point. the big downside for me on the engenius is losing DD-WRT, while it isnt ALL THAT, I know its ins and outs well enough at this point

this would re-relegate the wifi to being just for neffing and occasionally streaming some media to my old 360 on the upstairs TV
 
klank said:
Are you sure that you are using the correct terms of measurement? 15Mbps vs 15MBps is a big difference.

Also when running WiFi in mixed mode the max throughput will only be as fast as the slowest device. So if you have 802.11B/G clients then the entire network will only be as fast as them. If you have all N clients then the network will be faster.
Click to expand...

Yes i'm sure. I was only getting 15Mbps not 15MBps when using the Ethernet over Power adapter. This was 2 years ago and they were some cheap brand that my ISP provided my wife at the time during installation. I'm not saying the newer versions out aren't going to be better. I'm just letting you know what results I had when i tried it.
 
Chimay said:
Yes i'm sure. I was only getting 15Mbps not 15MBps when using the Ethernet over Power adapter. This was 2 years ago and they were some cheap brand that my ISP provided my wife at the time during installation. I'm not saying the newer versions out aren't going to be better. I'm just letting you know what results I had when i tried it.
Click to expand...

Cool just checking. I have never used the Ethernet over power adapters.
 
well I got lucky this weekend(sorta?)

it rained all morning sunday, and I was supposed to be painting part of my house

with nothing else scheduled, and my wife feeling under the weather from growing our little one, I put some holes in the inside of the house

got lucky with where the wall in my wifes office is, and where the ducting that runs through the middle of my house was, and was able to get away with running 2 25ft cart6 lines to get her and her printer wired up.

of course it also meant I had to temporarily rearrange my laundry room....and clean the shit out of it when I was done

but it was worth it

the next step is probably to set up pfsense

I can VM it, or use my old LowPower spare desktop thats sitting powered off inside the rack
 
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