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Beve Stuscemi
Jun 6, 2001




Really? Crap. I was afraid of that. I can do that, but it seems like it would be an easy option to have available.

OpenVPN :argh:

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Mr. Funny Pants
Apr 9, 2001

Search is down so forgive me if this has been covered.

We just moved into a new house and unlike our last one, I can't jury rig a wired connection to the rooms where I need it. Wireless will work for some things, but I already found out how lovely the PS3's wireless is (used to have it wired and it was great), it couldn't handle streaming the MLB app.

How good is power line networking? Looking around online it seems that the most recent iterations are well-regarded. Are the speeds adequate compared to the wired connection I'm used to? The devices involved will be a PS3 (and PS4 eventually), a Roku, three DirecTV DVRs, an Xbox 360, and one (eventually two) PCs. Wireless has worked fine so far for our phones, the Roku two iPads and my laptop.

Dogen
May 5, 2002

Bury my body down by the highwayside, so that my old evil spirit can get a Greyhound bus and ride
You can also try moca (network over coax). I have one bridge at the cable modem, then each room I need a hookup in has a tivo in it, which acts as a moca bridge and feeds an ethernet switch. I stream 1080p over the network to the PS3 using plex and it's great.

Mr. Funny Pants
Apr 9, 2001

Dogen posted:

You can also try moca (network over coax). I have one bridge at the cable modem, then each room I need a hookup in has a tivo in it, which acts as a moca bridge and feeds an ethernet switch. I stream 1080p over the network to the PS3 using plex and it's great.

There wouldn't be any issues if the satellite DVRs are already connected over coax? And thanks for the response.

Ham Sandwiches
Jul 7, 2000

Mr. Funny Pants posted:

There wouldn't be any issues if the satellite DVRs are already connected over coax? And thanks for the response.

I think you're better off with Powerline, which works very reliably and at good speeds.

The most recent Powerline gear is rated for 600 mbps, you should get 80-250 mbps in real world scenarios. Just to give you an example of what you're looking for, here's an Amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-PA...-link+powerline

There's basically two specs available, the slightly older spec (500 mbps) and the newer spec (600 mbps). See if the price difference is worth it, but SmallNetBuilder compared the performance of the two if you want more details:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/lanwan-reviews/32454-tp-link-homeplug-head-to-head

I'd say just try getting a pair of those TP-Links from a retailer that is cool with returns (Best Buy, Amazon, etc) and give them a shot, since it's pretty straightforward.

[edit]This is SmallNetBuilder's section on powerline if you want more info
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/labels/powerline

Ham Sandwiches fucked around with this message at 03:25 on Aug 30, 2014

Dogen
May 5, 2002

Bury my body down by the highwayside, so that my old evil spirit can get a Greyhound bus and ride
I don't think moca works with satellite - I believe there's a frequency overlap.

The main thing I like about it over powerline is that it's more likely to work in any given situation, coax wiring is usually less hosed up than electrical.

Mr. Funny Pants
Apr 9, 2001

Rakthar posted:

I think you're better off with Powerline, which works very reliably and at good speeds.

The most recent Powerline gear is rated for 600 mbps, you should get 80-250 mbps in real world scenarios. Just to give you an example of what you're looking for, here's an Amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-PA...-link+powerline

That's the exact one I was looking at on Newegg. And while there, they popped up this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833181368&leaderboard=1

"Up to" 1000 Mbps. Too new for any reviews that I can find. And almost double the price. I seriously doubt I'd ever tax it but there's a part of me that hates to spend money on something when its successor is already out, even if brand new.

Thanks for the input.

Tiny Timbs
Sep 6, 2008

Hey guys, I have an Airport Extreme 802.11AC router and I'm having issues with the hard wired connection to my Windows 8.1 PC dropping every few minutes. It makes watching stuff through Plex on my TV and Steam streaming completely unreliable. I've verified that the AE is updated to the latest firmware and have tried restarting it/powering it off completely, but it seems to be a persistent problem. Anyone got any ideas what could be causing it? This didn't happen with my old cheapo Netgear router.

