Hi all,
I am hoping for a little discussion, and was definitely after a few different opinions after experiencing some difficulties. I am not so much after advice, as, at the end of the day, I know the decision is mine, and I have a little more research to do before I will be happy. Everyones feedback, comments or otherwise welcome.
First of all my setup.
#################
I have an ADSL2+ connection to the net currently via (my second) Netgear DG834G (wifi b/g, adsl2+ modem, router, 4x 10/100). This in turn is connected to an 8 port GbE switch (Netgear GS608 for ref.)
From here I have:
* My PC (wired, GbE),
* PC@TV (wired, GbE),
* Flatmates desktop (wired, GbE)
* and last but not least, my intel atom 330 DIY NAS (also GbE with lots of help gained from this site - thanks Tim)
Via Wifi, I have:
* My Mac,
* My other flatmates Mac,
* My first flatmates laptop,
* a Wii,
* and my Squeezebox (from here on, SB).
All are 802.11g apart from my Mac which is (Cough, cough, shame) a Macbook Air. I only mention this because it could would benefit from an upgrade to an 'n' router.
Next, my typical usage:
* NAS streams music to SB - daily
* 1 or 2 (at a time) of us stream music from NAS - bi-daily (as in every other day)
* we watch a tv episode/movie on NAS - twice daily
* music is transferred to/from NAS - bi-weekly
* video files transferred to/from NAS - 2x-3x per week
* online video streaming (about 350MB per half hour, it's unmetered ) - 1x-2x week
* fluctuating p2p usage (anywhere from none for the week, to heavy connection for a week)
* general internet browsing, chatting, etc
Finally, the situation/s:
* I was working full time - i am a full time student again now (ie, low income)
* heavy p2p use tends to overload the modem/router such that the internet drops out (as do very hot days in summer - but I have no control of that)
* Video on NAS -> PC can be measured in seconds; NAS-> air in minutes
* if router crashes, SB stops playing music
* in the last couple of days, wifi part of router has become flaky. That is, the modem webpage and lights say that the wifi is all go, but the SSID does not appear. Then it does. Then the signal strength drops to 50%. Then it disappears again. Then it re-appears. Etc, etc. Needless to say, this is most annoying if one was hoping to listen to music. Meanwhile, the internet and network is fine on all wired pc's.
My next step will be to swap the wireless module from the old router to the new one (as luck would have it, they appear to be the same revision). The old modem only lost its ability to maintain a FAST internet connection (dropped to 1Mb from 13Mb over the period of two weeks). Assuming this fixes my wireless issues I am back to where I started. If it doesn't, I have a TP-Link access point which works perfectly well - and I have ports to spare - and when the modem loses the plot THE MUSIC WON'T STOP. But it will be another wall wart.
However I am sorely tempted to upgrade to 'n'. Currently, the ONLY benefit I am going to see is when transferring the odd video file to the Air. Although I tend to leave this until right before bed - or leaving for the bus to uni - and as such I will FEEL the difference, even if it only saves me a minute or two. But if I am going to spend money on a router, surely it is better to spend a little more again and not put the modem and router in the same device as the wireless? I could also wire my SB (messy) and train myself to swap files when it is more convenient (groan) - but then I may as well not have a NAS and just use USB drives.
So there is my dilemma, getting worse as my modem does.
More devices:
+ more toys and geekiness
+ greater reliability
- more expensive (up front and to run)
- messier
Less devices:
+ cheaper
+ neater (also less geekiness)
- less reliable
- fewer toys, less geekiness
PS I am the sort of person that would like a 24 Gigabit smart switch just so that I can have lots of jacks to plug cables, lots of blinking little lights, and be able to say "I have a 24-port Gigabit switch". But I would also like an income that does not belong to a student.
I am hoping for a little discussion, and was definitely after a few different opinions after experiencing some difficulties. I am not so much after advice, as, at the end of the day, I know the decision is mine, and I have a little more research to do before I will be happy. Everyones feedback, comments or otherwise welcome.
First of all my setup.
#################
I have an ADSL2+ connection to the net currently via (my second) Netgear DG834G (wifi b/g, adsl2+ modem, router, 4x 10/100). This in turn is connected to an 8 port GbE switch (Netgear GS608 for ref.)
From here I have:
* My PC (wired, GbE),
* PC@TV (wired, GbE),
* Flatmates desktop (wired, GbE)
* and last but not least, my intel atom 330 DIY NAS (also GbE with lots of help gained from this site - thanks Tim)
Via Wifi, I have:
* My Mac,
* My other flatmates Mac,
* My first flatmates laptop,
* a Wii,
* and my Squeezebox (from here on, SB).
All are 802.11g apart from my Mac which is (Cough, cough, shame) a Macbook Air. I only mention this because it could would benefit from an upgrade to an 'n' router.
Next, my typical usage:
* NAS streams music to SB - daily
* 1 or 2 (at a time) of us stream music from NAS - bi-daily (as in every other day)
* we watch a tv episode/movie on NAS - twice daily
* music is transferred to/from NAS - bi-weekly
* video files transferred to/from NAS - 2x-3x per week
* online video streaming (about 350MB per half hour, it's unmetered ) - 1x-2x week
* fluctuating p2p usage (anywhere from none for the week, to heavy connection for a week)
* general internet browsing, chatting, etc
Finally, the situation/s:
* I was working full time - i am a full time student again now (ie, low income)
* heavy p2p use tends to overload the modem/router such that the internet drops out (as do very hot days in summer - but I have no control of that)
* Video on NAS -> PC can be measured in seconds; NAS-> air in minutes
* if router crashes, SB stops playing music
* in the last couple of days, wifi part of router has become flaky. That is, the modem webpage and lights say that the wifi is all go, but the SSID does not appear. Then it does. Then the signal strength drops to 50%. Then it disappears again. Then it re-appears. Etc, etc. Needless to say, this is most annoying if one was hoping to listen to music. Meanwhile, the internet and network is fine on all wired pc's.
My next step will be to swap the wireless module from the old router to the new one (as luck would have it, they appear to be the same revision). The old modem only lost its ability to maintain a FAST internet connection (dropped to 1Mb from 13Mb over the period of two weeks). Assuming this fixes my wireless issues I am back to where I started. If it doesn't, I have a TP-Link access point which works perfectly well - and I have ports to spare - and when the modem loses the plot THE MUSIC WON'T STOP. But it will be another wall wart.
However I am sorely tempted to upgrade to 'n'. Currently, the ONLY benefit I am going to see is when transferring the odd video file to the Air. Although I tend to leave this until right before bed - or leaving for the bus to uni - and as such I will FEEL the difference, even if it only saves me a minute or two. But if I am going to spend money on a router, surely it is better to spend a little more again and not put the modem and router in the same device as the wireless? I could also wire my SB (messy) and train myself to swap files when it is more convenient (groan) - but then I may as well not have a NAS and just use USB drives.
So there is my dilemma, getting worse as my modem does.
More devices:
+ more toys and geekiness
+ greater reliability
- more expensive (up front and to run)
- messier
Less devices:
+ cheaper
+ neater (also less geekiness)
- less reliable
- fewer toys, less geekiness
PS I am the sort of person that would like a 24 Gigabit smart switch just so that I can have lots of jacks to plug cables, lots of blinking little lights, and be able to say "I have a 24-port Gigabit switch". But I would also like an income that does not belong to a student.