Router decision for 3 story, double brick, extra thick cement floors

[grayles]

I would like some input on a router decision for my home. The router will be placed in the second floor, in the centre. So omni-directional is a prefrence i guess.

I was thinking about getting the NT-R66U Dark Knight from ASUS as it has replaceable antennas and getting some Dual-Band HG antennas like this but maybe a bit more up in the dbi.

Basically my house is a double brick house with 3 floors with thicker then usual concrete floors/ceilings. My house is massive and everyone has lotsa wireless devices.

I also want Ethernet clients to connect to the wireless router (maybe via like a WAP which doesnt broadcast? because mine does) like smart TV's Laptops PS3's etc. So a recommendation on what i should do there as well. They are scattered all over the house however some recommendations on switches would be good to since come are in the same room.

The household has MANY wireless clients, so bandwidth is a MUST specially with everyone streaming HD content as my e4200 can barely pump out 20-40mbps 10m away.

With this much bandswidth requirements and signal needs should i get two routers and run them on separate channels plus get them better antennas? Input, ideas, and recommendation would be greeted with welcome.

 

[thiggins]

Please define "lotsa" wireless devices and their capabilities, i.e. how many b/g only, how many two stream 11n, three stream 11n.

General comment: For concrete construction, you are going to need at least one AP per floor to get decent throughput. If you can't run Ethernet, use powerline to interconnect APs. Higher gain antennas and repeaters aren't going to get the job done.

You can convert any router to an access point (AP). See How To Convert a Wireless Router into an Access Point

 

[grayles]

Iphone 4 x 4
Blackberry x2
Galaxy note x1
N laptops x 4
2stream dongles x2
wirless printers x2
i want 3 ethernet to wireless on the middle floor (TV room with ps3; another with a smart TV and one for two outside PC's); 4 on the top; 1 on the bottom; so i guess the best available IEEE? (What are those things called? AP's that dont broadcast an e/ssid)

Powerline is not possible, house is divided into grids and each grid is already heavily used so interference is there. Is there anything else you need to know?

 

[thiggins]

i want 3 ethernet to wireless on the middle floor; 4 on the top; 1 on the bottom; so i guess the best available IEEE? (What are those things called? AP's that dont broadcast an e/ssid)

I think you mean wireless bridges. Cisco Linksys WES610N is an example.

Powerline is not possible, house is divided into grids and each grid is already heavily used so interference is there. Is there anything else you need to know?

Then you are going to need to get Ethernet from the top and bottom floors to the center floor.

 

[grayles]

I think you mean wireless bridges. Cisco Linksys WES610N is an example.

Then you are going to need to get Ethernet from the top and bottom floors to the center floor.

My sister says she has decent wireless signal from her room which is directly above the e4200, could i just put each router acting as an AP above and below eachother?

Also APs need to be on the same channel, doesnt that make the apparent signal lower? Im about 3m away from my router and i get about 1-2 bars less with my galaxy note's wireless sniffer.

Thanks for the bridge information that was very helpful!

 

[thiggins]

That is called repeating. You could try it, but each "hop" cuts available bandwidth in half. See Everything You Need To Know About Wireless Bridging and Repeating - Part 1: WDS
and Everything You Need To Know About Wireless Bridging and Repeating - Part 2: No WDS Required

Run the Ethernet. All you need is one CAT5e/6 cable to go from the center floor to top and bottom floors. Run it outside if you have to.

 

[grayles]

That is called repeating. You could try it, but each "hop" cuts available bandwidth in half. See Everything You Need To Know About Wireless Bridging and Repeating - Part 1: WDS
and Everything You Need To Know About Wireless Bridging and Repeating - Part 2: No WDS Required

Run the Ethernet. All you need is one CAT5e/6 cable to go from the center floor to top and bottom floors. Run it outside if you have to.

Exploring your option. if i had a router per floor acting on different channels 1 6 and 13 and connected via WAN and have routing rules, would they be able to connect to each other as if it was LAN?

Also how would i do it via outside? drilling holes through the walls or ceiling is a bit too much ...

 

[thiggins]

You need one router and two access points.
How To Add an Access Point to a Wireless Router


No routing rules needed. The two APs plug into switch ports on the router (or uplinked switch) and everything is on the same network.

