Linksys E3200 LAN speed concern

[Sabre65]

For the last few years I have used a Belkin wireless router model F5D8233-4 Version 4000 for our home network. (We have HughesNet as our ISP.) As I had only a b/g/n WiFi card in my notebook I set the router to g/n mode at 20Mhz. I use WPA2 / AES.

Due to some connection issues with my Motorola Xoom after the last OS upgrade and in preparation for going to a FO provider in the near future I upgraded our router to a Linksys E3200 dual band.

I also upgraded my notebook WiFi card to an Intel Pro 4965 b/g/n card and set both bands on the E3200 to n only.

Using totusoft.com LAN Speed Test the best I have ever got with my notebook (about a foot from the router) is about 32.2Mbps up and 26.5Mbps down when writing to a jump drive on the E3200. Usually it is about 5-10 Mbps slower when the notebook is a few rooms away.

I upgraded my wife’s notebook to an Atheros AR9285 b/g/n card.
It will pretty consistently get about 32Mbps up and 28Mbps down regardless of where it is in the house.

Both of these cards are 2.4Ghz cards.

I did some changes and re-ran the tests to get the best results.
I am currently using channel 11, 20Mhz and N only.

I would think that I should get much higher LAN transfer speeds.

What am I missing?

The only two devices we currently have that are 5Ghz are my wife’s iPad2 and my Motorola Xoom.
Neither of them really do well on the 5Ghz band and most of the time the Xoom says, “XXXX not in range.” I am thinking of just disabling the the 5Ghz for now.
Thanks
James

 

[overdrive31]

First of all, the writing to an usb drive is the slowest form of data transfer, especially to a usb drive on an router. Testing should be done from one computer to another.

Do both laptops have 2 stream antenna setups for wireless N? If not, wireless N single stream @ 20MHz is not much faster than old wireless G. If single stream is your problem, it's best to leave it be, it's not recommended to use 40MHz wireless N on the 2.4GHz radio.

Any neighboring wireless networks crowding the 2.4GHz spectrum? Is the channel you chose free of interference? Try using inssider to look for the best open channel.

 

[Sabre65]

Overdrive31;
Thanks for the response and the link.

Sorry, I should have mentioned that I live out in the country with no close neighbors, don’t have any baby monitors or 2.4Ghz cordless phones.

I did download the program and as I expected it showed no 2.4Ghz networks but mine.

Sitting on the couch, a couple of rooms from the E3200, where I normally use my notebook inSSIDer shows only my 2.4Ghz network. It gives a MaxRate of 144.
(As my notebook is not 5.0Ghz capable it did not show the 5.0 network. However, both the iPad and the Xoom find it as does the Android WiFi-Analyzer app from metageek.com.)


I ran the LAN Speed Test as per your suggestion using both notebooks.

My notebook is a HP DV2617US.
It has an Intel T5250 @ 1.5Ghz, 8Gb ram and 32 bit Vista.
Hard drive is a 5400 rpm 160Gb Fujitsu.
The current WiFi card is an Intel PRO 4965 with three antennae connections.
This card is supposed to be 802.11 a/b/g/n with both 2.4Ghz and 5.0Ghz. However, as the unit originally had an Intel PRO 3945 b/g with only two antennae it has only two antennae leads. Therefore I could only connect the two outside connections. As a result I only have 2.4Ghz capability. I could get the three antennae kit but the expense and trouble make it a questionable upgrade.

My wife’s computer is a HP G72-B60US.
It has an Intel i3 @ 2.4Ghz, 4Gb ram and 64bit Windows 7.
Hard drive is a 7200rpm 500Gb Hitachi (This is supposed to be a 300Mbps drive)
The current WiFi card is an Atheros AR9285 a/b/g/n 2.4 Ghz.

Having said all of that here are the LAN Speed Test results.

On my HP DV2716US to her HP G72-B60US – 19.6Mbps Up / 20.3Mbps Down
On her HP G72-B60US to my HP DV2716US – 19.4Mbps Up / 18.6Mbps Down

inSSIDer shows a MaxRate of 144 so I would think that I should be getting much more than the results I noted above.

I’m not sure how to answer your question, “Do both laptops have 2 stream antenna setups for wireless N?” because truthfully I don’t know for sure what that means. If it means can both computers do 2.4Ghz and 5.0Ghz then the answer is no. Currently neither of them have that capability. If it means something else please inform me what it means and I’ll try to get the answer.

Again, thanks for the response and any suggestions you may have to improve the LAN speed.
As I currently have HughesNet as my ISP so any check of internet speed is pointless. It is only the LAN that I am concerned with at this point. As I mentioned we will be going to a fiber optic system in the not so distant future and I hope to have the LAN ‘up to speed’ by then to take full advantage of its benefits.

Thanks again
James

 

[overdrive31]

The Intel PRO 3945 ABG is dual band as in 2.4GHz/5GHz, not dual stream(MIMO), but if the antennas are dual frequency on each wire(as specs for the 3945 say the two antennas only provide for antenna diversity, allow us to assume they are indeed dual band per wire), your 4965 ABGN should function just fine on both frequencies as well as support MIMO. Why it only works on 2.4GHz and speeds are in the single stream realm(might have just been the test method), would have to bet on incorrect driver configuration settings.

