20 replies to this topic

[hytga]

i just got my wireless router and turns out it supports 54mbps, i was wondering if anyone can recommend a wirless router that transfers at least 100mbps wirelessly. i've researched a little on this and some products are misleading, some claim they support that speed but if you look closer it turns out that that speed is only supported if you connect through wires. Anyway if anyone can help me find a decent router on the range of $70 that supports speeds on or above 100mbps, pls respond

thanks in advance

Edited by hytga, 25 May 2005 - 08:56 PM.

[vava]

Wireless 'G' is up to 54mbps. I think D-link manufactures a model that doubles the throughput.... See Here.

Also notice this though:

* This 108Mbps firmware upgrade is currently available for Revision B & C only. Firmware for upgrading to 108Mbps is not available for Revision A.
Maximum wireless signal rate derived from IEEE Standard 802.11g specifications. Actual data throughput will vary. Network conditions and environmental factors, including volume of network traffic, building materials and construction, and network overhead, lower actual data throughput rate.

[vava]

Wireless 'G' is up to 54mbps. I think D-link manufactures a model that doubles the throughput.... See Here.

Also notice this though:

Looks like Amazon has it for around 40$:

Amazon D-link...

[hytga]

btw my wireless network card supports abg modes.
i was loking at this router, has anyone used or been in contact with this one? any recommendations?

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16833122022

btw i found this same router on dell for $80. and this one on newegg has additional $20 rebate besides being worth $50

[armjan]

* This 108Mbps firmware upgrade is currently available for Revision B & C only. Firmware for upgrading to 108Mbps is not available for Revision A.
Maximum wireless signal rate derived from IEEE Standard 802.11g specifications. Actual data throughput will vary. Network conditions and environmental factors, including volume of network traffic, building materials and construction, and network overhead, lower actual data throughput rate.

I get very excited anytime i c someone referencing IEEE standards.

great conversation starter by the way...

Edited by armjan, 25 May 2005 - 09:12 PM.

[armjan]

btw my wireless network card supports abg modes.
i was loking at this router, has anyone used or been in contact with this one? any recommendations?

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16833122022

btw i found this same router on dell for $80. and this one on newegg has additional $20 rebate besides being worth $50

I have this one!
highly recommend.
easy config.

i believe i paid somewhere around 40-60 w/out rebate.

Edited by armjan, 25 May 2005 - 09:12 PM.

[hytga]

guys i'm new to this wireless stuff. i just found out that my phone is interfereing with my router. i believe both run on b mode? btw the router i posted above does not support a mode. would i be better off with this one
http://www.newegg.co...=OTC-P12ice5can
it supprots abg modes. but a reccomendation would still be helpful

Edited by hytga, 25 May 2005 - 09:30 PM.

[armjan]

guys i'm new to this wireless stuff. i just found out that my phone is interfereing with my router. i believe both run on b mode? btw the router i posted above does not support a mode. would i be better off with this one
http://www.newegg.co...=OTC-P12ice5can
it supprots abg modes. but a reccomendation would still be helpful

why do u need 802.11a? shorter range than g!

also, it's all about GHz frequency range when talking about phone interference. Please make sure that the two devices are not operating within the same range within close proximity.

here is a quick breakdown of abg...

802.11b -- Operates in the 2.4-GHz Industrial, Scientific and Measurement (ISM) band (2.4 to 2.4835 GHz) and provides signaling rates of up to 11Mbit/sec. This is a very commonly used frequency. Microwave ovens, cordless phones, medical and scientific equipment, as well as Bluetooth devices, all work within the 2.4-GHz ISM band.

802.11a -- Operates in the 5-GHz frequency range (5.125 to 5.85 GHz) with a maximum 54Mbit/sec. signaling rate. The 5-GHz frequency band isn't as crowded as the 2.4-GHz frequency because it offers significantly more radio channels than the 802.11b and is used by fewer applications. It has a shorter range than 802.11g, is actually newer than 802.11b and isn't compatible with 802.11b.

