Home Networking 101: 100/1000 router neccessary?

[Saga]

First of all I would like to thank you for your time in reading this post. Due to the nature of these questions I cannot imagine that nobody has asked something similar, however I have searched to the best of my ability for another topic of this nature and have not been successful.

Here is the scenario. I am moving to a location in Omaha offering a fiber optic cable service with 15MB down. This will be a big boost from my previous 4MB connection. Currently I own a linksys 10/100 router to split the connection between four computers: one laptop, one file server, and two gaming rigs. All systems have 100/1000 enabled NIC's.

My issue is pretty simple. Money is not an object or issue, I simply need to know if upgrading to a 100/1000 router will increase my network performance, and by how much? I understand that the linksys router didn't ever break a sweat handling the 5MB connection, however it seemed that if one person was gaming it would drastically slow down the internet connections for the other systems, and if two people were gaming there are numerous issues with disconnects and drops.

Question #1: What benefits would I gain from upgrading to a 100/1000 router for overall traffic? My assumption is zero for actual internet connectivity due to the 10/1000 not breaking a sweat handling either 5MB or 15MB inbound. However will utilizing the 1000mb connection all of my systems are ready for drastically increase file transfers between the systems themselves? If so, by how much?

Question #2: Will upgrading my router to one specifically built to prioritize gaming prevent the problems I have with slow surfing speeds and disconnects when numerous systems are utilizing games?

Question #3: Am I totally clueless and need to be pointed in the right direction? Is the slowdown and disconnects normal, or is there a way of troubleshooting this? Will my current router handle this setup exactly the same as a new one?

Thank you for reading.

 

[JackMDS]

You might find answers here:

Link to: Peer to Peer Giga Networks

Link to: Setting a Home Giga network.

:sun:

 

[dnoyeb]

just because its a gig network does not mean it will be better for you. Trith is that lots of these 'broadband' routers have limited throughput. Just getting a gigabit version would not guarantee your throughput increase on the WAN side. Truth is that linksys can probably only pass 4-6mb on the WAN connection regardless to the physical link speed.

You will have to look in the routers specs to find its true throughput. The link speed does not tell the story. especially with a router that must open the packet and and make a routing decision. broadbandreports.com may have more info on specific models for you.

 

[Atheus]

If I were you i'd forget a gigabit capable router - get a gigbit switch to hook your machines up to, then have a router plugged into the same switch. That way you will get full speed between local boxes and take a load off the border router. This would also be cheaper.

 

[pcthuglife]

If I were you i'd forget a gigabit capable router - get a gigbit switch to hook your machines up to, then have a router plugged into the same switch. That way you will get full speed between local boxes and take a load off the border router. This would also be cheaper.

That's the setup I'm currently using and ive been very happy so far. Network file copies are super fast and I never see a slow down with web surfing, even while playing an online game.

To help with your surfing speeds log into your Linksys and go to your QoS settings. I have firmware version Firmware Version: v3.03.6 and the QoS settings are under the Application and Gaming tab. Set the HTTP priorty to high and your router should designate an adequate amount of bandwith to hande your web surfing even while other applications are trying to hog your bandwith. Hope that helps.

 

[Saga]

Hm the current router I'm using is a pretty old Linksys. Your suggestions are perfect, and I've done a lot of reading which helped me educate myself on this. Unfortunately I can't seem to find any QoS settings for this router with the most recent firmware installed. =/

Manual shows the router is a BEFSR41 v2

 

[Saga]

Would this be a good unit to utilize? (I love the way Linksys models stack, I'm a sucker for cosmetics)

Newegg reviews are quite funny, is there really a fan in that somehow or was that person on drugs? :shocked:

 

[JackMDS]

LOL.

The Model name of the Linksys starts with EGO.

High on cosmetics.

High in Price

And does Not look like Jumbo Frames.

That is a Big EGO.

:sun:

P.S. Look at the SMC Entry Level Line.

Low price. High Jumbo Frames, different cosmetics:thumbsup:

 

[Saga]

SMC SMC8505T for example? :thumbsup:/:thumbsdown:? Cosmetics aren't required it's just an added bonus.

Also, as for cabling standards I notice this switch is listed as cat3 or cat5 compatible. I'm assuming this includes cat5e for the increased bandwith? And does this mean it will not work with cat6 cabling? I can easily get lost on the network cable standards, I'm primarily a hardware guy so excuse my ignorance.

 

[JackMDS]

Giga By default is CAT6 compatible.

Giga Speed would work well with CAT5e too.

:sun:

 

[pcthuglife]

hehe cosmetics :/...

I'm a linksys whore

 

[Saga]

Hah. I just want an overall solution to drops in online gaming. If purchasing a switch and routing the LAN through it was the solution I needed all along, great, it ends up saving me money.

Thanks a ton guys.

 

[dnoyeb]

I have used linksys. And I hear that linky gigabit does have a huge fan on it. most of those gigabits seemed to. Gigabit is just a waste to have at home. Thats backbone type of speed. closer you get to the computer, the slower speed you really need.

Also copying from two computers on the local network shouldnt affect the router much as only the switch portion should kick in.

I just ordered a Netgear switch from newegg as I wanted an 8 port that had MDI/MDIX and it seemed the best.

 

[Saga]

Well, I need some type of solution or upgrade. My current BEFSR41 v2 is straight horrible for gaming. Disconnects and drags internet to a crawl with just two people doing anything intensive.

 

[dnoyeb]

YEs but thats not a factor of bandwidth as much as latency. The older broadband routers had a propensity to disconnect with gamespy refreshes, etc. newer ones probably dont. Zyxel I have now and am happy.

 

[Saga]

Hm so what switch would be suggested for what I need?

 

[cmetz]

Izusaga, get a SMC8505T or 8508T - not the newer ones, or any other gigabit switch that supports jumbo frames. Jumbo frames are good, look for that feature. Given the way costs are now, I would suggest a gigabit switch and good (read: Broadcom or Intel chipset, *not* RealTek or NS chipset) gigabit NIC. It's not too much more money and it can deliver >100Mb/s LAN performance. Don't look for 1000Mb/s performance, look for more than 100Mb/s performance.

As far as a router goes, for home use, gigabit is not at all useful, helpful or relevant. A 15Mb/s pipe connecting to a 100Mb/s or 1000Mb/s connection doesn't make a difference. For SOHO routers, gigabit is currently just a marketing ploy. If you really needed a gigabit router, you'd know it (and believe me, they cost).

QoS is good but overrated. Simply having more bandwidth will help a lot. QoS is only necessary when there isn't enough bandwidth to go around. Unfortunately, the SOHO-grade routers I can think of that do good QoS can't handle the 15/2 speed. I would suggest that you try a regular SOHO router, like the one your ISP probably throws in with the service, first, and see if there's a problem anymore. The extra bandwidth might just make the problems you're having go away. If it doesn't, then you will need to find a router with good QoS prioritization for gaming that can also handle the bandwidth, and this would likely push you either to one of the high-end boxes like the D-Link "Gaming Router" or towards a dedicated PC running free firewall software.