[rohan_iitr]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

Offlate, I am observing slower speed on all the 4 devices. The house is of about 1200 sq ft, and the router is placed in the living room. In one of the far bedrooms, the signal does get disconnected sometimes.
Attachment 1454401

Try re-positioning the wireless router before you buy a new one.

Follow these simple guidelines:

1. Place the router in the center of your home (For example, in the dining room instead of living room).

2. Place the router 5-6 feet above the floor (For example, on top of the refrigerator).

3. Place the router vertically (if it came with a stand)

4. Try a DIY wifi range extender (search on google for this)

Let us know if any of this helped.

Rohan

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

I was checking on Amazon and there are ones with 300 mbps, costing just about 1200 - 1500 Rupees. I guess these should suffice my requirement ?

Would the experts here kindly advise me a few routers ?

Attachment 1454401

Just going for N300 from N150 will make a small difference but won't help much.

You need something like this to really make a difference.

http://www.amazon.in/Asus-RT-N-18U-2...us+wifi+router

This is the only device that looks like it will work in your budget:

http://www.amazon.in/Tenda-FH330-Enh...ds=wifi+router

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

Also, I keep wondering, if these strong signal routers have any long term negative effect on our health (like people say mobile networks have)

Not that I am aware of. RF radiation is always maintained at a set standard for all routers. Which is why OEM router firmware does not permit increasing/decreasing radio output power. You need to be at least 1 foot (30 cm) away from the antennas. For details look in your manual.

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

Folks, I use the below router with my Airtel Broadband connection. The router is connected to the Modem provided by Airtel. My broadband plan is of 2Mbps speed and simultaneously 4 devices are connected to Wi-Fi - 2 Mobiles, 1 Tablet, 1 Laptop.

I was checking on Amazon and there are ones with 300 mbps, costing just about 1200 - 1500 Rupees. I guess these should suffice my requirement ?

Would the experts here kindly advise me a few routers ?

Originally Posted by AvinashV

Guys I have the TP-LINK TL-WR740N 150Mbps Wireless N Router currently. Been running for about 3 years now. The range hasn't been great. Covers only one of the bedrooms in a 2bhk. And additionally my PS3 begins to lag like crazy even if just one other device gets connected to the router. I have a connection of 3mbps speed and is pretty consistent.

So i believe it's the router at fault. Please advise on a new router around Rs. 3k with decent range and would support at least 4~5 devices. Thanks

@AvinashV @ Soumyajit9 Ok, here's the thing guys, if you want a router to cover every room in your home make sure it's a router with grunt and place it in a central location. The models you are currently using are basic ones.

That said, ALL routers, even the most expensive units, have performance drop offs as you move away from the unit antenna(e). Also, since homes in India are made of brick/concrete the drop off is even sharper if you move to another room.

There are some suggestions:

a) Upgrade to better models for e.g. AC routers which have multiple antennae for extended/better range
b) Buy another unit of the same type and set it up as a wireless bridge. For instructions go thru your router manual. Remember, putting a router into bridge mode effectively cuts its data throughput in half.
c) Use a signal repeater in all rooms where you need a good signal. Again, these have iffy performance.

Now for the best solution:

If possible get your home wired with CAT5E or CAT6 cable with RJ45 jacks in each room of the house. This is less expensive than you think. One of the RJ45 jacks in a room will be connected to your main router's LAN connection. It will serve as a DHCP server. Then use a basic AP (access point) for wireless coverage in each room. Also install a wired desktop ethernet switch for every 100m (~330 feet) of cable run. This prevents any signal attenuation. Ideally set up 2 switches for every 50m of cable run. 10/100 or even Gb LAN switches are inexpensive.

After spending years and quite a bit of money configuring optimising my home network I found this is THE best permanent solution. I have wired my house with a Gigabit network 'backbone' (with 8 port Gb Ethernet desktop switches). All the heavy gear like NAS box, desktop machines are connected to the wired LAN.

Each room has an AC router set up to function as access point mainly for music and movie streaming from the internet or the NAS box that doubles up as a media server. This cost me a bit more but I don't have any hassles as far as wi-fi or wired coverage or throughput are concerned. And performance is rock solid. Wiring has been done internally to minimise the impact of RF interference.

Hope this helps.

PS - I am not getting into suggestions for specific router/AP models as that would be dictated by your budget.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by R2D2

After spending years and quite a bit of money configuring optimising my home network I found this is THE best permanent solution. I have wired my house with a Gigabit network 'backbone' (with 8 port Gb Ethernet desktop switches). All the heavy gear like NAS box, desktop machines are connected to the wired LAN.

