Advice on NAT Gateway Router for Home Use

[coxhaus]

How many channels does your modem have? IF you are having congestion problems then I would assume you don't have enough channels.

PS
Can't you get a free modem from your ISP?

 

[scottlitch]

How many channels does your modem have? IF you are having congestion problems then I would assume you don't have enough channels.

PS
Can't you get a free modem from your ISP?

The Asus CM-16 is a 16 x 4 modem. I don't know if I'm getting congestion with it. My Speedtest.net tests have been coming in anywhere from 480-500 today. I've been testing periodically all day.

No free modems with WOW! internet. It's a $10/month rental with a 2-year contract at $10/month or bring-your-own. Comes out to be $240 for the length of the contract, hence why I went out and bought my modem for $70 instead of the monthly rental. In the 6 months I've had their service I've just about recouped the money I spent on the modem.

 

[coxhaus]

You need to go to a least a 24 channel modem probably a 32 channel modem. Talk to your ISP what is supported.

 

[scottlitch]

You need to go to a least a 24 channel modem probably a 32 channel modem. Talk to your ISP what is supported.

I was told by my ISP that the CM-16 is supported for the 500 mbs package I have and I seem to be getting just shy of the 500 mbs speed. I'm confused. I just ran speed tests on 2 different servers and got 489 upload / 53 download and 494 upload / 53 download. Would I be hitting over 500 constantly if I upgraded the modem? It seems the LRT 214 as my gateway works for the speed of the connection.

 

[lifespeed]

The Netgear CM1000 or CM1100 are sweet. DOCSIS 3.0 is limiting, you'll notice the upgrade if you choose to spend your network $$ that way.

 

[scottlitch]

The Netgear CM1000 or CM1100 are sweet. DOCSIS 3.0 is limiting, you'll notice the upgrade if you choose to spend your network $$ that way.

Those are about double what I paid for the CM-16. Would I see a difference? I'm getting just under 500 mbs with the CM-16. What would those do in my scenario?

 

[scottlitch]

It's Friday evening now and I'm running speed tests for comparison to the ones I ran during the day. The speeds have dropped about 100 mbs. I'm getting between 400 and 450 mbs. Since some of you are recommending a DOCSIS 3.1 modem, would that help me get the full 500 mbs during these "high traffic" times? I am assuming that the speed drop is because it's Friday night and everyone in the neighborhood is at home using their connections which slows us down. Am I wrong?

 

[lifespeed]

Those are about double what I paid for the CM-16. Would I see a difference? I'm getting just under 500 mbs with the CM-16. What would those do in my scenario?

The better modems would provide full advertised speeds and low latency under less-than-ideal network conditions, evening TV streaming congestion in your neighborhood, heavy uploading (not sure if you use this direction), etc.

I'm not necessarily trying to convince you to spend your $$ on a new modem, just saying they are good boxes that do provide real performance. Whether it is worth it is totally your decision.

 

[lifespeed]

It's Friday evening now and I'm running speed tests for comparison to the ones I ran during the day. The speeds have dropped about 100 mbs. I'm getting between 400 and 450 mbs. Since some of you are recommending a DOCSIS 3.1 modem, would that help me get the full 500 mbs during these "high traffic" times? I am assuming that the speed drop is because it's Friday night and everyone in the neighborhood is at home using their connections which slows us down. Am I wrong?

Yeah, this is where the DOCSIS 3.1 would earn it's price tag.

 

[scottlitch]

The better modems would provide full advertised speeds and low latency under less-than-ideal network conditions, evening TV streaming congestion in your neighborhood, heavy uploading (not sure if you use this direction), etc.

I'm not necessarily trying to convince you to spend your $$ on a new modem, just saying they are good boxes that do provide real performance. Whether it is worth it is totally your decision.

I appreciate it! Considering the next step down is 200 mbs download and 10 mbs upload package, even if I'm not getting the full 500 during peak usage hours, I'm still getting over double the speed. The original point to the thread was to see if a $90 router was good option to get the max out of a 500 mbs connection. So far, it seems like it is. I actually reached out to an old friend this afternoon who does networking for a living and I'm going to chat with him on Sunday to get some additional insight on how I've been building out my network. I really appreciate all of the advice everyone has provided so far. I'm still learning a lot.

 

[lifespeed]

In my particular neighborhood local network conditions may have been more congested than yours, making the DOCSIS 3.1 a solid upgrade from 3.0 even at 300Mbps internet speeds. YMMV. Over time your neighborhood BW use will only grow, making the difference between 3.0 and 3.1 more noticeable. A 500Mbps internet plan is solidly in DOCSIS 3.1 territory.

 

[ACwifiguy]

Cable companies typically over provision their speeds so the whole argument comes down to money.

On a 300/30 plan, without upgrading my internet plan....upgrading from a docsis 3.0 modem to a netgear CM1000 (docsis 3.1) moved me from the rated speed up to the full over provisioned speed (near consistent 370-400 / 32).

Older equipment will quote theoretical “up to” speeds but the reality is that in the real world they won’t hit it. My r6250’s max out at around 650mb wan to lan speed (even though they are gigabit ports and the snb article quotes the wan to lan as a little higher). Again your mileage may vary lab and testing setups differ from the real world. I upgraded to a cable 1000/35 line. Testing the r6250 I’d get 650 download max, using the r7800 I’d get 840 (tests were nearly back to back) - newer hardware is critical towards getting what you are paying for at these speeds.

