5Ghz router/bridge purchasing advice needed

[htismaqe]

I have had my Netgear WNDR3700 for quite some time and love it, but recently we've consolidated households due to a death in the family and my device count has nearly doubled.

Previously I had a Zyxel P-330W (2.4Ghz) configured in client mode to bridge a wired ethernet connection from my XBox 360 to the 3700 router. I then had one laptop on the 5Ghz radio and the rest of the devices on the 2.4Ghz radio (2 kids' PCs, wife's PC, Nintendo Wii, and HP Printer).

In the move, one of the devices I "acquired" is a DVD player that streams Netflix. It is in the AV cabinet next to my 360 and has a wired ethernet port.

I am wanting to get a new 5Ghz bridge to connect the 360 and DVD player to the 3700. I could then use the Zyxel to connect both of the kids' PCs and eliminate one more 2.4Ghz connection.

My issue is that I'm not sure what to get.

I've looked at the WNHDE111-100NAS (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833122218) but it is unclear whether or not it would support 5Ghz client mode with WPA2 (as opposed to WDS, which I don't want to use). It also has only 2 wired ports, which means it would be maxed out the minute I buy it.

I really don't want to spend more than $75, which is what it would cost to buy a D-Link DAP-1522 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...Tpk=dap 1522). It has everything I need but is not Netgear and I'm pretty partial to Netgear.

 

[htismaqe]

After reading the SNB review and seeing that the Netgear is only $49 at Newegg, I'm leaning towards that one.

 

[htismaqe]

After reading more and more, it seems the Netgear CANNOT support client mode.

EDIT: Upon searching the forums, I'm finding alot of recommendations for the 111. Can it support client mode? It's just not clear.

If that's the case, I guess I don't have a choice, since everything else is so expensive.

Any advice on the DAP-1522 prior to buying? Will it work with the WNDR3700?

 

[htismaqe]

Anybody? Waiting to buy until I get some suggestions.

 

[gandalf2041]

I'm pretty partial to D-Link. I've used them for years and have nothing but good feedback. Personally, I wouldn't buy anything that maxes out the minute I buy it. You may only need 2 ports now but no doubt something will come up and you'll be right back where you are now. Go with the 1522. That's my 2 cents.

 

[thiggins]

After reading more and more, it seems the Netgear CANNOT support client mode.

EDIT: Upon searching the forums, I'm finding alot of recommendations for the 111. Can it support client mode? It's just not clear.

If that's the case, I guess I don't have a choice, since everything else is so expensive.

Any advice on the DAP-1522 prior to buying? Will it work with the WNDR3700?

The WNHDE111 functions as a non WDS bridge. So it will connect to any AP.

It does not provide wireless repeating, however. So in bridge mode, it connects only wired clients.

 

[htismaqe]

The WNHDE111 functions as a non WDS bridge. So it will connect to any AP.

It does not provide wireless repeating, however. So in bridge mode, it connects only wired clients.

I don't need a repeater. I just need a 5Ghz bridge for my DVD/Netflix player and my XBox 360.

I already have a capable 2.4Ghz bridge in the Zyxel, so I'm really just looking to utilize the under-used 5Ghz band. Right now I have only my laptop (5Ghz, 54Mbps, 802.11a) on there and that's it.

Once I have those 2 devices on a separate physical band, I intend to turn on QoS and traffic shaping so that I can give them preference over the browsers on the 2.4Ghz band.

I ended up purchasing the 111 anyway because it was almost $30 cheaper and seemed to fit my needs good enough.

 

[htismaqe]

That begs another question...

Is having a 54Mbps 802.11a client connected on the 5Ghz band going to cause performance issues with the WNHDE111 if it's set for 300Mbps 802.11n?

 

[thiggins]

That begs another question...

Is having a 54Mbps 802.11a client connected on the 5Ghz band going to cause performance issues with the WNHDE111 if it's set for 300Mbps 802.11n?

No. Not if it is the only client. But there is no benefit to using the "Up to 300 Mbps" setting for 802.11a clients.

 

[htismaqe]

No. Not if it is the only client. But there is no benefit to using the "Up to 300 Mbps" setting for 802.11a clients.