+1 to that. When we buy our homes, we never realise what we need to do with respect to home networking. The simple solution is find out the hub where the modem sits and just do a point to point ethernet router connection to all rooms. That way, one can choose to create a simple WiFI AP for each room.

Also I dont move around the house while I work. Hence my connection is always wired to the modem via the LAN port. While for the rest, its always a problem. Some locations do get a good response while some dont. LAN routing is something which is on my back burner for quite some time now.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by ampere

+1 to that. When we buy our homes, we never realise what we need to do with respect to home networking. The simple solution is find out the hub where the modem sits and just do a point to point ethernet router connection to all rooms. That way, one can choose to create a simple WiFI AP for each room.

Also I dont move around the house while I work. Hence my connection is always wired to the modem via the LAN port. While for the rest, its always a problem. Some locations do get a good response while some dont. LAN routing is something which is on my back burner for quite some time now.

Frankly in a world where Internet has become a central feature in our lives and with multiple digital devices in each household, I think it's essential to think about internet access or even data access + sharing with members of the family. Been using Wi-Fi at home since 2002 and frankly not a single router, even the most expensive ones, have met my expectations. I used APs, routers as APs, routers as bridges/repeaters. Finally wisened up and said "Heck no. This has to stop now".

Got the house wired with good quality CAT6 cable which is good for Gb Ethernet, or even a 10GbE LAN should there be an "upgrade itch" in the future when 10GbE desktop switch and interface card prices drop, and I've never looked back after that. Now my home network rocks.

I understand the wired LAN + Wi-Fi access point solution is not possible for everyone but it is definitely something to mull over. It is also a solution that will last a long time and provide max throughput and reliability.

[R2D2]

A tip for those facing WiFi connection drops and poor connectivity: one of the variables causing poor performance is channel interference from other RF equipment such as other routers/APs and cordless phones that operate in the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands. Most routers default to Channel 6.

You need to select a band/channel that has the least number of routers operating simultaneously in that band.

Use a utility like WiFi Analyzer, InSSIDer or equivalent. These utilities are available on GPS for Android handsets/tabs. While InSSIDer is also available for PC. Check it out here:

http://www.inssider.com/

Some routers have an 'auto' option which selects a band with the least amount of interference. You can let the router do this job, but I prefer selecting the band manually after doing a bit of research using the tools mentioned above.

[R2D2]

Didn't want to start a new thread for this query.

Does anyone here uses a hardware firewall appliance for SOHO network security? Just to clarify I do not mean a WiFi router or cable/ADSL modem router that comes with a built in firewall but a dedicated firewall security appliance like the Dell Sonicwall, pfSense 2440 with at least 2 WAN ports for load balancing/bridging/fail over.

The Sonicwall is good but too expensive for SOHO use. I am looking at the pfsense 2440 which is pretty expensive true but not as much as the Sonicwall which I believe has a yearly licensing/maintenance cost tagged to it.

Any suggestions?

[binand]

Originally Posted by R2D2

Does anyone here uses a hardware firewall appliance for SOHO network security?

I use a Linux box. Had picked up a very small form-factor one from Aliexpress a while back. I run a bunch of services (DHCP/DNS, firewalld, Squid, Netflow, MRTG etc.) on it. Cheaper than any hardware box I looked at (total cost has been < 15K so far).

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by binand

I use a Linux box. Had picked up a very small form-factor one from Aliexpress a while back. I run a bunch of services (DHCP/DNS, firewalld, Squid, Netflow, MRTG etc.) on it. Cheaper than any hardware box I looked at (total cost has been < 15K so far).

Thanks. What firewall software are you running on it? pfsense? That's freeware under GNU and supposedly very good but runs only on x86 processors Also, some pointers/links to a small footprint box? For e.g. I was looking at this: http://store.netgate.com/ADI/RCC-VE-2440.aspx It's the same appliance sold by pfsense here: https://www.pfsense.org/products/pro...y.html#sg-2440 But buying from Netgate saves some $150. I will to load pfsense manually and would welcome something that's less expensive.

PS - Need a box with multiple Ethernet RJ45 ports preferably 4.

[binand]

Originally Posted by R2D2

What firewall software are you running on it? pfsense?

As I said, firewalld. https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FirewallD

Originally Posted by R2D2

Also, some pointers/links to a small footprint box?
PS - Need a box with multiple Ethernet RJ45 ports preferably 4.

I bought an unbranded one off Aliexpress. But the price of the one you listed is very competitive - it might cost you that much if you built one of your own (though in that case, you might be able to go for an i3).

