question on wifi booster

[jaye944]

Hey there,
question

I got rogers cable (internet 150mps)
now wifi doesn't give me the full speed, direct connection gives me 100+

now, one work area is in an upstairs bedroom (for work) so it has to be consistent and high speed.

I was going to run some cat5 up there, its a bout a 50 ft run OR use a wifi booster/extender (I've seen one which basically uses the electrical run to extend) so from router to a box, which plug into an electrical outlet, then in the bedroom another electrical outlet with the other device which you pair.

so some questions

*does anyone have a setup like this
* is there any losses vise vie, direct cable point to point
* any interference on the mains with the setup

cheersd

[zx10guy]

A full on wireless repeater meaning there are no cabling connections to establish the back connection to your LAN are the bane in my side when talking to people about wireless networks. There is only one wireless mesh/extender setup which I approve of and that's one that uses 5 GHz as the wireless backhaul/backbone and 2.4 to service clients. Keep in mind when you use wireless repeaters, you divide your overall network speed through that segment in half. So say the throughput is 150 Mbps at the client, you're only going to get 75 Mbps as your true speed. And every time you add another hop in this extension, you divide the speed in half again.

The setup you're describing sounds like the use of powerline networking with a wireless bridge integrated. This system overall is better in my mind than a full wireless repeater setup but you're at the mercy of the quality of your power lines and any noise issues with things connected to it. I don't remember what the maximum speed of power line networking devices are but I seem to recall about 200 Mbps. Also powerline systems have issues traversing through circuit breakers. So if two ends of a powerline point to point system are connected on different power circuits, it may not work. Now I've heard newer powerline devices have overcome this problem.

[jaye944]

I'd heard that about the circuit breakers.
I might see if I can buy one on a return basis, so if it's garbage I'll give it back then
buy 50feet of cat5 and some straps

[jaye944]

sorry, txs for the reply brah !

[Shipkiller]

I got tired of consumer WiFi equipment.

I upgraded my Wifi to a commercial Ubiquity Unifi mesh system. It only costs a little more but is well worth it. You may want to look into it...

[The Wind Breezes]

Get an 802.11AC access point. Your issue is likely not due to signal strength in the first place, but the kind I recommend will fix THAT issue too because it will send directional high gain signals directly to your device. You won't get close to 150mb without 802.11ac. This is what I use, it gives me nearly gigabit speeds (on my local network) and maxes out my 100mb internet: https://www.asus.com/us/Networking/RTAC3200/

The range is also crazy due to the aforementioned beamforming. I'm a ham radio operator so I can use beaucoup power on wifi if I so desire (and I do use several watts on my 2.4GHz RC aircraft), but it's not necessary with one of these.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by The Wind Breezes

Get an 802.11AC access point. Your issue is likely not due to signal strength in the first place, but the kind I recommend will fix THAT issue too because it will send directional high gain signals directly to your device. You won't get close to 150mb without 802.11ac. This is what I use, it gives me nearly gigabit speeds (on my local network) and maxes out my 100mb internet: https://www.asus.com/us/Networking/RTAC3200/

The range is also crazy due to the aforementioned beamforming. I'm a ham radio operator so I can use beaucoup power on wifi if I so desire (and I do use several watts on my 2.4GHz RC aircraft), but it's not necessary with one of these.

Are you sure that wireless router has directional antennas? I've never seen a SOHO router with directional antennas from the factory. And based on the picture, I see omnidirectional antennas. What the gain is on them I don't know as the specs don't provide it.

Also another consideration to the ultimate performance one gets over wireless with 802.11n and 802.11ac is the number of spatial streams being employed. That's the spec that reads 2x2, 3x3, or 4x4. I haven't seen an 802.11ac wireless NIC with 3x3 capability. Plenty of 2x2s though.

[The Wind Breezes]

Originally Posted by zx10guy

Are you sure that wireless router has directional antennas?

Really? You're not even trying, I gave you all the information...all you had to do was google 802.11ac beamforming.

