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Want to upgrade to "N" router, questions

Forum Wireless Networking : Setup, Configuration & Security - Want to upgrade to "N" router, questions

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smithsonga   05-11-2009 at 04:25:24 PM

I have had very good success with my Buffalo WBR2-G54S router...it was about my 3rd router and has been without issue for 3-4 years now.

I have three computers in my home that I use wireless. Two are "N" and one is older, so B or G.

A few questions:

- I currently run an antenna and get reasonable range, I see most "N" routers have internal antennas..will this reduce my range and/or can I use my current antenna with a new router? I also have a Buffalo antenna.

- I see comments on bridging two routers. Why? Can I use a new "N" router for both "N" and b,g devices?

- Will I see substantial speed increase with N to be worth the upgrade price and setup hassle?

thx

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n3f0ur   05-12-2009 at 02:31:43 PM
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Buffalo routers are underrated.

1. Yup. Build-in antennas limit the coverage. Not sure what the new router is, but if it's SMA type, it will work with any router with SMA antennas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMA_connector

2. Yes in theory. I have used a few wireless routers by DLink & Linksys & a generic. None of them can do b/g/n simultaneously. I think the dual-band can do that. The way I deal with this is to use 2+ routers. 1 dedicated for draft-N. Another for b/g.

3. For home networking (media serving), yup. N is 130Mbps. G is 54. B is 11. Also, N offers larger coverage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/802.11n#Comparison

However, all your devices must be N or they'll bottleneck the faster ones. If you want to improve Internet speed, you'll need to go fiber:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fios

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smithsonga   05-12-2009 at 02:36:15 PM
- 0 +

thanks for the through reply.

I am considering this router: Netgear WNR834B DD-WRT Compatible Wireless N Router. Purely based on a deal, but that deal has now expired, so I am open to suggestions.

I could bridge it with my Buffalo tech.

When you say all have to be N or they botteneck. Does this include if two routers are used?

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ohiou_grad_06   05-13-2009 at 05:33:11 AM
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According to what I read when I was studying for my apple certification, you can get up to 300 mbps. However, In my opinion unless you are running fiber to the home or something like that, your G router should be more than enough for what you are doing. Let's put it this way, you can open up more headroom with an N router, however, if your internet connection is not fast enough to fully use it, then what's it benefiting you?

However, if you have coverage issues, then the N should improve the range since it's higher frequencies if memory serves. I don't know for sure about the bottlenecking issues, but I would think if you have for example a G card connecting to the N router it would only allow that device to connect at 54 mbps.

So if your not getting good range, upgrade and try it. If you are with your current setup, don't mess with it.

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n3f0ur   05-13-2009 at 01:59:57 PM
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We need to know your upgrade goal. If you want to improve internet speed, nothing other than fiber will help. If you want to improve home networking speed (it's not internet, btw), N router will help, but your devices will be G as long as it's got a G adapter. You need to upgrade EVERYTHING. Yes, it's costly.

I upgrade my home networking speed gradually. Got 2 draft-n adapters for cheap on ebay. Picked out a retail n router. However, my Internet speed is more or less the same. That wasn't my goal. Next I'm gonna do NAS.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network-attached_storage

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smithsonga   05-13-2009 at 05:28:38 PM
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My goal is to make my wireless devices close to as fast as my WIRED devices. It is no where near as fast as my wired presently.

I only have 1 device that is only G. All the rest at N. My router is B/G of course.

I also would like better range than my current G with an additional antenna

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n3f0ur   05-14-2009 at 01:46:55 PM
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Then you should go with a N router in that case. The G device will be the slowest. If you do file sharing, use the wired one. Oh yeah, look for a N router with gigabit wired ports. About $100. Saves you the next upgrade. Best stick with the same make as your old one.

As far as wireless being as close to wired, I don't think it's happening with N. Maybe the next standard, but the wired standard will advance again. I think I read it'd be 1000GBps. If you meant Internet speeds on your devices, they should be more or less the same across the board. If not, there may be interference between your router and devices.

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