Would using a desktop PC as wifi repeater slow LAN traffic?


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You said if you had another cable you would wire the laptop too. Why not just buy an inexpensive 4 port switch, connect the incoming cable to it and than a cable to your DT and one to the LT.

 

Easy peasy and full speed.

 

:D

I was thinking that from reading the first post, thought no one was going to suggest it!

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I was thinking that from reading the first post, thought no one was going to suggest it!

 

Because usually when people ask questions like this, like "can I use the wifi PCI card I have lying around", its because the "buy a new blah blah blah for only $20!" option is a last resort only, and because "only $20" to one person is definitely not "only" to some people.

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Because usually when people ask questions like this, like "can I use the wifi PCI card I have lying around", its because the "buy a new blah blah blah for only $20!" option is a last resort only, and because "only $20" to one person is definitely not "only" to some people.

Also, it could well be that a JACK is not wired correctly. (This is common with wired Ethernet jacks that are installed by those familiar with telco - not LAN - wiring specs.)

 

RJ-11 (telco), unlike RJ-45 LAN, uses dual twisted-pair, not quad twisted-pair.  Where the two crossover is RJ-11/45 xSDN/xDSL - note that both RJ-11 and RJ-45 cabling and plugs can be used for either.  (RJ-11 is, in fact, used for voice-only hardware plugged into xDSL/xSDN, while RJ-45 is used for data equipment, such xDSL/xSDN "modems".)  There is one RJ-45 jack that I strongly suspect of being incorrectly wired - however, I would need to be able to test the questionable jack in isolation, due to its location.

 

Why I suspect the jack:  both ends of the connection otherwise (router and adapter) support gigabit Ethernet; however, the connection itself between them (wired) is only 100 mbps.  The cables themselves (outside of the jack) are gigabit CAT5e, which leaves the jack itself as suspect.

 

If the jack is miswired, I CAN pull the jack and rewire it myself - all I need is time.  (There is enough slack in the run itself that I won't need more cable - I can buy a new jack from RadioShack or MicroCenter.  The jack is NOT integrated into the baseplate.)

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"But maybe I'll just wait until the new 1.3gbit wireless comes out. "

Where did you come up with 1.3? That is not a number related to 802.11ac at all..

And again just like they state on the box 11mbit back with B, and 54Mb with G and N, etc.. Do you really think you going to see anywhere close to what they call it?

I do believe the spec for 160Mhz channel with 1 sta your looking at 857mbit PHY... This means nothing in real world.. Here

http://www.speedguide.net/faq_in_q.php?qid=374

Below is a breakdown of actual real-life average speeds you can expect from wireless routers within a reasonable distance, with low interference and small number of simultaneous clients:

802.11b - 2-3 Mbps downstream, up to 5-6 Mbps with some vendor-specific extensions.

802.11g - ~20 Mbps downstream

802.11n - 40-50 Mbps typical, varying greatly depending on configuration, whether it is mixed or N-only network, the number of bonded channels, etc. Specifying a channel, and using 40MHz channels can help achieve 70-80Mbps with some newer routers. Up to 100 Mbps achievable with more expensive commercial equipment with 8x8 arrays, gigabit ports, etc.

802.11ac - 70-100 Mbps

So where is this 1.3gbit?? I can tell you for sure with a wire, I get REAL world speeds in the high 800's to low 900Mbps

Here

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/wi-fi-802.11ac-router,3386-10.html

No where close to Gig speeds.. Sorry.. And these are 100+ $ routers, etc..

Run a wire, if your looking for speed. Hire someone, going to be cheaper than buying wireless hardware that yet again no where close to the number they put on the box ;)

edit

"because "only $20" to one person is definitely not "only" to some people."

Dude the fact that you have 7 year old wifi card, which at the time was more than $20 for damn sure, the fact that you have multiple tech devices, laptops laying around.. Come on dude -- sorry but $20 sure and the hell is not an issue for you.. If it was, reason is your spending it on stuff you can not afford ;)

edit2

I see where you coming up with 1.3GB

Wireless AC1300

Offering dual-band speeds up to 450Mbps (2.4GHz) and 867Mbps (5GHz) for maximum throughput and coverage

So they add 450+867 and you get 1300.. Yeah Ok ;) Lets talk real world, you moving that file from X to Y.. What speed do you see!

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"But maybe I'll just wait until the new 1.3gbit wireless comes out. "

Where did you come up with 1.3? That is not a number related to 802.11ac at all..

And again just like they state on the box 11mbit back with B, and 54Mb with G and N, etc.. Do you really think you going to see anywhere close to what they call it?

I do believe the spec for 160Mhz channel with 1 sta your looking at 857mbit PHY... This means nothing in real world.. Here

http://www.speedguide.net/faq_in_q.php?qid=374

Below is a breakdown of actual real-life average speeds you can expect from wireless routers within a reasonable distance, with low interference and small number of simultaneous clients:

802.11b - 2-3 Mbps downstream, up to 5-6 Mbps with some vendor-specific extensions.

