Couple of questions about my network

[jokers_greg]

Here's my Topology:


Parent's PC<--->Dlink Bridge (http://www.dlink.ca/products/?pid=dap-1522)<--->Brother's PC


My PC<--->Dlink Router (http://www.dlink.ca/products/?pid=501)<--->Dlink NAS (http://www.dlink.ca/products/?pid=509)

The bridge and router are connected via wireless N, and my PS3 is also connected via wifi.

Here are my problems:

1)Lag for the computers connected to the bridge, most apparant when the NAS is being used

2)My PC and the NAS are gigabit connections, but my router is 10/100, when I transfer files, the max speed I get is 9.5MB/s or so (yeah megabytes), shouldn't my maximum be closer to 12.5MB/s if it's truly a 100Mb/s connection?

3)The bridge has gigabit ports, and if wireless N is supposed to have a maximum throughput of 300 Mb/s, then it shouldn't be a bottleneck considering its equal to or faster than the 100Mb/s connections I have downstairs.

4)Every now and again I'll have to reset the router (really rarely, maybe once a month or so), because I can't connect to the internet. However i think I fixed that problem by changing IP expirations to "never" for my computers, if that's not the solution, please advise.

Questions:

Will a gigabit, "duo" router fix my problem (is "duo", and Xtreme N just a gimmick?)

Is there anyway to fix this setup with minimal changes, i.e the connection between the router and the bridge must stay wireless. I'd prefer the router to PS3 wireless connection also stay the way it is, but I may consider changing that.

Any input on this matter would be greatly appreciated!

[jokers_greg]

daily bump

[VinnyTAMU]

Honestly if I were you I would purchase a 10/100/1000 Mbps switch, and connect the switch directly to the router. Your PC and the NAS then connect directly to the new switch.

I would recommend either of these D-Link switches:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127082
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127083

[jokers_greg]

and that will eliminate all my bandwidth problems? the PS3, NAS, and my computer will all communicate via the switch that way? and gigabit?

[jmdixon85]

Honestly if I were you I would purchase a 10/100/1000 Mbps switch, and connect the switch directly to the router. Your PC and the NAS then connect directly to the new switch.

I would recommend either of these D-Link switches:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127082
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127083

I agree with this and it is the solution I use at home.

I have a Belkin cable wireless N router connected to a dynamode gigabit switch, also connected to the router is a network printer as this does not require a gigabit link. Two off my PC's are connected through the switch aswell as my server. File transfer speed using the wired PC's is usually around 60-70MB's. My other PC's, laptops etc access the network usiing the wireless router.

You will never get the full speed from a wireless network, I can get about 12MB's using my laptop downstairs. My router is upstairs and will be about 40ft from the laptop downstairs.

This solution would only offer a gigabit speed between your PC and the NAS but should relieve the router of excess load and allow the devices connected to the bridge to function a lot better when the NAS is in use.

EDIT: Your PS3's wireless is limited to 54mb/s so you will not get gigabit speed unless you wire it into the switch.

[VinnyTAMU]

and that will eliminate all my bandwidth problems? the PS3, NAS, and my computer will all communicate via the switch that way? and gigabit?

Do your parent's or brother's computers regularly connect and download/upload to/from the NAS?

The setup I proposed would really only benefit the connection between your PC and the NAS. It would provide a gigabit network between your PC and NAS and the traffic between the two would stay on the switch and not touch the router.

The PS3 would only use the switch when talking to the NAS or your computer.

If you do access the NAS from your parent's computer, brother's computer, or PS3 the switch will not solve that problem.

[jokers_greg]

They almost never use the NAS actually, the NAS is usually just "on" without even streaming to the PS3, and it's enough to cause major lag upstairs. The PS3 needs to communicate with the NAS as well, I may have to connect it via wires.

[insanemonkey]

Would it be possible to wire everything or do you have to use wireless. If you get a gigabit switch you could connect everything with that. Traffic would not have to go to the router unless it was trying to get out of the network or using wifi.

I have never liked wireless for gaming or any time transferring large files. I know that a lot of people don't have a problem with it, but I am of the mindset that wireless is always the last resort.

[jokers_greg]

Would it be possible to wire everything or do you have to use wireless. If you get a gigabit switch you could connect everything with that. Traffic would not have to go to the router unless it was trying to get out of the network or using wifi.

I have never liked wireless for gaming or any time transferring large files. I know that a lot of people don't have a problem with it, but I am of the mindset that wireless is always the last resort.

unfortunately i have to go wireless between the router and bridge.

