New Gigabit router to boost LAN video streaming?

Just a quick query,

my netgear 200mbps home plugs show 'red' LED which means its transmitting < 50mbps.

I obviously can't shift it to the next socket closer as that electrical socket is the closet to my router.

Would upgrading the 200mbps to 500mbps improve performance? or will the data transmission rates still be restricted due to the electrical sockets?
 
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One cannot predict with any certainty. However if your cabling isn't capable of supporting a low rate link, it's unlikely to be capable of sustaining something even faster. Faster stuff tends to be more "sensative" and need better quality infrastructure. (You couldn't drive a ferrari down a farm track - it' needs a nice smoooth road to go fast.) If you do get some improvement, I wouldn't expect it to be stunning. It could even get worse!
 
One cannot predict with any certainty. However if your cabling isn't capable of supporting a low rate link, it's unlikely to be capable of sustaining something even faster. Faster stuff tends to be more "sensative" and need better quality infrastructure. (You couldn't drive a ferrari down a farm track - it' needs a nice smoooth road to go fast.) If you do get some improvement, I wouldn't expect it to be stunning. It could even get worse!

Interesting.. so probably not worth investing in 500mbps plugs then :-(

Only route is to go wi-fi invest in 2 routers (bridge to 80211.ac) or to physically chase the cat5e cables thru the walls from the router to the TV.

The former could cost £300++ for 2 .ac routers and the latter could involve electrician drilling thru holes then some DIY decorating in patching & painting them up..

Oh hum :-(
 
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It'll depend a bit on what the technology used is. Often "faster" stuff uses some new technology and isn't simply the previous version "turned up."

There's lot's of examples, but to pick just a one, Gigabit ethernet isn't 100mbps clocked ten times faster - the way GBit ethernet shoots bits over the wires is fundamentally different to 100mbps.

So it may be that 500mbps plugs have a new wonder technology that can better tollerate "noisey" mains. I don't know enough about their physical layer implementation to comment.

My "take home" point is that with something like HomePlugs that are dependent on something outside the control of the product, (your mains circuit,) no-one can predict for sure. So the quicker plugs may be faster but I wouldn't expect anything stunning if they are struggling at slower rates because your mains doesn't avail it.

Fo zero cost, I'd have a look at what I can do to try improve the existing infrastructure. I believe there's extensive discussion of it in the HomePlugs FAQ.
 
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How does one:

"There are ways to speed up transmission as best you can, for example tighten the wires in all the outlets in you house (WARNING: Turn off the power first!). I have gone from 85mbs to 115mbs throughput by doing this one task (when using Netgear 200mbs plugs). "

When you define as tighten the wires, meaning unscrewing the electric sockets (mains power off) and making sure the electric wires (blue, red and earth) are tigthen ?

And I assume only those sockets which the plugs are used..?

Thanks
 
When you define as tighten the wires, meaning unscrewing the electric sockets (mains power off) and making sure the electric wires (blue, red and earth) are tigthen ?

Yes, unscrew the sockets from the back boxes and make sure the wires are secure by checking the screws are tight. There are obvious safety implications in doing this so you need to competent to do this. The wires would be (blue (N), brown (L) and yellow/green(E)) or (black (N), red (L) and yellow/green(E)).

And I assume only those sockets which the plugs are used..?

No, at least all the sockets in the circuit between the units, although if it was me I'd do all the sockets on the circuit because I'm not sure how much interference a loose connection elsewhere would create.
 
How does one:

"There are ways to speed up transmission as best you can, for example tighten the wires in all the outlets in you house (WARNING: Turn off the power first!). I have gone from 85mbs to 115mbs throughput by doing this one task (when using Netgear 200mbs plugs). "

When you define as tighten the wires, meaning unscrewing the electric sockets (mains power off) and making sure the electric wires (blue, red and earth) are tigthen ?

And I assume only those sockets which the plugs are used..?

Thanks


Following this advice can obviously have life-threatening results so should only be carried out if you are competent to do so. As a minimum you will need to isolate the ring main at the consumer unit. If in doubt, consult a qualified electrician!

They are suggesting that the wiring inside the socket be tightened, and yes all the sockets in a ring.

If you have "blue, red and earth" (is earth a colour?) you either have seriously defective wiring or are colour blind.
 
Hi ya,

Here's the latest updates:

I've got my Asus Dark Knight and using the WAN connection to the Sky Sagem modem. I've switched off wireless broadcast, DHCP server, set up DMZ in the Sagem using these instructions:

Using Sagem 2504 as modem & Asus RT-N56U as router

Queries:

1) Only thing I didn't do was enter the Sagem's MAC address to the Asus. No idea, the purpose ? if I still need the Sagem to act as a modem? (assumption is that the asus does not have a ADSL modem built-in).

