Please help me understand the basics of simple home networking.

PomuM

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I've never been able to fully understand my home's network, and have some questions to ask. Keep in mind, because of my limited knowledge on networking, I completely judge my internet's speed on download speeds from Speedtest.Net.

First off, I have a Dual-Band G/N Netgear N600 10/100 router. I believe my ISP limits my download speeds to 30 Mbps. My home has four PCs connected to the 2.4GHz band running on channel 11. One is directly connected to the router, another is connected to a hub, and the last two are wireless.
The wired connections achieve 26-28 Mbps while the wireless connections achieve 16-19 Mbps.

1) If my ISP limits my download speeds to 30 Mbps per individual PC, how come not one individual PC can reach those 30 Mbps?

2) I believe I understand how the Dual-Band aspect of my router works, but what is this 10/100 Ethernet, and how does it compare to a Gigabit Ethernet.

3) I'm considering purchasing Homeplugs for the last two wireless PCs to utilize, specifically these. Will the 10/100 Ethernet version limit my speeds? Can I expect all the PCs in my home to achieve atleast 25 Mbps?

4) I'm building a new PC for myself. Would buying a PCI Wireless Adapter that can utilize the 5GHz band be beneficial? Would it perform better than the 2.4GHz band? Would it perform better than an Ethernet connection using 10/100 Homeplugs? My PC will only be 5-8 meters away from the router with one wall in the way.

I'll say it beforehand, thank you very much for taking your time to read and help me.

 
Solution

As answered by @Max_x2, your ISP limits your download speed to 30 mbps. If you split your connection amongst four computers, then they are shared. You only bought one line. If you want, ask your ISP about purchasing additional lines.



That is LAN speed. 10/100 means that it supports 10 mbps and 100 mbps. Know that LAN speed is not the same as your Internet speed.


Max_x2

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Hi Pomum,

Hi believe you've confused some things. I will try to answer some questions to the best of my knowledge.

1) Your ISP download limit is for your connection, not computers individually. Meaning that it is the speed your modem received, which is then splitted by the router to your devices. 26 to 28 Mbps on an advertised 30 is alright.

2) 10/100 ethernet doesn't have anything to do with the dual-band part of your router. In case you didn't figured that out yet, ethernet is with a cable. It actually means that it supports 10mbps and 100 mbps ethernet. Gigabit ethernet will support 1000mbps. (Bare in mind that you may not need Gigabit, unless you have, say, a media server desserving movies on many devices at the same time)

The dual-band helps when you connect wireless devices that uses different network speed. For example: Your laptop uses wireless N, but your 2nd generation iPhone uses Wireless G. In that case, with a dual-band, they will both work at their respective speeds, while a single band router would drop your N device to G speed. For more info on wireless standards, i will invite you to read some wikipedia articles :p

3) Not sure of the answer.

4) Not sure of the answer.

Have a nice day :)

Max
 

PomuM

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So, for the 10/100 & Gigabit Ethernet issue, those are max speeds I can use. But since non of my computers can go over 30 Mbps, Gigabit Ethernet would be useless correct?
 
1) If my ISP limits my download speeds to 30 Mbps per individual PC

Sorry to say but this speed 30MBps will be divided between all devices, it is NOT per device

2) what is this 10/100 Ethernet, and how does it compare to a Gigabit Ethernet.

the hard wired devices can either connect at 10Mbps or 100Mbps. almost all devices nowadays will connect at 100Mbps. Gigabit ethernet is 1000Mbps it will only help for data transfer internally between devices not for your internet connection. for the internet 100Mbps is enough.

3) Will the 10/100 Ethernet version limit my speeds? Can I expect all the PCs in my home to achieve atleast 25 Mbps?

the max connection speed will be 100Mbps, and should be able to see about 25Mbps but no guaranties.

4) I'm building a new PC for myself. Would buying a PCI Wireless Adapter that can utilize the 5GHz band be beneficial? Would it perform better than the 2.4GHz band? Would it perform better than an Ethernet connection using 10/100 Homeplugs? My PC will only be 5-8 meters away from the router with one wall in the way.

The performance of the 5GHz and 2.4GHz depends on the type of wall and in which angle the signal travels trough the wall. The denser the wall the more like it might be that the 2.4GHZ signal might be stronger.
 

PomuM

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Well I obviously wrong with my bandwidth limits lol.

These 10/100/1000 Mbps, are these download speeds? I think this is where I'm confused the most.
 

Max_x2

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Like Emerald said, Gigabit would only help with file transfer.
 

Max_x2

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No, they are transfer speed within your Network. see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_area_network
 

PomuM

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So if I'm never transferring any files whatsoever between my PC and other PCs in my LAN, it shouldn't matter at all if I have 1000 Mbps or even 10 Mbps correct?
 

As answered by @Max_x2, your ISP limits your download speed to 30 mbps. If you split your connection amongst four computers, then they are shared. You only bought one line. If you want, ask your ISP about purchasing additional lines.



That is LAN speed. 10/100 means that it supports 10 mbps and 100 mbps. Know that LAN speed is not the same as your Internet speed.



No.



See my answer to your second question.



Yes.



It is faster but 2.4GHz is more reliable because it has a wider range.



See my answer to your second question.

 
Solution

PomuM

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Could you also give it a go at the question I asked before your post please.

If I'm correct with what I asked, then the most important I'd have to look for when picking a set of Homeplugs is where it says "up to ---Mbps" right? Those are the maximum download speeds I believe.
 

Max_x2

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Since you are not transferring anything in your LAN, why would you buy those at all?
 

PomuM

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Well it would be the same as having a wired connection instead of a wireless connection wouldn't it be? So I'd have higher download speeds, which is a faster internet.

I mean, at least that's how I think this all works.
 

PomuM

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Alright, so we have LAN speeds and Internet speeds. LAN speeds are how fast items are transferred among PCs in a LAN. Internet speeds is how fast your internet is, it's what I've been asking about this whole time. This is what I think determines whether you have lag in a game or not, how fast you download files of a webpage, etc.

I have no use for LAN speeds, as I never transfer files from one PC to another. So 10/100 or 10/100/1000 does not matter to me.

Internet speeds are what matter to me. I determine internet speeds using Speedtest.net and measure my download speeds. From experience, higher download speeds is a faster internet, and from experience, a wired connection usually has higher download speeds than a wireless connection.

I want every computer in my home to have a wired connection for this reason. Instead of drilling holes and routing cables, I want to use homeplugs for this.

This is pretty much what I've gathered from this thread. If I'm wrong in anything I said, please let me know. Like I said, I've always had a difficult time understanding networking.

 

PomuM

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So if everything I said in the last post was correct, yay, all I want to know is using powerline adapters would yield me the same speeds as a wired connection would, or at least faster than a wireless connection.
 

Correct. But know that the Mbps is for LAN speed, not Internet speed. HomePlugs do not improve your Internet speed use.

If you have further questions, please provide them all in a single post. It gets confusing to backtrack and know what questions remain unanswered.