[jokers_greg]

would this be a good deal? yeah i know i don't need that many ports, its just the cheapest thing i found when i typed "gigabit switch" in craigslist.

http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/sys/1514469657.html

[Xtreme Barton]

offer him 35 or 40 and go pick it up :D

[Mooyo]

Looks like that model goes/went for $250-300 new. I'd find out where he got it from or why he's selling it for so cheap.

EDIT - here's D-Link's page on it - http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=324

I personally use this at home and it's been fantastic :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122111&Tpk=gs108

[jokers_greg]

yeah but thats expensive, especially considering I live in Canada, and newegg.ca is stupid expensive in comparison.

[Xtreme Barton]

i think this is a buy now ask later deal :D

[Mooyo]

Maybe it's just me but I wouldn't risk buying a stolen piece of network equipment. Or something that turns on but doesn't really work properly. If it's too good to be true it typically is...

There's a smaller version of the Netgear I own, the GS105 I believe, which might be lower priced. I would imagine it could be found considerably cheaper used on craigslist or ebay.

[jokers_greg]

sent him an email already :). so again, everyone think this is the remedy to my problems? should i look into things like repeaters/higher dBi antenna's etc.?

[jokers_greg]

after typing "gigabit switch" i mostly got 24 or 48 port behemoths, only a few commercial ones, both were over $60. heck for that price, i could get a new router, and sell my old one

[Xtreme Barton]

i doubt its a hot piece of equipment .. just look at the carpet underneath the girls shoe ..lol

[Mooyo]

Eh, you'd be surprised. A number of Cisco 1805 routers ($800+ or so, give or take) have gone missing from my work.

EDIT - can't form coherent sentences today

[jokers_greg]

Eh, you'd be surprised. A number of Cisco 1805 routers ($800+ or so, give or take) have gone working from my work.

gone missing? im confused lol

[Mooyo]

Bleh, typos abound today. Half awake - thanks for catching that.

[jokers_greg]

cool, alright then, guess i gotta wait on a response. I'll keep you guys posted.

[bLack0ut]

And FYI, 80% of theoretical bandwidth is great. When you move to gigabit, expect even more theoretical bandwidth lost to overhead.

For reference, I got about 8 MB/s on a 100mbit connection.

[jokers_greg]

yeah well still nothing from that guy on craigslist, safe to see that deal has passed me by. Going to have to keep on the lookout for a cheap switch, I'm surprised they're so expensive.

[pik4chu]

If you havent already I would do whatever it takes to get the PS3 off the wireless and onto a wire, I had a helluva time working on my parent's PS3 for them lately when using wireless, it would run really slow and time out a lot. Grabbed one of my super long cables from my place and hooked it up and things improved a great deal just by doing that.

Also keep in mind that just because you got gigabit ethernet doesn't mean your computer's HDD might be overloaded thus limiting your throughput. I had this problem initially when I went full gig on my primary network at home until I realized what was going on.

Also I think this was mentioned in some way but I also had issues when using the switch ports built into my router. For some reason they just aren't powerful enough to handle all the traffic and still do their other duties I think. Ive seen similar posts like this in the past as well.

You should be able to get a 5 or 8 port gigabit switch for around $50 USD without too much looking I would think. Just gotta keep an eye out for those deals.

[jokers_greg]

Yeah, I know what you mean the PS3 will most likely be wired. However i do not understand this:


Also keep in mind that just because you got gigabit ethernet doesn't mean your computer's HDD might be overloaded thus limiting your throughput. I had this problem initially when I went full gig on my primary network at home until I realized what was going on.


Why would my comp's HDD be overloaded? I'm using a DNS-323 which is a NAS box, where you referring to that?

[pik4chu]

I was more refering to the client not the NAS though just because it is a NAS doesn't make it super fast. Older IDE and some older SATA drives just cant run all that fast so your bottleneck may be a slow drive that you are copying from/to rather than your gigabit network. However I would first look at getting a seperate gig switch so you dont have to use your dlink's switchports.

[jokers_greg]

I was more refering to the client not the NAS though just because it is a NAS doesn't make it super fast. Older IDE and some older SATA drives just cant run all that fast so your bottleneck may be a slow drive that you are copying from/to rather than your gigabit network. However I would first look at getting a seperate gig switch so you dont have to use your dlink's switchports.

oh cool, im pretty sure gigabit is the bottleneck, because through putty (telnet) i was able to transfer from one disk to the other (both on the NAS) much faster than over the network, so I should be ok there. :temper: