New home network assistance.

[ejp]

Hi SNB community,

I recently have been tasked with setting up a new router in a rather unorthodox circumstance and need some expert advice for how to setup the network/proceed. The details of the circumstance are listed as follows:

- for hardware, I have 1 - ac dlink 3200 tri band router / 1 (2) tp- link power-line kit / 2 - netgear ac nhawks / and 1 - Asus ac3200 router.

Basically, the DSL in my house is really slow (6mbs down) but I have 2 separate DSL lines installed with this speed. My house is only 1 story and not very big, but I need to get the maximum wireless signal strength on the opposite side of the house (25-30 feet away) from the main router with all the hard connections. Installing any hardware to hard connect to the router without a power-line is unfortunately not an option, hence why I went with the power line.

My idea is the connect all the hard wired devices to the main dlink ac 3200 tri router on one end of the house (with all the hard line connections), and on the other end use the power-line connected to 2x nhawks or the ac3200 asus setup as access points for a maximum wireless connection/speed on the other end of the house with all the wireless devices. My main question is:

- is this the best possible setup for my available hardware, and will running x2 nhawks as access points be better than running the asus ac 3200 tri router as an AP alone on the other end of the house? The reason I ask is because, although im no expert, remember reading somewhere on a router test that 2x ac routers coupled together are needed to reach a maximum throughput speed. If this is the case, I will use the 2x nhawk routers as access points for the wireless end of the house and the asus 3200 as the main hard wired router for my second DSL line connection.

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.

 

[thiggins]

The powerline connection should be faster and more reliable than an AC wireless bridge. But try both and decide for yourself.

 

[L&LD]

Hi SNB community,

I recently have been tasked with setting up a new router in a rather unorthodox circumstance and need some expert advice for how to setup the network/proceed. The details of the circumstance are listed as follows:

- for hardware, I have 1 - ac dlink 3200 tri band router / 1 (2) tp- link power-line kit / 2 - netgear ac nhawks / and 1 - Asus ac3200 router.

Basically, the DSL in my house is really slow (6mbs down) but I have 2 separate DSL lines installed with this speed. My house is only 1 story and not very big, but I need to get the maximum wireless signal strength on the opposite side of the house (25-30 feet away) from the main router with all the hard connections. Installing any hardware to hard connect to the router without a power-line is unfortunately not an option, hence why I went with the power line.

My idea is the connect all the hard wired devices to the main dlink ac 3200 tri router on one end of the house (with all the hard line connections), and on the other end use the power-line connected to 2x nhawks or the ac3200 asus setup as access points for a maximum wireless connection/speed on the other end of the house with all the wireless devices. My main question is:

- is this the best possible setup for my available hardware, and will running x2 nhawks as access points be better than running the asus ac 3200 tri router as an AP alone on the other end of the house? The reason I ask is because, although im no expert, remember reading somewhere on a router test that 2x ac routers coupled together are needed to reach a maximum throughput speed. If this is the case, I will use the 2x nhawk routers as access points for the wireless end of the house and the asus 3200 as the main hard wired router for my second DSL line connection.

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.

I personally think power line adaptors are at the bottom of the list of things to try. Right next to 'repeater mode' for routers.

With the hardware you have, I would test the most powerful router you have (RT-AC3200) with the latest RMerlin firmware (or the john9527 or hggomes forks) and a full reset to factory defaults and manually and minimally configuring the router to secure it and connect to your ISP, along with new ssid's for each separate test you do for different routers (if you decide to test for different routers that you have access to).

I would also place the router as central to the area(s) being covered and at least 3 metres above ground (earth) level. With at least a metre free air all around the router too. Testing with different antennae and router orientations too would also be important here.

If the performance of the wireless network is still lacking for your hardwired devices, I would use the remaining routers as bridges instead (and the clients connected via LAN cables).

With such a small distance (25 - 30 feet) to cover though, I do not see why you would frustrate yourself with the low bandwidth and highly variable nature of power line options in your network layout.

The best network is the simplest one. Only try more complicated / obscure configurations if the most obvious options are exhausted.

For your requirements as described;
Single router.
Additional switches as necessary (at least one on each router port if the total number of devices indicate such).
Wired connections (CAT5e or higher) to all or as many devices as possible.
Single router with additional Bridge(s) (use one band for connecting to main router and other band for the wireless devices.

Below this point, it is time to seriously upgrade the wiring, ime.

While repeaters and power line adaptors may be enough for some uses and users, asking them for the 'maximum throughput speed' on any real-world network is like asking for a fuel efficient muscle car that costs less than an econo box. Just won't happen.

While your ISP speeds will certainly be met by using power line adaptors, your internal LAN will take a huge hit vs. the other possible options at this point.

 

[sfx2000]

I'm just wondering if there's too much WiFi going on there - yes, there is that case where too many AP's hurt rather than help - 25 feet isn't much of a stretch for any AC1900 class AP on a direct path...

Might be a case of step back a bit - unplug most of the stuff, and see what happens - and a 50 ft strand of CAT5 is generally faster...

