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hambeet
Sep 13, 2002

SamDabbers posted:

Yes, don't get a combo device. If your Speedstream 4200 works, then there's really no reason to replace it. Put that money towards a new router instead.

My WNDR3700 has been fine as a dual-band AP, but I didn't use it much as a router. I've seen many recommendations in this thread for the ASUS RT-N16 for 2.4GHz, and RT-N66U for dual band 2.4/5GHz, for what it's worth.

Thank you for that.

Yeah the speedstream is syncing at ~16mb I think my old combo was syncing at around ~18mb I'm not too worried about that as it's ample for gaming and I never need to download anything "right now".

I've sussed out the Asus routers and come up with this ASUS RT-N56U which is in my price range ($109aud) where as the N16 is hard to find and the N66U is above what I was wanting to pay (just over $100 I was happy to fork out).

The N56U is dual band and looks fine in comparison. Is that an okay pick?

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UndyingShadow
May 15, 2006
You're looking ESPECIALLY shadowy this evening, Sir

hambeet posted:

Thank you for that.

Yeah the speedstream is syncing at ~16mb I think my old combo was syncing at around ~18mb I'm not too worried about that as it's ample for gaming and I never need to download anything "right now".

I've sussed out the Asus routers and come up with this ASUS RT-N56U which is in my price range ($109aud) where as the N16 is hard to find and the N66U is above what I was wanting to pay (just over $100 I was happy to fork out).

The N56U is dual band and looks fine in comparison. Is that an okay pick?

Yes, it's fine.

hambeet
Sep 13, 2002

UndyingShadow posted:

Yes, it's fine.

You're now my favourite SHSC thread. Thank you.

Once I set this all up I'll come back to the problem I tried to solve years back (but :effort:) about trying to link two networks together without sharing their respective internet connections.

IOwnCalculus
Apr 2, 2003





Nighthand posted:

1) The person in the back has offered to throw money at the problem by way of purchasing a new modem. Would that be likely to help, and if so, what modem should I look for? I see a recommendation for a SB6141, but I'm open to suggestions. We have already replaced the router after past issues. Even if the modem wouldn't solve the issue, would it be worth updating from the old hardware?

2) The person in the back has also offered the idea of running a cable and setting up their own router. I believe I'm correct in saying that it'd be the same effect to just run a cable from my router to their computer (they could still use their printer wirelessly) and not require another router.

3) The way I see it, the simplest solution -- if it works -- would be to run a network cable from my router to their desk to plug in the computer when it's there, leaving their wireless connection open to the printer.

4) Another possible solution would be to run some kind of wireless repeater, but that seems a bit overkill for the relatively short distance.

1) Cable modem won't do anything unless you're seeing problems too - if your internet connection is solid, then it has nothing to do with the cable modem. Might not be a terrible upgrade either way (my SB51xx finally died and the 6120 I replaced it with does work a decent bit better) but the core problem here is the link from your router to the studio, not your router to the rest of the world.

2) This is actually the best idea if you're willing to put in the work (aka properly run some outdoor cable). Connect it to one of your router's LAN ports, then manually configure the new router to use an IP that isn't being used on your network (if your router is 192.168.1.1, 192.168.1.2 is probably a good idea) and disable DHCP on it. This basically turns it into a wireless access point. You can actually buy dedicated WAP devices but for most purposes, it's actually cheaper to turn a router into one. Connect the other end of the cable to one of the LAN ports on the new router. They can then connect to the wireless network in their studio, and the link between the studio and your network is a nice reliable cable instead.

3) Not sure what you plan on here - would the printer still be connecting back to your router wirelessly? Still going to have the range problem.

4) If running an actual cable is difficult / not possible (as I am doing since my link in this situation goes across a street) you would want to run some form of dedicated point-to-point wireless. Best way is to get some dedicated gear for this from Ubiquiti, but you can fake it with some consumer routers if you want to.

GokieKS
Dec 15, 2012

Mostly Harmless.

Nighthand posted:

I have Charter Internet
I have a Motorola Surfboard SB5101 modem
I have a Linksys WRT400N router. It has standard firmware because DD-WRT was bugging the gently caress out for me.

