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Sri.Theo
Apr 16, 2008
Hi I live in a shared house (Kollegium/halls/dorms) and we have a crappy router in the kitchen we're thinking about upgrading. Trouble is there's a wide age range in laptops, some are N capable and others aren't.

I've heard that if a G only capable device connects to a router the whole thing drops to G range and bandwidth, is this true? And is there any way we can have a single router give N range and bandwidth at the same time as being accessible to G only devices?

We want to upgrade because the rooms at the far end of the corridor have really dodgy connections and also it would be nice to do some LAN gaming every now and again :-)

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Sri.Theo
Apr 16, 2008




So in a couple of weeks I will be moving into a new flat, I haven’t seen it in person yet (long story) but in pictures I saw that it has numbered Ethernet ports in the various rooms. It also has these boxes, I think the top one is a switch, in a cupboard with the normal electricity stuff- although no power sockets.

The flat has 1000mb internet access and it would be great to connect the wireless router from the ISP (https://www.fastspeed.dk) to the Ethernet ports both so I could get faster speed than on WiFi but also to add another wireless access point as the router is currently in this cupboard which is affecting range (the plug is trailing awkwardly outside).

Can anyone suggest what boxes/cables/settings I would need to make that work - or explain why everything is numbered as I didn’t think it makes a difference which port is which? I would also like to set up some sort of media/backup storage connected to the router at some point if thats a consideration.

Edit: The current router is a Sagem Fast 3890V3

Sri.Theo fucked around with this message at 16:13 on Sep 14, 2019

Sri.Theo
Apr 16, 2008

Actuarial Fables posted:

If you want to have all 10 Ethernet ports available for use, you'll need to also get a networking switch to connect the cupboard ports to the router. You'll want to look for a 12/16/24 port gigabit switch, like this one or this other one. If the additional wireless access point you're planning on using supports Power over Ethernet (PoE), you could look for a PoE-capable switch - it'll be more expensive, but you won't have to have the access point near a power outlet if that's a concern.

You'll connect all the ports in the cupboard to the switch, then also connect the router to the switch. This will require 11 Ethernet cables - 10 for connecting the Ethernet ports to the switch, and one for connecting the router to the switch. Assuming the router and switch are right next to the 10 ports you can go for short cables, 1m or less.

The ports are numbered to identify where each one goes. I assume that each port in each room has a number corresponding to the numbers in the cupboard, right (hopefully)?

Yes the numbers do correspond, I just didn’t know that was how it worked, so thanks for the clarification! I’ve looked into Power over Ethernet and it looks like that will be a good way to go. Unfortunately the google WiFi device I was looking at doesn’t support it so any recommendations for a small Wireless access point would be appreciated- small because it may need to wall mounted.

H110Hawk posted:

If you need 1-2 POE ports you can also buy injectors for much cheaper than a POE switch. Only get a switch if you need many ports of power or are space constrained. They're never "clean" to install.

Thanks, I will likely only need one POE port so I will look into this. Although I’m really wondering what the intentions were when this was originally installed as it’s all in a narrow cupboard in the corner of the flat. Putting all this stuff in there might be tricky.

Sri.Theo fucked around with this message at 22:49 on Sep 14, 2019

Sri.Theo
Apr 16, 2008
Thanks that’s really helpful. I’ve checked and there seems to be quite a lot of second hand switches available (from businesses?), is this the type of thing where its fine to buy second hand?

Edit: I’ve also found this https://www.dba.dk/access-point-wireless/id-1059199856/ Unifi Ap Pro for much cheaper than retail which looks like it will work.

Sri.Theo fucked around with this message at 10:02 on Sep 15, 2019

Sri.Theo
Apr 16, 2008

Actuarial Fables posted:

Make sure that listing is for a UniFi AP AC Pro. There's an older version without the AC in the name and you do not want that.

bolind posted:

Couple of points:

I believe fastspeed.dk offers a 1000/25 connection, so mind the upload speed.

Also, you don't need to wire all 10 rooms/outlets if you don't feel you'll need them. That being said, a 16 port dumb gigabit switch isn't all that expensive and it's nice to just be done with it.

BTW, https://www.av-cables.dk/ for good, cheap patch cables in all lengths and colors.

Oh yeah, and you're right, it makes zero difference which port in the patch panel (that's what the box on the wall is called) is wired to which port in a dumb switch.

Thanks both, I’ll just suck it up and buy a new UniFi AP although the more I look into it the more complex it gets. And that website is super helpful for cables, so thanks fo sharing.

I’m sure I’ll run into problems down the line but at least I’ll have all the parts!

Sri.Theo
Apr 16, 2008


So my wireless router and switch look like this, there are no other Ethernet ports on the other sides. I've ordered the appropriate cables from https://www.av-cables.dk/ but what exactly plugs into what here? Do I just go from LAN 1 on the router to Port 5 on the switch (it looks separate to the others?) then from 1,2,3 and 4 on the switch to the patch box on the wall?

For now I'm just plugging a laptop into the other end of the wall so it no need to worry about power injectors (although I'm sure I'll have more stupid questions when that time comes).

Sri.Theo
Apr 16, 2008

Rexxed posted:

Yeah you can use a network cable to go from any of the LAN ports on that modem/router combo unit to the switch. Then you'll have 7 ports still free to hook up to whatever.

Thanks, wasn’t sure if there were specialised ports or anything.

Sri.Theo
Apr 16, 2008
I have ethernet throughout my apartment but it's a little janky, which I suspect is because of my ISP's router. I've looked at their guidance and it says that I can use my own but as it comes via cable I will need to use theirs in 'bridge mode' as well.

In this situation will adding my own higher end router make a difference or will the connection still be affected by theirs?



quote:

Can I use my own router?
YES, it is possible to connect another router.

REMEMBER that your own router must be reset / reset before it is connected to the media converter.

If the connection is provided via the cable TV connector, you can do this by putting the Fastspeed router in ‘bridge mode’ and connecting your own, using an Ethernet cable between the routers.

If the connection is delivered via fiber, you can connect your own router to the media converter, instead of the router you received from Fastspeed.

REMEMBER that Fastspeed cannot provide technical support on your own router.

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Sri.Theo
Apr 16, 2008

Partycat posted:

If the jank (?) is because of poor quality hardware, bad firewall session handling, etc then it could improve assuming bridge mode takes all these things out of the equation. If it’s because of poor wiring or poor overall connection quality / congestion it won’t make a difference .

If you can see poor speed , for example , you can bridge it and connect your computer directly . Restart everything and try a speed test.

Otherwise I suppose more information on the trouble may help decide if there’s a problem , but other than some small overheating ISP devices or crappy ones (actiontec with Verizon for example) it shouldn’t matter much.

It's not a speed issue, as I normally get circa 300 Mbits on wifi and about 800 on wired (supposed to be 1000 though) but when I use the wired connection the router sometimes stops connecting to the internet and requires a restart to get working. It's not the end of the world but is annoying when it happens once a week.

Thanks for the tips, I might see if I can borrow a router and try it out for a while before spending the money.

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