It seems you do have an single stream problem as I had suspected. At least that is the problem with the other laptop, which was built with just single stream 2.4GHz wireless N support. The Atheros is only a single stream card, so no gain there, you should put the old card back in to regain bluetooth.

In my research I found your forum posts @ HP, and looks like the reported default Broadcom 4313 card is only single stream as well. Assuming there is only one antenna for wireless and one for bluetooth in this laptop, you will not be able to accomplish anymore speed than you get now(only option would be to enable 40MHz, shouldn't be too bad without neighboring 2.4GHz wireless networks), no matter what card you use. Funny, the posts @ HP say you get 144Mbps with the 4965 wifi laptop, this would indicate you have MIMO support functioning just fine(only if the router was using 20MHz, but if it were 40MHz on the router when you got that link rate then you are only getting single stream), maybe nothing is wrong, still doesn't explain why you only get 2.4GHz and not 5GHz. Could just be a driver misconfiguration.

MaxRate reported in inssider is what the router is capable of in it's current setting (dual stream wireless N @ 20MHz = 144/150Mbps), not the connection speed of the device using inssider. The one laptop is connecting at only single stream wireless N @ 20MHz = 65/72.2Mbps, explains your lackluster results. Most all tablets and smartphones are only single stream wireless N. Might look into getting a dual stream usb wireless card if the speed means that much. When testing wireless speed of each, one laptop should actually be wired, the other wireless.

 

[Sabre65]

Overdrive31;
Thanks for the response and the patient guidance. It is greatly appreciated.

Following your advice I re-did the testing from my HP DV2716US WiFi to an old HP xt963desktop wired to the LAN.

I again used LAN Speed Test but I also added NetStress.

I ran the tests at the router and on the couch a few rooms away.

When using LAN Speed Test I ran five tests then averaged the results. With NetStress I just let it run for about the same time as it took to run the LAN Speed Test and noted the current / last result.

I ran LAN Speed Test from the notebook and with NetStress I set the notebook to transmit and the desktop to receive.

The results were:

LAN Speed Test
Transmit / Receive
At Router 34.1Mbps / 39.8Mbps
At Couch 27.8Mbps / 34.5Mbps

NetStress
Transmit / Receive
At Router 42.7Mbps / 43.5Mbps
At Couch 33.4Mbps / 33.6Mbps

I tried three different Intel drivers from 2008 – 2010 checking the performance with each one and oddly enough the fastest one was not the latest one, although the margin was pretty small.

In the Advanced driver settings the options were the same for all three drivers and none had anything that I could find which would enable the dual band that we think this Intel Pro 4965 card has.

And strangely, to me anyway, there is actually no option to set the card for N only.

I have not had the time to change the WiFi card in my wife’s HP from the Atheros AR9285 802.11 a/b/g/n 2x2 WiFi adapter back to the original Broadcom 4313 802.11b/g/n 1x1 WiFi Adapter. But armed with your advice on how to properly conduct a test of the LAN and the two LAN testing programs I should be able to determine which one is actually superior in throughput our environment.

Again, I very much appreciate your taking time to assist me. As is probably pretty obvious I don’t even know enough to be dangerous. But I enjoy the learning process in an area that I have very little experience and knowledge in.

James

PS I just re-read your post and caught the part about my HP forum post. When I did that post I knew even less than I do now and thought that the 144Mbps 'Status' had some real significance. Thanks to you and the forum I know better now.

 

[overdrive31]

Guess I hadn't thought about it before, but Linksys simultaneous dual band routers by default use identical SSIDs for each radio, thus any clients running Windows Vista or 7 will only show a single(the strongest signal) SSID in wireless zero config when there are matching SSIDs. You might be able to magically get 5GHz to show just by changing one or the other SSID so they are unique. By the way, the AR9285 is only 1x1(single stream tx/rx 150Mbps@40MHz max) and just b/g/n, the 4965 is 2x3(dual stream tx/rx w/ optional 3rd rx 300Mbps@40MHz max) a/b/g/n.

In the laptop with the single stream radio you might actually be able to get by using the bluetooth as a second antenna with an 2x2 b/g/n card for dual stream, since bluetooth is 2.4GHz too. However, I have just read that antenna polarity can effect weather or not MIMO functions, it requires dual antennas to be using orthogonal polarities(opposing 45 degree angles like \ / or 1 horizontal, 1 vertical) to work. This may just be what is limiting your performance to just single stream wireless N(on the Intel Pro 4965 laptop), both your antennas may be in the same polarity, preventing any dual stream capability. It could prove difficult, but behind the lcd the antennas are usually attached with double sided tape, might be able to rearrange them in opposing polarities to support MIMO.

Your speed tests are right at the high end of single stream speeds, it could be dual stream, just look at the link rate using 20MHz, if it is 144Mbps you're using dual stream, but with lousy speed results. Would expect closer to 55-60Mbps dual stream @ 20MHz.

