9 people too many for one router?

[Syringer]

We're currently using this router for our office: http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-WNDR33.../dp/B0017TFVUW

And for a while we had just 5 employees and it seemed to work smoothly, however we're at 9 now and I can't tell if it's the connection or the router that's giving us issues, as our connection is somewhat questionable as well. Every once in a while it'll slow down or disconnect us altogether.

None of us are d/ling anything huge (I hope not)--should a router with this many users be giving us issues? Any recs for an upgrade?

 

[drebo]

No, but at a business, you should not be using consumer-grade equipment.

Buy one of these (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-072-_-Product) and pay someone to set it up for you.

 

[RebateMonger]

I've got offices where we left their Netgear or Linksys Home/Office router in place with up to 25 PCs and I've never seen a problem. This assumes folks aren't doing P2P or downloading media files all day long. From what you describe, I don't expect a properly functioning SOHO router to be a problem.

 

[spidey07]

It all depends on the traffic patterns and the number of nat translations/size of the state table. This is a known problem with cheap home gear.

"it depends".

 

[JackMDS]

Router or not, if it is a peer-to-peer Network with 9 computers, probably it generates more than 10 concurrent connections which is the limit of Windows client OS'.

As for the Router
It should not be a problem for local traffic.

Internet is another story. Depending on how it use 9 people can choke the connection.


😎

 

[kevnich2]

Sorry but recommending a Cisco firewall for 9 employees is a bit overkill if you ask me. I support lots of small businesses with a dozen employees on consumer soho router's, not a problem. As spidey said - it all depends. What kind of internet connection do you have, a dsl line can choke no matter what router you have if you have 9 people that are heavily downloading.

What kind of switch do you have connected to this router? Or do you have 5 employees connected wirelessly? Are you having issues with local issues or all internet related issues?

 

[Nothinman]

Router or not, if it is a peer-to-peer Network with 9 computers, probably it generates more than 10 concurrent connections which is the limit of Windows client OS'.

The limit is only on half-open connections, once the handshake completes and the stream is established that connection doesn't count.

As for the Router
It should not be a problem for local traffic.

Unless they're all plugged into a hub that's plugged directly into it or something.

To parrot spidey and kevnich2, we would need to understand the network layout and traffic being passed through the thing to make any intelligent guesses.

 

[JackMDS]

The myth that there is a difference between a Hub and a Switch when using it with 10 (or even more) users was experimentally debunked here by ScotMac about 9 years ago.


😎

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Router or not, if it is a peer-to-peer Network with 9 computers, probably it generates more than 10 concurrent connections which is the limit of Windows client OS'.

As for the Router
It should not be a problem for local traffic.

Internet is another story. Depending on how it use 9 people can choke the connection.


😎

The 10 concurrent connections only means to other hosts on the network, for example if he had a file share, it could only have 10 users, if all he is concerned with is internet this should not be a problem.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

The myth that there is a difference between a Hub and a Switch when using it with 10 (or even more) users was experimentally debunked here by ScotMac about 9 years ago.


😎

I would like to see the data on that, depending on the traffic patterns a switch is without a doubt a better performer than a hub.

 

[JackMDS]

The 10 concurrent connections only means to other hosts on the network, for example if he had a file share, it could only have 10 users, if all he is concerned with is internet this should not be a problem.

I know what it means.

Set your self a real active 9 computers in peer-to-peer topology and see what happens.

I mean real Network that has people busy working, Not home Network with 12 computers and 3 casual users.

Networking has the level of theory, the level of Myth, and functional reality.

Similar to the Hub-switch is the Jumbo frames in small Giga network.

Yes Jumbo No Jumbo the difference is negligible.


😎

 

[RadiclDreamer]

I know what it means.

Set your self a real active 9 computers in peer-to-peer topology and see what happens.



😎

Id rather not 🙂

Also, wasn't questioning you so much as i was clarifying for OP and others that may read this and be confused.

Oh, and come to my network sometime of close to 3000 networked devices and 2500 users and tell me you would be ok with a hub 😀

 

[dawks]

I'll just note, I was using a wired linksys router back in 2005, and it would actually reset after running bittorrent for 20+min.
The NAT processor just couldnt handle all the connections/packets. Interestingly enough, im still using that router, now at work, but just as a switch (i'm not using the WAN port). Its in place to share the connection straight off the modem, with our actual network and a public facing server. It works fine for that job, since the CPU isnt being pegged packet scanning.

I'd say you'd have to be moving a TON of packets to slow down most modern router, but I couldn't be sure with all since some might try to sneak by a cheaper CPU or less ram. I guess using the wireless with strong WPA encryption running would also put a load on the box...

Simple suggestion, try another router for a few days and see what happens.. 🙂

 

[Deleted member 4644]

Are you using this router for 9 WIRELESS connections?

All offices should use wired connections for a million reasons.

A router like that should be able to handle a couple dozen wired connections easily. It will break down with more than 4-5 wireless connections, however.