802.11g -- Similar to 802.11b, but this standard supports signaling rates of up to 54Mbit/sec. It also operates in the heavily used 2.4-GHz ISM band but uses a different radio technology to boost overall throughput. Compatible with older 802.11b.

so which one u need? u wanna go long, go g.

by the way, did u install a broadband modem filter on every device that uses phone line?

Edited by armjan, 25 May 2005 - 09:45 PM.

[hytga]

i'm alittle confused if a is 5 ghz how come it's shorter range that g? but anyway, that aside. I'm just gonna use this at home, nothing too fancy. And if the max support for these modes is 54mbps, wouldn't that contradict to the point of having a 100mbps router?

[vava]

i'm alittle confused if a is 5 ghz how come it's shorter range that g? but anyway, that aside. I'm just gonna use this at home, nothing too fancy. And if the max support for these modes is 54mbps, wouldn't that contradict to the point of having a 100mbps router?

In any case, anything you do on the internet even with the fastest connections 10baseT is plenty of bandwidth. 100baseT you can use when trasnfer files within your network, and if that's for backups and stuff, you can easily plug yourself into the router for a few minutes.

[armjan]

i'm alittle confused if a is 5 ghz how come it's shorter range that g? but anyway, that aside. I'm just gonna use this at home, nothing too fancy. And if the max support for these modes is 54mbps, wouldn't that contradict to the point of having a 100mbps router?

well, consider that a router supports inputs all of which may be 54 mbps, so limitation makes sense

why r u confused about 5ghz? that's is just a freq band.
think of a water pipe divided into channels, where each channel is mapped to a ghz freq

freq r to resolve interference/conflicts and enforce security policies in some systems

range is all with hardware(access pts)/config(LOS/line of sight/proximity, AOC/area of coverage,AOB/angle_of_bearing) etc...

Edited by armjan, 25 May 2005 - 11:12 PM.

[hytga]

why r u confused about 5ghz? that's is just a freq band.

i thought the freq. ghz influenced the range.

[armjan]

plz look below, should definetely clarify...

802.11b/2.4GHz vs. 802.11a/5GHz

There are currently two major WLAN standards, and both operate using radio frequency (RF) technology. The two standards have heretofore been colloquially referred to as 802.11b and 802.11a -- together they're collectively called Wi-Fi. To reduce confusion, however, the wireless standard group called the Wi-Fi Alliance will refer to the two technologies as 2.4GHz and 5GHz, respectively, as least on product packaging. These monikers refer to the frequency band that each technology utilizes.

In the alphabet, "a" comes before "b." In the world of wireless networking though, "b" definitely came before "a." The 802.11b specification was the first to be finalized and reach the marketplace.
Performance

802.11b/2.4GHz devices operate in an unlicensed radio band and transmit data on the same frequency as some household appliances, including some cordless phones and even microwave ovens. The 802.11b specification provides for a bandwidth rating of 11 Megabits per second (Mbps). This is just a theoretical maximum, however. Wireless networks, as well as wired LANs, never let you obtain that level of performance, or even close to it. The actual throughput you can expect to obtain from an 802.11b network will typically be between 4 and 5Mbps.

This level of performance is more than sufficient for most rudimentary computing tasks. When you consider that a typical broadband DSL or cable modem connection might provide you with from 600kbps to 1.6Mbps of downstream bandwidth, you can see that the speed of 802.11b is not be an impediment to activities like Web browsing, e-mail, file transfer, running applications, and even streaming Internet-based audio and video.

On the other hand, it's not hard to envision scenarios where your bandwidth needs might be greater -- when you want to quickly transfer very large files like graphics, audio, or video or stream those same audio and video files, like your collection of MP3s or home movies on your hard disk.

If you often see the need for more speed, consider 802.11a. Products based on this 5GHz specification offer higher performance. 802.11a has a maximum bandwidth of 54Mbps, almost five times that of 802.11b. Like its predecessor though, you won't see anything near that in the real world. Instead, expect a maximum throughput of between 20 and 25Mbps -- still five times what you get from 802.11b.
Range

The performance of both 802.11b and 802.11a decreases as your distance from the antenna increases. This degradation is neither linear nor granular; in other words, you don't lose half the performance when your distance doubles, and the performance doesn't decline in small increments as you move farther away.

