Best Gigabit Router Config

Question

There was a question that I posted here [https://networkengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/65695/lan-speed-150-200-mbps-but-wifi-speed-is-5mbps-to-80-mbps] , which was off-topic. Hence I found out that this is the right place to post it.

My initial question was this.

I'm having a 150 Mbps GPON Network.The modem has a 2.4 Ghz Wifi inbuilt, but I am using a TP Link Archer C20 Dual band Router v4, to get the 5Ghz band connecting the Ethernet Cable.

When I use Ethernet Cable Directly in my laptop, it is giving me from 150 Mbps to 200Mbps. But when I connect it using the Wifi, I am getting a measly speed of 5Mbps to 80Mbps.

I am using a CAT5E LAN cable of the connection which supports 1000Mbps.

I have gotten 100 Mbps with the same router, and the router has around 433Mbps bandwidth for 5Ghz network alone.

I was told there will be some attenuation, but this seems to be a lot. My speed is lesser than when I had a 100Mbps connection. Could anyone tell me, if I have to change any particular settings at all?

I found out that, my router event though has the following bandwidth of 5GHz: Up to 433Mbps and 2.4GHz: Up to 300Mbps, I missed the fact that it was not a Gigabit Router.

So, I bought a low-mid range Gigabit Router, D-Link DIR-841 - AC1200. The speed is not very satisfactory, infact less than 100Mbps at most times, but I found out that the upload speed is faster than download speed, every single time, even though my internet plan has higher download than upload. The Ethernet is seemingly fast, and an average of 150-200 Mbps.

I tried switching to 802.11ac mode to see if there is an improvement.

Before starting to write a question of my own, I have seen articles like this [Why am I not getting full Gigabit Ethernet speed in my LAN?

I see that Wifi is half-duplex and cannot provide higher connection but still, can anyone please suggest a proper configuration for the same, in order to improve the Wifi speed? Or maybe a better router model?

Answer 1

From your question, I can't be sure whether you're having trouble with your internet connection, your connection between devices, or both.

Some tips:

• Double-check for any issues with: 1GB(1000MB/s) vs 1Gb(125MB/s) vs 1GBe(125MB/s). File uploads/downloads are measured in Big B, and network speeds in small b. The best gigabit internet connection you can have will only download files at about 100MB/s.
• Try to test without any other devices on the network if possible
• Use iperf to measure speeds between devices at home.

iperf is important for a few reasons: it keeps everything in memory, it has low overhead, it's quick, and it's everywhere - including many home routers.

Just run iperf -s on the destination and iperf -c 192.168.1.1 on the source. My router has this in the "troubleshooting" section of its web gui. It won't help with internet issues, but can rule out a slow router.

• What speed does your network adapter say it's running at? This will be the maximum speed it can achieve. Here's an example of my terrible 65Mb/s b/g connection.
• Wireless issues: interference from neighbors, other devices, or distance will slow you down. Wireless issues are exponential, and scale with speed
• faster uploads than downloads is generally not a device issue. Something may be running and chewing up your network, your ISP may not be giving you the speeds that you expect, or maybe your PC writes to disk a bit slow.

for examples, I tested from PC1>PC2 through my old router (100Mb/s ethernet) and I got 93-94Mb/s. Then I tested through my $20 gigabit switch and got 942-943Mb/s, which is a standard speed you should be able to get through ethernet on your LAN

Wifi speeds actually theoretically max out at 433Mb/s unless you invest in ac 3-stream stuff. That router should get you around 200+Mb/s though no problem if your device is connecting on 5GHz ac. It says higher, but that will be across multiple devices.