If getting near or above 500 is important for you I would upgrade to a docsis 3.1 modem. If you hare happy with your current speed- hold what you got.

 

[scottlitch]

Cable companies typically over provision their speeds so the whole argument comes down to money.

On a 300/30 plan, without upgrading my internet plan....upgrading from a docsis 3.0 modem to a netgear CM1000 (docsis 3.1) moved me from the rated speed up to the full over provisioned speed (near consistent 370-400 / 32).

Older equipment will quote theoretical “up to” speeds but the reality is that in the real world they won’t hit it. My r6250’s max out at around 650mb wan to lan speed (even though they are gigabit ports and the snb article quotes the wan to lan as a little higher). Again your mileage may vary lab and testing setups differ from the real world. I upgraded to a cable 1000/35 line. Testing the r6250 I’d get 650 download max, using the r7800 I’d get 840 (tests were nearly back to back) - newer hardware is critical towards getting what you are paying for at these speeds.

If getting near or above 500 is important for you I would upgrade to a docsis 3.1 modem. If you hare happy with your current speed- hold what you got.

I reset the router last night and set it up again only adjusting the settings I needed to, just in case I made some adjustments that were causing the speeds to be lower than expected. I've been working from home today and consistently getting over 500 mbs (505–530 mbs). I am going to test again tonight between 6–10 p.m. and see if my speeds drop again.

 

[scottlitch]

I reset the router last night and set it up again only adjusting the settings I needed to, just in case I made some adjustments that were causing the speeds to be lower than expected. I've been working from home today and consistently getting over 500 mbs (505–530 mbs). I am going to test again tonight between 6–10 p.m. and see if my speeds drop again.

Speed drops after 5–6 p.m. I see anywhere from 250–400 between those hours. I'd be curious to see what difference a DOCSIS 3.1 modem would have during those "peak" hours.

 

[sfx2000]

You need to go to a least a 24 channel modem probably a 32 channel modem. Talk to your ISP what is supported.

16*4 is good enough for OP's use case on cable - no need for DOCSIS 3.1 at present.

For DOCSIS 3.0 - the SB6183 is still the gold-standard - it's getting old, but is fast/consistent

 

[scottlitch]

16*4 is good enough for OP's use case on cable - no need for DOCSIS 3.1 at present.

For DOCSIS 3.0 - the SB6183 is still the gold-standard - it's getting old, but is fast/consistent

OP?

 

[degrub]

original poster

 

[ACwifiguy]

Cable speeds vary throughout the day and vary dependent on your neighbor’s usage patterns. Speeds are always quoted as “up to”.

With your current modem anything between 300-500 is probably reasonable depending on the time of day.

Buying a DOCSIS 3.1 modem *might* squeeze out a couple more mbps just due to the hardware upgrade. Personally I saw a regular 50mbps over my older 3.0 docsis (new modem was at least 5-6 years newer, that is considerable time for hardware!).

Personally I think the money is worth it to have slightly over provisioned hardware. The hardware is a one time cost that will last a couple years vs the internet service is every month. I like putting the money in to hardware that will last and hounding the cable company for the best bang for buck because that expense is every month (my netgear r6250’s have done great for >3 years! Just now upgrading them). Ultimately your mileage may vary and the decision is more of a wallet decision then an actual drastic difference in speed (difference might be ~5-10%)

 

[scottlitch]

Cable speeds vary throughout the day and vary dependent on your neighbor’s usage patterns. Speeds are always quoted as “up to”.

With your current modem anything between 300-500 is probably reasonable depending on the time of day.

Buying a DOCSIS 3.1 modem *might* squeeze out a couple more mbps just due to the hardware upgrade. Personally I saw a regular 50mbps over my older 3.0 docsis (new modem was at least 5-6 years newer, that is considerable time for hardware!).

Personally I think the money is worth it to have slightly over provisioned hardware. The hardware is a one time cost that will last a couple years vs the internet service is every month. I like putting the money in to hardware that will last and hounding the cable company for the best bang for buck because that expense is every month (my netgear r6250’s have done great for >3 years! Just now upgrading them). Ultimately your mileage may vary and the decision is more of a wallet decision then an actual drastic difference in speed (difference might be ~5-10%)

I appreciate the advice. Unfortunately with the purchase of the new router/gateway, even if I bought a DOCSIS 3.1 modem and upgraded my service (eventually) to 1 Gbs, the router can't handle NAT over 700 mbs. The DOCSIS 3.0 modem I have, the CM-16 is rated up to 680 Mbs, so I should be over-provisioned with both the modem and router for my 500 Mbs plan. If I'm understanding your post correctly, I should own equipment that exceeds the demands of my ISP's connection.

 

[scottlitch]

Does anyone have insight into when 1 Gbs residential connections will be ubiquitous? I'm hoping the 500 Mbs connection I have will be above the average to anywhere from 3-6 years. At that time, I will be financially able to replace the router, switch and WAPs, with 2.5–5 Gbs and Wi-Fi 6 (or 7) equipment.