Need help. I'm not a networking guy. Thanks in advance

S

SixFootDuo

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Oct 5, 2004
Messages
5,825
I have a new cable modem that is supposed to have better latency, etc, throughput, etc.

The internet guy took me off of my wifi router and plugged my PC straight into the cable modem and I gained 15 - 20 better latency / ping.

But for my smart TV's and phone, I of course had to plug my PC back into my wifi router and the cable modem into the wifi router for the ( typical setup )

My PC has 2 ethernet ports. How do plug my cable model directly to my PC and somehow add my wifi router back into the mix for my phone and smart TV's?

Is it as simple as plugging the wifi router into the 2nd ethernet port on the back of my PC?

Do I need a splitter?

Sorry if these are really dumb questions. I just really want my cable modem going directly into the back of my PC but at the same time having use of wifi in my loft.

Thank you everyone in advance.
 
The modem ethernet would plug directly into the routers internet ethernet port. Then you would plug your pc and any other devices that you want cable ethernet connection into the router. The back of your router should look something like the first image link. The router should have a specific ethernet port labeled internet. This the ethernet port you would use to connect the cable modem. The second image is how the modem and router should be plugged in.

https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/296100.image0.jpg

https://www.reviews.org/app/uploads/2020/02/How-to-Setup-Internet_3.png
 
I have a cable modem and I have a Netgear Nighthawk AC-1700 I think from 2015.

Typically, I run the cable modem into the Wifi router and the router plugged into the back of my PC.

I no longer want to do that. Why? The wifi router introduces 15 - 20ms latency in games. It could be because it's 5+ years old, even older taken into account the design of the chips inside.

I want to run cable modem directly into the back of my PC and use the 2nd ethernet port on the back of my PC for the wireless router.

How can I achieve this?

Thanks again to the people assisting me. I'm sorry I didn't do a better job of explaining what I am wanting to do.
 
My modem has a bridge mode that reduces the latency of the modem by effectively turning it into a bridge. It will then pass all of the authentication to the home router. Look for that functionality.
 
Mega6 said:
My modem has a bridge mode that reduces the latency of the modem by effectively turning it into a bridge. It will then pass all of the authentication to the home router. Look for that functionality.
Click to expand...

Umm, I have a Spectrum Cable Modem, Docsis 3.0. I'll have the look at the model number and go from there. The Spectrum Tech said it's a newer model.

So just plugging in the wifi router to the 2nd port on the back of my PC is out?
 
SixFootDuo said:
Umm, I have a Spectrum Cable Modem, Docsis 3.0. I'll have the look at the model number and go from there. The Spectrum Tech said it's a newer model.

So just plugging in the wifi router to the 2nd port on the back of my PC is out?
Click to expand...
Just offering one solution. I can tell you right now I am hitting my gateway within 21-25ms from my box, through my router and over the bridged modem.
21.170 ms 23.070 ms 25.427 ms

edit: I didn't want to give up my router firewall as most modems are pretty bad in the security department - which is what you are doing by plugging in behind your router and into the modem. bridge mode gives you minimal latency while keeping all the centralized features of your router across all of your devices.
 
Last edited:
If the router is adding 15-20ms latency even when you have the computer hardwired via ethernet then I'd say something is seriously wrong with the router settings or simply the router itself. I've never once seen latency like that when hardwired. Even with wireless I've never seen that sort of added latency unless the wireless signal was horrible at which point the packet loss is usually a bigger issue.
 
SixFootDuo said:
Umm, I have a Spectrum Cable Modem, Docsis 3.0. I'll have the look at the model number and go from there. The Spectrum Tech said it's a newer model.

So just plugging in the wifi router to the 2nd port on the back of my PC is out?
Click to expand...

No, you can't plug in your wireless router into a second NIC on your PC and serve wireless clients. The purpose of a second NIC on a computer is to have a separate interface to either configure an LACP/NIC team, or to connect into two different networks from your station. There might be ways to configure a software bridge with the NIC software or something, but this would not be worth the hassle and potential issues.

How many switch ports does the new modem have? I think your alternative option would be to setup your wireless router in AP Mode so it doesn't act as a router and connect both your PC and the wireless AP into the cable modem: https://kb.netgear.com/24104/How-do...outer-to-AP-mode-after-I-ve-already-run-setup

1601900779493.png
 
SmokeRngs said:
If the router is adding 15-20ms latency even when you have the computer hardwired via ethernet then I'd say something is seriously wrong with the router settings or simply the router itself. I've never once seen latency like that when hardwired. Even with wireless I've never seen that sort of added latency unless the wireless signal was horrible at which point the packet loss is usually a bigger issue.
Click to expand...


