My intertubes are clogged!

September 24, 2007 6:05 PM

Yet another wireless network question.

I just set up a wireless network about a month ago, and as of right now there's only one desktop computer on it (there'll be a couple laptops added to it in about a month, but that's a separate story...).

I set up the router (Linksys WRT54GS, on an XP2 SP2 machine) according to the wizard that came with it , and the first thing I did was change the default security setup to "WPA Personal" and then I set the password to something ridiculously long and random so that it couldn't be cracked. So far, so good.

But now, I'm noticing that every morning, between about 8-9 AM, and most afternoons, between 4-5 pm, my connection slows from its usual 54 mbps down to either 2 or 1, and sometimes stops entirely. The rest of the day, it seems to be fine.

What the heck is going on? I don't run (or even have) a bittorrent client, and most days all I have open for any amount of time is FF 2.0.0.7 and iTunes 7.4. In theory, there should be nobody else on my network; I'd understand the slowness if it were a public network, but I'm wondering if a) I've left a security hole unplugged somewhere or b) I didn't configure something right.

Despite my contention earlier that I set my security to WPA and I used a long, random password, I'm really not that knowledgeable about home network stuff, so please try to dumb down your answers enough that my woolly little brain can understand them - but any help that y'all can provide would be most, uh, helpful.

posted by pdb to computers & internet (5 comments total)

My first thought is that when this happens, bypass the router and use a wired network connection to your modem. If the same thing occurs, that will eliminate the router as a problem, otherwise it will confirm it. Either way, you're past the first step of trouble shooting.
posted by Neiltupper at 6:12 PM on September 24, 2007

Many ISPs get major traffic spikes at the times you are concerned about; thus, your slowdowns may be as simple as congested upstream routers, overloaded DNS servers in your ISPs network, or heavy use by others on your local cable loop. There's not a lot you can do directly about upstream router congestion, except contact your ISP, and keep bugging them about it, but you might be able to set something like OpenDNS as your primary DNS source (in your router, so it hands that out as DNS to all your network clients via DHCP), if that is the kind of slowdown that you are experiencing.

Beyond setting wireless security and passwords, you should also download and flash (over the wire, not wirelessly!) the latest firmware revision for your WRT54GS, as later firmware has fixes for compatibility issues with some cable DOCSIS systems.
posted by paulsc at 6:18 PM on September 24, 2007

If your network is dying at specific times like that, there's about a 75% chance that

- somebody has a 2.4 ghz phone and is stepping on your signal by making a phone call
or
- somebody has a wireless network with a fixed channel that is stepping on your signal
or
- somebody is running a really leaky microwave and its stepping on your signal.

You can download Netstumbler to see what networks are running near you, or you can try a different channel in your router to see if that clears it up.
posted by disclaimer at 7:13 PM on September 24, 2007

It sounds like all your troubleshooting data points are coming from the Windows wifi tray icon. I only mention that because it's the only place that would ever say you're getting 54 mbps. If you've got cable internet, it'll max around 5 mbps between your modem and the rest of the world (DSL is a little more varied, but still in the single-digit mbps range. An entire dedicated T1 is only 1.5 mbps). Use a speed test (like this one) to test your actual speed during 1-2 and 54 mbps times. Use the same server (the closest one to you) both times.

Assuming I'm right, the problem is somewhere between you and your router. Are you close to any microwaves? Neighbors secretly building an MRI? Focus your troubleshooting on environmental changes in your house/apartment. Also, how many wireless networks does Windows show are around you? More than about 5 is a tad crowded. (Granted, it should be crowded all the time, and not at such regular intervals.)

You can also try changing the wireless channel on your PC. Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Switch to Classic View -> Network Connections -> Wireless Network Connection -> Properties -> Configure -> Advanced. Once you're here, look for a setting with the word 'Channel' in the name. It should have 11 different options (if you're in the US). Try 1 or 11.

If I were in your position it would bug me as well that something is throwing a wrench in the works at regular intervals, but just remember that if you're not torrenting, even 1-2 mbps is a cavernous amount of bandwidth (in excess of 100K/sec). Entire universities dedicate just 1 mbps of bandwidth to each student, and they use the internet just fine. Even with a best case scenario, that 54 that Windows reports is only from you to the router. After that, the pipe narrows by ~90%, so 1-2 mbps from you to the router shouldn't actually affect your service.
posted by mysterious1der at 7:32 PM on September 24, 2007

It's worth knowing that an 802.11b network operating in the same area as an 802.11g network like you have can totally degrade the signal of the 802.11g network. The times you notice are probably the times that one of your neighbors habitually surfs the Web.

Switch your router to serve 802.11b (if it'll do that) and see if the problem stops happening.
posted by ikkyu2 at 10:31 PM on September 24, 2007