As our lives become more and more reliant on the internet and access to data – so does our expectations to have that data immediately. Streaming media from providers such as iTunes and Netflix has only increased our demand for fast connections. Recent years has seen internet speeds increasing rapidly and we’ve almost hit (some countries have) the point at which your internet connection is just as fast as your home network. This is all good news for the multiplayer gamer as well as the experiences have become larger, more intense and more immersive. Just about every home now has its own network (in one form or another) and most people are looking into how to make it better.
Setting up a home network these days is a rather simple task. Plug and play (PNP) devices and intuitive graphical user interfaces (GUI) mean even the average person can buy some network technology off the shelf and stand a good chance of plugging it in and making it work. While it is true that most network technology does work straight out of the box, getting the most out of it takes some more effort. Here we will run through some ideas to make your home network faster, more reliable and efficient.
First off – check your drivers. It may sound simple but computer equipment manufacturers are constantly refining and upgrading their drivers to get as much performance as they can out of them. Not only should you check the manufacturers’ website for updates but also check the chipset makers’ website. Most notebook and motherboard manufacturers use a common set of networking equipment so check their website as well for updates. Common chipset makers include Intel, Realtek, Broadcomm and Marvell.
Along the same lines – check for updates to your routers firmware. Most people never think to check this but updated firmware can easily make you router perform better by ironing out any problems found since its release. Make sure you take a backup of your routers firmware before upgrading however because not all upgrades go smoothly. Next we move onto where you physically locate your router.
Often when people buy a Router and set it up they locate it where it’s convenient, and this can be say next to a printer or monitor – or behind a PC. This convenience however doesn’t help with the Routers Wifi signals being sent out. Every time a Wifi signal is bounced off a wall, door, piece of furniture or anything else blocking its path it loses strength as some of that signal is absorbed. That’s the reason why most large antennas are located on top of buildings or out in the open rather than down at street level. You want as little as possible near your Wifi router to ensure the signals are going out unobstructed. Try moving your Router around and check your Wifi signals – use an app such as Wifi Analyzer to measure your Wifi routers signal strength from various locations and see how moving its location makes a difference. Wifi Analyzer is also a great tool for determining blackspots in your home where Wifi coverage drops. In an ideal world you would place your Wifi Router in the centre of your home so as to get as much coverage to devices as possible – but in reality this normally isn’t an option.
Wireless networks generally run at 2 different frequencies – either 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz, or a combination of both. 2.4Ghz is the older standard, but offers better penetration (signal carry through walls, doors, ceilings, etc.) The newer standard 5Ghz offers higher speeds and far less interference from other devices. These frequencies are then further broken down into channels. 13 channels are available on 2.4GHz – with 19 available on 5Ghz. Channels themselves interfere with each other – so you may actually be experiencing interference from someone else’s Wifi network. With 2.4Ghz, the frequency is 100Mhz wide, with each channel taking up 20Mhz – so going by the numbers 13 channels x20Mhz doesn’t fit into 100Mhz so this is why there is channel overlap. Each channel can get interference from the two before and the two after (for example channel 4 could get interference from channels 2,3,5 and 6). A lot of Wifi routers are set to automatically assign a channel but you can set this manually as well. You could try this yourself and test the signal strength on various channels (channels 1, 6 and 11 are good choices as they are non-overlap channels and usually provide the best option).
You don’t have to worry so much with a 5Ghz Wifi network as there is no channel overlap. Add to this the fact that 5Ghz has a better range than 2.4Ghz. Bottom line here is if you have the option of using 5Ghz then use it. A lot of routers that use both the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands allow you to setup Wifi networks for each band. This can be a good idea as if you setup a single Wifi network you use both bands some devices may start automatically switching between the two – giving you an impaired connection.
Another option to increase your Wifi coverage and speed is to extend your network. This can be done by utilising devices such as a Wifi Extender or an Access Point.
A Wifi Extender (also sometimes referred to as a repeater) does as its name suggests – extends your Wifi network. They are devices that plug into a power socket, accepts a Wifi signal from your Wifi Router and retransmits (repeats) it at an amplified strength. The main drawback with a Wifi Extender is its placement. It has to be close enough to your Wifi router to receive a decent signal from it as it can only provide as much Wifi speed as it can accept from the Wifi Router. Position it too far away and you will suffer from retransmitting a low and slow signal.
An Access Point (AP) is used to enhance your network by adding another Wifi network. An access point acts as a bridge between your wired network and you wireless devices. You can place an AP anywhere you like – as long as there is wired network connectivity available for it. The difference between an AP and a Wifi Extender is that an AP isn’t just extending a wireless signal – it is providing a new wireless network attached to your wired network.
If you don’t have cables for your wired network criss-crossing your home then don’t worry as there is a solution. Power-Line Networking (PLN) devices allow you to make use of your homes existing power cabling to act as a network medium. You plug these PLN devices into a power socket and it creates a network bridge between the two. You would then typically attach via Ethernet cable one of these PLN devices to your router, while the other one you could attach via Ethernet cable to whatever else needs network access – say a TV, media player or PC / Notebook. You could also attach an aforementioned AP and setup a separate (strong signalled) Wifi network. Speed of these devices can vary quite dramatically however as they do come in different speed ratings (500MB/s is currently the fastest available here in Australia). The quality of your homes power infrastructure can affect the PLN devices as well – bad cabling means slow speeds.
Speaking of bad cabling – never buy cheap cables. Every time I go into the local computer store I see cheap Ethernet cables for sale – don’t be tempted to buy them. Get quality Ethernet cables – and go for the fasted rated cables you can find – currently Cat 6E. These Ethernet cables are rated to a speed of 1GB/s and I know a lot of your devices may not be capable of that speed but there’s nothing wrong with overkill when it comes to networking. Cat 6A – capable of 10GB/s is starting to appear but isn’t popular yet. I find it funny when people say they aren’t getting the speed they were hoping for from their brand new 300MB/s Wifi router and then you find out they have used a Cat5 (100MB/s) Ethernet cable to connect between the router and their network. A network is only as fast as its slowest component. Also, if you have any switches on your network check their speed – no use having a 100MB/s switch plugged into a 1GB/s network. And don’t just assume the cables that come with your equipment are good quality – usually they aren’t.
Another way to squeeze more speed out of your network is aggregation. If you have a higher end PC chances are it has more than one Ethernet port. You can combine two Ethernet ports into a single virtual Ethernet port. This is called Link Aggregation (or NIC Teaming). You now run two network cables to your router offering better throughput. Check your router specification however before trying to set this up as not all routers support this.
We’ve touched on several areas here and given you some ideas to check on your own network to see if improvements can be made. Just remember to take your time and test, test and test again.