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Question

Getting Charter Cable (moving) help on a wireless router

by Jul 5, 2015 11:14PM PDT

We are moving next week and currently we have att with their ewire modem that has built in wifi, my family are MEGA users we went thru 4 of these att units basically the tech said each time we burnt it up.

At the new place our internet option is charter, they supply the basic modem we supply a wireless router. I haven't used a router in over 10 yrs, I was looking around youtube and saw dual band, tri band, routers with usb 2 and usb 3, assignable tri band units, b, g, n, ac etc etc

Ok here is the rundown (don't laugh)
Wireless
5 laptops
1 wireless imac, 1 tower we use wireless in den
4 ipads
4 iphones
3 rokus
3 ps3
2 xbox
Wired
2 smart tvs
3 towers
1 mac
4 dlink color cameras

I would say we are kinda a wifi warzone here, the cameras run 24/7, the kids are on netflix, ipads, laptops, roku all the dang time, I do graphics and music stuff so I am usually on two computers at once, all the phones and ipads on wifi constantly, basically I think that is how we keep blowing out those att boxes.

So onto a wireless router for this crazy family, since charter supplies the modem we need to just supply the wifi router, but what do we need, are there certain dual band routers that are made for multiple wireless or should i step up to say that tri band where i can assign traffic in 3 different bands (I think it was linksys video i saw that did that).

Also what are these usb ports for, can I just plug in an external hard drive to the router to share movies or music thru the network? Would that be faster than having say a wired computer setup in the basement with a large hard drive using the homegroup method?

Guess I am kinda not sure what i need but sure hate to buy something underpowered or that we burn up like those ewire boxes from att, good thing they were always rentals and replaced, but me having to buy the router I want to make sure I get enough power to feed the hungry devices yet not overspend either.

Discussion is locked

3 Posts
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Answer
With that many devices
by Forum moderator Jul 6, 2015 6:21AM PDT

I would never expect a single router or more specifically a single access point to work out.

It's an advanced setup so I must be short here. Go ahead and get a nice router then add a second access point for use on another WiFi channel to put some things off on another channel. WiFi is a shared resource but given the advanced network you have, I think you only need a nudge to more access points. I use routers as access points since they are cheap (from 20 bucks and up.)

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Answer
Frequencies vs Channels
by Jul 6, 2015 8:32AM PDT

There are two common frequencies used, the 2.4 Ghz and the 5 Ghz band. Each frequency band has it's channels, typically 12-14 of them. Then you get into the bandwidth for each channel and overlap between them. The best for least overlap and keep some speed is "g". The best for speed, but worst for overlap and interference is "n". So that's what you need to google and study on.

router frequencies
router channels
router modes (b, g, n, ac)
avoiding channel overlaps or clash when possible

After that, I'd suggest 1 router per 4 users. Now if you have a family of 5-6 or you have 4 using two devices at the same time, then 2 wireless routers should do OK, just so long as clash between them is avoided. I'd also advise in such situation to not have any of them using "n" mode. You might also want to lock the MAC of each device to a particular IP address and leave DHCP for the occassional visiting device to get IP assignment from.

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Answer
wifi
by Jul 6, 2015 8:42AM PDT
https://support.zen.co.uk/kb/Knowledgebase/Broadband-Understanding-Wireless-Channels

scroll down to it.
http://homenetworkadmin.com/wireless-b-vs-g-vs-n-vs-ac-difference/

Don't Mix Wireless B/G with N

Wireless N is supposed to be interoperable with Wireless A, B, and G, but it doesn't always work that way. Some older clients might not be able to connect at all, even when the wireless router or APs are in mixed wireless mode. Then when the older clients can connect, they'll slow down the network.

Some clients may take a heavy 80 percent cut in their throughput. To prevent this problem, consider forcing the new APs to use only Wireless N, and keep the old router or APs around to support the old clients.

Although connections among users on the Wireless N router or APs with Wireless G users will still be bottlenecked by the old clients, the throughput cuts on a mixed mode Wireless N router or AP can be much worse.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi
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