I have a desktop computer on a wired connection and a laptop on a wireless connection, both within 10 feet of the router. These work perfectly most of the time.

I share my connection with someone in a studio behind my house. They use a laptop wirelessly, as well as a wireless HP printer. They are probably... no more than 40 or 50 feet away, but through a couple of walls and a couple of appliances (fridge, oven) that could get in the way of the signal. This person has sporadic connection issues, to the extent that sending an e-mail with a photo attachment will time out 50% of the time. They also claim that their wireless connection works just fine in other locations, leading me to suspect signal issues rather than hardware issues.



I'm looking for a way to improve the connection for the person in the studio.

1) The person in the back has offered to throw money at the problem by way of purchasing a new modem. Would that be likely to help, and if so, what modem should I look for? I see a recommendation for a SB6141, but I'm open to suggestions. We have already replaced the router after past issues. Even if the modem wouldn't solve the issue, would it be worth updating from the old hardware?

2) The person in the back has also offered the idea of running a cable and setting up their own router. I believe I'm correct in saying that it'd be the same effect to just run a cable from my router to their computer (they could still use their printer wirelessly) and not require another router.

3) The way I see it, the simplest solution -- if it works -- would be to run a network cable from my router to their desk to plug in the computer when it's there, leaving their wireless connection open to the printer.

4) Another possible solution would be to run some kind of wireless repeater, but that seems a bit overkill for the relatively short distance.

I prefer the reliability of a wired connection above all else, so if the wire doesn't pose a significant issue (in aesthetics, pets, clumsiness, or whatever), running a cable to a switch in the other room and then letting him connect his computer/printer/whatever to that would be the best choice.

Nighthand
Nov 4, 2009

what horror the gas

IOwnCalculus posted:

1) Cable modem won't do anything unless you're seeing problems too - if your internet connection is solid, then it has nothing to do with the cable modem. Might not be a terrible upgrade either way (my SB51xx finally died and the 6120 I replaced it with does work a decent bit better) but the core problem here is the link from your router to the studio, not your router to the rest of the world.

2) This is actually the best idea if you're willing to put in the work (aka properly run some outdoor cable). Connect it to one of your router's LAN ports, then manually configure the new router to use an IP that isn't being used on your network (if your router is 192.168.1.1, 192.168.1.2 is probably a good idea) and disable DHCP on it. This basically turns it into a wireless access point. You can actually buy dedicated WAP devices but for most purposes, it's actually cheaper to turn a router into one. Connect the other end of the cable to one of the LAN ports on the new router. They can then connect to the wireless network in their studio, and the link between the studio and your network is a nice reliable cable instead.

3) Not sure what you plan on here - would the printer still be connecting back to your router wirelessly? Still going to have the range problem.

4) If running an actual cable is difficult / not possible (as I am doing since my link in this situation goes across a street) you would want to run some form of dedicated point-to-point wireless. Best way is to get some dedicated gear for this from Ubiquiti, but you can fake it with some consumer routers if you want to.

Running a cable shouldn't be too much of an issue. The studio and my apartment are actually connected, it's kind of a duplex situation (an old house long-ago divided into individual spaces, there's a third above us) so the cable could run indoors through the basement without much obstruction. It probably wouldn't require much more than a hole or two in some floors.

The bit about the printer I should clarify. I looked up some information about their specific printer, and it has a mode where it broadcasts its own SSID that they can connect to without needing to go through wifi. The reason it's connected to wifi now is because their computer uses the wifi to connect to my network; if they switched to a wired Internet connection, it leaves the wireless card free to connect to the printer directly.

I think we're going to run a cable and see if that works as-is, and if it doesn't, there's a spare router sitting around that can be hooked up as you mentioned above. Thanks for the responses!

UndyingShadow
May 15, 2006
You're looking ESPECIALLY shadowy this evening, Sir
Does anyone know of some 5ghz INTERNAL antennas? Right now I have a little zotac box with an internal wifi card that I upgraded with an intel 802.11 AC mini pci-e card, but the performance is so awful on 5ghz that I've had to go with an old external 802.11n adapter. I think it's due to the antennas being only tuned for 2.4 ghz.

abelwingnut
Dec 23, 2002


Just got a new NAS up and running. Everything's great with it but I believe my weak wireless connection is causing some blips here and there.

