Having a connection revamp (Help)

[JayKay]

Hi all,

At present i have:

• Virgin Super Hub 3 with a 516mbps connection
• 3 x TP-Link TL-PA8010PKIT V3 Power line adapters (these are used for my sons 3 x Xbox Series X)
• Total connections:
• 3 x Xbox Series X using power line adapters (main adapter has a direct connection to router)
• 1 x Xbox Series X direct connection to router
• 1 x P.C direct connection to router
• 2 x T.V's direct connection to router
• 4 x Mobile phones wireless connection to router
• 3 x Ipads wireless connection to router

I am changing over too:

Virgin Super Hub 5 with a 1130mbps connection BUT this time i will be using the router in modem mode and will be using a Asus RT-AX86U router for my connections.

My questions are:

If i ditch the power line adapters and go wireless will i get a better connection due to the new setup?
If i change the t.v's connection to wireless with the new system will it be as good as the old direct connection due to the new setup?

My aim is to just have 1 x Xbox and 1 x P.C to have a direct connection to the router, everything else wireless.

Do i connect the super hub port 4 (2.5Gbps) too the WAN (blue) port or the (2.5Gbps) WAN (green) port of the Asus RT-AX86U

I use my Xbox Series X for most of my gaming so i presume i will plug that into the gaming port of the Asus RT-AX86U? and just plug my P.C into any of the other LAN ports 1-4 on the Asus RT-AX86U?

I ain't got a clue about specs but you may so here are the specs for both the Super Hub and the Asus RT-AX86U:

Super Hub 5: https://www.virginmedia.com/broadband/existing-customer-deals/hub
Asus RT-AX86U: https://www.asus.com/uk/Networking-IoT-Servers/WiFi-Routers/ASUS-Gaming-Routers/RT-AX86U/techspec/

Also i noticed the Asus RT-AX86U has a lot of configuration options for the router and gaming, any recommendations?

I know nothing about routers/modems etc etc if any technical person out there can help with a simple guide would be much appreciated.

All the best

Jay

 

[OzarkEdge]

If i ditch the power line adapters and go wireless will i get a better connection due to the new setup?

You'll have to try it to know... too many variables to say otherwise. PL is often troublesome. WiFi can be troublesome. Clients can be troublesome. etc. Ideally, eliminate PL/unnecessary equipment.

If i change the t.v's connection to wireless with the new system will it be as good as the old direct connection due to the new setup?

When possible, wire it. But you can try wireless... may be fine. The more you wire, the less you burden your WiFi. Wire is robust, full-duplex, at port speed; wireless is half-duplex, time shared with ALL other comms on the same frequencies nearby, variable speed depending on signal quality, client quality, distance, etc, and sometimes troublesome.

Do i connect the super hub port 4 (2.5Gbps) too the WAN (blue) port or the (2.5Gbps) WAN (green) port of the Asus RT-AX86U

Install the new router using its default 1G WAN port. Later, you can reconfigure the 2.5G LAN to be 2.5 WAN, and move the WAN cable over... if you want.

I use my Xbox Series X for most of my gaming so i presume i will plug that into the gaming port of the Asus RT-AX86U? and just plug my P.C into any of the other LAN ports 1-4 on the Asus RT-AX86U?

Use any LAN port you want. LAN1/gaming port may only be different if you configure something game-related in the firmware... I don't game. Only configure what you need to make things work. If your gaming works on any LAN port, you're done. Keeps it simple.

Also i noticed the Asus RT-AX86U has a lot of configuration options for the router and gaming, any recommendations?

I know nothing about routers/modems etc etc if any technical person out there can help with a simple guide would be much appreciated.

Keep it simple. My install notes outline a bare configuration... ignore the extra AiMesh/node bits.

OE

 

[JayKay]

@OzarkEdge thanks for the info

I have been thinking if i went down the hard wired route would this work:

• Virgin Box too Router (WAN)
• My Xbox too Router (LAN 1)
• My P.C too Router (LAN2)
• 1 x Network Switch (1) too Router (LAN 3)
• 1 x Network Switch (2) too Router (LAN 4)

Network Switch 1 (ground floor) has the following connected:

• Living Room 1 T.V (Normal T.V Viewing)
• Living Room 2 T.V (My Gaming T.V)

Network Switch 2 (first floor) has the following connected:

• Bedroom 1: Xbox
• Bedroom 2: Xbox
• Bedroom 3: Xbox

Just not sure if you can connect 2 x Network Switches into one Router

Jay

 

[OzarkEdge]

@OzarkEdge thanks for the info

I have been thinking if i went down the hard wired route would this work:

• Virgin Box too Router (WAN)
• My Xbox too Router (LAN 1)
• My P.C too Router (LAN2)
• 1 x Network Switch (1) too Router (LAN 3)
• 1 x Network Switch (2) too Router (LAN 4)

Network Switch 1 (ground floor) has the following connected:

• Living Room 1 T.V (Normal T.V Viewing)
• Living Room 2 T.V (My Gaming T.V)

Network Switch 2 (first floor) has the following connected:

• Bedroom 1: Xbox
• Bedroom 2: Xbox
• Bedroom 3: Xbox

Just not sure if you can connect 2 x Network Switches into one Router

Jay

Yes, that is all standard and good. I have two unmanaged 8-port Gigabit switches connected to my router LAN ports.

