Wrt1200 not enough :(

Upgrading my security system has taken a toll on my network. Running about a dozen wifi cameras and a hand full of misc (phones, tablets, laptops) devices. (20 connected devices at any given time)

I am using the wrt1200 (ddwrt) currently as a client bridge to just run the security system and I've got an asus rt ac1200 as the main wan doing everything else. I also have a tp link extender routing only a few sensitive devices upstairs. All cameras are fixed ip's.

Plan for the weekend is to drop the asus entirely and oc the linksys. I'm not exactly optimistic on the results I'll see.


The problem : recorded video and camera streaming is getting unacceptable. I'm not great with networking so I feel like I'm missing something.

The ask: any recommendations? I'm assuming I'm going to need to upgrade the 1200s, but are there any configurations I should play with this weekend to maybe get it better till I can afford a better router. Any router recommendations that aren't crazy expensive?

Before someone trolls, I'm stuck renting so I can't run POE cameras right now.

Edit

Run Ethernet wherever possible.

If that doesn't work, use powerline Ethernet. I definitely don't recommend using any kind of wireless bridging.

With 20 constantly connected and streaming devices, you're going to overwhelm most consumer WiFi solutions. IMO, with your renting constraints, you have two primary options:

1. Powerline Ethernet. This will provide strong and stable connections that are more than sufficient for the dozen cameras on your network. The downside is that the cost will be rather high per device (~$35+ per device).
2. Commercial Grade WiFi. A low end commercial wifi solution such as those by Ubiquiti can potentially allow for you to have a better connection. However, this can be very dependent on the physical layout of your network, the construction materials used in your home, and the overall electrical/radio interference in your area. You will need a gateway($119), a switch ($99), and at least one wireless access point($149-$349).

If I were in your situation with limited networking experience, I would likely go the powerline route as it is mostly plug and play.

Sadly I had bad foresight and already bought the wifi cameras and nvr, but I suppose I could just sell em. Thanks for the input. I'll look around for some commercial stuff, and go powerline if needed. I would do separate networks for the nvr system, but that and my home would still have to have the same internet funnel. I'm not as worried about streaming quality as much as recording reliability. I have a handful of wireless routers floating around and can pick up something else, but I have no idea the best way to arrange them to properly work together...hm...yay, bad planning

Don't feel bad, a lot of people fall into the wifi security camera trap

Terrible idea, but people seem to be enamored with the concept of wifi cameras that they have to go through the trouble of running power to anyway

Try splitting frequencies?

Put some devices on 2.4 and others explicitly on 5?

Remember WiFi is a collision domain, try to limit collisions.

turn the cameras down to 480p and see if the problem goes away.
If so the router simply isn't fast enough to handle the traffic.
Look at the pps rating. For streaming cameras pps can be more important than mbs.

not that anyone cares, but fwiw, I bought a couple powerline adapters and put a wireless router on the end in each area of the house having issues and it seems to be working great. Would I recomend it? fuck no. I have 4 routers and an extender in a 3 bedroom house... If I didn't already have a collection of 2.4ghz routers because of my hording I would have scrapped the wifi cameras and went POE. So each router is covering 2 to 3 cameras and then they communicate via powerline to the main gateway/nvr. This is not for the faint of heart and makes the term "wireless" really gray. If it were only a camera or two...sure. But whole house security definitely calls for something better.
(also I got luck with amazon shipping me 4 powerline adapters instead of the 2 I ordered, so only an additional $30 invested from where I was)

Thanks for the advice!