Not an expert in this area and the way I am measuring is probably idiotic. But when I play COD Warzone with Cable Modem plugged into the Wifi Router and my PC connected to the Nighthawk, I noticed my latency is 10 - 15 - 20 higher in the game. When I have just the cable modem plugged into the PC, my latency is 10 - 15 - 20 better.

Hence, me wanting to remove the 5 - 6 year old Nighthawk AC1700 wifi router from the mix.

I thought about spending $200 on a new AX Wireless Router but not sure that will gain me much or will it?

I really just want gaming performance and overall performance if I do that.
 
Cmustang87 said:
No, you can't plug in your wireless router into a second NIC on your PC and serve wireless clients. The purpose of a second NIC on a computer is to have a separate interface to either configure an LACP/NIC team, or to connect into two different networks from your station. There might be ways to configure a software bridge with the NIC software or something, but this would not be worth the hassle and potential issues.

How many switch ports does the new modem have? I think your alternative option would be to setup your wireless router in AP Mode so it doesn't act as a router and connect both your PC and the wireless AP into the cable modem: https://kb.netgear.com/24104/How-do...outer-to-AP-mode-after-I-ve-already-run-setup

View attachment 285683
Click to expand...


Sadly, just one port. That's what I asked if I could use a splitter
 
Ethernet splitters are "dumb", and just short the wires of two cables together, and connect them to a third. I'm honestly not sure what they're used for...not ip networks, at least. Maybe round-robin networks? Anyway, it wouldn't be useful in this application.

Edit: Apparently, it takes half the wires from one cable, and half the wires from the other, and joins them to one cable. But no device on the market would be able to understand what's happening with two devices sharing one cable, afaik, so you'd have to split them out on the other end to connect to the modem (and you'd be back to square one).
 
Last edited:
SixFootDuo said:
Not an expert in this area and the way I am measuring is probably idiotic. But when I play COD Warzone with Cable Modem plugged into the Wifi Router and my PC connected to the Nighthawk, I noticed my latency is 10 - 15 - 20 higher in the game. When I have just the cable modem plugged into the PC, my latency is 10 - 15 - 20 better.

Hence, me wanting to remove the 5 - 6 year old Nighthawk AC1700 wifi router from the mix.

I thought about spending $200 on a new AX Wireless Router but not sure that will gain me much or will it?

I really just want gaming performance and overall performance if I do that.
Click to expand...

Unless your router is broken or overloaded (overloaded applies to circuit also) you should not be seeing anything like that kind of added latency. What are the other devices on your networtk doing while you're measuring?
 
I feel like we could solve this easily enough if we have some very specific information.

For me, i'd like to know:

1.) Exact model number of your "modem".

2.) When you're plugged straight into your modem, what local IPv4 address are you getting? (if its private, you have a modem/router, not just a modem.)
 
criccio said:
I feel like we could solve this easily enough if we have some very specific information.

For me, i'd like to know:

1.) Exact model number of your "modem".

2.) When you're plugged straight into your modem, what local IPv4 address are you getting? (if its private, you have a modem/router, not just a modem.)
Click to expand...


Thank you, I will update you with that info very shortly.

For IPV4 I am using 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1 .... but maybe that is not local.

I feel really stupid lol. Thanks again.

Will be back soon with your requested info.
 
SixFootDuo said:
Thank you, I will update you with that info very shortly.

For IPV4 I am using 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1 .... but maybe that is not local.

I feel really stupid lol. Thanks again.

Will be back soon with your requested info.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's your DNS server's address(es). He wants your machine's address (should be 192.x.x.x or something like that.
 
Ok, in Command Prompt, type this then hit enter.

ipconfig

It's going to start listing all your network adapters. Depending on if you have wired ethernet, wifi, virtual adapters for VM software, there could be a few here so you'll need to identify which one you're using.

I know that i'm using my computers wired Ethernet and the output looks like this:

Ethernet adapter Ethernet: Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : local Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::654a:d9:2643:4fe8%13 IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.15.160 [B]<------------ This is what i'm looking for from your end.[/B] Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0 Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.15.1
 
criccio said:
I feel like we could solve this easily enough if we have some very specific information.

For me, i'd like to know:

1.) Exact model number of your "modem".

2.) When you're plugged straight into your modem, what local IPv4 address are you getting? (if its private, you have a modem/router, not just a modem.)
Click to expand...


I have the "Spectrum Internet" supplied Arris Touchstone TM1602A DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem.

There is ZERO / NO chance of me replacing this or Spectrum replacing this.

I am in a Internet service mandated building as of Sept 1st. In fact, I have to pay double now. I have to pay Spectrum $25 a month and I have to pay the building ( on top of rent ) $55 dollars. It's a kick back scheme and there is nothing I can do about it.

I am lucky that I do get 55 - 60MB/s ( 500mbit ) downloads. So I am trying to remain positive about my situation.