 

[claykin]

Also how would i do it via outside? drilling holes through the walls or ceiling is a bit too much ...

Yup, drill holes. Use exterior grade cable or preferrably run in PVC conduit. Be sure to create a drip loop, seal holes with foam, exterior grade caulk, etc.. Strap PVC to wall and paint color of house. Some people actually go as far as to stucco over the pipe to blend it in better.

BTW, run several cables. You should be able to pull 3 Cat5e cables through 1/2" PVC.

 

[grayles]

Ok ill try to get my dad to agree on drilling holes through the wall.


As another question..

If cabling was not an option, and it being easier to get a AP at the centre of the house and equipping it with HG antennas, what antennas would you suggest for the RT-N66U?

 

[thiggins]

Ok ill try to get my dad to agree on drilling holes through the wall.

Or find closets that line up and drill a hole through the floor there.

If cabling was not an option, and it being easier to get a AP at the centre of the house and equipping it with HG antennas, what antennas would you suggest for the RT-N66U?

You will need omnidirectional antennas and you will find it hard to get something above 8dBi, which won't give you what you need.

If you have coax for cabletv already to each floor, you could try MoCA instead of powerline.
Ethernet from your TV Outlet: NETGEAR MoCA Coax-Ethernet Adapter Kit Reviewed

 

[grayles]

Or find closets that line up and drill a hole through the floor there.

You will need omnidirectional antennas and you will find it hard to get something above 8dBi, which won't give you what you need.

If you have coax for cabletv already to each floor, you could try MoCA instead of powerline.
Ethernet from your TV Outlet: NETGEAR MoCA Coax-Ethernet Adapter Kit Reviewed

Unfortunately i dont have cable TV in this house, my street was never given cable to begin with so my father decided it was not worth putting coax throughout the home.

Could you explain if you can, why it wont meet my needs at <8dBi?

 

[claykin]

Or find closets that line up and drill a hole through the floor there.

OP says he has concrete floors. Hammer drilling a clean through hole will be a challenge in most 3000 psi+ floors. Usually best to core drill and that requires a concrete cutting service and about $300 per hole.

 

[grayles]

OP says he has concrete floors. Hammer drilling a clean through hole will be a challenge in most 3000 psi+ floors. Usually best to core drill and that requires a concrete cutting service and about $300 per hole.

Also i have about 3cm worth of wood flooring and a cement render on the ceiling

 

[claykin]

Unfortunately i dont have cable TV in this house, my street was never given cable to begin with so my father decided it was not worth putting coax throughout the home.

Could you explain if you can, why it wont meet my needs at <8dBi?

You (your father) sure are now paying the price for not at least minimally cabling the house when built. With no coax do you have rabbit ears on your tv's? Eeek!

Regarding high gain antennas, consider WiFi is a 2 way link. You need high gain at both ends. Not something feasible on tablets, most laptops, etc.

 

[thiggins]

Could you explain if you can, why it wont meet my needs at <8dBi?

Observation from other people's experience with trying the same thing.

Anyone reading this thread have a putting-higher-gain-omnis-on-router success story?

 

[grayles]

Observation from other people's experience with trying the same thing.

Anyone reading this thread have a putting-higher-gain-omnis-on-router success story?

Is it possible to change the watts pumping into the antennas? would that make a difference?

 

[thiggins]

Thanks for the reminder, Claykin. I must be too sleepy from too much Buffalo router testing...
Why High Power Routers Don't Improve Range

 

[grayles]

You (your father) sure are now paying the price for not at least minimally cabling the house when built. With no coax do you have rabbit ears on your tv's? Eeek!

Regarding high gain antennas, consider WiFi is a 2 way link. You need high gain at both ends. Not something feasible on tablets, most laptops, etc.

Now that you put it that way, is cable TV and normal TV the same? as in free tv and paid tv using the same cable kind of thing?

 

[claykin]

Take a look @ the coax in your house. See if it says RG6 or CATV6. That's what you want. If it says RG59 that's old school for off air viewing only. Too much loss will occur at high frequencies with RG59 at lengths longer than a few feet.

Are your coax cables home run or is it a loop system (daisy chain)? Does the cable go where you'll need it to connect to AP's?