Gigabit switch suggestions

[LightBringer]

Suhweet! I can access my NAS via internet. All is good.

[BuddhaMan]

Cool beans.

I screwed up earlier when talking about JPerf. It actually UNDERestimates the real bandwidth. I'm going to try some of the other programs mentioned to see what the difference is.

EDIT: I ran NetStress and confirmed I am only getting ~12Mbit over the Powerline in the original config (two rooms, one end plugged into a powestrip). I ran it between two machines on my Gbit switch and only got ~100Mbit. I don't think the NICS are set for Jumbo frames and all that nonsense and I think one of the cables is only Cat5-rated so it makes I'm not maxing out the switch (get Catr6-rated cables from Newegg if you need them).

NetStress is definitely the best bandwidth testing program of the bunch:

http://www.nutsaboutnets.com/perform...nchmarking.htm

[LightBringer]

This is the first time I accessed my NAS from away from home. It works! This is just way too cool! I'm a little bummed that my netbook doesn't have a gigabit NIC though.

[=DBA=Ronin]

I did some tweaking to my wireless router last week and pretty much got it to double its throughput now (I didn't realize the difference WPA2 makes compared to just WPA). I was already able to stream x264 content without an issue, so that's still working fine, but my data transfer speeds have increased noticeably. I did a quick test using one of those tools last week but I don't remember the figures I got back, but it was better. I am going to try a few more tweaks and once I get things working top notch, I want to do some more thorough speed tests to see what the bottom line is. I think I am just going to stick with what I have for now and spend my gift cert on something else....though I can't make up my mind as to what.

LB...glad you got your shit working. I wish now I would have gone the NAS route instead of just HD's in my server, but I guess I will just deal with it. I can remote in and upload to my ftp if I ever really need anything remotely...which is rare.

[=DBA=Ronin]

If you want to pay a little more $$ for a better router than the one Palli posted, this one is the current king:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wirel...r3700-reviewed

Filter by score and read more reviews: http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/index...ess&Itemid=200

Turns out my wireless Dlink is on the fritz. Anytime a workstation would try to get a DHCP address, even if the MAC was on the reserved list, it would lock up and I would have to cycle the power to it or my whole network would be down. I swapped it out with my Asus router/bridge/repeater that I was using as a repeater in the living room, but that thing is a POS and won't link up with my ISP. Now I am using the Asus for all router functionality and my Dlink as a gateway to my ISP. So, I said fuck it and finally used my gift card and ordered the Netgear...should be here Friday.

[BuddhaMan]

Ooooh...let me know how that thing works out for ya. Do you plan on loading a new firmware like DD-WRT on it?

Damn, that thing has eight antennas in it. EIGHT! 64MB of RAM is a boatload too!

http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Netgear_WNDR3700

There's a possibility (albeit slim) you may end up with a dud WNDR3700. Read "Issue 1" in the above link and go look at the Google spreadsheet they link to. I just knocked on wood three times so I didn't hex you.

[=DBA=Ronin]

I don't think I will be loading a different firmware. If stock it meets all my needs I don't see the point.

[BuddhaMan]

Yep, I hear ya. It's just with DD-WRT you can raise the power level and ditch the repeater. That's true for my router, not sure if it's true for your new one.

I can't believe a normal 100mw router can't cover your whole condo. It's not THAT big.

[=DBA=Ronin]

It can cover it, but it is slow and my initial plan was to stream movies from my PS3 off of my server...the two of which sit right next to one another. So, by using the repeater, I could hard wire the two together by way of the repeater's switch, giving them a more stable connection, and still give them access to the rest of the network and internet wirelessly. It was more of a logistics thing than needing to boost the signal.

[=DBA=Ronin]

Thus far I am underimpressed, but that is partially my fault. I don't have any dual band nic's yet, so I am only using the 2.4ghz. My transfer rates aren't even hitting 3Mbps, which is about 1/4 what I was getting with my Dlink using the same frequency, channel, and encryption level. I haven't had time to really tweak anything though, so hopefully I just need to get the setup right. That kind of leaves me to my next point. The web interface for the router is woefull. I expected a revamped look and functionality from the lower end unit my Dad has but aside from some added capabilities, it is the same. Compared to my old Dlink this setup is out dated and clumsy (and slow at times).

I am also completely baffled as to one of the SIDS my clients are seeing when searching for a network to connect to. "Other Network" keeps comming up in addition to my 2.4g network and I can't connect to it (it asks for a SSID and then for key). I think it has something to do with the 5ghz band because since I disabled the 5g antenna, I haven't seen it since. I disabled the Guest networks thinking it was one of those, but it kept showing up. Need to do some more research on that one.

So, to this point, I am a little disapointed. Last night I hard wired all my clients and tried to watch Ironman 2 on my HTPC, where the video file was on my laptop (720p mkv). It played OK for the most part, but it had moments where the picture would freeze, then go blocky, then return to normal. This happened at pretty regular intervals through the entire movie. It doesn't happen at all if I play the file directly on the machine, so I attribute it to some p/l. I need to do some throughput tests and replace all my cabling with some Cat 6 and see what happens. I never really play my movies this way anyhow, so I am not overly concerned about it, but I expected better performance.

We'll see what happens once I get a dual band nic in the HTPC and I can hook up to the 5g network. Hopefully that does the trick. If not, I may consider putting on DD-WRT.

[BuddhaMan]

Is there such a thing as a "dual band" NIC? Maybe you mean wireless NICs that use the N band. Point being, I've never heard of a NIC that transmits on both G & N simultaneously. I've only see them do one or the other. They may have both G & N built-in, but you have to pick one or the other.

BTW: If you have an option for "Super G" in the router give that a try. I've read rumors about it blowing away other networks in apartment complexes and giving great connectivity to the owner, everyone else get jammed. (insert evil laugh here)

(Looks like Super-G is A+G wireless on Atheros chipsets....you might not have that capability)

http://www.super-g.com/

[=DBA=Ronin]

A Dual-band wNic means it is capable of getting both a 2.4 and 5ghz signal (not simultaneously). They are relatively new since the advent of dual transmitting routers is still in its rather infant stage. Both frequencies operate under the n standard. Most wNics to date are all just capable of 2.4ghz...as would be the case with all the wNICS in my house.

There is nothing in the router setup about Super-G, but I had something similar with my old old Dlink were it effectively doubled the speed to 108 (AirPlus Extreme I think it was called). I dunno, I hope to get some time later this week to play with it some more to see if I can get it going better.

I did find that that "Other Network" I was seeing was due to the guest network afterall. I must not have been allowing my scan enough time to refresh before. One mystery solved~!

[Unforgiven]

I just picked up a Linksys WRT610N about 2 months ago. Flashed that pig with DD-WRT so I can run OpenVPN and get the benefit of Dual Band transmission so I can run my wireless N on 5 GHZ and G on 2.4. Thing kicks so much ass and is stable.

[=DBA=Ronin]

YOU LIE!!

Actually now that I repositioned my router and set my bridge back up in the living room, the wireless is much better. I am getting about 7MBps now. For a while it dropped down to Kb figures...I was getting concerned I got a hold of a bad unit. I think since I am piss broke now and won't be getting any new NICS anytime soon, I may just rip out all the door and floor moldings running from my office to my living room and run some cat6 and say fuck it to all this wireless shit.

Translation...if I decide to get off my ass and actually do that this weekend, I may sell my Netgear for a bargain price if anyone is interested. I will post again if I do. Shit.

[Unforgiven]

Are you running WPA2 with AES? If not, run in that mode and you'll see a huge improvement as there is not as much overhead.