This was a new modem they just installed yesterday replacing some older model. I called them out because I bought a Wireless Cable Modem and it wouldn't work. they told me this was because my building is now a "bulk rate" building and I have ( forced ) to use their hardware now.

I am seriously considering moving to a new location that has Google Fiber. I had Google Fiber for 6 years until my GF and I broke up and I moved out.
 
criccio said:
Ok, in Command Prompt, type this then hit enter.

ipconfig

It's going to start listing all your network adapters. Depending on if you have wired ethernet, wifi, virtual adapters for VM software, there could be a few here so you'll need to identify which one you're using.

I know that i'm using my computers wired Ethernet and the output looks like this:

Ethernet adapter Ethernet: Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : local Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::654a:d9:2643:4fe8%13 IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.15.160 [B]<------------ This is what i'm looking for from your end.[/B] Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0 Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.15.1
Click to expand...


C:\Windows\System32>ipconfig

Windows IP Configuration


Ethernet adapter Ethernet:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::18b9:5ff8:de64:7566%2
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.3
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1

C:\Windows\System32>
 
Your modem is a modem that also has the ability to do VOIP for phones.

1. Reset your router to factory settings (There is a reset button on the back).
2. Make sure your router has the latest firmware available installed.

If neither of those fixes it then get a new router because there is something wrong with your current one or you have some crazy high router CPU usage packet inspection going on that is adding the latency.

After doing a quick search, this high latency problem seems to be pretty common with Netgear routers. Netgear actually went to crap after Cisco bought them.

I had a combo Netgear modem/router at work after that happened and it died just out of the warranty period. I took it apart and found that the heatsink that was supposed to cool the CPU in the router was held in place by a single through hole post. the solder connection broke and the heatsink swung out of place, causing the router CPU to fry.

To top it off, even when the heatsink was positioned in the factory position, it only covered about 1/2 of the CPU.

I swore off all Netgear equipment except for their small networking switches because of this.
 
SixFootDuo said:
C:\Windows\System32>ipconfig

Windows IP Configuration


Ethernet adapter Ethernet:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::18b9:5ff8:de64:7566%2
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.3
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1

C:\Windows\System32>
Click to expand...

That is when your PC is plugged straight into your modem? That doesn't make any sense, that modem won't hand out a private IP like that...


Anyway yeah, you should never be plugged straight into the modem, you need/want a proper router/firewall in between you and the internet. Do what cyclone3d said.
 
Cmustang87 said:
Either way, you can also just connect a basic network switch to the single Modem port to give yourself more interfaces. But I hate using ISP modems as a router or controlling any network traffic whatsoever.
Click to expand...

No, he can't. It's a modem, not a modem/router. It will not do NAT and DHCP alone for his LAN.
 
criccio said:
No, he can't. It's a modem, not a modem/router. It will not do NAT and DHCP alone for his LAN.
Click to expand...

Whoops you're right. I missed the post where OP commented the exact model and only saw the IP address of 192.168.1.3 and conflated the two.
 
Cmustang87 said:
Whoops you're right. I missed the post where OP commented the exact model and only saw the IP address of 192.168.1.3 and conflated the two.
Click to expand...

We'll see that's confusing, I wouldnt expect an IP like that from his ISP IF that's truly from straight into the modem and the Netgear he has is out of the picture. Now I'm almost curious what his ARP table looks like but..... Yeah just use a router.
 
looks like the default login for that modem is 192.168.100.1 there may be a 'feature update' that they did that added functionality that wasn't previously there. I had that happen with me a few years back. Either way it's worth taking a look.
 
From your wired computer go to this website to see your public IP address
https://www.whatismyip.com/

If your modem is just a modem then your computer's public IP address should match what you see with the ipconfig command. If the output you posted earlier with your computer's ip of 192.168.1.3 and a default gateway of 192.168.1.1 there is something doing NAT. Then you need to figure out if it's the modem or something upstream with your building and it's deal with Spectrum.
 
Yeah, there is something else causing it, no router will add that much latency, even a 5 year old model. Heck, a router with 100mb/s ports from 10 years ago shouldn't be that bad. I would double check everything, possibly turn off all other devices (or shut off the wireless on the wifi router) and test it, possibly there is some other devices that are taking some bandwidth making your latency look worse. When you're directly plugged into the modem you aren't sharing anything with other devices. As others mentioned, having a router plugged into the modem with a wired connection to it should not be adding noticeable latency, anything more than 1ms of latency something isn't right.
 
SixFootDuo said:
I am seriously considering moving to a new location that has Google Fiber. I had Google Fiber for 6 years until my GF and I broke up and I moved out.
Click to expand...
I would have never broke up with my Google Fibre. And wouldn't GF have moved out, not you? Oh wait...GF stands for girlfriend....:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::D:D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top