Sorry, wasn't clear there.

My laptop has an Intel 4965AG. Since I use it for VPN to work, I run it on the 5Ghz band, away from the wife and kids and their Facebook browsing.

However, it's not N capable - only 54Mpbs A.

I want to run the WNHDE111 at N speeds (300Mpbs) and I want to know if the presence of an A-only adapter on the 5Ghz band will adversely affect the performance of the 111.

 

[thiggins]

An 802.11n router provides no benefit to non 11n clients. It doesn't matter which mode you set the WNHDE111 to. The Intel 4965AG will connect at 54 Mbps maximum.

 

[htismaqe]

An 802.11n router provides no benefit to non 11n clients. It doesn't matter which mode you set the WNHDE111 to. The Intel 4965AG will connect at 54 Mbps maximum.

Correct. That's not what I'm asking.

If I connect an 802.11b device to an AP serving all 802.11g clients, all of the G clients will suffer a performance hit due to the presence of the B client.

I want to know if the presence of the one 802.11a device will adversely affect the WNHDE111's throughput if it and the WNDR3700 are set for "Up to 300Mpbs".

 

[thiggins]

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...-smallnetbuilders-wireless-faq-the-essentials

See Answer 5. The answer applies equally to 802.11a / n mixed networks.

 

[htismaqe]

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...-smallnetbuilders-wireless-faq-the-essentials

See Answer 5. The answer applies equally to 802.11a / n mixed networks.

Thanks!

It looks like I'll be putting my work PC on the 2.4Ghz band - either that or just make sure it's not on when I'm using the 360 or the DVD player...

 

[htismaqe]

This thing is pretty sweet.

In it's permanent position, it will be about 30 feet from the router with direct line of sight and no obstacles.

Currently it's sitting on a TV tray about 30 feet from the router, facing away from the router, and there's a wall in between. Signal strength is hovering around 80%.

One question - is there any use in enabling WISH? My rotuer doesn't support it, so I imagine it's not going to work bidirectionally.

 

[htismaqe]

I've got my work laptop moved to the 2.4Ghz band.

Setup took all of about 5 minutes and that takes into account that I didn't use any of the automated setup tools - I plugged into a wired interface and configured it manually.

WNHDE11 Settings:
Mode N-only
Transmission Rate Best (automatic)
Channel Width Auto 20/40
WPA2/AES
Transmit Power High
RTS 2347
Frag 2346
WMM enabled
Short GI enabled
WISH disabled

WNDR3700 Settings:
Channel 153
Rate Up to 300Mpbs
Video Network enabled
RTS 2347
Frag 2346
Preamble automatic
Transmit Power 100%
WMM enabled
QoS disabled

The two boxes are about 30 feet apart, maybe a bit more, and signal strength occasionally dips to 98 but otherwise is stuck at 100%.

I don't really have a good setup for throughput testing, but here's what I did:

I plugged an Asus Netbook / XP Home SP3 / 100Mbit wired interface directly into the WNDR3700 and setup a shared folder. My test machine running LAN Speed Test was a desktop running XP Pro SP3 with a 100Mbit wired port.

I took turns plugging the test machine into my 54Mpbs Zyxel bridge and the WNHDE111 and recording the results. Average read/write speeds via the Zyxel were 18/15. Average read/write speeds via the WNHDE111 were 50/30. So I doubled write speeds and tripled read speeds. I'm pretty sure my test setup limits throughput but I'm pretty happy with what I'm getting so far.

 

[thiggins]

WISH works on its own; nothing required in the router.

You can try it. It might help if you're running media and data traffic at the same time. But don't expect miracles.

As for your performance testing, the real test is whether it supports the media streaming you want. Only way to tell that is to test using media streams.

 

[htismaqe]

WISH works on its own; nothing required in the router.

You can try it. It might help if you're running media and data traffic at the same time. But don't expect miracles.

As for your performance testing, the real test is whether it supports the media streaming you want. Only way to tell that is to test using media streams.

So far it's better for Netflix but Netflix wasn't "bad" on the 2.4Ghz band, it just wasn't great.