Do you understand what constructive and destructive wave interference is? If not, google that and read about it because you will need to understand it to know how these can be directional. The basic point is these use very small phase differences between the antennas to steer a point of constructive interference in the direction of your device. Indeed, directional beam forming is WRITTEN INTO THE SPEC of 802.11AC and I can assure you it is not only a real thing but it works very well. The technology is not even slightly new. Guess how phased array radars (in use by the military for decades) work? Yes, exact same principal. You have a shitload of small antennas and they "steer" the high gain beam by using phase differences among the elements to generate constructive interference.

[jaye944]

txs again guy's
I'm reading ALL your replies

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by The Wind Breezes

Really? You're not even trying, I gave you all the information...all you had to do was google 802.11ac beamforming.

Do you understand what constructive and destructive wave interference is? If not, google that and read about it because you will need to understand it to know how these can be directional. The basic point is these use very small phase differences between the antennas to steer a point of constructive interference in the direction of your device. Indeed, directional beam forming is WRITTEN INTO THE SPEC of 802.11AC and I can assure you it is not only a real thing but it works very well. The technology is not even slightly new. Guess how phased array radars (in use by the military for decades) work? Yes, exact same principal. You have a shitload of small antennas and they "steer" the high gain beam by using phase differences among the elements to generate constructive interference.

I get beamforming. It's my issue that I read through your reply too fast and misread your directional comment in reference to the antenna. The fact remains the antennas used in these APs and the enterprise grade APs (indoor with internal antennas) of which I run in my home all use omni directional antennas.

While beamforming helps with bandwidth and distance, the bulk of the performance is due to the spatial streams and channel width/channel bonding.

As an aside, my reply was an honest question based on my error of misreading your post. You have a tendency on many of your posts to be abrasive for no reason.

[davis449]

Just get an AC router, choose placement wisely, and a USB 3.0 AC adapter and be done with it. I stream HD content all over my place in an apartment complex bombarded with 2.4 GHz routers and have no issues. My "office" in the huge storage closet under my apartment that is accessed via my direct access garage below my unit sees incredible speed on both the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz spectrums and there is A LOT of walls, insulation, etc. between that closet and where the router is centrally located in the above living room. I despise access point configurations so my second, older AC router is it's own separate WiFi network connected to the rest of the network. That one feeds everything in the back of the unit (bedrooms and bathroom) and I force all my guests onto it's 2.4 GHz spectrum.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by davis449

Just get an AC router, choose placement wisely, and a USB 3.0 AC adapter and be done with it. I stream HD content all over my place in an apartment complex bombarded with 2.4 GHz routers and have no issues. My "office" in the huge storage closet under my apartment that is accessed via my direct access garage below my unit sees incredible speed on both the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz spectrums and there is A LOT of walls, insulation, etc. between that closet and where the router is centrally located in the above living room. I despise access point configurations so my second, older AC router is it's own separate WiFi network connected to the rest of the network. That one feeds everything in the back of the unit (bedrooms and bathroom) and I force all my guests onto it's 2.4 GHz spectrum.

The number of 2.4 GHz networks around you have no bearing on AC operation as AC operates exclusively on 5 GHz.

Not sure why you despise access point configurations as they're the only system that can scale properly and perform the best. This is provided you're not trying to tie independent access points together to fake a unified wireless system.

[jaye944]

just to update, I've decided to run a 5e lan cable.

interesting I ran some speedtest.net

on my old LT, which has an old lan card an old wifi card, (.11n)

on rogers 150

I'm showing over lan around 50-70mps direct connected and 40-50 on wifi
on my work laptop runnining 11.ac

direct connection is 190mps wifi around 80mps, but I have to use a VPN software, with that engaged drops down to around 60-70

I'm still in process of running the cable

[jaye944]

on my new laptop I can find and connect to 5g
on my old one I get 4g (?)
think the below where all done on 5g

all on new laptop
dual band wifi ac8260
etherneti219lm
juniper networks vpn

1> 100ft cable with vpn
2> 2ft cable with VPN
3> 100ft cable with no vpn
4> 2ft cable with no vpn
5> wifi at router no VPN
6> wifi with vpn at router

[davis449]

Originally Posted by zx10guy

The number of 2.4 GHz networks around you have no bearing on AC operation as AC operates exclusively on 5 GHz.

