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How To Improve Network Performance Series

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heyjose

New Around Here
In the article How To Improve Network Performance - Part 1, you mentioned getting a SB5101, which is a DOCSIS 2.0 modem. DOCSIS 3.0 has channel bonding and my understanding has real benefits for downloads > 20 Mbps.
 
Hi,
Just swapping out won't cut it. It depends on your ISP. When I upgraded my ISP account
with higher speed package, they replaced our modem with DOCSIS 3.0
 
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Time Warner So. Calif., as I understand, has yet to deploy DOCSIS 3. Their turbo mode, I think, is merely lessening the speed caps they have on DOCSIS 2. You can see the caps if you watch throughput- they give me like 20Mbps for a few seconds then (via the DOCSIS MAC scheduler policies), they slow down to about 10-15Mbps. This brief speed-boost helps them and the customer both; they reduce the average demand and the user gets faster responses for web pages.

At times I wish for more than the 1Mbps upstream they have with the residential user accounts, but the up/downstream speeds are just fine and I already pay more than I'd like to them for the bundle.
 
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DMZ instead of bridge mode?

Hi!

My modem/router combo has no option to change to bridge mode. I may be able to talk to my provider in order to get a modem-only solution, so that I can use my own wireless router. BUT, what would be the impact if I would just redirect all the ports (via the DMZ) to the new router?

Would this be the same or the performance would not be as good as having a pure modem?

Thanks!
 
DMZ instead of bridge?

Freitag:

Forwarding ports or DMZ on the combo to another router still leaves you with a double NAT, which is sub optimal.

Most combos have a bridge option. Try searching forums and the combo manufacturer's website and see what you can find.

If you can't bridge your modem, then try working with your provider to replace the combo with a bridge.

Keep at it, it's worth it!

Doug Reid
 
Oh how angst producing this article is....

Fantastic series of articles...if you live in the USA.

I am a techie, who recently relocated to Guatemala. We're renting a nice Spanish colonial style house that is equipped with internet via CLARO. The Modem/Router is NOT replaceable because it provides both cable and phone connections from the box (Thompson/RCA DWG855T).

Much to my frustration, I've been all through the local Spanish language tech boards and I can't find the admin login/password combination.

I'd love to replace this with a modern DOCSIS III modem, but haven't found one that has the phone and cable outputs like the DWG855T.


Because of the size/layout of the house I need to add at least two additional wireless routers to get the coverage that we need. I replaced on outlying wireless router with an ASUS RT-N56. I was lucky in that this router was wired via a CAT 5E running up a wall , out on the roof and down a drainspout in the patio/Jardin. I am going to do the same to get a second ASUS RT-N56 into the front patio/Jardin area. My intent is to set both of these up in the BRIDGE mode to avoid issues.

Any other thoughts inputs? (calling CLARO is not an option...the account is through the landlord and they wont talk to me and she is a tech neophyte...besides we have the language barrier)
 
Hi!

My modem/router combo has no option to change to bridge mode. I may be able to talk to my provider in order to get a modem-only solution, so that I can use my own wireless router. BUT, what would be the impact if I would just redirect all the ports (via the DMZ) to the new router?

Would this be the same or the performance would not be as good as having a pure modem?

Thanks!

Hi,
Where I am(Shaw cable) we can ask them to download different firmware for the box to put it in bridge mode. That is first thing I did with their box.
 
Dear Angst (ScottG)

I googled on Thompson modems. Some of them have a un/pwd of (blank)/admin. Maybe that will work?

Also, if you're adding additional wireless routers to expand your wireless coverage, you'll want to ensure you have only one device routing, with the rest acting as access points. In part 3, which will be posted shortly, I'll cover how to setup a wireless router as an access point.
 
Hi,
Where I am(Shaw cable) we can ask them to download different firmware for the box to put it in bridge mode. That is first thing I did with their box.

Ditto for me, works great.
 
Thanks,

I finally broke down and did a factory reset on the Thomson Gateway. It is a VOIP gateway, 802.11G wireless router and has 4 ports. The software/firmware is TERRIBLE....and it is set up so that you can't change/upgrade the firmware from within the menu. I suspect the carrier demanded this. Additionally it is locked in to WEP only security. Yikes. Because of the VOIP function I suspect I am locked into this modem/gateway.

