I have basically the following setup:
- It's a home network, running with a Netgear WNDR3700 wireless router.
- Wireless Devices on the Network:
- Google Nexus One: 802.11 b/g/n
- iPhone (Original): 802.11 b/g
- Main Workstation Laptop: 802.11 a/b/g (it might support n, but on the docs for the Intel 5100, it only says a/b/g)
- "Beater/Other" Laptop: 802.11g b/g
- Ethernetted devices on the network:
- Logitech Revue: CAT-5e
- I'm running both the 2.4 GHz and the 5.0 GHz networks over the same SSID.
The goal, obviously, is to get everything over to N if possible. I've heard that wireless N has much better signal and transfer rates, is this true?
Also, is running the two different frequencies with the same SSID problematic? It's kind of strange, because my Nexus One is having a difficult time staying connected to the network in my office while the main workstation laptop in the same room is getting a much better signal.
Here's the output of iwconfig
from both the laptop and the phone:
Nexus One:
eth0 IEEE 802.11-DS ESSID:"Network-ID" Nickname:""
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.437 GHz Access Point: $$:$$:$$:$$:$$:$$
Bit Rate=26 Mb/s Tx-Power:32 dBm
Retry min limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Encryption key:off
Power Managementmode:All packets received
Link Quality=1/5 Signal level=-80 dBm Noise level=-92 dBm
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0
Main Workstation Laptop:
wlan0 IEEE 802.11abgn ESSID:"Network-ID"
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.437 GHz Access Point: $$:$$:$$:$$:$$:$$
Bit Rate=52 Mb/s Tx-Power=15 dBm
Retry long limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Power Management:off
Link Quality=44/70 Signal level=-66 dBm
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:498560 Invalid misc:14879 Missed beacon:0
What's interesting is that both are running on the 2.4 GHz networks, essentially both not on the wireless n network, which kind of defeats the whole purpose of things. Is it bad to run both the 2.4 and 5.0 GHz networks with the same SSID? If using a network repeater, is it bad to rebroadcast the original network with the same SSID as the source network?
It seems that the 5.0 GHz network is getting "clobbered" by the 2.4 GHz network. Is it really necessary for me to broadcast using different SSIDs?