2) Can anyone share tips to boost performance of the Dark Knight ? I've updated to Asus latest firmware.. are custom firmware (Merlin) worth using?

Overall speeds with my MacB-Pro is 300Mbps using the 5Ghz and 144Mbps using 2.5Ghz wi-fi. Is there a way to boost it to go upto 450Mbps as it says outside the Asus box.

I'll set my Pana-GT50 to see if I can stream HD MKV content wi-fi better than home-plugs and update you with more info.

Thanks
 
Overall speeds with my MacB-Pro is 300Mbps using the 5Ghz and 144Mbps using 2.5Ghz wi-fi. Is there a way to boost it to go upto 450Mbps as it says outside the Asus box.

Check the spec of your Mac book and see if it support "three stream" wi-fi (ie it says it'll support speeds of 450mbps in the applicable waveband or an "MCS Index" bigger than 15.) It's generally a function of the number of antenna's and RF chains plus the capabilities of the wi-fi NIC. They need to be common in both ends of the links. So if a "two stream" client talks to a "three stream" AP, then the common denominator is "two stream" modes which top out at 300mbps.

Even then, it can depend on the prevailing signal conditions.

There's a good table of streams versus channel bandwidth et al and the expected (nominal) link rates in Wiki's artical on IEEE 802.11n-2009 (look fo the bits about "MCS Index.")
 
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Thanks for that..

Any ideas on the:

1) Only thing I didn't do was enter the Sagem's MAC address to the Asus. No idea, the purpose ? if I still need the Sagem to act as a modem? (assumption is that the asus does not have a ADSL modem built-in).
 
Another thought occurs re: link rates - some router manufacturers are in the habit of "adding together" the link rate of their simultaneous dual band routers and passing them off as the combined might of the two.

So for example, a router that offers 150mbps on one band and 300mbps in the other, they call a "450mbps router." I've even see one implied to be a "900mbps" router when what it was really in reality was a 450+450.

The way to think of a "simultaneous dual band" router is like two distinct Wi-fi Access Points (one for each wave band) in the same box. Apart from sharing a PSU and the same onward connection to "the rest of the network" they are more or less independent of each other.

Again, check the spec sheet of the router for the "MCS Index" it supports (pref in each band) and refer to the table in Wiki I mentioned previously.

I suppose it's conceptually possible to "bind" both 2.4GHz and 5GHz AP's together to talk to a (suitable bound) client device and achieve a higher aggregate link rate, but I've never heard of anything that does this. Most clients talk either 2.4GHz or 5Ghz but not both at the same time.

I'll have a look at the link regarding the Sagem shortly, but a cursory glance at the page you linked suggests that the mechanism described hasn't "tuned the Sagem into a modem" which may have some undesirable consequences. Watch ths space.
 
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I can't find a manual for your Sagem and the bits of skuttlebutt I've read suggest "it's farily old."

Thus I find it hard to believe you can use it as a "modem." Unless there's an option in it's UI that says something like "use this device as a modem only" or "disable router/NAT/firewall" it will still be functioning as a "router."

That can be problematic for things like NAT translation (NAT behind an NAT can cause problems) and things like dynamic port forwards as uPNP if you want to use such things (online gamers are beloved of them.)

Generally in SOHO routers I've seen (which admitedly isn't many) "putting something in the DMZ" essentially create port forwards to the nominated device for all TCP/UDP ports. I guess it could provide some seggregation from the rest of the subnet by some clever traffic management, (which I've never seen,) but it is by no means a "proper" DMZ. And it hasn't done anyting to address the aforementioned dual NAT etc. issues.

I think the MAC address stuff is irrellavant as the sagem is still functioning as the endpoint for the ISP comms not the ASUS.

I just wouldn't go this way. If you want your ASUS to fulfil routing/NAT/Firewall functions, you need a "proper" external modem (or a router that can really be turned into one.)

If your principal reason for buying the ASUS is for improved wi-fi, GBit ethernet and a few of it's other "LAN" facing toys, then there's no reason not to continue using the Sagem to route/NAT/Firewall and use the ASUS as essentially a fancy Wi-fi AP/switch combo. Our "using two routers together" FAQ describes how.
 
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I can't find a manual for your Sagem and the bits of skuttlebutt I've read suggest "it's farily old."

Thus I find it hard to believe you can use it as a "modem." Unless there's an option in it's UI that says something like "use this device as a modem only" or "disable router/NAT/firewall" it will still be functioning as a "router."

