WiFi for the home is an important feature of any household these days. But how should you set this up? There are probably a million ways to setup a home network. Here are my $0.02 on how I would go about it.
First things first, 802.11AC, this is the 5th gen WiFi protocol. I think this is needed, but 2-3 years down the road, UNLESS you are moving a LOT of data inside your home network (trust me, you are NOT doing this today!). Remember, if you chose 802.11AC, both the router and laptop/PC must support this.
Okay, now on to more "regular" WiFi. A couple of key features you should check out before getting a new router, simultaneous dual band and 802.11n. Dual band means, the router can operate on the 2.4GHz band AND the 5.0GHz band. This is critical to understand since now you can have two wireless networks in the house, running at different frequencies. 802.11 b/g runs at 2.4Ghz which is shared with your microwave oven, Bluetooth, some cordless phones, baby monitors etc. And 802.11a /n runs at 5GHz which has less interference, so it is cleaner and able to sustain the fastest speeds. When you have interference, you may not lose the connection, but it becomes significantly slower and FRUSTRATING!
If you recall my blog on cutting the cable cord for TV, I now use my internet for TV viewing. I noticed the dreaded "loading" icon on my TV when I was trying to watch TV. I started to play around my router setups and dedicated a 5GHz network for my high bandwidth systems, TV, ipad and work laptop :-). I then put all other devices on a regular 2.4GHz network, like phones, ipod touch, audio streaming, webcams etc. I've noticed significant improvement in my TV viewing experience!
Of course, true internet speeds and bandwidth is determined by your internet connection, so WiFi data speeds are probably not a bottle neck but can be if you have good internet speed. I did some testing to see how these things are related. Here is an example:
My internet speed on AT&T UVerse (fibre to the curb) is 18Mbps based on what AT&T tells me (or robs me). When I perform speed tests using my 2.4GHz network, I get 12-13Mpbs and when I use the 5GHz network, I get 17.5Mbps. This clearly indicates to me, if I have internet speeds more than 13Mbps, the WiFi network is my bottleneck! But I should quantify that for normal internet browsing etc. 12Mbps is more than enough.
How did I setup my home network? Well, I am kinda cheap (for those who know me well), I have an Apple Extreme base-station from 2008. Apple is typically ahead of the curve, so I had a dual band router (but not simultaneous). I can't run 5GHz and 2.4GHz at the same time.... Then I realized I had a WiFi router built into my AT&T modem (that can ONLY run 2.4GHz). Then it hit me!!!! I now run a 5GHz network using the Apple router and 2.4GHz using the AT&T router. And you can put them next to each other since they are running two different frequencies, there is little degradation to the signal. The EASIEST way to get this going if you have a router more than 3-4 years old, is to just get a new dual band (simultaneous router). I recommend the Apple router/base station family. I have used many brands in the past. Seems like they all have their quirks. I've been the most happy with my Apple router. It just works and you never have to re-boot it. As common practice, I also recommend re-booting any router from time to time.
For some reason, in Malaysia, seems like modems wear out faster, maybe the heat and dust, I do recommend changing/replacing the router every 2-3 years, obviously only if they are the cheap ones. It would hurt to keep changing the Apple router that often!
As an added bonus, if you get the latest Apple router, it is 802.11AC ready, which is the next generation 600Mbps speed!
Leave me a comment if you have additional questions on this topic, would be glad to help.
adios,
Kannan
First things first, 802.11AC, this is the 5th gen WiFi protocol. I think this is needed, but 2-3 years down the road, UNLESS you are moving a LOT of data inside your home network (trust me, you are NOT doing this today!). Remember, if you chose 802.11AC, both the router and laptop/PC must support this.
Okay, now on to more "regular" WiFi. A couple of key features you should check out before getting a new router, simultaneous dual band and 802.11n. Dual band means, the router can operate on the 2.4GHz band AND the 5.0GHz band. This is critical to understand since now you can have two wireless networks in the house, running at different frequencies. 802.11 b/g runs at 2.4Ghz which is shared with your microwave oven, Bluetooth, some cordless phones, baby monitors etc. And 802.11a /n runs at 5GHz which has less interference, so it is cleaner and able to sustain the fastest speeds. When you have interference, you may not lose the connection, but it becomes significantly slower and FRUSTRATING!
If you recall my blog on cutting the cable cord for TV, I now use my internet for TV viewing. I noticed the dreaded "loading" icon on my TV when I was trying to watch TV. I started to play around my router setups and dedicated a 5GHz network for my high bandwidth systems, TV, ipad and work laptop :-). I then put all other devices on a regular 2.4GHz network, like phones, ipod touch, audio streaming, webcams etc. I've noticed significant improvement in my TV viewing experience!
Of course, true internet speeds and bandwidth is determined by your internet connection, so WiFi data speeds are probably not a bottle neck but can be if you have good internet speed. I did some testing to see how these things are related. Here is an example:
My internet speed on AT&T UVerse (fibre to the curb) is 18Mbps based on what AT&T tells me (or robs me). When I perform speed tests using my 2.4GHz network, I get 12-13Mpbs and when I use the 5GHz network, I get 17.5Mbps. This clearly indicates to me, if I have internet speeds more than 13Mbps, the WiFi network is my bottleneck! But I should quantify that for normal internet browsing etc. 12Mbps is more than enough.
How did I setup my home network? Well, I am kinda cheap (for those who know me well), I have an Apple Extreme base-station from 2008. Apple is typically ahead of the curve, so I had a dual band router (but not simultaneous). I can't run 5GHz and 2.4GHz at the same time.... Then I realized I had a WiFi router built into my AT&T modem (that can ONLY run 2.4GHz). Then it hit me!!!! I now run a 5GHz network using the Apple router and 2.4GHz using the AT&T router. And you can put them next to each other since they are running two different frequencies, there is little degradation to the signal. The EASIEST way to get this going if you have a router more than 3-4 years old, is to just get a new dual band (simultaneous router). I recommend the Apple router/base station family. I have used many brands in the past. Seems like they all have their quirks. I've been the most happy with my Apple router. It just works and you never have to re-boot it. As common practice, I also recommend re-booting any router from time to time.
For some reason, in Malaysia, seems like modems wear out faster, maybe the heat and dust, I do recommend changing/replacing the router every 2-3 years, obviously only if they are the cheap ones. It would hurt to keep changing the Apple router that often!
As an added bonus, if you get the latest Apple router, it is 802.11AC ready, which is the next generation 600Mbps speed!
Leave me a comment if you have additional questions on this topic, would be glad to help.
adios,
Kannan
I was looking at apple.com yesterday, if you don;t want to spend $200 on a router and don't need 802.11AC. Then the $99 apple express router will do dual band and share a USB drive for network attached storage. The only drawback is that it has 1 ethernet port, so if you have multiple desktops or wired connections, you may need a switch.
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