Instead, each wireless specification has a handful of pre-defined bandwidth levels at which it can operate (802.11b has four, while 802.11a has seven). The bandwidth levels drop markedly as you move further away, and by the time you are at the extreme ranges, the bandwidth available is only a small fraction of the maximum.

When indoors, 802.11b signals can travel as far as 150 meters (492 feet). Outdoors, 11b range is over three times greater-- 500 meters (1640 feet, or nearly 1/3 of a mile). The outdoor ranges are higher because there are fewer obstacles, like walls, to absorb or block the radio signal. At either of these extreme ranges, the bandwidth available is a mere 1Mbps, which would yield throughput closer to that of your broadband connection. That low level of throughput could hamstring your networking activities.

On the other hand, for 802.11b to operate in its maximum bandwidth mode of 11Mbps, the distance indoors can be no more than 50 meters (164 feet); outdoors it should be 250 meters (820 feet).

When it comes to the relationship between performance and range, 802.11a behaves in much the same way as 802.11b. That is to say, there is an inverse relationship, so performance goes down as distance goes up.

The trade-off the speed of 802.11a offers is lower range. Indoors, 802.11a allows for a maximum range of only about 100 meters (about 300 feet). Outdoors, the range jumps to over 350 meters (1200 feet). Like 802.11b, when you are using 802.11a equipment at extreme range, you can only communicate at the lowest speed supported, which in this case is 6Mbps.If you want the full 54Mbps bandwidth, your range indoors is limited to a mere 18 meters (60 feet), and outside to approximately 30 meters (100 feet).

With either technology you lose 50% or more of your range in order to enjoy wireless data transfer at the fastest rate possible. The bottom line is that figures for maximum range, like those for maximum bandwidth, should be taken with a healthy dose of sodium chloride. When evaluating the performance and range ratings of wireless networking products, treat them as you would the gas mileage rating on a car. Remember that your mileage will vary.
Penetration

In addition to the obvious differences in range, another differentiating factor between 802.11b and 802.11a is the quality, or let's call it robustness, of their signals.

Because of the higher frequency (and thus shorter wavelength) that they use, 802.11a signals have a much tougher time penetrating solid objects like walls, floors, and ceilings. As a result, the price for 802.11as higher speed is not only shorter range but a weaker and less consistent signal.

In much of our testing of 802.11a products, we have often seen the signal strength fluctuate wildly, and in some cases disappear altogether, even though we were not that far from the access point, and certainly within the published range of the device.

By contrast, although 802.11b signal strength can also vary, it is much less common, and we've never completely lost a signal unless we were at the extreme edge of the device's range.
Enhanced Modes

Each of the wireless LAN standards has an extra or enhanced mode that provides an increase in performance. These modes are not official standards, and they require that the network be operated under certain conditions or with particular equipment.

    802.11b+ 22Mbps mode

    Some of the latest 802.11b/2.4GHz products utilize a particular Texas Instruments chipset, the ACX1000, that uses an enhanced form of modulation, which doubles the maximum bandwidth from 11 to 22Mbps. Testing has indicated that this doubling of bandwidth yields only a 50% throughput increase, however, from about 4Mbps up to 6Mbps.

    802.11a/5GHz "Turbo" mode

    Most 802.11a/5GHz devices using chipsets from Atheros support a "Turbo" mode that can raise the data rate from 54 to 72Mbps -- 108Mbps in some newer products. In order to utilize this enhanced mode, you need to be using hardware from the same vendor on both sides of the connection.

    Use of the turbo mode renders only a small increase in real-world speed over the 54Mbps mode, and this increase comes at the expense of range, which is further diminished when the wireless network is operating in Turbo mode.

    802.11g

    802.11g is a wireless LAN specification that has been the subject of discussion and debate since before the 802.11a spec was released earlier this year -- companies like Texas Instruments wanted their technology to be the cornerstone of "g" for example. 802.11g has been under development for some time, and while not yet finalized, it is nearing completion. The first products based on the draft of the specification are expected to emerge at the end of 2002. Many 802.11b-based products out today will be upgradeable to 11g with firmware changes.