As for RJ45, PCI-X cards with 2 ports are available at quite cheap rates on the usual suspects. Here's one: http://www.amazon.in/dp/B00DODX5MA/

The 4-port cards I've looked at are all quite expensive. I bought a Broadcom one for office at 25K.

Given all this, building your own box with a Mobo with multiple PCI-X slots seems to me is the right way to go.

Let me know if you find a reasonable 1U chassis to put all this in. I'm on the lookout for one.

[TheTeacher]

SmoothWall is a popular sw firewall that's run on older boxes.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by binand

Let me know if you find a reasonable 1U chassis to put all this in. I'm on the lookout for one.

You could find refurbished ibm gear which is going to be quite good at 15K, or supermicro types at 23K++ but I doubt those are going to fit the expense you have in mind. Plenty of refurb gear available on ebay.in but of course caveat emptor.

I'd suggest a quick trip to Hong Kong or similar. Lots of cheap but good chinese stuff there (so you get a decent holiday in HK + the 1U for about the price of the 1U in India) if you know what to look for, which you do. Of course I've yet to see the smps of a non made in india PC that really likes Indian power conditions :(

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by binand

As I said, firewalld. https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FirewallD



I bought an unbranded one off Aliexpress. But the price of the one you listed is very competitive - it might cost you that much if you built one of your own (though in that case, you might be able to go for an i3).

As for RJ45, PCI-X cards with 2 ports are available at quite cheap rates on the usual suspects. Here's one: http://www.amazon.in/dp/B00DODX5MA/

The 4-port cards I've looked at are all quite expensive. I bought a Broadcom one for office at 25K.

Given all this, building your own box with a Mobo with multiple PCI-X slots seems to me is the right way to go.

Let me know if you find a reasonable 1U chassis to put all this in. I'm on the lookout for one.

Not sure if I can go in for a 1U chassis. This is for my home, and I don't have a rack to mount one of them.

So, as of now, the Netgate + pfsense solution is looking the most attractive. But I am also considering some TP Link load-balancing routers with multiple WAN ports, they're far cheaper and bang for the buck. Plus they offer 4-6KV lightening protection. Though what good that is given the millions of volts discharged during a strike is beyond my comprehension.

Another consideration is appliances from Zyxel, one of my favourites back in the old days, the mid '90s, when Zyxel dial-up modems were a class apart. Looking at the Zywall range. But I don't believe these are too highly rated.

@Samurai - I recall reading somewhere on TBHP you have a Dell Sonicwall (probably in your office). Can you please weigh in with your experience using Sonicwall products? Some appliances (TZ 105/205/215) are available on amazon.in but are frightfully expensive. Also, please feel free to move this query into a new thread should you deem it necessary.

Originally Posted by TheTeacher

SmoothWall is a popular sw firewall that's run on older boxes.

Thanks, will keep this in mind as an alternative.

[phamilyman]

Hi,

We have the ancient Airtel 450BXI2. I was looking to get a router to replace this unit since coverage in my study (~12-14m and two brick walls away) is spotty.

Local electricians aren't confident enough of attempting it - and neither am I confident of their abilities. Amazon indicates the following within 3k:
http://www.amazon.in/Netgear-WNR2000...0UG/ref=sr_1_2
http://www.amazon.in/TP-LINK-TL-WR84...GJS/ref=sr_1_5 was mentioned earlier on this thread but it has some clearly negative reviews:

2 Feet - Full speed 42 Mbps internet. -- Signal Bar: Full 5
5 Feet - 37 Mbps – 5 Bar
10 Feet - 20 Mbps – 5 Bar
15 Feet - 15 Mbps – 5 Bar
20 Feet - 10 Mbps – 4 or 5 Bar
25 Feet - 5 Mbps – 3 or 4 Bar
30 Feet – 3 to 5 Mbps – Almost Dead

No walls in between. Tested under line of sight conditions

http://www.amazon.in/product-reviews/B00XE5N9UQ/ (Tenda FH330) has some awesome and some horrible reviews, primarily about the range (which will be my issue as well).

Which model would one recommend for my usage? Thanks in advance.

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

We have the ancient Airtel 450BXI2.

have airtel install a parallel line for you in your study area and have another modem there which you can switch on selectively. If you can wire Ethernet from living to the study nothing like it. I have had both these setups in the past. I still have Ethernet wired from my living room to my bedroom (externally from outside the house) but my Netgear R7000 seems to suffice wirelessly nowadays to my bed across two walls.