I'm having serious issues with my internet connection, but before I phone Virgin, I wanted to make sure it's nothing my end causing the issues. First a bit on info, as my network is a little overcomplicated, due to living in a house with thick brick internal walls which cause all kinds of wireless issues. - I've got a Virgin 20Mb cable line coming in. - The default modem is connected to a Netgear WNR2000 wireless router at one end of the house. - I've got a second Netgear WNR2000 router located at the other end of the house, connected to the first with a ethernet cable. DNS is disabled on this router. - Both routers have different SSID's, and use different channells, 1 & 11. - There are 3 computers on the network. My server / media center connects to the second router using an ethernet cable, whilst the other two (my main computer & a laptop) connect wirelessly to whichever router is closest (wireless G only though). I've also tried a different configuration, where my virgin modem is attached on a long cable, so that only one router is used at the end of the house that has all the computers. The problems I'm having is that of poor internet on occasions, not all the time. Tonight for instance, I can't watch internet TV without it buffering every 30sec and missing 3/4 of the rugby match I'm trying to watch. SpeedTest.net suggests that my connection speed is decent, always coming back above 13Mb, and usually not far off the 20Mb I should be getting. However when I try a test on PingTest.net the Packet Loss test always fails (I've opened ports 5060 and 8080 on the routers), and my overall results come back as F = very poor. If I ping google.com from the command prompt, one fails almost always. I have the same problems from all three PC's, meaning poor wireless connection is not an issue, as the server / media center is connected using ethernet. Should I get straight on the phone with Virgin, or should I test my network even further first? Thanks in advance for any help. Edit. Here are copies of my results from Speedtest.net and Pingtest.net. Speed a little slow tonight. Retried the pingtest and got a D rating this time. Still not acceptable imo.
connect the laptop to the router that is directly connected to the Virgin modem, then run speedtest. If that has the same problems call Virgin, if not you'll need to look at your network. Try changing the channel that the wireless is on as there could be interference from some other source.
It's cable based RichCreedy. Reggie50: Yeh, I thought it was my wireless for a while, as this house is simply appalling for wireless signal. But I've already checked using a computer connected directly to the first router, and there are similar issues. Tomorrow, I'll connect the laptop directly to the modem, taking out all routers etc. and see if there are still problems. It seems a little better now, although my pingtest.net results keep coming back all over the shop. On one test I'll get a rating of C, with 0% lost packets (got it to work), the next test will give me a rating of F with 6% lost packets! 13% lost just now. It'll probably be fine for a while tomorrow, tends to get worse at busy periods in the evening, but remains poor into the early hours (usually still up working till 3am). I'm pretty sure it's virgins fault, so even if the results seem better tomorrow I'll give them a call so they can do some tests on the line. Not good:
Doesn't seem to have helped much, still getting roughly the same resutls in both speed and ping tests. Still can't stream tv propperly either. Out of curiousity, why would that have helped?
My thoughts exactly. You'd be better off using your first router as your actual wireless router and your second router as a wireless access point which operates on the same channel as your wireless router, with the same SSID etc. From my experience some routers support this and others don't so you'll need to check with your particular router etc. Google is your friend here.
Sorry, yes it's dhcp that has been disabled on the second router, not dns. I basically set up two SSID's, so that I could make sure I was connected to the correct router with the strongest signal. I've removed one of the routers now while I rut tests anyway, so only one SSID is in use.
try as you were going to, connecting directly to the modem, but make sure you turn it off first. that will eliminate your network as the issue
Well, I've spoken to Virgin, and there are apparently known issues in the area regarding packet loss during peak times. Could be up to a month untill it's sorted. I've been having these issues on and off for a couple of months already, so not all that pleased with the service at the moment. Currently re-doing my network. I've instead got the first router on a long network cable from the virgin modem at the busy end of the house, and I'm going to set-up the second router as a repeater upstars with my main computer connected to it using ethernet. I think this will give me the best overall speed where I need it. Thanks for all your help, and to anyone else in the Lincoln area that's experiencing similar issues, Virgin are apparently doing somethign about it....... Yup did that, and it seemed better, as the speed was constantly above 19.5Mb, and line-rating on pingtest.net came down to a B with 0% packet loss. However some ping tests still came back with 6% loss and a D rating on occasion. Guy on the phone said it should be fine at the moment, but there will still be problems in the evenings. Thanks for the help. I'll leave my dns settings at 8.8.8.8 as you suggested.
In my original configuration I had both routers set with different channels: 1 and 11, trying to avoid most of the interference from neighbouring signals. Just set up the second as a repeater, in that case both need to use the same channel. Still not happy with my network, the throughput is abysmal. I'm getting a max of 1.8MB/s when transferring a 2GB file between two computers, one computer connected directly to the main router using GB thernet, and the other connected again with GB ethernet to the wireless repeater. The router and repeater are no more than 5m apart with just a floor between them. Surely I should be experiencing better speeds than this using wireless (draft) N technology? When I tested earlier I was barely getting 300KB/s transfer rate. Think I've managed to purchase the worst routers ever!
From your latest description it sounds like you are also using the routers to form a point-to-point bridge? Wifi repeating will cut the available bandwidth in half for all devices (even if a device is only in range of 1 WAP/router). Also, repeating usually limits you to basic WEP encryption, where the best performance is normally achieved using WPA2. If you don't need repeating then disable it which should give a boost to the speed of the bridge. Before pointing the finger at the routers, have you checked for external sources that could be reducing your bandwidth? Run a scan with inSSIDer to see if a neighbour is using up a big chunk of the bandwidth on the channel you are trying. 1/6/11 are not always the best choices if they are all occupied. If unsure how to interpret inSSIDer results, post a pic.
I've already used inSSIDer to check external sources and there is unfortunately quite alot of interference from neighbouring networks. They all seem to be set-up with default settings taking up the majority of the central channels. The only un-occupied channels are now the lower ones, although last time I checked only channels 1 and 11 were free. Someones now taking up channel and all the way up to 13, so I've changed mine to channel 3. Here's a screenshot of my current settings using channel 03 (mine are the two 97Wireless ones): Pretty sure that there are normally even more networks in range. Maybe some people turn them off overnight. I'm not sure what's the best way to set-up my network now. Every way I've tried it has resulted in poor transfer speeds, which I'm sure isn't helping my internet speeds aswell. I've got a Netgear RangeMax WN111v2 Wirelss-N UBS dongle which seems useless in every way and usually results in worse speeds than if I connect my pc to my wireless-G printserver (Netgear WPS606). That's why I'm currently trying using my second router in repeater mode and connecting my main pc directly to that with an ethernet cable. You are correct, I'm currently using WEP encryption. What is my other option if I want to keep one router downstairs and the other upstairs?
I'm highly tempted to get rid of both routers and invest in something decent. From my research these Netgrear WNR2000 routers are a pile of sh*t, my fault for going the cheap route. Get a decent pci or pci-e wireless n card for my main pc to go along with it and I'm sure things will improve. Just a pitty I'm likey going to have to spend another £100+ to basically extend my network from downstairs to the room directly above. I'm not willing to drill any more holes to route ethernet cable, and the downstairs and upstairs power sockets are on different circuits so powerline networking is out of the question aswell.