 

[ejp]

I personally think power line adaptors are at the bottom of the list of things to try. Right next to 'repeater mode' for routers.

With the hardware you have, I would test the most powerful router you have (RT-AC3200) with the latest RMerlin firmware (or the john9527 or hggomes forks) and a full reset to factory defaults and manually and minimally configuring the router to secure it and connect to your ISP, along with new ssid's for each separate test you do for different routers (if you decide to test for different routers that you have access to).

I would also place the router as central to the area(s) being covered and at least 3 metres above ground (earth) level. With at least a metre free air all around the router too. Testing with different antennae and router orientations too would also be important here.

If the performance of the wireless network is still lacking for your hardwired devices, I would use the remaining routers as bridges instead (and the clients connected via LAN cables).

With such a small distance (25 - 30 feet) to cover though, I do not see why you would frustrate yourself with the low bandwidth and highly variable nature of power line options in your network layout.

The best network is the simplest one. Only try more complicated / obscure configurations if the most obvious options are exhausted.

For your requirements as described;
Single router.
Additional switches as necessary (at least one on each router port if the total number of devices indicate such).
Wired connections (CAT5e or higher) to all or as many devices as possible.
Single router with additional Bridge(s) (use one band for connecting to main router and other band for the wireless devices.

Below this point, it is time to seriously upgrade the wiring, ime.

While repeaters and power line adaptors may be enough for some uses and users, asking them for the 'maximum throughput speed' on any real-world network is like asking for a fuel efficient muscle car that costs less than an econo box. Just won't happen.

While your ISP speeds will certainly be met by using power line adaptors, your internal LAN will take a huge hit vs. the other possible options at this point.

In short, I'm only using the power line adapters because I am unable to run a hard-line Ethernet cable from my main router in my office, across the house to my bedroom (on the other end of the house). Although I do get wi-fi coverage on the opposite end of the house from my main powerful router, the connection goes from 5.5mbs to ~2mbs down. Since I have 2 spare Nhawk AC routers at my disposal, it was my understanding that the best thing to do would be to use both of them as access points on the other end of the house in my bedroom (opposite end of my main office router) to create a much stronger wireless signal within my bedroom, and these 2 Nhawk routers will only be able to be connected at the other end of the house via powerline adapter.

- Is using a brand new TP link 1200mbps power-line adapter that bad, as it is the best/fastest PL adapter you can buy at the moment?

- Also, it was my understanding that using a spare router as an AP rather than a bridge was a better option but I could be wrong as I don't understand the benefits between using a spare router as a bridge vs AP. Moreover, since I have 2 Nhawk AC routers, I think I remember a SNB review in which they said something about needing 2 of the same AC routers to reach the maximum wireless speed advertised. This interests me since I have 2 Nhawk routers, but is what I read more or less accurate?

 

[thiggins]

- Also, it was my understanding that using a spare router as an AP rather than a bridge was a better option but I could be wrong as I don't understand the benefits between using a spare router as a bridge vs AP.

There are three different use scenarios:

1) Configure router in wireless bridge. This allows it to be used like a wireless adapter, but with an Ethernet connection vs. USB or internal bus.

2) Configure it as an AP and connect to main router via Ethernet, powerline or MoCA. This extends wireless range by establishing another connection point for clients.

3) Configure as wireless repeater. This is like configuration 1, but also allows wireless clients to connect. NETGEAR routers support repeating only via WDS. This requires entering MAC address of partner router. The R7000 supports this. I don't know offhand if your other routers do.

 

[ejp]

There are three different use scenarios:

1) Configure router in wireless bridge. This allows it to be used like a wireless adapter, but with an Ethernet connection vs. USB or internal bus.

2) Configure it as an AP and connect to main router via Ethernet, powerline or MoCA. This extends wireless range by establishing another connection point for clients.

3) Configure as wireless repeater. This is like configuration 1, but also allows wireless clients to connect. NETGEAR routers support repeating only via WDS. This requires entering MAC address of partner router. The R7000 supports this. I don't know offhand if your other routers do.

Ah, this is great. May I ask you which of these options you mentioned would be the very best for performance in my case, that is, which of the options you listed would have the least reduction in speed and do best with maintaining the current speeds of my single router setup (basically what option would be the best for speed/performance).

From what I understand, there seems to be significant drops in performance with some options and less with others; I just want to make sure that I'm utilizing the best performance/speed option for my network.

 

[thiggins]

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/basi...best-way-to-get-whole-house-wireless-coverage

Connections listed in order of reliability and throughput, best to worst:
Ethernet
MoCA
HomePlug AV2
802.11ac Wireless

There can be cases where HomePlug and AC wireless could swap places or be about equal.

 

[System Error Message]

wire speeds are more consistent than wireless and i suggest against using dlink as a router. Instead use either the asus or netgear for it. If you've been reading through SNB we've mentioned a few times why not to use dlink but since you already have it you could install 3rd party firmware on it.