What set of wireless routers to buy?

[elias4444]

What about cold air returns or heating ducts. With CMR cable these paths can be good.

Taking the cable outside then up to the soffit. Then sometimes you can tuck it into the soffit edge (hidden) or surface mount and back through the wall where you need it.

Another option is use direct to ground (ikypick) cat5e cable and bury around the outside of the location.

Welcome to my own personal Hell.
The cooling ducts don't extend into the vaulted ceiling, and my house is 90% surround by a cement walkway. I am currently trying to find some Cat6 cable though that's rated for outdoor use and wouldn't require any conduit. If I can find that it'll just be a matter of getting a ladder high enough to reach the roof trim that's two stories up all around the house. I'd then use cable fasteners to the underside of the trim and run it that way... nothing like a marathon workout of climbing up and down a two story ladder for every couple of feet around the house!

 

[chadster766]

Welcome to my own personal Hell.
The cooling ducts don't extend into the vaulted ceiling, and my house is 90% surround by a cement walkway. I am currently trying to find some Cat6 cable though that's rated for outdoor use and wouldn't require any conduit. If I can find that it'll just be a matter of getting a ladder high enough to reach the roof trim that's two stories up all around the house. I'd then use cable fasteners to the underside of the trim and run it that way... nothing like a marathon workout of climbing up and down a two story ladder for every couple of feet around the house!

Funny stuff

You don't need to run CAT6 unless you plan to move to 10Gig connections. CAT5e is fine and cheap. UV coated CAT5e should be easily sourced.

I recommend hiring a phone\cable tech to run the line. They are usually worth it and not that costly on a hourly basis.

Keep in mind that the maximum safe run is 90 meters or 270 feet.

 

[elias4444]

You don't need to run CAT6 unless you plan to move to 10Gig connections. CAT5e is fine and cheap. UV coated CAT5e should be easily sourced.

I recommend hiring a phone\cable tech to run the line. They are usually worth it and not that costly on a hourly basis.

Yeah, I was trying to "future proof," but I think you're right that cat6 is overkill. Also, I've been calling around for a phone or cable tech to run the line, but no one seems to do it for residential homes where I'm at. Ugh.

 

[chadster766]

Yeah, I was trying to "future proof," but I think you're right that cat6 is overkill. Also, I've been calling around for a phone or cable tech to run the line, but no one seems to do it for residential homes where I'm at. Ugh.

Your local phone guy typically would. You can call your phone company and ask them since its the same as adding an new phone at the location. Tell them you would like another phone jack and data jack in that room.

 

[elias4444]

I don't have a landline, so I'm currently on the phone with Comcast... they'll install a coax line at least, but the guy on the phone is totally lost about what Cat5e is. I told him to have the technicians call me before they come out... $50 for a coax line might be worth it though. Did they ever get coax above 100mbs?

 

[abailey]

I don't have a landline, so I'm currently on the phone with Comcast... they'll install a coax line at least, but the guy on the phone is totally lost about what Cat5e is. I told him to have the technicians call me before they come out... $50 for a coax line might be worth it though. Did they ever get coax above 100mbs?

No not really. There is one I have seen that is 144Mb/s but it is over $200 per adapter (and you would need 2). If you do use COAX, and it is dedicated for your network backbone, you can use DECA ethernet to COAX adapters to get 100Mbit/s. They are only $8.25 each as opposed to MOCA that would be more like $60-80 each. I use MOCA in my house but would have used DECA had I known about it at the time.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DVK1ITI/?tag=snbforums-20

 

[chadster766]

I don't have a landline, so I'm currently on the phone with Comcast... they'll install a coax line at least, but the guy on the phone is totally lost about what Cat5e is. I told him to have the technicians call me before they come out... $50 for a coax line might be worth it though. Did they ever get coax above 100mbs?

MOCA 2.0 speed are up around the 1000mbit/s range. I have never used these devices but that's what there designed for. Check out the link below:

MOCA Networking and Comcast

I use to do these cable internet installations way back and know that many of those guys know about standard network cabling with Cat5e but it depends on which guy you get. Maybe the installer can refer another installer.

Did you check the phone directory for networking companies to run the cable?

 

[elias4444]

Well, I finally said "to Hell with it all" and ordered a pair of homeplug av2 adapters (I got a deal on the Linksys PLEK500). Hopefully they'll be here before the weekend and I can try them out.

Anyone know about what percentage of the bandwidth is lost when crossing circuits (breakers)? It'll be an interesting experiment I suppose.

 

[thiggins]

Well, I finally said "to Hell with it all" and ordered a pair of homeplug av2 adapters (I got a deal on the Linksys PLEK500). Hopefully they'll be here before the weekend and I can try them out.

Anyone know about what percentage of the bandwidth is lost when crossing circuits (breakers)? It'll be an interesting experiment I suppose.

