Wireless Router for +15 concurrent connections.

[KasperZ]

Hi im searching for a small wireless router that can hold approx. 15 concurrent connections + 1 wired one for a printer. I won't need any fancy features like QoS or firewall or anything like that, it just need to split 1 incoming connection to serveral. Since im quite new to the networking field and any information on how many connection a router maximum can take i hope that you have some experience with it and hopefully some advice. Any help is apreciated! Thank.

Ps. also im not a native english speaker so if im hard to understand then please say so and i will see if i can explain it in another way.

 

[thiggins]

16 wireless connections is typically the maximum for consumer wireless routers, so you're on the edge. If the users are really going to be concurrent and present heavy traffic, I'd add an access point so that you can split the traffic between the two.

The AP should be set to a different channel (1, 6, 11) so that the router and AP don't compete for bandwidth.

 

[KasperZ]

So would any router do or should i look after something particular like dualband routers to split concurrent connections to 2 frequensies or something like that?

 

[thiggins]

You can split clients between bands only if clients support both 2.4 and 5 GHz bands.
I need to know more about the traffic load before I can make an informed recommendation.

 

[stevech]

Excluding persistent downloading, say music/videos, the typical web browser experience has a surprisingly low data capacity demand, on average.

 

[KasperZ]

Sure. Mostly it would be a mix of internet surfing and gaming so low latency would be nice. I will try to avoid mass downloading but it is to be expected that 1-3 users will be downloading heavy files at some point. If that takes too much connection from the other users then i will ofc try to stop it. If any more info is needed then please ask again I appreciate the help a lot.

 

[KasperZ]

Would this router cut it or is there any cheaper router that would be as good as this one if you only need it to do the stuff that i want it to do?
http://reviews.cnet.com/routers/lin...05-3319_7-34473222.html?tag=mncol#reviewPage1

 

[leeishom]

Is 15 connections an approximate? If so, quite a lot for a Consumer grade product.

 

[KasperZ]

Is 15 connections an approximate? If so, quite a lot for a Consumer grade product.

Well i know it will have 15 wireless users + 1 wired printer and that it's highly likely that they are all connected at the same time but thats also why im asking for advice here because i know that it is quite a high number and that not all routers can handle this.

 

[stevech]

not sure how we determine what the max associated clients for brand/model X is. Not often do I see that in the specs.

Odds are, one of the n concurrently associated clients is dormant or has very low activity. The WiFi AP/Router should de-associate that client (based on age of last traffic). When/if that client goes active again, there's a small delay while it re-associates.

If this is a serious concern, simply add a second AP (a repurposed router), on a different channel (1, 6 or 11)

 

[KasperZ]

so would it be a better solution to buy 1 cheap router and a cheap AP than buying 1 expensive router who should be able to handle the connections?

Also i found this on the Smallnetbuilder site but i cant figure out what unit its measuring in: http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/router-charts/bar/77-max-simul-conn

 

[thiggins]

not sure how we determine what the max associated clients for brand/model X is. Not often do I see that in the specs.

It's generally not spec'd. It is a typical number obtained from a study I did a long time ago.

That test found problems with some APs handling 32 clients. At the time, most manufacturers said their APs could handle 16 clients.

I'd love to repeat the test with current APs. But CMC was purchased by Ixia awhile ago and their technology is no longer available in standalone form.

If anyone knows of a similar box to CMC's Emulation Engine, let me know!

 

[thiggins]

There is no guarantee or spec for max clients for any consumer router or AP that I know of.

I'd start with a router and add an AP if you find problems.

The test you refer to is for wired routing and is explained here.