Dual band client cards can not run simultaneous like dual band simultaneous routers can, they have an either or choice. Your driver settings show wireless N in a separate setting from the wireless mode config drop down. You should have it set to 802.11a/b/g or 802.11a/g to allow 2.4GHz and 5GHz to function. The separate SSID names will give you the choice on which to use, 5GHz is more stable when using 40MHz mode, but has much less range.

 

[Sabre65]

Overdrive31;
Thanks again for all of the assistance which you have given me in this issue and bearing with my ignorance on this subject.

When I initially set up the E3200 I used different SSIDs in order to know which one I was on with the iPad2 and the Xoom to determine which one performed better at real world distances from the router.

So it was not a SSID issue that prohibited me from ‘seeing’ the 5.0GHz band but the issue of the 5.0GHz band not showing up was indeed an advanced driver setting issue.

Apparently in my haste to do something (even if it was wrong) I overlooked the proper setting on the driver I had installed. It is, “802.11N Channel Width for band 5.2” which is indeed shown on the screen click I had referenced prior.

A few days ago I downloaded what was supposed to be version 14.3.0.6. However when I installed it I saw that it was actually 13.4.0.139 which I had tried before with no real improvement.

This driver also offers the “802.11N Channel Width for band 5.2” option but takes away the “Throughput Enhancement” option.

For some strange (to me) reason Intel does not offer the same advanced options with each driver.

As I mentioned I had overlooked the “802.11N Channel Width for band 5.2” option. However it still would not give me the 5.0 band until I set the channel to 40MHz (5.2GHz). Maybe the key for me is in that “802.11N Channel Width for band 5.2” option I needed to set the channel for 5.2GHz. I do know that if I put it on Auto or anything but 40 (5.2GHz) that bandwidth “disappears”.

Link speed will show 144Mbps or 300Mbps at the router depending on which band I am logged on to.

In order to get these link speeds I must use channels 11 & 40.

However, when I move to the area where I actually use the notebook the 5.0GHz link speed drops back to about 50-60Mbps and the actual data through-out checked with NetStress and LAN Speed Test was about 17.8Mbps transmit and 10.4Mbps receive.

I spent (wasted??) several hours this week trying different settings on both bands with no real improvement to former through-put on my old HP DV2716US with the Intel PRO 4965 card.

On the 2.4GHz band it was comparable to what I have been getting, (33.5Mbps transmit and 29.8Mbps receive).

It probably shouldn’t be like this but it really seems that it makes little to no difference what the link speed says (54, 72, 144, 300) because my LAN seems to top out at those figures I have been getting.

I have messed with the router and the card advanced settings and I can get them to be real slow but I can’t get them very fast at the position where I actually use the notebook.

At the router using NetStress I will occasionally get a ‘burp’ of 58Mbps -65Mbps but then it drops back off to an average of about 47Mbps transmit and 46Mbps receive.

I reality it probably doesn’t matter as my HughesNet is so slow and I really don’t use the LAN very much to transfer data from one computer to another. I guess I was just trying to justify my expenditure of $110 on the Linksys E3200.

I thought about putting the old Belkin back in place to check its performance. But then if it was better or even close to the E3200 I would feel even more that I had wasted my money.

Again, I am very grateful to you for all of your assistance.

Perhaps when I get the FO system I’ll revisit this issue. But, even with your patient guidance I am at a loss as to what I could do to improve the LANs performance.

Thanks
James

 

[overdrive31]

Good to hear the upgrade to the 4965 card does function in dual stream, in a laptop not designed for wireless N, and that you got 5GHz to work. Guess the speed you're getting is best you will see with current hardware, since testing Tim did shows the router improving using 40MHz on the 2.4GHz only in the very closest of locations, but throughput drops off very sharply as you move away. There goes that option to boost performance. Sorry we couldn't improve things by much, hope you learned something as I did in doing the research.

Since most laptops have multi-frequency antennas, you might try another Intel Pro 4965 agn in the second laptop utilizing it's bluetooth antenna as your second stream for MIMO(it might work, just speculating).

 

[Sabre65]

Overdrive31;
I wanted to take one more opportunity to thank you for your assistance to me and also for the other posts I have come across on the forum where you help those of us who are struggling with various Wi-Fi issues.

I have pretty much run the gamut of things I can change on the Linksys E3200 and my Intel 4965 Wi-Fi card.

At the couch I am now getting an average of 44.6 (+/- 8) Mbps when tested with NetStress. LAN Speed Test reports somewhat slower throughput.

As the 5.0GHz band is so weak at actual usable distances that it is worthless I thought I would just disable it on the router for now. I even thought that I might realize a slight performance gain by doing that.

However, strangely enough (to me anyway) the performance decreased. I tested several times from the same location and every time I turn the 5.0GHz band off the throughput drops by almost 20Mbps.

So even though I am not connecting anything to that band I will keep it turned on.

Thanks again for your valuable assistance.
James