After getting into the router I went back and reconfigured both my ASUS RT-N56U to AP mode. Unfortunately, now pages are loading very slow or not at all. Not sure what went wrong in the configuration process. I've got a short time get this figured out before my online classes begin.
 
Doug:

Thank you VERY MUCH for these articles, I never thought of home networks this way and I completely agree with you!

It's like when I dabbled in home audio years ago. You'll always get more performance out of separate components than you would out of all-in-ones.

My former ISP's only "modem" they offer now is one of those horrible locked-down all-in-one "wireless gateways". This is one of the reasons I switched ISPs.

Eventually my network will consist of:

Technicolor DCM476 cable modem
Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite
Amer Networks SGD8 8-port gigabit switch
ASUS RT-N66U in AP mode

I have everything but the Ubiquiti router now. I'm using the RT-N66U as a router at the moment, it's great for wireless but as a router I find it a bit limiting as to what you can do.

A question about the switch. I was led to believe that all modern switches, including those in routers, perform the same. This is definitely the case with the switch in my RT-N66U versus my dedicated switch - bandwidth tests using iperf at gigabit speeds are identical. I just needed the switch because I needed more ports than the router provided. Would you say this is the case or do some really poor switches in routers perform worse than a dedicated switch?

Looking forward to part 3!
 
with enough persistence and and insistence on your part, I think cable companies are required to enable you to use your own WiFi router or Access (AP). On the former, you get them to switch to BRIDGE mode. On the latter, you add an AP an just don't use their WiFi SSID.
 
Fraoch:

Although switching can be a simple task, there is value in separating switching from the router. Freeing the router from switching reduces the load on the router, allowing more of the router's resources to be dedicated to routing, which can contribute to better performance.
 
Fraoch:

Although switching can be a simple task, there is value in separating switching from the router. Freeing the router from switching reduces the load on the router, allowing more of the router's resources to be dedicated to routing, which can contribute to better performance.

Great, thank you Doug.

I have all connections through an 8-port Gigabit switch now.
 
Fraoch:

Although switching can be a simple task, there is value in separating switching from the router. Freeing the router from switching reduces the load on the router, allowing more of the router's resources to be dedicated to routing, which can contribute to better performance.
I thought switches, inside the router, use the same sort of switch chips that stand-alone switches use - and these don't rely on a CPU as in the router.

I do agree with/use external switches - but mostly so I don't have to spend extra money on a gigabit router. Esp. since my ISP speed is far less than 100BT. I do move a lot of big files on my LAN (PCs and NAS) - so with the switch, the 100BT switch in the router isn't relevant.
 
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Ok I've read all 3 segments of the series and I wanted to see what you guys thought I should do with my setup. I have included a *rough* sketch of my house and where computers and printers are located. I do have people come over with laptops and hook up wirelessly every now and again, but not all the time. Right now in bedroom 2 I have a cable modem provided by comcast hooked up to an Asus rt-n56u which is then hooked to a TP-LINK TL-SG1005D Gigabit switch. Everything is running pretty much fine. The computer in the master bedroom that is hooked wireless stays connected pretty much 100% of the time going back and forth between 3-5 bars on a consistent basis. That computer isn't used for much more than Facebook, email and surfing the web. In the closet (not being used of course) I have a Linksys e1200 router and have tried it in place of the Asus (I know it is a downgrade) and the desktop connected wirelessly sometimes will not be able to connect to that router for some reason. When it does connect to the e1200 it is slightly slower, but nothing too extreme. What I am mainly wanting to know is would it be better if I bought another e1200 and followed the guides exactly? Essentially making one e1200 just the router (turn off wifi), then from that e1200 into the TP-LINK switch, then from the switch to another e1200 and making that one exclusively the access point? Do you think that would help any at all or should I stay with my current setup or add something different? In a perfect world I would move the router to the living room so it is centered, but I would rather the Xbox and the desktop computer in room 2 to stay hooked up directly and there is no way to run Cat5 cable to bedroom 2 from the living room. Anyways thanks for reading!

xbtTF3S.jpg
 
Everything is running pretty much fine.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. :D

I know these articles advocated breaking every network component out into dedicated units, but if things are working fine for you, you may not notice any difference.

