Increasing my speed

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Dunnersfella

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Topic # 110362 8-Oct-2012 12:46

Okay, so I'm looking to increase the speed of my home network...
The current setup is:
Vodafone Huawei HG556a modem / wireless router (with wifi turned off) - this is connected directly to my
Apple Airport Extreme via a very short run of CAT 6 cable.
The laptops / phones / tablet / printer connect to the Airport Extreme (running simultaneous G and N networks). There is also a 2TB USB HDD plugged in to the Airport Extreme that I use to backup / share files with.
Currently I have a Cat5.e cable running from my Airport Extreme to the back of my entertainment cabinet, where it feeds into a Gigabit switch. From there I send interweb / network goodness to my TV / PS3 / MacMini / Apple TV2.

So... the first obvious under performer would have to be the Vodafone router... right?
If I was to pick up a Modem with a Gigabit LAN port, would I be able to increase the speed of my wired network?
If so - what would you suggest to begin with?

freitasm

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Reply # 697824 8-Oct-2012 12:51

Instead of changing the router, why not extend the network with gigabit switches? Unless you want to get a new modem/router...

At home we have two gigabit switches used to connect everything with gigabit ports. The only stuff connected to our router LAN ports are one of the gigabit switches (so that all LAN traffic goes through them and never rech the router), a LAN printer, and a smart meter device. The LAN and smart meter devices do not need gigabit really.

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Dunnersfella

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Reply # 697841 8-Oct-2012 13:16

Without Gigabit output on my Vodafone modem... would that not throttle the whole network to begin with though?

tigercorp

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Reply # 697859 8-Oct-2012 13:58

It sounds like you're already doing what freitasm suggests - you've got the gigabit connectivity between the switch and the Airport Extreme and the only traffic passing to the modem will be for internet access.

There's no throttling as your adsl connection will be less than the 100 Mbit/s connection to the modem.

Edit - doh, Extreme, not Express

jonherries

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Reply # 698017 8-Oct-2012 16:59

tigercorp: It sounds like you're already doing what freitasm suggests - you've got the gigabit connectivity between the switch and the Airport Extreme and the only traffic passing to the modem will be for internet access.

There's no throttling as your adsl connection will be less than the 100 Mbit/s connection to the modem.

Edit - doh, Extreme, not Express

+1

Next:

If it is on wifi and can be wired, do it.
Check which channels you are using on your wifi (interference will probably be an issue).
A separate wireless access point elsewhere in the house would be good for devices that move about.
Consider the placement of the router for optimal signal, generally if it is close to the wall or floor, you are probably inhibiting the wifi signal.

HTH,

Jon