My main goals with the NAS were to a) back up and b) use it as a repository that I could link to from various hosts. For instance, I got a new laptop and rebuilt my iTunes library sourcing everything from the mapping of the NAS. It plays ok for about three to five minutes, then the music (mp3 or m4a) will cut out for a second or two, then resume. This annoys me to no end. I haven't even tried playing videos over wireless yet but I'm not expecting much.

In any case I'm fairly sure the network is at fault. First, the NAS is a Synology ds414, which has some great internals. Second, there's a gigabit connection between the Arris TG862, a modem/router. Third, I've always had a less-than-savory connection at my usual place in the apartment. Fourth, per inSSIDer my connection was clocked at 30mbps, which is just awful. Fifth, wiring into the Arris provides a godlike internet connection.

So yea, I'm fairly certain my wireless network sucks. I've looked at some of the Netgear options, notably the R6300v2. But that could easily be overkill. I'm no more than 25' away from the modem now and, at most, do have a few walls between. Number of devices? 2, maybe 3, wired-in; 8 or 9 wireless, at most. I could install DD-WRT but would rather the router suffice out of the box. <= $200 preferred, more if worth it. And I'd like to get a good five years out of this thing.

Thanks for your help.

abelwingnut fucked around with this message at 20:56 on Nov 21, 2013

Illuminado
Mar 26, 2008

The Path Ahead is Dark

crm posted:

I am building a house.

Other than running cat6 everywhere, any recommendations? It's 2 stories + basement, so I'm thinking I'll need an AP per floor.

Any recommendations on what AP would work best in this environment?

What about doing goofy stuff with home automation and controls? Any good resources for getting up to speed here?

I know this is a couple pages back, but I just bought a house and after running some cable somewhat haphazardly and trying to get everything set up (for the most part) some advise that I can tender is that if you have the capability, you can install PVC conduit internally and then run whatever you want to any room after the fact. I've seen several little "fly's" that you can use to pull twine through by using a vacuum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIqzyr8HAiI
like this

I have 3 Stories (1 basement, 2 above ground) and have 3 AP's.
1x Linksys E3200 as my main Router w/ DD-WRT on it.
2x Linksys E2000 as my secondary AP's, also w/ DD-WRT.

With the newer routers, they're about $30 refurbed, you can flash them and set them up as secondary AP's with gigabit connectivity, and just set them up to broaden the range of your wireless.

I'm looking into Home Automation hardware, but haven't had much luck in finding anything that's really sold me, so any recommendations on this note would be greatly appreciated! That and any sort of Home Security IP Cam software (Linux) would be greatly appreciated.

Combat Pretzel
Jun 23, 2004

No, seriously... what kurds?!
Trying to find out what 5GHz Wifi channel would be the best to use in regards to wavelength hijinks, I came across this table and was surprised to find out that the higher bands blast more power into the air. So if you have crappy reception, check what channel your router is using.

(Personally, I set up channel 100 to not give my Android phone another option to drain battery for nothing.)

Bohemian Cowabunga
Mar 24, 2008

Can anyone here help me with a pfSense firewall rule problem?

I have a pfSense running as a router and on that I have setup an OpenVPN client using the guide found here http://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=29944.0
I have set up a rule to redirect all traffic from a specific subnet to use the VPN tunnel as a gateway and everything works.

My problem is, however, that if the OpenVPN client disconnects, the traffic from the subnet goes out through the unencrypted gateway.
I have tried setting up a rule to block traffic from the DMZ subnet going to the other gateway, but that will also block the OpenVPN traffic.

How do I make sure that traffic is not going out from the subnet if the OpenVPN tunnel is down?

Sikreci
Mar 23, 2006

Can anyone recommend me a good VPN service? I've found out pretty conclusively that Comcast is throttling Netflix traffic in my area, since it streams like poo poo but immediately works perfectly if I connect to my university VPN. But my university VPN is kind of weird and not totally reliable, so I'd like to go with a better third-party solution if anyone knows a good one.

caberham
Mar 18, 2009

by Smythe
Grimey Drawer
Host VPN is goon run. First month costs 2 pennies

Sikreci
Mar 23, 2006

Can you link me? Googling "Host VPN" isn't very helpful for obvious reasons.