John Capslocke
Jun 5, 2007
Does anyone have any experience with the RT-N66U spamming this in the administration log?

code:
Argh. No free space left for GC. nr_erasing_blocks is 0. nr_free_blocks is 0. (erasableempty: yes, erasingempty: yes, erasependingempty: yes)
jffs2_reserve_space_gc of 50 bytes for garbage_collect_dirent failed: -28
Running the latest stock firmware (3.0.0.4.376_1071), not sure how long its been going on.

MrMoo
Sep 14, 2000

Jim Silly-Balls posted:

Really? Crap. I was afraid of that. I can do that, but it seems like it would be an easy option to have available.

OpenVPN :argh:

You can push the configuration using a CCD file:
code:
push "dhcp-option DNS 8.8.8.8"
push "dhcp-option DNS 8.8.4.4"
push "redirect-gateway"

e.pilot
Nov 20, 2011

sometimes maybe good
sometimes maybe shit

GENDERWEIRD GREEDO posted:

Hey guys, I have an Airport Extreme 802.11AC router and I'm having issues with the hard wired connection to my Windows 8.1 PC dropping every few minutes. It makes watching stuff through Plex on my TV and Steam streaming completely unreliable. I've verified that the AE is updated to the latest firmware and have tried restarting it/powering it off completely, but it seems to be a persistent problem. Anyone got any ideas what could be causing it? This didn't happen with my old cheapo Netgear router.

Try it on a different port to narrow it down to either the computer or the cable.

Beeftweeter
Jun 28, 2005

a medium-format picture of beeftweeter staring silently at the camera, a quizzical expression on his face
I posted about this in YOSPOS but someone might find it useful here; I have 2 routers in my house, one connected to our cable modem and one in a bedroom that serves as a bridge of sorts on a different subnet to provide wired connectivity to a few devices. Up until recently I've been doing this with Tomato's Wireless Client mode, but since you can't use any encryption I decided that's probably not a great idea. I also tried some HomePlug AV adapters, but since the cable connection is 50 Mbit they didn't work too well (only about 20 Mbit or so). I didn't really want to run actual Ethernet since I'm probably moving soon and am also exceptionally lazy.

I was trying to think of some better solutions to this problem and by chance found out about these DirecTV DECA adapters that essentially set up a MoCA connection for you. They work pretty well (I tested them and get about 90 Mbit transferring files) and are really cheap ($8 each), just make sure you pick a distributor that includes the power adapter in the box - I got mine from Vista Distributing after 2 others that offered them for about $6 each didn't include them. I do have DirecTV though so I have no idea if this works for people that have a cable system, but the comments on Amazon seem to indicate that it does.

e: I forgot to mention that if you decide to use these with DirecTV and need a splitter, a conventional cable splitter will not work since they operate on different frequencies. You will need a 2 MHz - 2 GHz "SWM" splitter; I got this when it was $6 with Prime (now I guess it's out of stock since it's $13 with regular free shipping). I'm pretty sure the DECA adapters themselves will work fine with a normal splitter since they apparently use 425-625 MHz.

Beeftweeter fucked around with this message at 18:02 on Aug 30, 2014

Tiny Timbs
Sep 6, 2008

e.pilot posted:

Try it on a different port to narrow it down to either the computer or the cable.

Gonna give it a shot. I also realized that ethernet adapter drivers exist and I managed to hunt down one that was several months newer than the one I had on the PC.

smax
Nov 9, 2009

Beeftweeter posted:

Up until recently I've been doing this with Tomato's Wireless Client mode, but since you can't use any encryption I decided that's probably not a great idea.

I thought Tomato allowed you to use encryption in either Wireless Client or Wireless Ethernet Bridge mode. I used to have a two router setup similar to yours with encryption - one as an access point and one as a wireless ethernet bridge using WPA2.

smax fucked around with this message at 19:36 on Aug 30, 2014

smax
Nov 9, 2009

poo poo, quote is not edit.

