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kinda big home network with network slow down at times

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i420piate

New Around Here
well to start out I want to list my issue(s)
#1 at times bad network slowdown (and yes I bittorrent at times) but it happens also while no torrent applications are open, and what I do notice is it is only http traffic, I can use FTP at full speed while the browser will struggle to open a webpage..

now about my network, I have Comcast and while downloading from the best sites like a university page (IU)with applications i can sustain speeds a tab over 1MB (megabyte) per sec, and blasts of a tad over 3, so the connection is real decent in the midwest.

I have a Linksys WRT54G using the DD_WRT firmware as well 1 antenna replaced with a dlink 7db antenna

plugged into the router is a....
HP jetdirect print server
1st gen modified xbox
xbox 360
and the last port feeds a 8 port "rosewill" gigabit switch (note: all gigabit connections use CAT6 cabling)

out of the 7 open ports on the switch I have a....
custom built Win2003 Active Directory domain controller
HP Mediasmart Windows Home Server
Dell Media PC (Vista ult)
My girlfriend's Dell (Vista Ult)
My son's PC HP (Vista Bus)
And last is My MacBook dual booting OSX and Win7 beta (its plugged in 1/2 the time and wifi the rest)

Wireless connections are:
A friend that is staying with here has a eMachines (Vista Home) and I reformatted and setup everything before I allowed it at my house) so virus free

My brother has a custom PC and we verified virus free running XP pro

My girlfriends HP laptop (Vista Bus) always wireless
another modied 1st gen xbox in my bedroom
my iPhone

now not all pc's are active all the time, most are in sleep mode at any given time, as well isnt like my phone is hogging the network and video game consoles are only turned on when in use and I'm not a big gamer so rarely

I've looked at everything I can any utorrent use is capped in application as low as 5k up and on windows side I actually use another app called "netlimiter" that when I set a cap it will not allow any app to go above it unlike in utorrent when you cap at 5k thats the average and it can peak at 10-15k (keep in mind my upload maxes out at 200 kilobytes per second...

I just can't see why sometime only HTTP stalls, my only thought is I'm running so much through a lil linksys router that it simply can't handle it and I'm worried if I have to upgrade the router, if it can be done in a cost efficient way.. I can't spend thousands on a cisco catalyst switch

should I seperate and go for a better router, AP's, and a managed 16 port switch? damn that will cost a ton......

OR should I be able to run all this on a consumer router from Linksys?
 
If you are not downloading Torrents and not running FTP, do your web page loads work fine?

Have you capped the number of connections your torrents are using?
 
yes there have been times when I have verified no torrent or FTP activity and just normal use web browsing habbits when all of a sudden the network lags.

but not the "page can't be displayed" once a torrent is opened, or if I upload a file to friend, I had these same habbits with less computers with out total browser loss, and like I said I chose the lowest share setting in utorrent which I also believe drops the # of concurrent connections....

in asking those specific questions, do you feel my router "should" be able to handle this traffic?

btw I forgot to mention I do host a page from my WHS but I have also verified NO outside connections are established when the issue happens...
 
The WRT54G should handle 3 Mbps download just fine. The issue is number of simultaneous connections, which is why I asked. I'm not familiar with utorrent so don't know what the share setting does.

How long have you been having this problem and can you remember changing anything (add new computer, change OS, etc.) around the time it started?
 
In aug when I got the WHS, 1st i had UPnP enables for the webhost, but even with no one connected and no download I kept having to reboot the router, so I put my WHS on DMZ (yeah I know not secure but my only option) and it's fine until the slightest torrent activity, and I mean slightest, while at the same time no one is connected to the home server...
 
I don't exactly follow what you said. But stop exposing the WHS to the Net (take it out of DMZ) and see if your condition improves.

In fact, since it has been wide open to the Net, take the WHS off your network entirely and see if your problem goes away. And before you put it back on your network, give it a good virus and malware scan, or better yet, do a complete reformat and system restore.
 
I work for as a IT tech full time and know for sure the home server is virus free, I have constant eye on it and scan any files before they are placed on it, I use symantec corp with heuristics at max level as well it does very little to no internet activity except me remoting in from work to access my files (are you at all familiar with a WHS?) not having it online means I have wasted my money, and as far as the forums go for windows home server users, they do not experience my browser issues. (remember all other protocal traffic isn't affected) But most also only have 4 computers in their homes as well.

my initial thought was virus', but trust me that is not it, I run a mix of Symantec corperate and spybot (both always updated) on every PC in my house, and had a friend that works at geek squad bring his supposed "awesome removal cd" and it brought up no issues..

having the WHS on DMZ is a bad idea, I know, BUT I need access to my files and desktops from work, so disabling it is really not the road I want to go down, and if this thing would work under UPnP with only the few ports I need forwarded I would use it, but everytime I try to use only UPnP the router will simply not function.

Sorry if I am hard to follow, but I believe I should be able to do all this with no issues, I'm to the point where I think this cheap router can't handle my traffic, I should be able to have the server on upnp with out the router locking up every 30 minutes. And with sharing kept at a minimum there shouldn't be an issue with using bittorrent once a week for my top gear bbc shows (yes legal! lol producer even encouraged US downloading in a statement)

it just sucks to think I can't download one tv show a week or access my home server over the internet, things people do all the time with out issues...

I believe 99.999% that my whole network is virus free, and I'm not a newb in that sense.

I'm to the point where I feel I'm kicking this $50 router in the balls and I need something beefier, I came to these forums to maybe get some input on that. I mean if the router wont pass through 3 ports via universal plug and play w/out locking up, there is prolly a issue right?
 
Just curious...and forgive me if you mentioned it above and I missed it...

Since the wrt is a wireless unit..is your wireless secured? Perhaps a neighbor is leaching from your connection..esp if you have a hi gain antenna on the router.

How are your coax splitters setup? Ideally you want your cable modem hanging off the very first splitter in your house..with TVs all cascaded after that. So your modem is the first device on your chain of coax in the house...getting the strongest signal.

I've seen bad coax splitters be a primary cause of poor/irregular cable internet performance. If your splitter is outside the house, or in a basement with less than ideal environment conditions (humidity, etc)...heck, in my prior house I replaced my splitter once a year.

The wrt54g models are a bit long in the tooth compared to todays more current generation routers, it should be able to handle your sized network fine, with the standard sustained Comcast speeds of 6-8 megs. It'll be gasping for breath on their Powerboost speeds...but should handle the sustained speeds fine.

How old is the wrt?
Another good firmware you may want to try...Tomato. I found it a bit "snappier" than DD-WRT. A couple of less features than DD..but if you're never using those features.....there's nothing lost.
 
wifi has WEP enabled and as far as I can see in the router all the MAC associated are mac in this home

modem plugs into 1st jack in the living room and I use dish as a TV provider so no other TV's using cable....

the WRT is about 4 yrs old I would say....

I may give tomato a try if this keeps acting up
 

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