That can be problematic for things like NAT translation (NAT behind an NAT can cause problems) and things like dynamic port forwards as uPNP if you want to use such things (online gamers are beloved of them.)

Generally in SOHO routers "putting something in the DMZ" essentially create port forwards to the nominated device for all TCP/UDP ports. Sometimes it provides segragation from the rest of the subnet by some clever traffic management, but it is by no means a "proper" DMZ. And it hasn't done anyting to address the aforementioned dual NAT etc. issues.

I think the MAC address stuff is irrellavant as the sagem is still functioning as the endpoint for the ISP comms not the ASUS.

I just wouldn't go this way. If you want your ASUS to fulfil routing/NAT/Firewall functions, you need a "proper" external modem (or a router that can really be turned into one.)

If your principal reason for buying the ASUS is for improved wi-fi, GBit ethernet and a few of it's other "LAN" facing toys, then there's no reason no to continue using the Sagem to route/NET/Firewall. Our "using two routers together" FAQ describes how.

Thanks for that.. that's just how Sky works.. the sagem modem has been flashed with Sky's custom firmware to prevent people tweaking about it I guess.

I've got a Synology NAS & outdoor IP camera and I was still able to configure and port forward for remote access (via the Asus).

Not sure whether this is a sign to indicate the 2 routers connected work ?
 
It depends a bit on how you've connected them together, but if you've connected Sagem LAN to ASUS WAN, all you've done is add an extra router (extra hop) into the pathway between your LAN and the Internet.

Basically, you've made the route (and particularly the NATing & uPNP) more complex and not gained much by so doing unless the Sagem is so torturous to use that it can't set up a couple of inbound port forwards (essentially PF's are NAT translation in the inbound direction - a lot of things make it sound much more complex than it is.)

If your Sagem is routing/NAT/Firewalling anyway, you may as well let it continue to do so and set up the appropriate port forwards there for your IP cam & NAS. You've just not gained by bouncing through the ASUS.

If you're expecting to use DynDNS to resolve your routers "external" (public Internet) IP, that's going to be the IP address of the WAN interface on the Sagem, not the ASUS so your DynDNS client needs to be run (ideally) on the Sagem. It's all getting terribly messy already before we even get into future issues with dual NAT which has been know to cause random web browsing issues.
 
It depends a bit on how you've connected them together, but if you've connected Sagem LAN to ASUS WAN, all you've done is add an extra router (extra hop) into the pathway between your LAN and the Internet.

Basically, you've made the route (and particularly the NATing & uPNP) more complex and not gained much by so doing unless the Sagem is so torturous to use that it can't set up a couple of inbound port forwards (essentially PF's are NAT translation in the inbound direction - a lot of things make it sound much more complex than it is.)

If your Sagem is routing/NAT/Firewalling anyway, you may as well let it continue to do so and set up the appropriate port forwards there for your IP cam & NAS. You've just not gained by bouncing through the ASUS.

If you're expecting to use DynDNS to resolve your routers "external" (public Internet) IP, that's going to be the IP address of the WAN interface on the Sagem, not the ASUS so your DynDNS client needs to be run (ideally) on the Sagem. It's all getting terribly messy already before we even get into future issues with dual NAT which has been know to cause random web browsing issues.

Best not to think too much about it.. I've used no-ip.com and configured that on my Synology NAS. Seems to work fine...

Only option is to either:

Change to another ISP with an ISP provided "true modem only" mode.

Or get a generic wired ADSL+ modem for under £30 ?

Any suggestions?
 
Interesting.. so probably not worth investing in 500mbps plugs then :-(

Only route is to go wi-fi invest in 2 routers (bridge to 80211.ac) or to physically chase the cat5e cables thru the walls from the router to the TV.

The former could cost £300++ for 2 .ac routers and the latter could involve electrician drilling thru holes then some DIY decorating in patching & painting them up..

Oh hum :-(

I up graded from 200 to 500 home plug and had a huge speed jump .. mine were showing slow speec orange light but with the new 500 great speed increase ... the old ones were belkin 200 upgraded to delvo tripple 500 ..
 
Hi peeps,

Bought the Asus RT-N66u Ultimate performance Dark Knight.

Changed the Sky sagem router to 'modem' mode, connected the Asus to it.. and got it to stream HD content with no slow-downs via 5Ghz channel to my Pana' GT-50 TV located in the lounge. The router is located in the kitchen, next door to it.. with a wall and door partition.

TV shows 3/5 bars, but so far am able to stream MKV films with no slow downs.. will watch an entire film tonight to clarify this.

Issue is now resolved! bit more expensive compared to 500Mbps home-plugs, but certainty better value and no need to have cat5e cables running about the house.
 
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