Wireless Router question

#26
#26
GreveHaller said:
While you're on the subject of wireless routers, I have a question for you who have more knowledge in this area

I recently received a new modem from Comcast and it has wifi. Ok but I still have my Cisco wireless router that does well. I couldnt decide what to do (just use the Comcast wife or use both) so asked a friend and he said just use both. So now I have cable into the modem then ethernet out to the Cisco router. I see both networks on my computer and can log into both. Question is - is there any advantage/disadvantage to doing it this way? I checked speedofme and looks like both are running similar speeds.

If I had two seperate routers I could see that there could be a difference since. I could log into one network while the kids watch youtube, play on line, etc.... and neither would have a slower speed. Since the Cisco is going into the Comcast modem I cant see where the advantage would be.
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So Comcast is your internet provider & you pay for one internet subscription/service? Unless you have 2 separate subscriptions & 2 modems you're not improving your speed on different devices by running 2 routers off of one modem.
 
#27
#27
govols/cc said:
So Comcast is your internet provider & you pay for one internet subscription/service? Unless you have 2 separate subscriptions & 2 modems you're not improving your speed on different devices by running 2 routers off of one modem.
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I don't think he was just talking about speed advantages
 
#29
#29
govols/cc said:
After I read it again I think he was trying to confirm if there was an advantage to running two routers. No. Not unless you have two modems.
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Depending on your desires there are advantages to a daisy chain. Don't think he has those desires though
 
#32
#32
volfanbill said:
We really don't even know that. I would even expect his wireless adapter to be a larger culprit than the router.
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I would like to know the model number of his current router, strictly to see if the max throughput is able to handle his connection. Most likely it is, but there could be a problem with the WAN port on the router. Lots of possibilities here.
 
#33
#33
g8terh8ter_eric said:
I would like to know the model number of his current router, strictly to see if the max throughput is able to handle his connection. Most likely it is, but there could be a problem with the WAN port on the router. Lots of possibilities here.
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True, but I can't fathom it would only give him 5 mbps
 
#34
#34
govols/cc said:
After I read it again I think he was trying to confirm if there was an advantage to running two routers. No. Not unless you have two modems.
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volfanbill said:
Depending on your desires there are advantages to a daisy chain. Don't think he has those desires though
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From what you said, bill, it sounds like a daisy chain would benefit if the house was larger and the second wireless router would help boost the signal. My house isn't big enough.

/cc - I don't have two modems and don't have the need for it (no download/upload of large amts of data). I guess I'm doubling up for nothing
 
#35
#35
volfanbill said:
True, but I can't fathom it would only give him 5 mbps
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One thing that the OP hasn't answered in all of this, is does the modem handle DHCP or does the router. If both are handing out DHCP, then the OP is going to have routing issues and speed issues when connecting directly to the router. It will clear up if connected directly to the modem. Obviously if the modem is in bridge mode, this assumption is null, but its something that needs to be addressed.
 
#36
#36
g8terh8ter_eric said:
One thing that the OP hasn't answered in all of this, is does the modem handle DHCP or does the router. If both are handing out DHCP, then the OP is going to have routing issues and speed issues when connecting directly to the router. It will clear up if connected directly to the modem. Obviously if the modem is in bridge mode, this assumption is null, but its something that needs to be addressed.
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I have no idea what any of this means :)
 
#37
#37
CanadianVol said:
I have no idea what any of this means :)
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Ok. A DHCP server gives you the IP address on your internal network. So, do you have the the cable from the modem plugged into the WAN port of the router or one of the LAN ports? If you have it plugged in the WAN, you should be OK, however, if you have it plugged in the LAN side there is a possibility that two DHCP servers are enabled on the same network which could cause the issues you are seeing.
 
#38
#38
g8terh8ter_eric said:
Ok. A DHCP server gives you the IP address on your internal network. So, do you have the the cable from the modem plugged into the WAN port of the router or one of the LAN ports? If you have it plugged in the WAN, you should be OK, however, if you have it plugged in the LAN side there is a possibility that two DHCP servers are enabled on the same network which could cause the issues you are seeing.
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OK, of the five ports on the router, one says "internet" and the other three say "ethernet"....any idea?
 