Not sure why you despise access point configurations as they're the only system that can scale properly and perform the best. This is provided you're not trying to tie independent access points together to fake a unified wireless system.

I'm sorry that I didn't explicitly state that my router operates very well in 2.4 GHz mode despite the saturation of the spectrum where I live. Also, it should be noted that 5 GHz is on it's way to the same saturation issues 2.4 GHz has been experiencing for years. Providers are now, and have been for a long time, sending out their connectivity equipment with built-in N routers with 5 GHz spectrum for the N and, lately, AC routers. Not to mention most consumer N routers are 5 GHz capable and have been for quite some time.

Most people don't have an inkling as to how to create a unified wireless network on a small scale. As easy as it seems to you and I, most end up barely getting the "faking it" unified network up. We agree on this here.

[NormanConquest]

I would suggest a power line network or a network extender as they will get you closes to 150mbps

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by davis449

I'm sorry that I didn't explicitly state that my router operates very well in 2.4 GHz mode despite the saturation of the spectrum where I live. Also, it should be noted that 5 GHz is on it's way to the same saturation issues 2.4 GHz has been experiencing for years. Providers are now, and have been for a long time, sending out their connectivity equipment with built-in N routers with 5 GHz spectrum for the N and, lately, AC routers. Not to mention most consumer N routers are 5 GHz capable and have been for quite some time.

Most people don't have an inkling as to how to create a unified wireless network on a small scale. As easy as it seems to you and I, most end up barely getting the "faking it" unified network up. We agree on this here.

No matter how you spin it. 2.4GHz will always have more cochannel interference problems than devices operating on 5GHz. 2.4 only has 3 non overlapping channels. Depending on the channel width you're using with 5GHz, you're starting with 24 non overlapping channels. This is also not taking into account devices which are not network related operating on the 2.4 GHz channel such as baby monitors and microwaves.

With new construction homes, buyers now have the option to have structured wiring laid out so there isn't a need to worry about tearing up dry wall after moving in. But in my mind, these structured wiring companies need to go one step further and have staff who are trained up in wireless. Now a days, if someone is buying new construction, there's no excuse for not having LAN drops placed in specific areas of the ceiling on each floor to facilitate ease of installing APs.

Because of so much misinformation out there about shooting out the hottest signal and the explosion in the demand for wireless connectivity, a new standard is being drafted called 802.11ad which proposes to use 60 GHz as the operating frequency. The idea is to contained areas of high speed wireless connectivity without worrying about neighboring RF interference.

As far as the perceived complexity of setting up a unified wireless system, it's not as complicated as you make it out to be. Yes, unified wireless systems based on a physical wireless controller are complex to set up. But the systems set up to operate with a virtual controller among member APs are not. I have extensive experience with Aruba's Instant APs. All you need to do is set up IP addresses on each member AP and the VIP. Once the APs see each other, they will automatically create a cluster. If you don't designate a specific AP to be the master controller, the APs will automatically set one among the member APs via an election. From what I understand Ubiquiti is also simple to set up. There are more and more systems coming out on the market which operate on a unified basis targeted for the home market such as Google WiFi, Orbi, and Eero. So it's beginning to be no excuse for not having a proper unified wireless system deployed especially since many of the new unified WiFi systems can also create wireless backhauls between APs.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by NormanConquest

I would suggest a power line network or a network extender as they will get you closes to 150mbps

I'd sooner run a cable across the floor/house rather than deploy a wireless extender/repeater. Wireless extender/repeaters are the last resort and even then, I would try to find an alternative to avoid using a repeater.

[jaye944]

that's what I did, seems to work better

Originally Posted by zx10guy

I'd sooner run a cable across the floor/house rather than deploy a wireless extender/repeater. Wireless extender/repeaters are the last resort and even then, I would try to find an alternative to avoid using a repeater.