Routers

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jim
  • Start date Start date
J

Jim

Learned that my existing RT-314 is seriously choking my 15mb cable
service. So I guess the time has come to upgrade to a 10/100 router.
Curious what you guys recommend these days? Wired and/or wireless.

Although routers should be OS independent, if there are issues related
to Linux use kindly mention them.

Thanks
 
Learned that my existing RT-314 is seriously choking my 15mb cable
service. So I guess the time has come to upgrade to a 10/100 router.
Curious what you guys recommend these days? Wired and/or wireless.
Click to expand...
Netgear for both.
 
Jim said:
Learned that my existing RT-314 is seriously choking my 15mb cable
service. So I guess the time has come to upgrade to a 10/100 router.
Curious what you guys recommend these days? Wired and/or wireless.
Click to expand...

Linksys or Netgear.

AFAIK, cable is limited to around 12-14 Mbps tops, and most companies choke it
to anywhere from 1 to 5 Mbps. Your cable company may be an exception...
 
Jim said:
Learned that my existing RT-314 is seriously choking my 15mb cable
service. So I guess the time has come to upgrade to a 10/100 router.
Curious what you guys recommend these days? Wired and/or wireless.

Although routers should be OS independent, if there are issues related
to Linux use kindly mention them.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Ummmm . . . isn't the RT-314 a 10/100 router? A 15mb cable modem is fast,
but still only about ~15% as fast as the maximum throughput that the RT-314
should be able to handle. The fastest download you will see should be about
1.5MB/s. The RT-314 should be able to handle about 12MB/s. -Dave
 
Jim said:
Learned that my existing RT-314 is seriously choking my 15mb cable
service. So I guess the time has come to upgrade to a 10/100 router.
Curious what you guys recommend these days? Wired and/or wireless.

Although routers should be OS independent, if there are issues related
to Linux use kindly mention them.

Thanks
Click to expand...

A router is os independent, but the adapter is _not_. However, you
shouldn't need to match adapter to router unless you use one of the
proprietary 108 MBps protocols sometimes referred to "speedbooster" or
some other term. If you get a regular b/g router (54 MBps) you should
be able to use it with any b/g compliant card.

For linux, I suggest you do some research to find an adapter that has a
native linux driver available. If you get one that doesn't (such as
most linksys/broadcom), you will need to use something like ndiswrapper.
Finding an adapter that has native linux drivers will save you some
time in the future and helps encourage manufacturers to support linux by
releasing linux drivers and/or specifications.
 
Carlos said:
A router is os independent, but the adapter is _not_. However, you
shouldn't need to match adapter to router unless you use one of the
proprietary 108 MBps protocols sometimes referred to "speedbooster" or
some other term. If you get a regular b/g router (54 MBps) you should
be able to use it with any b/g compliant card.

For linux, I suggest you do some research to find an adapter that has a
native linux driver available. If you get one that doesn't (such as
most linksys/broadcom), you will need to use something like ndiswrapper.
Finding an adapter that has native linux drivers will save you some
time in the future and helps encourage manufacturers to support linux by
releasing linux drivers and/or specifications.
Click to expand...

Sorry, also forgot to mention that most wireless routers also have at
least 4 wired ports and usually do not cost significantly more than
wired-only models (if at all). You can always disable the radio so as
not to have to worry about wireless security if you are not using the
wireless feature. And, obviously, if you are not planning on using the
wireless features, you will have no need for an adapter or need to worry
about linux support .
 
Yes, wireless routers include at least 1 LAN port and usually 4. If you
don't use wireless, shut it off (if you can) as wireless can open a
security hole.
 
Dave said:
Ummmm . . . isn't the RT-314 a 10/100 router? A 15mb cable modem is fast,
but still only about ~15% as fast as the maximum throughput that the
RT-314 should be able to handle. The fastest download you will see should
be about 1.5MB/s. The RT-314 should be able to handle about
B/s. -Dave
Click to expand...
But it doesn't. I replaced mine coz it couldn't handle my 10 meg connection.
My new Linksys works fine though.
I think you'll find the RT314 is only 10 meg on the WAN side.

SteveH
 
Dave said:
Ummmm . . . isn't the RT-314 a 10/100 router? A 15mb cable modem is fast,
but still only about ~15% as fast as the maximum throughput that the RT-314
should be able to handle. The fastest download you will see should be about
1.5MB/s. The RT-314 should be able to handle about 12MB/s. -Dave
Click to expand...
Went into the setup routine to check this. WAN is 10mb, LAN is 100mb.
 
Went into the setup routine to check this. WAN is 10mb, LAN is 100mb.
Click to expand...

OK, then that means your maximum possible throughput is about 1.25MB/s on
the WAN side, and you MIGHT need about 1.5MB/s or greater on the WAN side.
Interesting.

Well I still don't know if it's worth an upgrade, as even AT WORST your
current router isn't going to slow you down much, and that's assuming that
your 15mb cable modem is running at it's theoretical maximum throughput
(somewhat unlikely). In other words, have you run speed tests using JUST
the cable modem and a fast NIC???

If you're not REGULARLY exceeding 1000KB/s (or 10000kbps) download speed,
then your router is not a bottleneck at all. Keep in mind that actual data
throughput is about 1/10th of connection speed. So your
theoretical -maximum- download speed is about 15000kbps, but you aren't
likely to hit that on a regular basis. Try broadbandreports.com for speed
tests.

If your speed tests (a few a day, for a few days) exceed 10000kbps, then
maybe a netgear WGR614 is in order. That one has 10/100 on the WAN side
(and the LAN side), so it should offer you plenty of breathing room for the
foreseeable future. I use two of them myself, and they work great.

You don't necessarily need the wireless function, but the last one I bought
was only thirty bucks, so I doubt if you could buy a non-wireless one for
much cheaper. :) -Dave
 
Dave said:
OK, then that means your maximum possible throughput is about 1.25MB/s on
the WAN side, and you MIGHT need about 1.5MB/s or greater on the WAN side.
Interesting.

Well I still don't know if it's worth an upgrade, as even AT WORST your
current router isn't going to slow you down much, and that's assuming that
your 15mb cable modem is running at it's theoretical maximum throughput
(somewhat unlikely). In other words, have you run speed tests using JUST
the cable modem and a fast NIC???

If you're not REGULARLY exceeding 1000KB/s (or 10000kbps) download speed,
then your router is not a bottleneck at all. Keep in mind that actual data
throughput is about 1/10th of connection speed. So your
theoretical -maximum- download speed is about 15000kbps, but you aren't
likely to hit that on a regular basis. Try broadbandreports.com for speed
tests.

If your speed tests (a few a day, for a few days) exceed 10000kbps, then
maybe a netgear WGR614 is in order. That one has 10/100 on the WAN side
(and the LAN side), so it should offer you plenty of breathing room for the
foreseeable future. I use two of them myself, and they work great.

You don't necessarily need the wireless function, but the last one I bought
was only thirty bucks, so I doubt if you could buy a non-wireless one for
much cheaper. :) -Dave
Click to expand...
Without the router in place I routinely hit 13,500 download. With the
router 5,800.

BTW my provider is said to be the fastest in the USA.
 
Without the router in place I routinely hit 13,500 download. With the
router 5,800.

BTW my provider is said to be the fastest in the USA.
Click to expand...

Wow. That sounds like a defective router. It's only pushing packets about
half as fast as it should, according to the manufacturer's specifications.
In that case, I guess it's a good time to upgrade, as it needs to be
replaced anyway. -Dave
 
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