Beeftweeter
Jun 28, 2005

a medium-format picture of beeftweeter staring silently at the camera, a quizzical expression on his face

smax posted:

I thought Tomato allowed you to use encryption in either Wireless Client or Wireless Ethernet Bridge mode. I used to have a two router setup similar to yours with encryption - one as an access point and one as a wireless ethernet bridge using WPA2.

I tried that multiple times and it didn't work (also WEP, WPA and even WPA2 Enterprise with a RADIUS server). The "Wireless Ethernet Bridge" and "Wireless Client" modes are different, though. I think you're able to use encryption with the bridge mode but not client; I needed to use the client mode so I could get everything on the Tomato end on a different subnet (don't ask why, it's a very long story).

I suppose that could be achieved with yet another device, but that's some serious Rube Goldberg poo poo - gently caress that.

phosdex
Dec 16, 2005

So I have a part-time weekend job that is real close by. It's 238 feet in a straight line from my apartment (though there are 2 houses blocking los). I have gigabit fiber at home and no internet at work. Is there a fairly cheap way to extend my network that far? It looks like a pair? of Ubiquiti Nanostations would work?

phosdex fucked around with this message at 21:08 on Aug 31, 2014

skipdogg
Nov 29, 2004
Resident SRT-4 Expert

I have the 500Mbps TP-Link adapters and they connect in my recently constructed home at around 120 Mbps and work great.

Rexxed
May 1, 2010

Dis is amazing!
I gotta try dis!

phosdex posted:

So I have a part-time weekend job that is real close by. It's 238 feet in a straight line from my apartment (though there are 2 houses blocking los). I have gigabit fiber at home and no internet at work. Is there a fairly cheap way to extend my network that far? It looks like a pair? of Ubiquiti Nanostations would work?

Ubiquiti nanostations would work except that due to having to transmit through two houses they might not. It's the kind of situation where you don't know how badly those will obstruct the signal so there's no really solid advice besides trying it and seeing if it works, unfortunately.

SnatchRabbit
Feb 23, 2006

by sebmojo
I'm using a spare router, a Netgear WNR834B v2 specifically, as a client bridge for my PC and Voip work phone. I've flashed to the latest DD-WRT build 14896 for this model. I entered all the settings that I'm supposed to, but no matter what I do, surfing the web and gaming is incredibly slow. The status page reports 5.5Mbps but it doesn't seem like that. Like minutes just to load the forums here. The router has a decent connection 60% but actual throughput seems unbearably slow. Is there something I can change to improve this? All my other stuff works fine.

CuddleChunks
Sep 18, 2004

SnatchRabbit posted:

The status page reports 5.5Mbps but it doesn't seem like that.
Move the router to the other side or the room or try changing the router from sitting vertically to horizontally. Move it and see if you can get a better link speed than 5.5Mbps. That's going to be slow as poo poo for browsing and doing stuff.

Shyfted One
May 9, 2008
Got a couple questions

1) I'm moving into a new apartment (older house divided into apartments) where the modem/router are in the living room and my desktop will be in my bedroom. Could I just use powerline adapters to connect my desktop? Seems easier and more useful than getting a wifi adapter for my PC. And if so, what adapters are recommended?

2) My roommate currently has Comcast Xfinity, but I'm probably going to switch to Verizon FiOS. I mean, it's still not even close to comparable, right?

3) I still don't plan on getting cable TV, but I'm probably going to sign up for GameCenter Live to watch NHL games. My plan is to use the Roku GameCenter Live app, but I'd still have local games blacked out and those are the only games I care about for the most part. SAS gave me the advice to use unblock-us or adfreetime, but everything has to be managed at the router level because the Roku can't do it. So I think it's time I actually get a good router. I also don't know anything about networking, which is why I've been avoiding getting my own router and loading custom firmware for the longest time.

And if I'm going to finally go through the effort of setting up a home network properly then I'm sure I'll also be setting up a NAS at some point and PLEX. So I'll want to get something that's actually decent that will last me a few years.

Mulva
Sep 13, 2011
It's about time for my once per decade ban for being a consistently terrible poster.
Buddy is moving to a house and has to deal with a wireless router for the first time, and all I know enough to tell him is he shouldn't be using the default Comcast modem/router they gave him. The OP seems a little old, is there anything that's changed since then? He'd rather keep it under a hundred bucks if he doesn't have to go over, but I guess realistically he's going to need to spend more if he needs a solid connection from one end of his house to the other?