You should follow these articles if:

- you are saddled with a crappy all-in-one locked-down "wireless modem/gateway" from your ISP

- your router isn't keeping up anymore (i.e. you have an ancient Linksys WRT54G and you upgraded your Internet past about 35 Mbps)

- you're running out of wired ports on your router

- you want better wireless coverage or speed

It doesn't sound like any of these apply.

In the closet (not being used of course) I have a Linksys e1200 router and have tried it in place of the Asus (I know it is a downgrade) and the desktop connected wirelessly sometimes will not be able to connect to that router for some reason. When it does connect to the e1200 it is slightly slower, but nothing too extreme.

Yes, the higher-end ASUS wireless routers are far superior to the awful products Linksys has been coming out with lately.

What I am mainly wanting to know is would it be better if I bought another e1200 and followed the guides exactly?

If it doesn't work well, why buy another one?;)

Essentially making one e1200 just the router (turn off wifi), then from that e1200 into the TP-LINK switch, then from the switch to another e1200 and making that one exclusively the access point? Do you think that would help any at all or should I stay with my current setup or add something different?

You should only do this if your ASUS RT-N56 can't keep up with your Internet speeds or if its wireless isn't working well for you. The N56 performs very well with WAN-LAN wired speeds, it's #4 in the chart at 802.4 Mbps:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/router-charts/view

It ranks pretty highly at wireless speeds too.

In a perfect world I would move the router to the living room so it is centered, but I would rather the Xbox and the desktop computer in room 2 to stay hooked up directly and there is no way to run Cat5 cable to bedroom 2 from the living room.

From your diagram it looks like you have all the devices in the same room, so centering the router would only serve to decrease performance to everything in the room.

If you did want to increase wireless coverage, consider getting a router and turning it into an AP, wiring it to the ASUS using powerline networking and putting it either in the centre of your house or on the opposite corner as your current wireless router. That may necessitate getting a switch if you've run out of ports on the ASUS.
 
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. :D

I know these articles advocated breaking every network component out into dedicated units, but if things are working fine for you, you may not notice any difference.

You should follow these articles if:

- you are saddled with a crappy all-in-one locked-down "wireless modem/gateway" from your ISP

- your router isn't keeping up anymore (i.e. you have an ancient Linksys WRT54G and you upgraded your Internet past about 35 Mbps)

- you're running out of wired ports on your router

- you want better wireless coverage or speed

It doesn't sound like any of these apply.



Yes, the higher-end ASUS wireless routers are far superior to the awful products Linksys has been coming out with lately.



If it doesn't work well, why buy another one?;)



You should only do this if your ASUS RT-N56 can't keep up with your Internet speeds or if its wireless isn't working well for you. The N56 performs very well with WAN-LAN wired speeds, it's #4 in the chart at 802.4 Mbps:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/router-charts/view

It ranks pretty highly at wireless speeds too.



From your diagram it looks like you have all the devices in the same room, so centering the router would only serve to decrease performance to everything in the room.

If you did want to increase wireless coverage, consider getting a router and turning it into an AP, wiring it to the ASUS using powerline networking and putting it either in the centre of your house or on the opposite corner as your current wireless router. That may necessitate getting a switch if you've run out of ports on the ASUS.

Thanks for the quick reply, I appreciate that! "If it ain't broke don't fix it." Yeah I was sort of leaning that way because everything seems to be working pretty well so why change? I like tinkering with things and often times that brings on more headaches than they are worth even though it is fun to try different things. That is mostly the reason I would try to change to the other setup.

- you are saddled with a crappy all-in-one locked-down "wireless modem/gateway" from your ISP

I originally thought it would be a good idea to go with an all-in-one wireless modem/gateway combo from Comcast, but I read an article that changed my mind so I called them up and had them bridge it so I could use my own router. Been nothing but happy ever since.

As far as wireless coverage goes, even though everything is in one room away from the other computer that computer still, more often than not, gets the full speed of the router so it doesn't seem to be an issue. Don't think the house is large enough to probably warrant doing the powerline thing with another AP, but still an option. Thanks!
 
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I like tinkering with things

Yeah...me too...I upgraded to 28/1 and I could get bursts of 60 connected directly to my modem but 40 or so connected through my trusty old Linksys WRT54G so I did a major overhaul of the network.

I probably went overboard for such a small increase but my wireless speeds drastically increased and I'm fully prepared for new 35/3 and 45/4 plans when they get released here in June.
 

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