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[nomeames]

Thinking of upgrading to a N router from DG834G. I have 3 computer that connects to the router. 2 with b/g/n and one with b/g only. I know N routers are backward compatible but I heard that even if one device on the network is g it brings the speed of the whole network down to g speed. Is that true? or would I be getting N speeds on N devices and G on G device?

Also, I have noticed some routers / computers mention N (draft). What does draft mean?

Also, Could there be any compatibility issues if the wireless LAN and router manufacturer are not of the same make? I heard thats one of the key issue while upgrading to N router.

Sorry for throwing so many questions at a time but I am sure the gurus here would be able to clarify. Thaks in advance.

[HPsauce]

Why not just add a WAP?

[nomeames]

Do you mean Wireless access point?

Why would I need that? I am already connecting wirelessly to the router. A dinosaur here .. sorry. 

[Weaver]

> Also, I have noticed some routers / computers mention N (draft). What does draft mean?

It means that the internation "N" specification doc wasn't finished at the time that the model was designed, so the manufacturer is hoping that the final release of the spec won't be too different from the earlier draft they had to work on.

I wouldn't worry about this too much, as if it should become a problem then it will just mean a software upgrade to the innards of the unit.

[Weaver]

> I know N routers are backward compatible but I heard that even if one device on the network is g it brings the speed of the whole network down to g speed. Is that true?

It could be true. To be on the safe side, upgrade all your wireless NICs to N or keep the old G WLAN going too but on a separate channel (frequency), so you're running two wireless networks. Latter plan is a bit unfriendly to your neighbours as you would be a channel hog.

Better still, if you can find a reliable 5GHz N-class WAP and NICs then go for that as it's a much less interference-prone frequency range and has a lot of channels, so that makes it possible to move sideways if needed to keep neighbours out of each others' hair.

[Weaver]

> Could there be any compatibility issues if the wireless LAN and router manufacturer are not of the same make?

Safest to assume this is true. The 'draft'-ness might make this more of an issue.

Aside from that, having all NICs and your access point from the same stable means that (i) there's a chance that they will have been properly _tested_ together (well you'd certainly hope) and (ii) there's less chance of buck-passing (iii) there may be some synergistic tuning/tweaking tricks that have been employed to give better performance (iv) setup may be easier because defaults will match.

There have been a few ropey 5GHz 8021.n access points around, with some bad reviews.

My older Netgear 2.4GHz WN802T access point was superb, blazingly fast, genuine 300Mb/s. Unfortunately it got accidentally got killed - cable got yanked and destroyed socket, not a criticism of the unit.

Recommend you read lots and lots of reviews and do a lot of digging, and 5GHz is definitely worth thinking about.

[Weaver]

>Do you mean Wireless access point?

> Why would I need that? I am already connecting wirelessly to the router. A dinosaur here .. sorry.   

A wireless access point is a kind of _bridge_, a wireless network to wired network bridge, which basically copies everything from the wireful half of your network to the wired half and vice versa.

To get 80211n goodness you need both an access point and wireless NICs that all speak 802.11n - speak a new, different, higher speed common language.

I always recommend getting a separate access point and wired-only router, for a number of reasons, but mainly because of greater freedom of choice in both components. (Analogy: hifi - speakers and amps.) But there are a few other reasons too.

[nomeames]

@ Weaver....Thanks so much for explaining everything in detail. You are a star.

I guess I would rather stay with g router for the time being. Internet speed is good (Thanks to Zen).



Just that it takes a long time to copy data to / from my NAS. I recently copied 35GB of data into my NAS and it took over 9 hours. Thats where I was looking for an upgrade. I guess I will have to live with it.    

[HPsauce]

That's why keeping the existing modem/router and adding a higher-performing wireless access point and/or Gigabit switch is a better and more flexible solution. 

[nomeames]

@ HPsauce. Thanks for replying. As I mentioned, I am not an expert on these things. Can you suggest a product that does what you said. I mean a WAP / Gigabit switch to work with my Netgear DG834G (V3).....

[HPsauce]

Well personally, I'd keep them separate, though you do end up with possibly 3 boxes.
My ideal home network (admittedly not exactly what I have at present) would have a Gigabit switch at its core. These are fairly cheap depending how many ports you need - 4/5 or 8 maybe?
Then I'd connect my ADSL modem/router to that; may or may not enable the wireless (probably only g) on that.
Finally add a fast WAP; there's quite a choice and with the N standard still "evolving" to some extent I don't have a specific recommendation I'm afraid.
You'd still have at least 2 ports available on your switch for hard-wired storage and PC's.

Personally, as I have a Netgear DG834GT and CAN run up to 108mbps wireless I've not gone to N yet as I use wired connections if I need higher speeds.
The last Gigabit switch I bought was a D-Link 5-port 10/100/1000 for just under £40. Think it was a DGS1005.

[Weaver]

> I guess I would rather stay with g router for the time being. Internet speed is good (Thanks to Zen).

As far as wireless goes, if you don't absolutely need it right now, wait to buy, as 5GHz is the way to go but it's a bit early yet for 5GHz and 80211n goodness combined, with some ropey products around (so I read) and kit is getting better.

There have been exemplary 80211n 2.4GHz (old crowded band) products around, and while 2.4GHz is fine for me, since I live almost literally in the middle of nowhere and have no neighbours, I can get aways with 2.4GHz current-band kit but for many, many other people 2.4GHz is now literally unusable. I visited two customers last year and basically had to give them the bad news that they can't use 2.4GHz kit anymore at all, as hemmed in by neighbours as they were, they had nowhere to go, and I confiscated their hardware.

[Weaver]

A gigabit switch is a fine upgrade, blazing speed, no wireless unreliability. Make sure to use decent network cables, look for CAT6 UTP o on them if you want to be sure, although CAT5e if good quality is supposed to be enough. (CAT6 STP cables are higher quality still but can be a health hazard to your hardware as they are extremely stiff / rigid and can put a strain on sockets unless deployed carefully.)

A small gigabit switch doesn't cost the earth, I just bought a couple of Netgear 8-port ones, and even larger ones like the Netgear JGS516 sitting in front of me now don't cost that much anymore.

Comparing wired to wirelessness, gigabit wireful ethernet is at least three times faster than the best 802.11n wirelessness (but more often the difference is far, far greater) or something like 20 times the speed of old 802.11g kit.

[HPsauce]

Cat5e is fine for Gigabit up to 100m. Is your house bigger than that!
Cat6 is overkill in any domestic environment.  8)

[nomeames]

Thanks for replying. I am thinking of adding a Buffalo AirStation Nfiniti WHR-G300N/U WAP to my home network. Do you think that will work (as far as better speed with NAS is concerned)?



Since I don't have any wired connection to NAS, I guess gigabit switch is out of question?