How to make sense of network speed?
March 13, 2011 9:12 AM Subscribe
Home networking problem. Please help me make sense out of this.
What I have:
3 level townhouse (wireless router is on the top floor).
Verizon Fios (25D/25U [Mbits/sec] plan).
Actiontec MI424WR modem/router rev D (10/100 ethernet, 802.11 b/g wireless).
Multiple wireless devices (b/g/n).
What I would like:
I'm trying to set up my home network such as that I can stream media from a central location (3TB external hard drive hooked up to router), and share printer/files across all devices.
Now, I'm already doing that, to some degree. What I'm trying to figure out is, if it is worth upgrading my network hardware in order to get more speed/reliability.
I was originally considering upgrading the router to a revision G of the same brand/provider (has Gigabit ethernet, 802.11n wireless), but Verizon reserves those for its business customers.
Then I looked into buying a separate wireless router (turning off the wireless functionality of the Fios router), then using Gigabit CAT-6 ethernet to hook up to the router, and USB to the external HD, (and even though I've found USB 3.0 HDs, I've yet to find a router that has a 3.0 USB port). That setup comes close to $400.
So here's where my head starts to spin... Best as I can figure it out/understand it (after doing some research): ISP provides 25/25 (when I test network's speed through Speedtest.net, I get a 15/10 result from my wireless notebook, which I guess is pretty good? Verizon says 25/25 is based on a wired connection)... Current router has max wired transfer of 100 Mbps, wireless 802.11g (54Mbps). SO... What I "get" from this is that no matter what, the speed to the internet and back is capped at 25 Mbps. So, thinking of it that way, there doesn't seem to be any reason to upgrade my hardware.
However, if I think of my local network, (internet speeds aside), my theoretical caps are... 100 Mbps wired, 54 Mbps wireless? Which makes me think that if I were to upgrade my hardware, the speeds could increase (again, theoretically?) to 1000 Mbps wired, 300/450 Mbps wireless ... So, it seems like there would be no change whatsoever on my connection to the 'net, but my home network would definitely get somewhat of a boost.
Except that... The connection between the modem and the wireless router would be capped at 100 Mbps, which would bring my cap to all devices back down? Or is it that all wireless devices would work off of the theoretical 300/450, and only wired devices would be capped at 100 Mbps?
To all that, I assume that having a newer, 802.11n capable router (dual band?), would increase wireless signal reliability/range...
I guess the bottomline for me is... Am I understanding the network speeds the right way? (Internet & home network) Is the potential boost in speed/reliability worth the price? Am I completely off base, and is there a cheaper (as in price, not quality) way to get similar results?
Thank you so much!
What I have:
3 level townhouse (wireless router is on the top floor).
Verizon Fios (25D/25U [Mbits/sec] plan).
Actiontec MI424WR modem/router rev D (10/100 ethernet, 802.11 b/g wireless).
Multiple wireless devices (b/g/n).
What I would like:
I'm trying to set up my home network such as that I can stream media from a central location (3TB external hard drive hooked up to router), and share printer/files across all devices.
Now, I'm already doing that, to some degree. What I'm trying to figure out is, if it is worth upgrading my network hardware in order to get more speed/reliability.
I was originally considering upgrading the router to a revision G of the same brand/provider (has Gigabit ethernet, 802.11n wireless), but Verizon reserves those for its business customers.
Then I looked into buying a separate wireless router (turning off the wireless functionality of the Fios router), then using Gigabit CAT-6 ethernet to hook up to the router, and USB to the external HD, (and even though I've found USB 3.0 HDs, I've yet to find a router that has a 3.0 USB port). That setup comes close to $400.
So here's where my head starts to spin... Best as I can figure it out/understand it (after doing some research): ISP provides 25/25 (when I test network's speed through Speedtest.net, I get a 15/10 result from my wireless notebook, which I guess is pretty good? Verizon says 25/25 is based on a wired connection)... Current router has max wired transfer of 100 Mbps, wireless 802.11g (54Mbps). SO... What I "get" from this is that no matter what, the speed to the internet and back is capped at 25 Mbps. So, thinking of it that way, there doesn't seem to be any reason to upgrade my hardware.
However, if I think of my local network, (internet speeds aside), my theoretical caps are... 100 Mbps wired, 54 Mbps wireless? Which makes me think that if I were to upgrade my hardware, the speeds could increase (again, theoretically?) to 1000 Mbps wired, 300/450 Mbps wireless ... So, it seems like there would be no change whatsoever on my connection to the 'net, but my home network would definitely get somewhat of a boost.
Except that... The connection between the modem and the wireless router would be capped at 100 Mbps, which would bring my cap to all devices back down? Or is it that all wireless devices would work off of the theoretical 300/450, and only wired devices would be capped at 100 Mbps?
To all that, I assume that having a newer, 802.11n capable router (dual band?), would increase wireless signal reliability/range...
I guess the bottomline for me is... Am I understanding the network speeds the right way? (Internet & home network) Is the potential boost in speed/reliability worth the price? Am I completely off base, and is there a cheaper (as in price, not quality) way to get similar results?
Thank you so much!
Best answer: Each bottleneck only applies to data going through that specific network segment. So, your connection to the outside world is capped at 25MBps, and will remain so unless you get a FiOS upgrade. Your current wireless is theoretically capped at 54Mbps, but my experience is that is rarely achieved, which is probably part of the reason your speed test came in so low.
If you upgrade to a dual band wireless router, and I think you should, you probably won't get the full speeds, but you will get a big boost. Keep in mind though that all the wireless devices have to share the same bandwidth, and that slower devices on the same band end up slowing the faster devices down, though not all the way to their level. If you upgrade, it shouldn't cost $400, $150 is more like it, unless you are buying new wireless cards for a few computers. If you upgrade, the 100Mbps segment will only be a bottleneck if you have other devices, including your USB HDD wired to your old router, but that shouldn't be necessary. The USB2 connection will likely only be a bottleneck for wired devices.
