Looks like my wifi router is taking a dump after about 4 years or so. Looking for suggestions. Is going GigE worth the extra cost as I have GigE elsewhere through the network? Should I just pick up a Linksys WRT54G or is there something better. I need something with some good distance. Should I go N or stay G? I use the wireless mainly for 2 windows laptops and cell phones.

Any input, experiences is appreciated. TIA

Note: Post updated on 1/19/08 at 7:20AM to make some of the points a bit clearer.

I've done a lot of "playing" with 802.11n lately. The standard supports both the 2.4ghz and 5ghz bands. You will find 802.11n equipment that is able to operate 2.4ghz only, 5ghz only or on both. If you have machines with internal wireless 802.11n cards, make sure you know which band(s) those cards support before you invest in an 802.11n router.

802.11n works in two modes: Single channel and double channel (my words). In single-channel mode you use 20mhz of spectrum -- essentially 1 channel. In double-channel mode you use 40mhz of spectrum -- essentially 2 channels. Double channel mode provides faster throughput. Keep in mind that in the USA the 2.4ghz frequency band has only 3 non-overlapping channels (1, 6 and 11), yielding 60mhz of available spectrum. So if you use double-channel mode on 2.4ghz, you are using 67% of the available spectrum. If you live in the country without close by neighbors this isn't a problem. If your neighborhood is already crowded with numerous wifi networks on 2.4ghz, you will find it very difficult to get double-channel mode to work reliably. This is less of an issue on the 5ghz frequency band as there are at least 9 non-overlapping channels in the US on 5ghz. But there are other problems with 5ghz --- covered later.

My throughput measurements doing a drag-and-drop copy of a 450mbyte file from my knoppmyth both running samba to a windows XP box:

1. 802.11g - 20 mbytes/sec.

2. 802.11n single-channel mode - 25 mbytes/sec.

3. 802.11n double-channel mode - 45 mbytes/sec.

4. 100mbit/sec wired ethernet: 90 mbytes/sec.

Some commentary about 5ghz:

1. Signal strength falls off much more quickly with distance on 5ghz than it does with 2.4ghz. I am able to cover my entire house with strong signal strength when operating on 2.4ghz with the router located in one end of the house. A 5ghz router operating from the same location is unable to cover my entire house with sufficiently reliable signal.

2. By relocating the 5ghz router to a more central location and was able to obtain full coverage.

3. Five of the 5ghz channels overlap with 5.8ghz phones (149, 153, 157, 161, 165) and operate with a power output of 40miliwatts. The 4 that don't overlap with 5.8ghz cordless phones (36, 40, 44, 48 ) are required in the USA to operate at a lower power level of 25miliwatts.

There are always more "factoids" that can be documented, but let me turn this around a bit. Tell me a bit more about your environment and I'll try to provide more info that might be useful. Some questions that come to mind:

1. Is your "airspace" crowded with wifi networks, or is it clear.

2. What kind of walls do you have -- plasterboard or sheetrock?

3. How long is the distance you are trying to go, and does your current router provide good coverage? What is your current router?

Marc

The Linksys WRT54G boxes are cheap, and I saw a cool mod called "tomato" that replaces the firmware, so that you can hack it. Such as boosting the radio power.

Be sure to use netstumbler to pick a good channel. i.e. you turn off your access point, run netstumbler, and see what's channels appear to be in use. That'll give you a partial survey.

For a thorough survey, you need to do a spectrum analysis. I've recently purchased a Wi-Spy ($180), which is a USB dongle radio with companion software that sniffs the 2.4Ghz band. It plots real-time radio activity, including a time-lapse. The graphs are intimidating at first, but easy to understand once you see it working. With a tool like this, you can see non-WiFi interference due to wireless video cams (including baby monitors), cordless phones, bluetooth, and microwave ovens. It's pretty cool.

Thanks for the insights. I'll attempt to answer your questions.

1. Using a stumbler I only see 1 other wifi (my nieghbor) that comes up 2WIRE266. Every once in a while, I'll see something else, but it's very rare.

2. I live in an old duplex with plaster walls and a sort of wire/lathe inside them. I'd say the signal must pass through 2/3 walls, a refrigerator, passed a microwave and washer/dryer all to get from one end to the other. No more then 50 feet.

3. Currently I have a NETGEAR WGR614 which has been only 'adequate'. Seems the signal is fine with one laptop accessing it, and drops substantially with 2+, which happens frequently. But now it's even worse as it's going thru it's death throws.

I also have a network printer and plan on adding a KM frontend to the location of this router in the next year.

I would recommend a router that can run 3rd party firmware (like tomato or dd-wrt) I've been running dd-wrt on a wrt54g for several years now and it's been rock solid and provides features not always present in consumer grade routers. I've heard tomato is just as reliable and a little more user friendly.

I believe the dd-wrt wiki has a comprehensive list of all the routers it supports.

Too Many Secrets,

I would stick with 802.11g for now unless you need the extra speed AND your wireless devices are 802.11n enabled. I can't provide any useful advise on routers that can be hacked with open source, but if you want to go with an "off the shelf" solution, I've had good results with the Netgear WGR614v9 router. It can be purchased for under $30 from Fry's and mine is rock solid.

I do recognize that you already have a WGR614 router, but I doubt it is hardware revision V9. I have found this recently released version to be very stable and robust.

You can determine your router version by looking at the label on the bottom of the router. When shopping you can look at the side panel of the box, in the section labeled something like "Package Contents", to determine which version you are about to purchase.

Update:
Another router to consider is the WPN824V3. This router can be configured to operate as a repeater, so if you have coverage issues, you can purchase a second one and configure it as a wireless repeater to fill in the coverage holes. I did this in a San Francisco apartment, which has plasterboard walls with a wire-mesh frame, and it solved all of the coverage problems.

Marc

Tomato is great firmware for the Broadcom based routers. I have used it on many Linksys 54G routers and currently run it on a Buffalo WHR-G54S. I picked up the Buffalo for $25 and you can usually find them for cheaper than Linksys routers.

If you use Tomato there is no need to use netstumbler to pick a good channel. The Tomato firmware has a wireless survey built in and can tell you what is currently broadcasting around you.

If you decide to stay with g I would recommend that you get a Broadcom based router so you can run one of the replacement (Tomato, DD-WRT) firmwares.

Britney