Home Internet Overhaul

[tkassas]

Hi all,

I am living in a 5 person home. Each of us has a phone connecting to the wifi. Each of us has a computer connecting to the wifi. In addition, I have a second computer, there are 2 xboxs, and there are 3 ipads in the house. All devices are used frequently I would say.

How fast should my internet speed be to sustain these connection. Comcast offers 25mbps and 105mbps down (5 and 10 up respectively), and nothing in between in my area at least. Also, what kind of router should I be using. I currently have a 70 dollar one from netgear that really sucks for reaching the upstairs of the house. We have a modem and gateway provided by comcast and I don't know which would be better to use, or if I should also buy a different modem.

To be specific, I would like extremely fast speeds at my computer. I would like to stream movies and be able to game at the same time. The computer is located on the opposite side of the house, and is also a floor up from the router/modem. I am using a cheap 300mbps usb card on my computer and I am open to also upgrade that.

What do you think? Any and all advice is appreciate.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Your internet speeds - even 25Mbps - are probably capable of supporting all that. Most video streaming services will throttle quality to maintain, and gaming doesn't use too much data - it's just sensitive to latency. (lag)

What you need to do is invest in a proper router and implement QoS and bandwidth throttling/quotas so a single client can't monopolize your internet connection. (Figure on spending a couple hundred bucks and doing a lot of reading.)

Also, with that many wifi clients and that big a house, you'll probably want to have a couple base stations. WiFi is a shared medium, which means maximum speed is, like, ([rated speed] - [whatever you lose to interference]) / [number of devices]. Splitting up into a couple wifi networks is a good idea. The Wifi access points will need to be wired to each other to work well. (You can do repeaters, but that's suicide.) Running wires to clients is preferable if you can do it.

Ubiquiti makes access points that support something called "zero-handoff" - I would recommend using that. iPads and iPhones are particularly bad with old-fashioned "roaming" networks, so relying on the WAPs to trade devices between them is handy.

 

[kevnich2]

How big of house are we talking? As Dave pointed out, your issue isn't likely with the internet itself, but the wireless. Most people have their wireless at one corner of the house and always have issues with wifi coverage simply because half the wireless signal is going unused because it's at the corner.

If you can either centrally locate your wireless to the middle of the house OR buy a dedicated access point and put that in the middle, it'd probably take care of your issues. If your unable to do this kind of thing yourself, see if comcast offers a service that adds wireless for a small monthly fee and let them handle installing the necessary hardware.

 

[tkassas]

Thanks for the input.I really can't tolerate any wires running upstairs through the house. Neither do I want a complicated set up, for I am not a networking guy by any means. I plan on buying a modem if necessary, and a router if necessary for 200 dollars each. I would like to save as much money as possible while making this connection functional. In addition, every device is on wireless connection besides one computer. So here's what I have to be specific.

Modem: Cisco - DPC3000
Other Potential Modem: XFINITY - ARRIS Touchstone DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem and Wireless Router with Telephone Adapter
Router: NETGEAR WNDR3300 RANGEMAX DUAL BAND WIRELESS-N ROUTER

What would be the best combination with these parts. If a good combination cannot be created, what other parts should I buy to optimize my connection?

Thanks all!

 

[dave_the_nerd]

A decent cable modem is like $75. (Motorola Surfboard series) - Don't worry about that too much.

If you're willing to spend $200 on a router, by all means do it - but that's a $65 router, according to Amazon.

If you're not willing to run wires, have multiple WAPs, or do a complicated setup, you're all going to be clustered around the WAP like kids around a campfire. Good luck to ya.

 

[nsafreak]

Running CAT 6 cable really doesn't entail too much networking knowledge, it's more along the lines of household maintenance and running cables. Truth be told unless you have a very large household a router and an access point should be sufficient to cover the household and get a good signal. I'd probably suggest looking at an Asus RT-N66U router and a Ubiquity AP to get the job done. If you simply refuse to run any cables at all then your best bet is going to be to locate the router as centrally as possible as dave has already stated.