OE

 

[JayKay]

Thanks again @OzarkEdge

Gonna go with that, just need to get some mini trunking and a long drill bit to drill through the walls and a hell of a lot of Ethernet cable, might get the cable from: https://www.cablemonkey.co.uk/

Never heard of cablemonkey but their prices seem decent.

Any ideas of what cable is best, gonna need atleast 5m of cable for outdoor use (going from ground floor too first floor) and atleast 3 x 6m for indoor use to go to each room on the first floor.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Thanks again @OzarkEdge

Gonna go with that, just need to get some mini trunking and a long drill bit to drill through the walls and a hell of a lot of Ethernet cable, might get the cable from: https://www.cablemonkey.co.uk/

Never heard of cablemonkey but their prices seem decent.

Any ideas of what cable is best, gonna need atleast 5m of cable for outdoor use (going from ground floor too first floor) and atleast 3 x 6m for indoor use to go to each room on the first floor.

When I needed cable a long time ago, I went to the local Microcenter and bought 15', 25', and 100' Cat5e patch cords that said Belden on them (a decent cable manufacturer). And bought some good quality connectors and a termination tool to cannibalize the 100' cable for custom lengths, long and short to minimize cable clutter. Been using those cables ever since and still have stock to make more.

OE

 

[degrub]

Outdoor rated cable requires a filler gel to keep moisture out. probably only available in 1,000 ft rolls, but you never know what will show up on the internet. You can likely use regular indoor cable if you put it in a flex poly conduit tube or exterior rated PVC conduit. Make sure you use an oversized conduit and leave a pull cord in case you have to replace in the future. No tight bends or use a box if you have to have a 90 degree turn. CAT 5E or 6 should be good enough for your lengths and future proof..

 

[JayKay]

Hi, thanks @degrub i ended up buying:

7m of CAT5E cable for Bedroom 1
6m of CAT5E cable for Bedroom 2
9m of CAT5E cable for Bedroom 3
4m of CAT5E cable for Outdoor with some flex poly conduit tube

And another NETGEAR 8 Port Gigabit Network Switch for the first floor and some more extra D-Line trunking for the bedrooms.

Think that should be it...for now

p.s Thx for the tips.

 

[JayKay]

Just installed my HUB 5 and got from testing:

Download: 1153Mbps
Upload Speed: 53Mbps
Latency: 11.9Ms
Jitter: 2Ms
Packet Loss: 0%

This is without using the Asus RT-AX86U

I'm a bit dubious, i have finally fitted the kids rooms aswell, all wired and going to a switch then into my Virgin router, their connection is pretty much exactly the same as the above.

Now I'm thinking do i really need the Asus RT-AX86U to replace my Virgin Hub 5? them statistics seem pretty good to me....or are they?

I'm just curious as to why so many people say dump the Virgin Hub and get a better router like the Asus RT-AX86U......I'm no techy but how will it improve the above statistics? the download can't go higher neither can the upload as that is what my UL/DL should be.....in fact it's slightly more than it should be.

If the Asus RT-AX86U ain't going to make a huge difference i may aswell send it back and get my £260 back......unless you can convince me otherwise.

Totally confused

 

[OzarkEdge]

Just installed my HUB 5 and got from testing:

Download: 1153Mbps
Upload Speed: 53Mbps
Latency: 11.9Ms
Jitter: 2Ms
Packet Loss: 0%

This is without using the Asus RT-AX86U

I'm a bit dubious, i have finally fitted the kids rooms aswell, all wired and going to a switch then into my Virgin router, their connection is pretty much exactly the same as the above.

Now I'm thinking do i really need the Asus RT-AX86U to replace my Virgin Hub 5? them statistics seem pretty good to me....or are they?

I'm just curious as to why so many people say dump the Virgin Hub and get a better router like the Asus RT-AX86U......I'm no techy but how will it improve the above statistics? the download can't go higher neither can the upload as that is what my UL/DL should be.....in fact it's slightly more than it should be.

If the Asus RT-AX86U ain't going to make a huge difference i may aswell send it back and get my £260 back......unless you can convince me otherwise.

Totally confused

Adding your own router was your idea and is often an improvement over ISP equipment in one way or another. If you don't need it, you don't need it.

OE