Stupid Decisions
Nov 10, 2009
Slippery Tilde
I have been using Private Internet Access for a while and have no complaints. Works as advertised.

Ratmtattat
Mar 10, 2004
the hairdryer

AceSnyp3r posted:

Can you link me? Googling "Host VPN" isn't very helpful for obvious reasons.

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3519315

I've been using them for a couple months and it's a pretty sweet setup.

uapyro
Jan 13, 2005

Stupid Decisions posted:

I have been using Private Internet Access for a while and have no complaints. Works as advertised.

I use this one too, though I did have HostVPN before PIA. I needed a server from a specific country, so PIA was perfect for me.

IOwnCalculus
Apr 2, 2003





Since I know 802.11ac experience in this thread is still relatively limited... I decided to pick up a couple of these Western Digital "AC1300" routers. One will be going into my mom's house to replace her failing m0n0wall / WRT54G setup, the other is going into my place to act as an 802.11ac access point in my bedroom. Initial testing on the latter looks quite promising (about 1.5-2x faster than my existing 2.4GHz 802.11n setup), and it's nice that they throw a proper AP-only mode into the stock firmware. I should have the one at my mom's to act as an actual router set up later this week.

The other nice bit about those WDs is that they're actually naming them conservatively. Using the naming conventions everyone else is using, this would actually be an AC1750 router.

jackpot
Aug 31, 2004

First cousin to the Black Rabbit himself. Such was Woundwort's monument...and perhaps it would not have displeased him.<
Router upstairs, Xbox and Apple TV downstairs. Bad wifi. I'm thinking of running a long ethernet cable straight from upstairs, outside the house, then under the house and into the living room where our cable line comes in. 1) Are there any obvious problems with that, and B) besides about 100ft of cable, what would I need? I'm getting confused trying to figure out what kind of splitter I need for this. At a glance this seems like what I need, but it says it can only connect one device at a time, not two simultaneously. What do I need if I want both my devices online at the same time?

Rexxed
May 1, 2010

Dis is amazing!
I gotta try dis!

jackpot posted:

Router upstairs, Xbox and Apple TV downstairs. Bad wifi. I'm thinking of running a long ethernet cable straight from upstairs, outside the house, then under the house and into the living room where our cable line comes in. 1) Are there any obvious problems with that, and B) besides about 100ft of cable, what would I need? I'm getting confused trying to figure out what kind of splitter I need for this. At a glance this seems like what I need, but it says it can only connect one device at a time, not two simultaneously. What do I need if I want both my devices online at the same time?

For ethernet you want to get a switch to split one connection into more than one. The physical splitter you linked is not going to work properly with a network connection. You'd want something like this: http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-SG...+gigabit+switch

There are 5 and 8 port switches in the 20-30 dollar range at all times, and I've used Netgear, Trendnet and TP-LINK before, they're all pretty good.

You'd plug your long cord into your router's LAN port, then the other end into this switch. Then plug all the devices into the switch as well. You could optionally also add a wireless access point if you have reception problems downstairs, too. If you want it to be neat you can use wall plates for rj-45 on each end of the long connection, it's just more punchdown blocks and crimping cable ends than running a long pre-made cable.

edit: if you're running the cable outside try to buy cat6 cable that's meant to be outdoors instead of cat5e or regular cat6.

Rexxed fucked around with this message at 04:24 on Nov 26, 2013

Revitalized
Sep 13, 2007

A free custom title is a free custom title

Lipstick Apathy
Not sure if this is the right place to be posting, but I have a PS4 kind of issue right now.

So whenever I turn on my PS4, there's like... a 50% chance that it'll poo poo on my internet connection while it's trying to connect to PSN or to Killzone's servers. (Or really doing anything online)

It makes it so that my other online devices can't surf websites or anything because it seems like no packets are getting through. (I tried pinging google.com through the command line and kept getting Request Timed Out or 3000ms returns) I don't know much about networking, but I tried playing with QoS settings on my router but I'm not sure if that's suppose to help or if I'm even doing it right. Any ideas? I've never had this issue before I got the Playstation 4

I have a 30mbps down and 5mbps up connection with a decent wireless ASUS router (RT-N65R). Any ideas anyone?