#40
#40
I am not sure that your problem is with your modem. Chances are the problem is actually with your wireless router. It almost sounds to me that your wireless connection may be negotiating as 802.11b which maxes out around 11 Mbps per second. If you are using Windows, and click on the wireless network connection properties, it will tell you the speed of your wireless connection. If your wireless connection speed is ok, then your uplink to your router could have fallen to half duplex.

Whoever told you that your wireless router has nothing to do with connection speed is misinformed. The router, and the placement of it in your house, has everything to do with wireless connection speeds. Be sure to keep it away from any types of external interference. Also, look to see the 802.11 standards the wireless router supports. 802.11b would give you the speeds quoted, 802.11g would give you 54 Mbps, and so on. You can google 802.11 and get a table of the speeds supported. It all comes down to the letter on the end.

You will also need to check the same capabilities on your wireless adapter on your computer.

I would look at replacing my wireless router before I replaced my cable modem.

One thing to keep in mind, wireless will never be as fast as cabled connections, ever.

I am a senior network analyst for a large company...see this stuff every day.
 
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#41
#41
PayingUTKTuition said:
I am not sure that your problem is with your modem. Chances are the problem is actually with your wireless router. It almost sounds to me that your wireless connection may be negotiating as 802.11b which maxes out around 11 Mbps per second. If you are using Windows, and click on the wireless network connection properties, it will tell you the speed of your wireless connection. If your wireless connection speed is ok, then your uplink to your router could have fallen to half duplex.

Whoever told you that your wireless router has nothing to do with connection speed is misinformed. The router, and the placement of it in your house, has everything to do with wireless connection speeds. Be sure to keep it away from any types of external interference. Also, look to see the 802.11 standards the wireless router supports. 802.11b would give you the speeds quoted, 802.11g would give you 54 Mbps, and so on. You can google 802.11 and get a table of the speeds supported. It all comes down to the letter on the end.

You will also need to check the same capabilities on your wireless adapter on your computer.

I would look at replacing my wireless router before I replaced my cable modem.

One thing to keep in mind, wireless will never be as fast as cabled connections, ever.

I am a senior network analyst for a large company...see this stuff every day.
Click to expand...

Yup, and its why most companies have multiple AP's with the same SSID, wireless security encryption, and passwords so they can walk around without ever dropping network connections.
 
#42
#42
I still wonder if he has two DHCP servers fighting and giving him issues with his connection, especially if he's connected to the wireless router. I would say more than likely his modem is in bridge mode, but I've seen it where it's handing out the same subnet has the router and causing issues with speed. I prefer modem/router/wireless combos for the consumer side, just to protect with that type of issue.
 
#43
#43
g8terh8ter_eric said:
I still wonder if he has two DHCP servers fighting and giving him issues with his connection, especially if he's connected to the wireless router. I would say more than likely his modem is in bridge mode, but I've seen it where it's handing out the same subnet has the router and causing issues with speed. I prefer modem/router/wireless combos for the consumer side, just to protect with that type of issue.
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If the wireless connection speeds are sufficient, then some sort of network connection issue would certainly be the next step. If DHCP was handing out duplicate addresses that would surely be a problem.
 
#44
#44
PayingUTKTuition said:
If the wireless connection speeds are sufficient, then some sort of network connection issue would certainly be the next step. If DHCP was handing out duplicate addresses that would surely be a problem.
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I would test with the Wifi Analyzer app. I've used that app many times to determine wireless signal issues in environments. Anything under -70dBm is going to have connections issues.
 
#46
#46
CanadianVol said:
I'm plugged into the one that says Internet....I'm sorry, I really have no idea what i'm doing.
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I did go out and buy another router, and it jumped my speeds up to ~21Mbps, which is more than sufficient for my purposes. Still a little under what i'm paying for, but considerably better.
 
#47
#47
CanadianVol said:
I did go out and buy another router, and it jumped my speeds up to ~21Mbps, which is more than sufficient for my purposes. Still a little under what i'm paying for, but considerably better.
Click to expand...

Sounds like your old one just had issues. Glad you are up and running closer to normal.
 
#48
#48
CanadianVol said:
I did go out and buy another router, and it jumped my speeds up to ~21Mbps, which is more than sufficient for my purposes. Still a little under what i'm paying for, but considerably better.
Click to expand...

Good news. What router did you end up with?
 
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