Focus on identifying and eliminating noise sources. Pay particular attention to "wall wart" power supplies, especially cellphone chargers. Also, watch out for AFCI breakers.
SmallNetBuilder's Powerline FAQ
Slow HomePlug? Five Ways To Boost Powerline Network Speed

 

[elias4444]

Focus on identifying and eliminating noise sources. Pay particular attention to "wall wart" power supplies, especially cellphone chargers. Also, watch out for AFCI breakers.
SmallNetBuilder's Powerline FAQ
Slow HomePlug? Five Ways To Boost Powerline Network Speed

Cool, thank you. I checked my breakers, and none of them are AFCI. As for the "wall warts" I guess I'll have to wait and see. We have enough mobile devices in this house that those little plug-in chargers come and go like the weather. Would plugging them into a simple surge protector strip be enough to quiet them down?

 

[thiggins]

Would plugging them into a simple surge protector strip be enough to quiet them down?

You could try that. You have to experiment.

 

[chadster766]

Well, I finally said "to Hell with it all" and ordered a pair of homeplug av2 adapters (I got a deal on the Linksys PLEK500). Hopefully they'll be here before the weekend and I can try them out.

Anyone know about what percentage of the bandwidth is lost when crossing circuits (breakers)? It'll be an interesting experiment I suppose.

Good idea I forgot about the Linksys PowerLine adapters. I have them in use where needed.

I did some LAN to LAN throughput testing a while back results below:

--------------------------------------------------​--------

PLEK500

LAN throughput: 82.8 Mbit/s

--------------------------------------------------​--------

 

[elias4444]

Good idea I forgot about the Linksys PowerLine adapters. I have them in use where needed.

I did some LAN to LAN throughput testing a while back results below:

--------------------------------------------------​--------

PLEK500

LAN throughput: 82.8 Mbit/s

--------------------------------------------------​--------

That might just be enough for me. That's right above what my wireless can do during "perfect" conditions (which almost never happen, so it's usually about half of that).

I'll definitely be experimenting to see what I can get out of it. Worst case is that I can send them back to Amazon.com I suppose.

 

[elias4444]

Ok, I received my Linksys Plek500 kit today and plugged them in.

Each plug is on a separate circuit. With LAN Speed Test Lite I get about 75mbs up and 65mbs down (using a 200mb test file size).

If I plug in a wall wart (phone charger) I lose 10mbs (down to 65 and 55 respectively).

Each UPS (one on each circuit the their respective computers) costs me approximately 5mbs.

Floor lamps cost about 1 to 4mbs depending on number of bulbs (using CFLs).

Running the vacuum cleaner on either circuit cost me everything.

PROs that I noticed:
-The client computer doesn't have to deal with the whole wireless connection thing (where it sometimes forgets and has to reconnect, or takes a while to establish initial connection)
-I don't have to deal with my wireless router deciding not to let wired and wireless computers speak to each other anymore (the most annoying thing my Linksys E3000 occasionally does)
-Windows Shares come up a lot faster in file explorer for some reason
-No more choppy wireless mice during file transfers or HD streaming
-The two adapters together basically behave like a cable, meaning that the actual ethernet information from the computer's network card is passed through without issue or filtering

CONs that I noticed:
-Still a bit pricey (I bought the set for $90), though cheaper than what a new router would have cost me
-I'm curious if the cheapy TP-LINK AV200 adapters would have given me similar bandwidth for $50 less
-Vacuuming while someone is using the computer will now be doubly annoying (though they could always plug the vacuum on a "non-involved" circuit to avoid the bandwidth issue)

So, there you have it. I'll keep testing over the next few days and let you know if anything else comes up.

 

[chadster766]

elias4444,

Thanks for posting your testing results! Great Job

 

[elias4444]

I should probably add, I tried a few things that had absolutely NO bearing on the performance whatsoever. Those things included:

Running my house's AC
Running washing machine and dryer
Running the microwave on the kitchen plug circuit (but somewhat near my connected HTPC)
Running my vacuum on a non-involved circuit
Basically doing just about anything on a non-involved circuit

Oh, and just because my house's wiring is strange, also running an overhead light fixture on the same circuit doesn't appear to change anything either.

 

[Fitnessfun]

New Router for Gaming

I'm currently also trying to buy a new router. I have been looking here http://www.squidoo.com/best-gaming-router but I don't know enough about routers to know if these are the top ones currently. Any thoughts?

 

[stevech]

I'm currently also trying to buy a new router. I have been looking here http://www.squidoo.com/best-gaming-router but I don't know enough about routers to know if these are the top ones currently. Any thoughts?

Stay with the mainstream. Gaming routers are a marketing term. There's no magic at the router level in reducing jitter and latency that is out in the Internet.