New Router? (Page 3): My setup goes back many years to Time-Warner, so I'm not sure where the router and modem came from. I know that I had to buy an additional modem to use for the...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

jbk224 wrote:

Jerry, I have Spectrum (NYC) and their modem and r... (show quote)

My setup goes back many years to Time-Warner, so I'm not sure where the router and modem came from. I know that I had to buy an additional modem to use for the phone because the Internet router wouldn't work for the phone. The alternative was to pay T-W a monthly charge for their modem. I know that I bought the router I'm currently using.

What do you mean by " two 6+ routers"? And you have 15 switches. They're all connected by Cat6?

bw79st Loc: New York City

jerryc41 wrote:

My setup goes back many years to Time-Warner, so I'm not sure where the router and modem came from. I know that I had to buy an additional modem to use for the phone because the Internet router wouldn't work for the phone. The alternative was to pay T-W a monthly charge for their modem. I know that I bought the router I'm currently using.

If your modem dates back to the Time Warner era that could be part of your problem. My current Spectrum modem, which handles my phone, is at least twice the size of my previous Spectrum Modem, so there must be a lot packed in there that is new!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

bw79st wrote:

If your modem dates back to the Time Warner era that could be part of your problem. My current Spectrum modem, which handles my phone, is at least twice the size of my previous Spectrum Modem, so there must be a lot packed in there that is new!

My current router is from 2016, D-Link DIR-842. The modem is from 2015, Arras/Motorola SB6121 modem. I paid $65 for it. The "best" router is a $290 Arras. I won't be buying that.

Expensive modems support very high speeds, but Spectrum doesn't offer very high speeds, at least not without a very high additional cost.

jbk224 Loc: Long Island, NY

If your internet and Voip come from the same company...and you have separate modem and router....(originally a combined modem/router from TW for me)...the phone/Voip comes from the modem..not the router.
The router, whichever one you use--their's or Deco, is connected vial ethernet between the two.
I have Cat5s (20 years ago) from TVs in three rooms that run to the modem/main router location. These are connected into a switch coming from the router (2nd ethernet port).
You can also hook up your printer and computer directly to the switch if you do not want to go wireless with these items. (But check how it works without cables as well). (if in the same room). You want to make sure that your switch is fully compatible with the throughput/speeds from your internet provider.
My Leviton smart switches are all connected wirelessly.
Hope this helps.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

jbk224 wrote:

If your internet and Voip come from the same compa... (show quote)

Thanks!

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Btw, spectrum provides 3 speeds of internet service (at least in my area) at increasing price points: basic, plus and Gbit with download speeds of 200, 600 and 1,000 Mb respectively. Honestly, unless you’re moving lots of data to and from an outside server or cloud or have a number of clients using the internet simultaneously or are a gamer, the basic service is fast enough.
1080P HD is only 5-8Mb/sec and 4K is 25Mb/sec

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

TriX wrote:

Btw, spectrum provides 3 speeds of internet service (at least in my area) at increasing price points: basic, plus and Gbit with download speeds of 200, 600 and 1,000 Mb respectively. Honestly, unless you’re moving lots of data to and from an outside server or cloud or have a number of clients using the internet simultaneously or are a gamer, the basic service is fast enough.
1080P HD is only 5-8Mb/sec and 4K is 25Mb/sec

I must be paying for the 200 Mb speed because my speed is 112.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

jerryc41 wrote:

I don't do that much printing. If I had a need to print from a Kindle or a laptop, I'd go wireless.

We don't either, but it's nice not to have to go wake up the computer with the cabled printer.

jbk224 Loc: Long Island, NY

jerryc41 wrote:

I must be paying for the 200 Mb speed because my speed is 112.

Check with your provider for your download/upload guaranteed speeds. Don't assume.
Mine have increased without additional cost since their base network speeds have increased due to infrastructure upgrades. Also, their newer routers have minimum requirements. Mine are 400, but getting almost 600.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

jerryc41 wrote:

I must be paying for the 200 Mb speed because my speed is 112.

May be your modem, your router, or the cable. My experience was here in NC that the 200Mb service benchmarked at almost exactly 200 Mb (down) on a wired connection. If you’re using WiFi and have a choice between 2.5GHz and 5GHz (most modern routers broadcast both), use the 5GHz for max bandwidth if your device supports it. A couple of examples:

My speed went up about 100Mb/sec when I switched from my older owned modem to Spectrum’s new modem.

When I was configuring my Linksys AC1300 router, I couldn’t get more than ~100Mb/sec through it. I had it connected to the modem with a short CAT5 cable only 1 foot long. Linksys support suggested I change to the 1’ long cat6 cable included with the router, and the speed immediately went up to over 300Mb/sec. I knew it was a CAT 5, but at only a foot long, I assumed it didn’t matter. Wrong!

jonyrot

I have been using my own router and modem since I noticed the charges on the bill. A good router can make a good bit of difference on usability.

ecblackiii Loc: Maryland

jerryc41 wrote:

I'm wondering if I should get a new router. I'm currently using a seven-year-old D-LINK DIR-842, which sells for $50. The top-rated routers sell for around $250, which is out of the question for me. I admit that I know nothing about router specs, but I'm thinking that something reasonably priced might be better than the one I have - or not.

All opinions gratefully accepted.

Why do you think it's your router and not your provider's cable limitations? If it's your cable constraint, the best router in the world won't give you any improvement. And in a rural area, the type of wire service and cable capacity is likely the problem, especially as more clients are added to a small capacity wire.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

ecblackiii wrote:

Why do you think it's your router and not your provider's cable limitations? If it's your cable constraint, the best router in the world won't give you any improvement. And in a rural area, the type of wire service and cable capacity is likely the problem, especially as more clients are added to a small capacity wire.

Easy to check - plug a client directly into the modem and benchmark the speed, then do the same through the router. I like Ookla Speedtest

Tigger1 Loc: Surrey, BC Canada

jerryc41 wrote:

I'm wondering if I should get a new router. I'm currently using a seven-year-old D-LINK DIR-842, which sells for $50. The top-rated routers sell for around $250, which is out of the question for me. I admit that I know nothing about router specs, but I'm thinking that something reasonably priced might be better than the one I have - or not.

All opinions gratefully accepted.

As I assume you know Jerry, distance from the server to your modem/router impacts your results. Also, download/upload speeds are dependent on your ISP's stated service speeds. As I am in Canada, I use a Canadian ISP on a 1 Gig service plan which has a theoretical download speed of 1000Mbps and upload speed of 100Mbps. My actual download speed this morning was 930Mbps and upload was 102Mbps using the IPS's latest modem/router.
Your test results would seem to be low for a reasonably new router, especially your upload speed. Typically, I find my upload speeds are approximately 10% of my download speeds. Before you spend your hard earned dollars on an new modem/router, I suggest you talk to your ISP and determine what your down/upload speeds should be given your distance from the NY Server. Just maybe your ISP may find a fault in the distribution system assuming you are on either a telephone or cable line type of service. If over the air service, then as I have had no experience with that type of service, I have no suggestion to make. Best of luck Jerry.
Regards,
Garth

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

jbk224 wrote:

Check with your provider for your download/upload guaranteed speeds. Don't assume.
Mine have increased without additional cost since their base network speeds have increased due to infrastructure upgrades. Also, their newer routers have minimum requirements. Mine are 400, but getting almost 600.

"guaranteed"!? The only guarantee is that if I don't keep paying, I don't get service. If I have a problem, it's because my equipment is limiting performance, or things aren't connected right, or there's a problem with the wiring somewhere leading to my house. "Did you try turning it off and back on again?"