802.11g - ~20 Mbps downstream

802.11n - 40-50 Mbps typical, varying greatly depending on configuration, whether it is mixed or N-only network, the number of bonded channels, etc. Specifying a channel, and using 40MHz channels can help achieve 70-80Mbps with some newer routers. Up to 100 Mbps achievable with more expensive commercial equipment with 8x8 arrays, gigabit ports, etc.

802.11ac - 70-100 Mbps

So where is this 1.3gbit?? I can tell you for sure with a wire, I get REAL world speeds in the high 800's to low 900Mbps

Here

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/wi-fi-802.11ac-router,3386-10.html

No where close to Gig speeds.. Sorry.. And these are 100+ $ routers, etc..

Run a wire, if your looking for speed. Hire someone, going to be cheaper than buying wireless hardware that yet again no where close to the number they put on the box ;)

edit

"because "only $20" to one person is definitely not "only" to some people."

Dude the fact that you have 7 year old wifi card, which at the time was more than $20 for damn sure, the fact that you have multiple tech devices, laptops laying around.. Come on dude -- sorry but $20 sure and the hell is not an issue for you.. If it was, reason is your spending it on stuff you can not afford ;)

edit2

I see where you coming up with 1.3GB

Wireless AC1300

Offering dual-band speeds up to 450Mbps (2.4GHz) and 867Mbps (5GHz) for maximum throughput and coverage

So they add 450+867 and you get 1300.. Yeah Ok ;) Lets talk real world, you moving that file from X to Y.. What speed do you see!

 

 

Okay, to answer all your questions:

 

1) I got the 1300mbit number from this article:

http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/network/58761-netgear-d6300-wifi-modem-router/

Also, a quick wiki search says: "This specification [802.11ac] has expected multi-station WLAN throughput of at least 1 gigabit per second"

2) I'm well aware that these are theoretical speeds, and overhead and other crap brings them down to like 50% of their theoretical.  Doesn't make the theoretical cap any less useful of a benchmark when comparing two different wifi specifications.

3) It is very possible to have a ton of electronic gadgets and be so poor that you can't afford to spend $20:  Most of my stuff was bought for me by my parents, or bought by me, back when I was still living with my parents, and didn't have to pay for food and shelter and taxes.  Now I am living on my own, going to school, while working a minimum wage job, and paying rent and taxes.  $20 is a lot, and spending $20 is avoided whenever possible.

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Also, it could well be that a JACK is not wired correctly. (This is common with wired Ethernet jacks that are installed by those familiar with telco - not LAN - wiring specs.)

 

RJ-11 (telco), unlike RJ-45 LAN, uses dual twisted-pair, not quad twisted-pair.  Where the two crossover is RJ-11/45 xSDN/xDSL - note that both RJ-11 and RJ-45 cabling and plugs can be used for either.  (RJ-11 is, in fact, used for voice-only hardware plugged into xDSL/xSDN, while RJ-45 is used for data equipment, such xDSL/xSDN "modems".)  There is one RJ-45 jack that I strongly suspect of being incorrectly wired - however, I would need to be able to test the questionable jack in isolation, due to its location.

 

Why I suspect the jack:  both ends of the connection otherwise (router and adapter) support gigabit Ethernet; however, the connection itself between them (wired) is only 100 mbps.  The cables themselves (outside of the jack) are gigabit CAT5e, which leaves the jack itself as suspect.

 

If the jack is miswired, I CAN pull the jack and rewire it myself - all I need is time.  (There is enough slack in the run itself that I won't need more cable - I can buy a new jack from RadioShack or MicroCenter.  The jack is NOT integrated into the baseplate.)

 

Unless you are talking about rewiring the PCB traces that lead into an internal NIC card jack/router jack, there are no ethernet jacks in this house.

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helpifIcan, on 25 Aug 2013 - 12:16, said:snapback.png

You said if you had another cable you would wire the laptop too. Why not just buy an inexpensive 4 port switch, connect the incoming cable to it and than a cable to your DT and one to the LT.

 

Easy peasy and full speed.

 

:D

 

I don't have a switch, but I have a very cheap crappy 4 port hub. (I know its a hub, not a switch/router, because it has no gateway, or configuration web page, or anything like that. There are no settings, you just plug stuff in and hope it works.) Is a hub good enough? Or does a switch enable me to use more of the available speed between two computers better?

 

A hub will work fine just a little slower tahan a switch but still faster than WI-FI.  A hub just throws the data at every port a switch sends data to a specific port, since you only have two connections it would be minimal.

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"because it has no gateway, or configuration web page, or anything like that."

What?? That does not mean its a hub.. Just means its not a smart switch or manageable switch.

What is the model number on this thing?

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[quote name="moeburn" post="595901877" timestamp="1377466148"

 

I don't have a switch, but I have a very cheap crappy 4 port hub.  (I know its a hub, not a switch/router, because it has no gateway, or configuration web page, or anything like that.  There are no settings, you just plug stuff in and hope it works.)  Is a hub good enough?  Or does a switch enable me to use more of the available speed between two computers better?

Unless its 10 or so years old. It's probably a switch, it's a long time since they stopped making and selling hubs.

And switches don't have config pages, advanced smart switches do, but then you're talking business networks in general. Or home wiring of network techs who use their home networks for lab.

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