What I would suggest: Spend ~$150 on an 802.11n router. Disable DHCP and firewall and hook it to one of the Ethernet ports on your old router via one of it's "internal" Ethernet ports. Configure it to provide a new wireless network that only serves your 802.11n clients (disable B and G). Hook all the wired devices you can to it, continue using the actiontec as the router/firewall and as the wireless access point for your older clients. Oh, make sure that your old router and new router are set to use channels that are far apart from each other in the 2.4GHz range.
This should get you a noticeable boost in your speeds for your newer clients. It should also improve range for them. If range is still an issue for your older clients, you might get better results running the 802.11g clients off the new router. It will cut a little into the bandwidth available to 802.11n clients but that shouldn't be much of an issue.
posted by Good Brain at 9:59 AM on March 13, 2011
If you upgrade to a dual band wireless router, and I think you should, you probably won't get the full speeds, but you will get a big boost. Keep in mind though that all the wireless devices have to share the same bandwidth, and that slower devices on the same band end up slowing the faster devices down, though not all the way to their level. If you upgrade, it shouldn't cost $400, $150 is more like it, unless you are buying new wireless cards for a few computers. If you upgrade, the 100Mbps segment will only be a bottleneck if you have other devices, including your USB HDD wired to your old router, but that shouldn't be necessary. The USB2 connection will likely only be a bottleneck for wired devices.
What I would suggest: Spend ~$150 on an 802.11n router. Disable DHCP and firewall and hook it to one of the Ethernet ports on your old router via one of it's "internal" Ethernet ports. Configure it to provide a new wireless network that only serves your 802.11n clients (disable B and G). Hook all the wired devices you can to it, continue using the actiontec as the router/firewall and as the wireless access point for your older clients. Oh, make sure that your old router and new router are set to use channels that are far apart from each other in the 2.4GHz range.
This should get you a noticeable boost in your speeds for your newer clients. It should also improve range for them. If range is still an issue for your older clients, you might get better results running the 802.11g clients off the new router. It will cut a little into the bandwidth available to 802.11n clients but that shouldn't be much of an issue.
posted by Good Brain at 9:59 AM on March 13, 2011
In the immortal words of Ted Stevens, "[The internet]'s not a big truck. It's a series of tubes."
You network is a series of tubes, too. You have a "25/25" pipe coming to your home (15/10 more like), connected to your router. The computers are connected to your router with 100 (wired) pipes, which probably won't saturate with that 15/10 traffic, and with a wireless "54" pipe, whose bigness really depends on the propagation of electromagnetic waves, and which is shared among all devices.
Good Brain's advice of getting a never, bigger wireless pipe, and of using wired pipes where possible is good.
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 10:04 AM on March 13, 2011
You network is a series of tubes, too. You have a "25/25" pipe coming to your home (15/10 more like), connected to your router. The computers are connected to your router with 100 (wired) pipes, which probably won't saturate with that 15/10 traffic, and with a wireless "54" pipe, whose bigness really depends on the propagation of electromagnetic waves, and which is shared among all devices.
Good Brain's advice of getting a never, bigger wireless pipe, and of using wired pipes where possible is good.
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 10:04 AM on March 13, 2011
Yeah, forget FIOS when you're talking about your local network, it's completely irrelevant.
Buy a new wireless N router. When you get it in, tell verizon that you bought a new router and you want to make sure their modem is in bridge mode (or whatever equivalent they have for FIOS, they might call it something else). You can probably figure this out yourself, but for the sake of your own sanity, just call Verizon when you get it, and they should help you get everything configured and working.
If it were me, I'd just get an inexpensive WRT150N and install DDWRT on it.
Gig E is pretty much overkill for a home network, so I don't think it's worth spending the extra money.
One thing to take into account in a Townhouse or apartment situation is that there are probably a bunch of other wireless networks overlapping in your area. Try changing the channels on your wireless G network and you might see a noticeable improvement immediately without even buying new equipment.
posted by empath at 1:08 PM on March 13, 2011
Buy a new wireless N router. When you get it in, tell verizon that you bought a new router and you want to make sure their modem is in bridge mode (or whatever equivalent they have for FIOS, they might call it something else). You can probably figure this out yourself, but for the sake of your own sanity, just call Verizon when you get it, and they should help you get everything configured and working.
If it were me, I'd just get an inexpensive WRT150N and install DDWRT on it.
Gig E is pretty much overkill for a home network, so I don't think it's worth spending the extra money.
One thing to take into account in a Townhouse or apartment situation is that there are probably a bunch of other wireless networks overlapping in your area. Try changing the channels on your wireless G network and you might see a noticeable improvement immediately without even buying new equipment.
posted by empath at 1:08 PM on March 13, 2011
Response by poster: First off, thank you! Everyone! I ended up getting the Linksys E4200 wireless router and hooked it up to the Fios router after turning off their wireless (per Verizon's recommendation). My wireless speed has definitely increased, from 15/10 to 30/20!!! (Using Speedtest.net)
Thank you all so much for your thought out answers... I'm definitely new to the whole home networking thing, so I was getting really frustrated. I appreciate all your recommendations!
posted by yorkeandvedder at 9:45 PM on March 14, 2011
Thank you all so much for your thought out answers... I'm definitely new to the whole home networking thing, so I was getting really frustrated. I appreciate all your recommendations!
posted by yorkeandvedder at 9:45 PM on March 14, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
So speed may be the problem afterall, and the root cause ( of all evil) is Verizon.
posted by Gungho at 9:43 AM on March 13, 2011