 

[tkassas]

So that router that I posted is my current router, in which I am looking to upgrade if necessary. So an access point is essentially a second router repeating a signal in a new area of the home, correct? Would the assembly just require plugging it into my main router? I am potentially fine with running one wire through the house if it were to connect to a repeater.

The router location is actually centrally located in the downstairs of the home. It just so happens that my computer and desk area are a few rooms over and on a different level of the house.

 

[tkassas]

In addition, I've been reading reviews and it seems as though 802.11ac routers are potentially stronger than 802.11n routers. Should I still consider a 802.11n router or no? I would like to get the 5ghz band to the upstairs of my home (it is currently out of range)

 

[nsafreak]

For the purpose of simplicity an AP is a repeater (although tbh there are a lot of technical differences between an AP and a repeater) that provides more wifi coverage. Hooking it up would entail running a cable from your current router to where the AP is to be placed. Whether or not you need to upgrade the router or not I'm not sure if it's needed. Personally I haven't had the greatest luck with Netgear equipment but I would recommend getting the AP first and seeing if it solves the issue and if not potentially upgrading the router. Although you may want to look into properly setting up QoS on your existing router first.

 

[nsafreak]

In addition, I've been reading reviews and it seems as though 802.11ac routers are potentially stronger than 802.11n routers. Should I still consider a 802.11n router or no? I would like to get the 5ghz band to the upstairs of my home (it is currently out of range)

Using the AP would be a better way to get the 5Ghz wifi signal to your room than an AC based router. Even if the AC based router is transmitting a stronger signal it's still transmitting at 5Ghz which has a harder time penetrating through various materials than 2.4 Ghz does. Even with a new 802.11ac based router you still might not have the range to get to your room with a 5 Ghz signal without using an AP.

 

[tkassas]

Ok. An access point sounds like a good first step to solving the problem. Ubiquiti you all have mentioned makes a good AP, would you recommend a specific AP from them?

Also, should I upgrade the network adapter on my computer/what difference will I see if I were to upgrade to say the following model:

ASUS PCE-AC68 Dual-band Wireless-AC1900 Adapter IEEE 802.11ac, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n PCI Express Up to 600 and 1300Mbps Wireless Data Rates

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...e=asus_network_adapter-_-33-320-173-_-Product

My current adapter is the following:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/netgear...lack/9928575.p?id=1218196479078&skuId=9928575

Netgear - N300 Wireless-N USB Adapter - Black

Thanks again!

 

[nsafreak]

I would probably look at the Ubiquiti UAP Pro as it should fit your needs just fine. Insofar as your USB wifi card it should be just fine as is since most of those cards use the same chipset and you likely wouldn't see a difference switching to a PCIe based card.

 

[tkassas]

Thanks for all the help nsafreak! Ill keep doing research on the AP side of things.

 

[smakme7757]

Side note:
One of the pitfalls with getting a fast broadband connection is that a poor wifi setup will mean people won't get anywhere near the rated speeds.

If you buy the 100Mbps connection and then use a subpar wireless setup you might only get 50/60/70Mbps over wifi.

Just some food for thought.

 

[JackMDS]

I can tlel you what I would do under the current situation.

Leave the Comcast Modem Router as is and buy two Good Wireless Routers.

If you can make the Comcast gateway working as a Bridge Modem then use of the Router as a Router.

Lay just one cable to a central spot so that the two Wireless Routers configured as an APs are placed in a way that they can cover well the whole house.

You can try two of these - http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-Arche...TF8&qid=1433880217&sr=8-1&keywords=tp+link+ac

You can use same SSID and password. Set one Wireless to Ch 1 and the other to Ch11.

Probability is very high that for much less money and work it will work better than any of the other concoctions.

Using Wireless Routers (or Modem/Wireless Router) as a Switch with an Access Point - http://www.ezlan.net/router_AP.html