Ashex
Jun 25, 2007

These pipes are cleeeean!!!
I was under the impression that 5Ghz had better wall penetration and was a more reliable signal than 2.5Ghz however I keep having the problem of the 5Ghz signal being super lovely in my bedroom but the 2.5Ghz signal is strong and reliable.

Am I doing something wrong? I've got a Linksys E3000 running TomatoUSB Shibby.

GokieKS
Dec 15, 2012

Mostly Harmless.

Ashex posted:

I was under the impression that 5Ghz had better wall penetration and was a more reliable signal than 2.5Ghz however I keep having the problem of the 5Ghz signal being super lovely in my bedroom but the 2.5Ghz signal is strong and reliable.

Am I doing something wrong? I've got a Linksys E3000 running TomatoUSB Shibby.

Your impression was mistaken - 5GHz has less wall penetration than 2.4GHz, not more.

Anyway, you can try boosting the power on the antenna and see if that helps. Other than that, not a whole lot else you can do unless you use a repeater or other extra hardware.

Ashex
Jun 25, 2007

These pipes are cleeeean!!!
I see, well I guess I'll start shopping around for another router than. I bumped the power from 120 to 140 mW so I'll see what happens.

Beeftweeter
Jun 28, 2005

a medium-format picture of beeftweeter staring silently at the camera, a quizzical expression on his face

Boogaleeboo posted:

Buddy is moving to a house and has to deal with a wireless router for the first time, and all I know enough to tell him is he shouldn't be using the default Comcast modem/router they gave him. The OP seems a little old, is there anything that's changed since then? He'd rather keep it under a hundred bucks if he doesn't have to go over, but I guess realistically he's going to need to spend more if he needs a solid connection from one end of his house to the other?

Are you looking for a modem recommendation, a router recommendation, or both? Cable modems are generally around $75-80. I have the ARRIS SB6141 and am very happy with it.

Keep in mind that you typically rent modems from Comcast for (I think) $7/month, so even if he buys a modem outright it ends up being cheaper than renting if you have service for less than a year.

Mulva
Sep 13, 2011
It's about time for my once per decade ban for being a consistently terrible poster.

Beeftweeter posted:

a router recommendation

That one, dude is looking for a wireless router.

CrazyLittle
Sep 11, 2001





Clapping Larry

GokieKS posted:

Anyway, you can try boosting the power on the antenna and see if that helps. Other than that, not a whole lot else you can do unless you use a repeater or other extra hardware.

Boosting transmitter amplifier power only means that your wifi device can receive the signal from the AP better, but it's a two way street- your wifi device has to be able to transmit back to the AP. You're better off using shaped antennas than stronger amplifiers. If you want strong wifi signal in a room with only weak reception the best thing you can do is put another access point in the weak spot.

GokieKS
Dec 15, 2012

Mostly Harmless.

CrazyLittle posted:

Boosting transmitter amplifier power only means that your wifi device can receive the signal from the AP better, but it's a two way street- your wifi device has to be able to transmit back to the AP. You're better off using shaped antennas than stronger amplifiers. If you want strong wifi signal in a room with only weak reception the best thing you can do is put another access point in the weak spot.

Right... without knowing what the device are it's hard to say if it will help, but that's really the only thing he can try that doesn't require extra hardware, so might as well give it a shot and see.

Xtronoc
Aug 29, 2004
Pillbug
Goons, so I'm looking for a wireless router. Since the op is 2 years old I don't know where to begin.

Basically, I need a router that is reliable in a small apartment unit in a high rise. I'll not be sharing a flat with anyone else so no need for advanced features. I just need something simple for my laptop.

