Question re: DGN3500

[martint1]

Can anyone tell me whether the DGN3500 will support connections from 802.11g and 802.11n devices concurrently, running at the higher speed for the 802.11n devices? Or would I need a dual-band router for this?

Thanks,
Martin.

 

[t72bogie]

yes, both concurrently, you get a small performance hit, but not noticable really in practice

it will talk 54Mbps to G clients and 270Mbps ish to N clients (with compatible clients that allow it)

 

[martint1]

Cool, time to go shopping then!

Thanks,
Martin.

 

[martint1]

To anyone who's interested, I purchased a DGN3500 a few weeks ago. I've had loads of problems with the wireless on it. For the first week it was fine, then for no apparent reason the wireless became extremely unstable. After going through several hours of troubleshooting with Netgear support, I contacted my supplied who sent a replacement. Low and behold the replacement is experiencing similar issues. My wireless devices can't maintain a stable connection to the router. I'm pretty sure that this issue is not due to interference from other networks. I've tried tools like Netstumbler to see what's going on and while I see other networks (I have around 3 other wireless network in range) operating with a consistent level of noise (around -60db) mine jumps from -20db to -70db depending upon what channel I'm using. I often see complete drops for a second or two, then a few seconds of a signal, then complete drops again. I've tried different firmware (including 1.1.00.22), resetting to factory defaults etc, nothing seems to fix the problem. My older 3Com Office Connect router is solid for wireless, but I wanted something with .n for streaming media. My recommendation for anyone considering buying one of these is to forget it! If anyone can recommend an alternative to the DGN3500 then I'd be very interested!

 

[mickevh]

Sounds like interference to me. There are lot's of things that use the 2.4GHz waveband that NetStumbler cannot detect - you'd need more "professional" equipment to detect it.

It might be interesting to try turning off 40MHz (AKA channel bonding or auto 20MHz/40MHz) to see whether that makes a difference and maybe try runniing in "G" only mode and see how that fares. That would give you some indication as to whether achieving N links and/or channel bonding is problematic in your locale compared to G.

Thence you could take your router and a client (laptop) or two somewhere else (parents, mother-in-laws, grannies, girlfriends, whatever,) and see whether is work any better there. (You don't need to establish the Internet connection to test wifi connectivity.) That will help you determine whether you've got a problem with your devices, or your locale.

 

[t72bogie]

if you are using Intel clients then you could be having issues with 40/20Mhz mode like Mick mentions above

some of them (the clients) dont like 40Mhz in the 2.4 band and will drop it from time to time

then theres the "good neighbor" thing thats supposed to drop from 40 to 20Mhz if it picks up other routers in the same band

...im afraid 802.11n, channel bonding in 40Mhz, still requires a bit of tweaking to get running right

...some Intel based clients wont do 40Mhz at all

I have a 3500 here, its pretty faultless on the wireless since Ive had it....ive got a selection of clients, none Intel based though, and I cant see any other APs from my house (im detached and the neighbors are a bit away)

anyway, do a bit of research on the clients chips you have, and make sure they have the latest firmware too (generic from Intel site, if Intel based, they will be latest) ...you might find you are barking up the wrong tree blaming the router on this one ....

 

[martint1]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll try the things you mentioned. I generally see around 3 other APs as well as my home network. I'm starting to wonder whether I might cable my home out with cat6. I'm trying to run 2 Popcorn hour A-200's, as well as a few laptops with various Intel wireless (internal) adapters. I guess the best way to guarantee seamless streaming is to run it over cable, where I'm in control over the network rather than have other environmental factors come in to play that are outside of my control.

 

[t72bogie]

cable is always best if you want reliable connection for video

next best is Powerline ethernet adapters (using the electrical cable in the wall)

wireless is really for convenience, and although there are a few solutions that will give you a real 100Mbps (out of 300Mbps) it is completely at the mercy of the RF landscape in and around your home

wireless is getting better all the time, and is a world away from where it was 5 years ago, but if you have no control over the airwaves you can be watching a movie and someone drives past your house with a dodgy car audio install and the signal drops, along with your movie