TyrantWD
Nov 6, 2010
Ignore my doomerism, I don't think better things are possible
I am building a new computer soon, and one of the upgrades I was planning to make was getting off my USB wireless ac adapter - it is a Netgear A6200, and it works well...sometimes. I'm hoping to move to a less temperamental solution than USB adapters, and I was about to pull the trigger on wireless ac PCI-E card, but the reviews on the Intel and Asus cards seem to be almost as problematic. I did come across the wireless bridge option yesterday and wanted to ask if there is any gain in performance/stability going with something like the WD My Net AC bridge over a PCI-E card? I use my desktop for HD video streaming to the TV, moving large batches of files between computers, and a lot multiplayer gaming. What would be the best option when running a cable is not an option? After years of networking frustrations, I don't mind costly or awkward solutions.

SamDabbers
May 26, 2003



TyrantWD posted:

What would be the best option when running a cable is not an option? After years of networking frustrations, I don't mind costly or awkward solutions.

The powerline solutions seem to work well enough for most people. Grab a pair of the 500Mbps variety adapters. They're often on sale for $60-$75.

SamDabbers fucked around with this message at 19:18 on Nov 26, 2013

serebralassazin
Feb 20, 2004
I wish I had something clever to say.
I have brought them up in the thread before, if your wiring is decent they're pretty great. I have used Zyxel ones and they've been pretty good. I had a pair of TP-Link which were problematic. Anecdotal evidence but figured I would toss it out there.

Zorak of Michigan
Jun 10, 2006

Other than trying and seeing, is there any way to check to see whether MoCa or powerline would work better in my house?

UndyingShadow
May 15, 2006
You're looking ESPECIALLY shadowy this evening, Sir

TyrantWD posted:

I am building a new computer soon, and one of the upgrades I was planning to make was getting off my USB wireless ac adapter - it is a Netgear A6200, and it works well...sometimes. I'm hoping to move to a less temperamental solution than USB adapters, and I was about to pull the trigger on wireless ac PCI-E card, but the reviews on the Intel and Asus cards seem to be almost as problematic. I did come across the wireless bridge option yesterday and wanted to ask if there is any gain in performance/stability going with something like the WD My Net AC bridge over a PCI-E card? I use my desktop for HD video streaming to the TV, moving large batches of files between computers, and a lot multiplayer gaming. What would be the best option when running a cable is not an option? After years of networking frustrations, I don't mind costly or awkward solutions.

DO NOT buy the My Net AC bridge. I had this, it had major stability and connection problems, and every time I had to add or remove a device, it would fail to connect until I completely reset the unit (and I don't mean a power reset, I mean, reset to factory and reconfigure it)

Alongside that, I've tried lots of stuff, and none it has really worked. I have the ASUS PCE-AC68, but it has issues with dropping the connection every minute or so (which throws streaming right out the window.) I tried an 802.11ac ASUS usb wifi adapter, but the speed was awful (lower than my trendnet 802.11n usb adapter.)

Basically, I never got 802.11ac to function worth a drat. My solution was to give up and run a 200' LAN cable over 5 doorways and along baseboards with a staple gun. Now everything works perfectly, and you barely notice the cable unless you're looking for it.

UndyingShadow fucked around with this message at 22:23 on Nov 26, 2013

stevewm
May 10, 2005

UndyingShadow posted:

.....
Basically, I never got 802.11ac to function worth a drat. .....

Same here... Asus RT-AC66U router, Asus' very expensive PCI-Ex adapter, etc.. Completely unused 5Ghz band in my area (as in I was the only one using it), 80Mhz channel width, etc.. and still never managed to get actual throughput much higher than a 802.11N adapter. I actually tried a few 802.11AC adapters all with disappointing results. The USB 3.0 adapters in particular where problematic...

802.11AC has potential, but in my opinion the equipment needs a little more time to mature.