    It's impossible to say for sure what kind of performance or range 802.11g products will have. However, the goal of 802.11g is to provide performance comparable to the 54Mbps of 802.11a, while maintaining compatibility with 802.11b (and similar range as well). This compatibility is maintained because 802.11g operates in the same 2.4GHz frequency as 802.11b. So, 802.11b and 802.11g devices will be able to communicate with each other, but when they do the 802.11g will be no faster than the 802.11b product it is working with -- they'll both be at the slowest speed common to each.

    Therefore, if you've already got an 802.11b network in place, 802.11g's backward compatibility will preserve your investment in existing hardware. This is in contrast to the situation when 802.11a emerged. Because it uses a completely different frequency and type of modulation than 802.11b, users wanting to upgrade to 802.11a needed to buy entirely new hardware.

    Just recently, dual-mode access points and NICs have started to appear that simultaneously support both 802.11a/5GHz and 802.11b/2.4GHz. It's very likely that many of the first 802.11g products will also be multimode products able to operate as either 802.11g (and by extension, 802.11b) or 802.11a devices.

How to choose?

As you can see, despite the superficial similarities between 802.11a and 802.11b WLAN standards, there are still significant differences between the two concerning the issues of speed, range, quality of signal, cost, and upgradeability.

So which of the two should you choose?

In the majority of cases, for a typical home network 2.4GHz will be the way to go, given its combination of good speed, range, reasonable cost, and upgrade potential. If you absolutely need higher speeds than even 22Mbps 802.11b can offer you, a 5GHz WLAN will do the job, but you'll need to factor in not only the significantly reduced range, but the fact that the signal may be excessively absorbed or reflected in the interior of your home.

Edited by armjan, 26 May 2005 - 12:39 AM.

[hytga]

thanks a bunch for the replys

[Anileve]

I have this one!
highly recommend.
easy config.

i believe i paid somewhere around 40-60 w/out rebate.

Is there really that much of a difference between 54 and 108mbps? I have 54/Wireless G/Linksys and I can't imagine anything faster. Considering that it's a relatively small network I guess.

[hytga]

if you're downloading large file, it might come handy.

[hytga]

ok, i was researching this routers, turns out the routers that support 100mbps are supposed to be used with specific network cards.
So the question is how do i keep my phone interfering with my wireless connection? there's a utility with my router that allows me to change channels. Is there a specific channel i should set it to?
Btw the wierdest thing happened. i checked my network settings it said the connection speed is 54kbps, but i'm able to dl 150kbps. I think i'll keep my dell router after all.
Thanks alot f0r the replys and forgive my ignorance . i think i should keep this in mind when giving my calculus test. DO NOT RUSH TO WRITE BEFORE THINKING

Edited by hytga, 26 May 2005 - 06:18 PM.

[vava]

if you're downloading large file, it might come handy.

No, I have yet to see an Internet connection that is THAT fast. I mean 54mbps???
The best broadband connections (unless your on some sort of LAN plugged directly into fibre) provide throughput of about 5mbps, and that's under ideal scenarios. Chances of you finding a site to download from at that speed are slim. So your bottle neck will not be your router, it will be your internet connection.

Now, if we're talking about transferring files from one machine to another on your local network, that's where the extra 54mbps will come in handy. Definitely not on an internet download.

BTW, I know that Adelphia (even though they're going belly-up) as well as Cox have announced plans to launch a 10mbps broadband service, but only in limited service areas - and no news on the prices.

[vava]

Btw the wierdest thing happened. i checked my network settings it said the connection speed is 54kbps, but i'm able to dl 150kbps. I think i'll keep my dell router after all.

Again, if your router can provide 54mbps internet connection can, but your connection only gives it 150kbps, guess what speed you'll be downloading at? You actually are connected to your router at 54mbps.

Edited by vava, 26 May 2005 - 06:12 PM.

[hytga]

vava when they says mbps they mean megabits per second not megabytes per second. i was tricked the same way with my yahoo dsl. i thought it was 1.5megabytes per second, but it turns out it's 1.5megabits per second