D-Link DIR-655 Xtreme N Gigabit Router Review:Draft 2.0 arrives

[Q-BZ]

Thread necromancy time.

http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showpost.php?p=5609&postcount=47

^^ This issue has basically never gone away.

DGL 4500 and DWA 160 Rev. B, latest firmwares across the boards.

Same physical situation: Seperated by two floors, etc. etc.

Most of the time DWA 160 functions well and gets very nice speeds and performance but we just know we can count on occasional, intermittent drop outs and I want to see what I can do help this situation out.

Unfortunately, moving that second machine with the DWA 160 closer to the router is not feasible currently nor is any hard wired situation.


My current DGL 4500 wireless settings are:

2.4 GHZ (better range than 5GHz)

802.11n only

Enable Auto channel scan On

Transmission Rate: "Best Automatic"

Channel width: 40MHz (should this be 20/40 auto instead? )

Security mode: WPA-Personal

WPA 2 Only
AES Ciper
Group Key update interval: 3600

Overall, I'm very satisfied with this equipment. This isn't the end of the world but I'd like to see what I can do to get rid of this little problem, if possible.

Thanks again as always! I lurk a lot more than I post but I view this entire site as invaluable and I assure you I've spread the word to many others.

 

[thiggins]

Set a channel (not auto scan).
Set to 20 MHz, not 20/40, auto or 40. 40 MHz channel mode hurts vs. helps under low signal conditions, i.e. it won't connect or connect intermittently.

 

[Q-BZ]

Set a channel (not auto scan).

Any recommendations or tips for this?

Set to 20 MHz, not 20/40, auto or 40. 40 MHz channel mode hurts vs. helps under low signal conditions, i.e. it won't connect or connect intermittently.

Understood.

EDIT: I notice if I set it to 20Mhz, the DWA 160 says I'm at 130mbps vs. 270 mbps at either 20/40 auto or 40 outright.


By chance, I was using a search engine on that little quirk and ran across this:

On Amazon, the first five star review for this DWA 160 says the following, which brings up some tech points I know you can clear:

<snip>

...We followed the direction I got from [...] to the letter.

I was only getting 130 Mbps with my adapter. I'm using Rev. A from Amazon.com with XP Professional.

I'm using B with Vista 64 on the computer that uses the DWA 160.

:

300Mbps Connection Requirements! Please Read!
« on: April 28, 2008, 11:21:08 AM »

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To have your Draft N wireless network connect at 300Mbps as it should, ensure that the following requirements are met.


1) The router and adapter are both D-Link 802.11N products and are using the latest firmeware/drivers. Ensure that the 802.11 Mode of the router has a 802.11N mode selected. Also if you have issues with mixed mode, try locking the 802.11Mode to either 802.11N Only or 802.11G/N.

Done this.

2) If you are using encryption the router must be configured to use AES cipher. In some firmware versions/models, the only way to get the AES cipher is to run WPA2. If you can not select the Cipher, selecting WPA2 only will force this cipher type.

Done this.

3) The channel width needs to be set to 20/40Auto, if it is not, the adapter will report a connection speed of 130Mbps. This is a feature that was added for compatibility with Intel 802.11N adapters, as they only operate on a channel width of 20.

He's right. If I go to straight 20 only I see 130 Mbps. If I go to 20/40 or 40 I see 270 Mbps.

D-Link recomends that you use the D-Link Wireless utility, however the Windows Zero Config will also work.

Assuming you have met all of these conditions, you should see a 300Mbps connection speed with either the D-Link Utility or WZC.

Note: Not all Intel adapters are the same as D-Link's N line. Some Intel adapters do not support the broader 40 Channel Width option. This (by design) limits their connection speed to 130. Check the specifications of your Intel adapter to ensure that it is capable of bonding on the 40Mhz range to achieve the full 300Mbps.

I'm pretty sure my hardware meets these standards but I just thought this was kind of an interesting little subject.

Thoughts?





EDIT:
http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1035228367&postcount=474


^^ Doing some research and it seems D-Link has been having a lot of issues, especially with A1 DGL 4500s like what I have and so forth. Maybe I just need to get away from this D-Link gear entirely if all that's anything to go by.

 

[thiggins]

Use a channel that isn't in use by neighboring WLANs (or at least not the ones with the strongest signal), using only channels 1, 6 or 11.

Dual-stream 802.11n devices will get a maximum link speed of 130 Mbps using 20 MHz bandwidth mode and either 270/300 Mbps using 40 MHz channel mode. This is normal.

40 MHz channel mode provides a speed boost only with strong to medium signal levels. When signal level is low, the connection will stop working or be intermittent. You're better off using 20 MHz mode under low signal conditions.

See this article for further explanation:
5 Ways To Fix Slow 802.11n Speed

 

[Q-BZ]

Use a channel that isn't in use by neighboring WLANs (or at least not the ones with the strongest signal), using only channels 1, 6 or 11.

Dual-stream 802.11n devices will get a maximum link speed of 130 Mbps using 20 MHz bandwidth mode and either 270/300 Mbps using 40 MHz channel mode. This is normal.

40 MHz channel mode provides a speed boost only with strong to medium signal levels. When signal level is low, the connection will stop working or be intermittent. You're better off using 20 MHz mode under low signal conditions.

See this article for further explanation:
5 Ways To Fix Slow 802.11n Speed

Thanks!