Wrt54G/ Broadband is slow

E

Elijah

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 4, 2004
Messages
175
Hey Everyone, I got a wrt54g and set it up to feed a internet connection wirelessly to a computer. It is running xp. Initially there was no encryption but I turned wep 128 on and it is still the same. I am thinking it is router settings, I may call tech support tomorrow if no one knows though.

Is it worth it to upgrade the firmware?? I was hoping to not have to do that and at least get the full speed it is currently capable of and then go from there.

When I do a speed test on it I get 1.6 mbps, another computer that is hard wired to the router gets 3 mbps. The comcast connection is a 3 Mbit connection.

The signal strength is great at a full 54mbps. Only going through one dinky household wall (drywall with studs).

Is there anything you can suggest. File transfers seem to be about half speed as well.

Thanks
 
what speeds do you get when you try to transfer files across your home network?
 
what should i get to monitor the file speeds on my home network??

Thanks
 
well maybe it is just the speedtest site i tried the http://www.bandwidthplace.com/speedtest/ and it gave me the 1.6 mbps and (edit) the wired computer shows 3 Mbps on the same site)

http://reviews.cnet.com/Bandwidth_meter/7004-7254_7-0.html
gave me a 3 mbit

and downloads are showing up at 380 KBps (faster than the wired computer which is 305KBps)

So that seems fine but now file transfers still suck.

What app do I need to monitor file transfer speeds?

The task manager networking tab only shows 40% utilization when I am transfering large files. so there may just be a bottle neck somewhere but I don't think it is my hard drives.

Thanks


EDIT2: I am letting asus control my wireless configuration versus the wireless zero cofiguration in windows. The wireless is built in on the Asus P5GD2 MOBO.

Edit3: Does Network type Infrastructure/Ad-Hoc have anything to do with it? It is currently on infrastructure.

Also should soft AP settings be changed? It is currently set to station mode.

Thanks again

edit 4: 2 min 45 sec to transfer a 392MB file from wired computer (7200rpm ide, 100 Mbps Nic) to wireless computer with raptor and the wireless asus connection. WHole time network was at 40% or below, not one spike. Like a flat line limiter or sumtin.
 
Elijah said:
WHole time network was at 40% or below, not one spike. Like a flat line limiter or sumtin.
Click to expand...
What speed is your wireless connecting at?

My 'b' wireless cards connect at 11, but only transfer at like 3.5Mb/s or so...which I'm told is normal.
 
54Mbps wireless G

I hope that isn't normal.... I wonder why they say it is 11 Mbps then, I don't think that is normal.

So you are saying that with your B network you can only transfer files at the speed of a broadband connection? Bummer, if this is the case I may go the Hard wire route but really dont want to.
 
It might be right. You can always download a bandwidth monitoring program and see what the transfer rate is. There is a lot of overhead in wireless protocols though, you won't get anywhere near 54mbps, maybe closer to 20-25mbps.

A wired network will smoke a wifi network any day, any time. It's just a fact of life when you have to check for errors over the air and whatnot. You can turn off WEP for a small increase in speed. It should be more than enough for internet bandwidth, but don't expect wire speeds over wireless on your LAN.

As far as the internet download test, they will very greatly all the time anyways, I wouldn't put much weight on them.
 
11Mb, 54 Mb is the signalling rate, not the throughput you'll discover. Overhead. You won't see 100 Mb with a switched wired LAN either however you will see much closer to the number though.

11 Mb? Best you'll see with the budget gear is around 6 Mb. With .11g, 20-25 as mentioned. If you really want the highest available speed. You have a couple of pre-n solutions out there and you have Buffalo Techs 125 Mb equipment. With either you might see in the 30-40+ Mb, which is outstanding for wireless gear. All this information is easily attained by a simple google search or any tech board on the internet. Wireless isn't and hasn't been a backbone solution yet and won't be for some time to come. It's a compliment, or a internet sharing with convenience option.
 
Thanks for the replies guys, maybe I will go with wired later on, but I guess I can wait a few minutes to transfer some movies every now and then.

As of today the connection has been crapping out alot and takes a few minutes to regain. Why is this? There is one more network close by on channel 6, is this causing it?? Is wep causing the drop outs, maybe the cordless phones. Oh well I guess wireless is just for cheap and lazy people :)


I was browsing the other day and found a page that was full of firmware hacks for the linksys routers, can anyone point me back to this site, it was talking about really letting file transfers fly.
 
And ya know isn't this crap a bunch of false advertising?? I mean 54 Mbps is 54 Mbps right??
 
Elijah said:
Thanks for the replies guys, maybe I will go with wired later on, but I guess I can wait a few minutes to transfer some movies every now and then.

As of today the connection has been crapping out alot and takes a few minutes to regain. Why is this? There is one more network close by on channel 6, is this causing it?? Is wep causing the drop outs, maybe the cordless phones. Oh well I guess wireless is just for cheap and lazy people :)
Click to expand...

I never use any channels near the default, I usually use 9 or 10 myself, get away from interfereance as much as possible. WEP is a complete waste IMO. It's not really secure, and lowers overall bandwidth, I see no reason to use it. Cordless phones that are 2.4GHz and microwave ovens will interfere with the connect as well. I'd recommend using a 900MHz phone and keep the wifi away from any microwaves.

As far as false advertising, hard drive companies claim GB size as 1000MB, when it's 1024MB for a GB. Ethernet also only gets about 80% of it's bandwidth at 10 or 100Mbps. Gigabit ethernet is even worse as far as getting bandwidth usage. It is 54Mbps, but you can only use part of it.

I'm using the Satori-4.0 v2.07.1.7sv firmware on my WRT54G. It's been great with the increased power to get my signal to my friends place(30-40 yds away). The firmware also opens up a ton of other features, logging, ddns, etc. Anything that runs on linux and can fit in the small footprint seems to be on it. What exactly are you expecting out of it? The linux hacks basically make a $30 router into the featureset of a $500 router.
 
sandmax wep will keep the average joe out though right?? What will keep just the average person from wandering on to my network without wep? I will change my channel to 9.

Thanks sandman.
 
Elijah said:
sandmax wep will keep the average joe out though right?? What will keep just the average person from wandering on to my network without wep? I will change my channel to 9.

Thanks sandman.
Click to expand...

I use MAC filtering to keep people out. It will keep the casual user out at least. WEP is incredibly easy to crack, which is why I say it's not worth it, esp. with the extra bandwidth it uses. The best way to keep users out though is to connect to the router via VPN. There are a few different security modes with the firmware I mentioned above. I've never set them myself, but it shouldn't be too difficult.

Anyways, MAC's can be cloned and WEP can be cracked, it just depends on what level of security you want. I should be more concerned myself, but I've gotten away with it for a couple years, so I'm lazy about it now. :rolleyes:
 
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