TyrantWD
Nov 6, 2010
Ignore my doomerism, I don't think better things are possible

UndyingShadow posted:

DO NOT buy the My Net AC bridge. I had this, it had major stability and connection problems, and every time I had to add or remove a device, it would fail to connect until I completely reset the unit (and I don't mean a power reset, I mean, reset to factory and reconfigure it)

Alongside that, I've tried lots of stuff, and none it has really worked. I have the ASUS PCE-AC68, but it has issues with dropping the connection every minute or so (which throws streaming right out the window.) I tried an 802.11ac ASUS usb wifi adapter, but the speed was awful (lower than my trendnet 802.11n usb adapter.)

Basically, I never got 802.11ac to function worth a drat. My solution was to give up and run a 200' LAN cable over 5 doorways and along baseboards with a staple gun. Now everything works perfectly, and you barely notice the cable unless you're looking for it.

I live in an apartment building, so as much as I would like to run a cable to my desktop, my hands are pretty much tied on that front. My computer is unfortunately also located in a room with no cable outlet, so I can't relocate the modem.

SamDabbers posted:

The powerline solutions seem to work well enough for most people. Grab a pair of the 500Mbps variety adapters. They're often on sale for $60-$75.

How effective are powerline adapters in an apartment building? Would I run into issues when the neighbor uses a hair dryer etc.?

UndyingShadow
May 15, 2006
You're looking ESPECIALLY shadowy this evening, Sir

TyrantWD posted:

I live in an apartment building, so as much as I would like to run a cable to my desktop, my hands are pretty much tied on that front. My computer is unfortunately also located in a room with no cable outlet, so I can't relocate the modem.


I live in an apartment too! Staple the cord to the baseboard/wall near the floor. No permanent holes.

Power line adapters have the same problems as wifi, spotty performance and speed. Plus, even the fastest don't get over 80mbps, slower than 802.11n. But they can be more stable at longer range.

titaniumone
Jun 10, 2001

UndyingShadow posted:

I live in an apartment too! Staple the cord to the baseboard/wall near the floor. No permanent holes.

Power line adapters have the same problems as wifi, spotty performance and speed. Plus, even the fastest don't get over 80mbps, slower than 802.11n. But they can be more stable at longer range.

Or just make holes and fix them when you move out, it costs like $20 for spackle and some paint?

DoctorTristan
Mar 11, 2006

I would look up into your lifeless eyes and wave, like this. Can you and your associates arrange that for me, Mr. Morden?
Apologies for the insultingly basic question. Does anyone have any views on usb wifi dongles? My desktop's piece of poo poo D-Link adapter (a DWA-140 if that makes a difference) keeps periodically dropping connections, possibly because it's overheating. My laptop, phone and tablet hold the connection fine in the same location, so it's not the signal that's the problem.

I did look into getting one of these instead, but my motherboard doesn't have a PCIEx x1 slot, so that's out.

Pudgygiant
Apr 8, 2004

Garnet and black? More like gold and blue or whatever the fuck colors these are
For AC stuff, the Linksys EA6500v1 is fantastic once you flash it with DD-WRT. You still run into common DD-WRT problems like the webgui goes unresponsive once a week or so, but nothing major. It's total poo poo before you flash it though, and from the thread over there it seems to be 50/50 people who have to flash with TFTP, so make sure you're comfortable doing that if you buy one. I'm using it as my DD, it's crazy fast and as stable as basically any new bleeding edge router. The Asus RT-AC66U is really great right out of the box, easily the best stock AC router right now. With DD-WRT it's a bit slower than the EA6500 but a bit more stable, so that's the tradeoff. I was using it for a while, switched in the EA6500 to test it out and I had that set up for my network when a friend offered to buy the AC66U.

You're not going to get full 1750/1900 AC speeds without dropping $100 for a 3x3 adapter, so be aware of that. I've been using the A6200 since it came out, it's pretty drat unstable but I don't know if that's because of Windows 8's crap TCP/IP stack. Either way, I wouldn't recommend it, it's got a flaky USB connector and you have to search for win7/8 drivers because they're not on the CD.

Pudgygiant fucked around with this message at 14:53 on Nov 27, 2013

Naturally Selected
Nov 28, 2007

by Cyrano4747
So what's the current recommended router? My 6 year old netgear has stopped holding wi-fi connections, so it's time to replace. Preferably in the sub-100 range. Setup-wise, got a laptop, chromecast, desktop that's gonna be wired, and random phones/misc crap like that. Would be nice if it had the NAS setup that the WNR3500 has.