MrMoo
Sep 14, 2000

I'll be tempted to suggest a travel router these days as they are tiny, not sure on long term stability though. Outside of an Airport Express try looking at the routers that sit inside a wall plug like the older Apple Express models did.

http://www2.elecom.co.jp/network/wireless-lan/hotel/wrh-150/

Tenda even explicitly compare their "travel router" against the older Apple models:

http://www.tenda.cn/tendacn/Product/show.aspx?productid=393

MrMoo fucked around with this message at 14:03 on Sep 7, 2014

Mr. Funny Pants
Apr 9, 2001

Just wanted to update. I went ahead and got the TPLINK AV600 power line starter kit. There's really not much to say, they are about as easy to set up as plugging in a couple of boxes, hooking one to the router, and that's about it. I've only got two devices using it now, a PS3 and a DirecTV Genie off of a switch and both have worked flawlessly.

Shyfted One
May 9, 2008
Pretty similar update from me. I bought the TP-LINK TL-PA4010KIT AV500 and it's working better than I expected considering the age of the house. Could not have been any simpler to install and get up and running especially since it even came with some cat5 cables.

Indecision1991
Sep 13, 2012
I am trying to help a family friend get a new router that will let them setup a "lockout" time where the kids cant use the internet. For example they want the kids to not have access to the web from 10PM-6AM. They essentially want them to not be able to browse the web or play games (xbox/PC) at night.

Price isnt a concern but I would like to keep them sub $200. Anyone have recommendations on a good router that is feature packed but also lets them control access like that? I would be setting it up for them but I just don't know whats out there that can do exactly what they are asking for.

skipdogg
Nov 29, 2004
Resident SRT-4 Expert

Xtronoc posted:

Goons, so I'm looking for a wireless router. Since the op is 2 years old I don't know where to begin.

Basically, I need a router that is reliable in a small apartment unit in a high rise. I'll not be sharing a flat with anyone else so no need for advanced features. I just need something simple for my laptop.

Going to highly suggest a 5th or 6th gen Airport Extreme. Simple to use and work great.

Krailor
Nov 2, 2001
I'm only pretending to care
Taco Defender

Indecision1991 posted:

I am trying to help a family friend get a new router that will let them setup a "lockout" time where the kids cant use the internet. For example they want the kids to not have access to the web from 10PM-6AM. They essentially want them to not be able to browse the web or play games (xbox/PC) at night.

Price isnt a concern but I would like to keep them sub $200. Anyone have recommendations on a good router that is feature packed but also lets them control access like that? I would be setting it up for them but I just don't know whats out there that can do exactly what they are asking for.

I'm not sure about default router firmware but this is a standard feature of DD-WRT. You can setup rules based on either IP or MAC address to only allow access during specified times of day.

http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Access_Restrictions#Denying_Internet_Access

Basically any router you can put DD-WRT on should support this.

Rukus
Mar 13, 2007

Hmph.

Indecision1991 posted:

I am trying to help a family friend get a new router that will let them setup a "lockout" time where the kids cant use the internet. For example they want the kids to not have access to the web from 10PM-6AM. They essentially want them to not be able to browse the web or play games (xbox/PC) at night.

Price isnt a concern but I would like to keep them sub $200. Anyone have recommendations on a good router that is feature packed but also lets them control access like that? I would be setting it up for them but I just don't know whats out there that can do exactly what they are asking for.

Pretty sure all of the third-party firmwares (dd-wrt, tomato, etc.) support time of day restrictions, so you'll have a lot of options. Something like this Asus AC router with dd-wrt would be a good option: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320115 http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Asus_RT-AC66U

netwerk23
Aug 22, 2000
I spelled 'network' wrong.

Beeftweeter posted:

I posted about this in YOSPOS but someone might find it useful here;
Wow, that might be perfect for me. I would like wireline speeds but can't run ethernet to the TV, only N wifi. Any idea what type of splitter I'd need for a residential FiOS network? I don't know what freq. they run over MoCa.

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e.pilot
Nov 20, 2011

sometimes maybe good
sometimes maybe shit

skipdogg posted:

Going to highly suggest a 5th or 6th gen Airport Extreme. Simple to use and work great.

This.

I have a 2nd gen from eons ago that still works like a champ.

e:
The only problem I've had was the power supply died after like 5 years, but it isn't anything proprietary so another one was trivial to find.

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