Connection Speed: Airport vs. Direct Ethernet

[Parker]

I agree with tom about the graphics on the SpeakEasy site
it's also a more reliable speedtest
i usually used (before it) http://www.bandwidthplace.com/speedtest

Harv,
i was just going to say
you're using the graphite airport
so those speeds are normal

In regards to upgrading to an AirPort Extreme,
the Linksys routers are just as good
if not better
and in my opinion
more reliable.

hope my 2¢ helped,
-Parker

[Paddy]

QUOTE

the Linksys routers are just as good if not better

Parker - your mileage may vary on that one. My Linksys 802.11g router drove me insane. It was fine at first, but after a few months started dropping the WIRED connections - as well as the wireless ones. It wasn't a problem on Comcast's end, it wasn't an issue with ethernet cable, it wasn't an issue with the modem or the router firmware. I tried everything and finally decided I'd had enough fiddling and bought my Airport Extreme. It's been wonderful and I've had it for over a year now.

If you look at the reviews on routers at Amazon and NewEgg etc., you'll quickly come to the conclusion that there is no router out there that everyone is happy with. NONE. The Airport Extreme seemed to have slightly fewer complaints, and a number of people who'd been through several other brands like I had commented that finally they had a router that worked reliably. I'm happy to report that I too fall into that category.

[Parker]

i've had problems with my AirPort Extreme AND Express.

Extreme dropping my DSL connection
Express rebooting randomly

Linksys... no problems what-so-ever.


My opinion regarding Comcast,
their customer service STINKS!
i have comcast in florida... dl speed up to 5mbps
i have verizon dsl in ny... dl speed up to 1.5mbps
both tested on wireless
the verizon speed is normal on my AirPort Extreme Base Station

Well Apple did some pioneering of the 802.11 techlology
the most reliable products i think are Proxim and Cisco products

harv, it also depends on the obstacles your airport travels through
those dramatically affect speeds

-parker

oh i forgot to add a 25!!!
well here it is now

[mastercheif]

Well, it is just fact that wireless networking slows things down. It is just not possiable to get rid of the lag that sending a singal trough the air introduces.

Also, the speeds between the Airport and the Airport Extreme should not be too drastic. Your internet connection conected directly to the cable modem is ~9mbps. The airport you have is using the 802.11 B specification, wich allows a maximum of 12 mbps. The Airport Extreme, wich runs on 802.11 G, Allows for 52 mbps of data. Both of the Airports support more bandwith than you are providing them. So don't expect a HUGE increase of speed between a Airport and a Airport Express. But you should expect a little speed boast because of how 802.11 G is much better at penatrating walls and things like that.

As for just going from a wired connection to a router to a straight connection to the cable modem, what kind of Router are you using? Different brand routers actually sometimes make a difference in speeds. How many computers are connected to your router? What is the brand of the router? Also, what time did you run the test?

I currently have a linksys router, and it has been running flawless for the past 3-4 months. I have one of the "MIMO" routers. If you don't know what MIMO is, it means Multi Input Multi Output. The Router itself has 2 antenai on it (more expensive versions have more). The multiable antennai are good because they work togather to find dead spots in your house and fix them. They also work togather to avoid interferance with cordless phones and microwaves. I have my router in the basement of the house, and my airport bar never drops below 3/4.

[Parker]

QUOTE

I have one of the "MIMO" routers

and miraculously it started to work with iChat!!
lol

btw how's ChatFX?

Harv, try one of those Dr. Bott antennas when you get a new AirPort

also, does anyone know of a FireWire router yet and running FireWire instead of CAT 3, 5, or 6?

p/s: and mastercheif's house is not small, noting that the mimo router is not in the center of the house.

[mastercheif]

Why would you want to have a firewire router?

Firewire = 400MBPS

Cat 5 = unlimited

[Parker]

and also harv, if a charity doesn't want your Lombard, donating it to me would be charitable to... my collection
(and since it's a G3 it would get a lot of use too )
and will pay for shipping (which couldn't be expensive)

[Parker]

jj, cat 5 has a speed restriction
you can't achieve drastically high speeds with cat 5
it all depends on your network card

i just figured firewire networks would be insanely cool
well anything IEEE could be used for networking
(correct me if i am wrong)

whatever... just curious
no reasoning behind it

[mastercheif]

Yes, it is possiable to share a internet connection over two computers. Go to Sys prefs, then network. Under the show tab, you should see built in Firewire.

To get this to work, on the Master computer, go to Sys prefs, and then Sharing. And then go to the Internet tab. Check off the Built in ethernet box.

Then on your slave computer, go to the airport menu bar item, and hit create network. Then enter in the Name of the other computer and you should be set.

[Parker]

do they make a router yet?
like a linksys cable/dsl router for firewire?

[FLASH1296]

OOPS !  I misread what was posted.

What I said below pertains more to a simple networking and not to a shared Internet connection:

Here is what I have just posted:

Masterchief is correct but there is a simple quick-fix solution with modern Macs running OS X ~ all you need do is connect the 2 Macs via Firewire cable.

Boot the slave Mac holding down the 'T' key
The Slave Mac will show a firewire icon on its display.
On the master Mac the Boot Hard Drive wll appear.

enjoy.

[FLASH1296]

Linksys routers are ubiquitous ~ but readers should note that Linksys will (actually) refuse outright to provide tech support to Mac users.

[sandbox]

I’m sitting 40 feet from a netgear 802.11g router behind 2 concrete walls. The download speed to my iBook according to the speakeasy site was 6120kbps, upload 425kbps. Single antennae

Brighthouse Cable Networks (Time/Warner) have the worst upload speed on the market, limited to 750 kbsp. The advertised download speed is 8000 k or 8 mb.

there are 3 hardwire and 2 wireless computers on the network.

[FLASH1296]

I reside in New York State's 'Capital District' where Time Warner is the local cable monopoly. Consumers get 5 Mbps / 512K  The downstream bandwidth can be increased to 8MBps at a ridiculous increase in price. Upstream speed increase is not offered at any price !

<sigh>

[Mayo]

QUOTE

Brighthouse Cable Networks (Time/Warner) have the worst upload speed on the market, limited to 750 kbsp.

You must have mean't the worst upload speed in your market...  

In my market (Charter) it is 300kbps max upload and you're lucky if you get 250-275kbps. Charter has recently introduced a max of 10MB download speed option, but I haven't checked the price or whether the upload speed is higher.