Shifty Pony
Dec 28, 2004

Up ta somethin'


I have a bit of a special application question. My parents have a 1/2 mile 2.4GHz wireless bridge setup between a workshop by the road and their house because the cable company refused to run a connection that far. For the last four years it has been operating with four Linksys WAP-54g APs and directional antennas, set up in two in order to clear a hill blocking line of sight between the house and the workshop. So there is one link from the workshop to the hill, one from the hill to the house.

However now one of them (I think the one on the hill end of the hill to the house link) it is starting to act up. I would like to figure out a backup plan for them as WAP-54g units can't be found for not-crazy prices now. How would something like the Engenius ens200ext work? Alternately I could try and replace the hill-to-house link with a wired link, but that would have the risk of getting zapped by lightning. It is just at the edge of twisted-pair Ethernet range, but with a dedicated line a pair of MOCA converters would probably would do the job. Fiber of course would easily reach but probably would be expensive and I don't have experience doing fiber terminations.

SamDabbers
May 26, 2003



Ubiquiti wireless products are well-regarded and seem suitable for your situation. Since you already have directional antennae, I'd take a look at the Bullet M2. You can get them from Streakwave, and they're not heinously expensive.

Shifty Pony
Dec 28, 2004

Up ta somethin'


Wow, that is quite an impressive package. Honestly we'd probably put in an N-to-TNC adapter so we could keep the radios in the ground level boxes (read: getting up to the antennas is a pain in the rear end, and the connections are well sealed). Four years of (enclosed) outdoor use for consumer-grade indoor equipment is a pretty good run I think.

Siochain
May 24, 2005

"can they get rid of any humans who are fans of shitheads like Kanye West, 50 Cent, or any other piece of crap "artist" who thinks they're all that?

And also get rid of anyone who has posted retarded shit on the internet."


SamDabbers posted:

Ubiquiti wireless products are well-regarded and seem suitable for your situation. Since you already have directional antennae, I'd take a look at the Bullet M2. You can get them from Streakwave, and they're not heinously expensive.

I'll vouch for Ubiquiti as well. I helped setup a few RV/camping parks with wi-fi to cover all the sites. The ubiquiti stuff was pretty damned easy to setup, works really well and has so far gone 3 years and 3 cold-assed snowy winters without problem (minus the one unit that was on the tallest pole in the site that got hit by lightning...he didn't make it). Fantastic quality stuff.

IOwnCalculus
Apr 2, 2003





Yeah, you really want to use some Ubiquiti gear there. I have a couple of Nanostation Loco M5s pointed at each other across a street (very short distance, even for them) and even though one is inside my garage (and not even wall mounted!) and the other is behind a window, the signal quality between them is damned near perfect. Easy as pie to set up and it's a proper transparent bridge, too.

Shifty Pony
Dec 28, 2004

Up ta somethin'


I isolated the WAP-54 that was being troublesome in cold and found out there was still a power injector inline for a 2.4GHz amplifier which was removed long ago. So it is back up and running (at 25Mbit!) for now at least, that buys me time to get and configure the Ubiquiti bridges.

Thanks for the recommendations!

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The Man From Melmac
Sep 8, 2008
Black Friday is here and I need to find a router for me and my roommates while these ~hot deals~ last. We're 5 people and we use a lot of data and we like to torrent stuff. I really like Tomato, I stuck it on the last router I got, but it looks like it's no longer being developed?

I've been seeing some deals on the RT-AC66U, but my paycheck doesn't come in for another 3 hours and I'm not sure if it's even the best bang for my buck. Someone want to help me out?

Money is most certainly an object. The less I have to spend the better, but I also don't want to shortchange performance. I've flashed a router before. I'm not asking for direct links to deals or anything, but I would like some idea of what routers to really watch out for.

Some of the talk on here about DD-WRT web ui freezes kind of makes me want to avoid using DD-WRT because finding an opportunity where there isn't one of five people playing an online game in the house is a pain in the rear end.

The Man From Melmac fucked around with this message at 08:22 on Nov 29, 2013

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