Networking advice available.

[Ph?bus]

Right on...or was that a question.

It was a question. Lol.
Which router should I go with?

 

[Tankerrob]

If you are looking for ''N'' capability then I would recommend anything Linksys because it has a very user friendly GUI.

 

[Mr.Game]

@Angeal, if you're really wanting to host your own VoIP,
may I suggest you look into Mumble?

Mumble uses the CELT codec that is high quality, yet
minimal bandwidth compared to others (see link below)

It's open source and allows you to host your own server
(any number of slots) free and from your own computer.

I hosted one for a while and was able to have @ 4 people
at once (with my 7GB/s cable connection) stable.

Technical information for hosting a Mumble server:
http://mumble.sourceforge.net/Commercial_Hosting

(Fair warning, Mumble is complex to setup, but once setup,
it is easy to use. It resembles TeamSpeak more than
Ventrilo with permissions and such.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, Mumble is the cheapest VoIP to
host servers with, so you could find a dedicated provider
that's offering servers %50 cheaper than Ventrilo/TS3
servers.

 

[Mr.Game]

Mr. Game = The networking I do is not game oriented I should have specified.

- Snip -

No Problem.

Do you at least know if what I said earlier is true about the CPU?

Here is the link for what I mean:
http://www.bigfootnetworks.com/technology#performance

 

[Tankerrob]

I could look into it. Let me get back to you.

 

[Jubei]

Ok, here's one for you guys:

I have a D-link DIR 615 hardware version c1, firmware 3.13NA, a MSI laptop with wireless N, a Nintendo Wii with its wireless G, an iPhone 4 with wireless N and two desktop PCs hardwired to the router.

The two desktops and laptop hardly ever have connection issues and when they do, a simple restart of the router will fix them. The Wii and the iPhone, however, can not use the wifi at the same time, ever. If both are on, the iPhone will see that it has a signal, but not connect. I have to turn off the Wii (not standby, but completely off) and restart the router for the iPhone to be able to connect. As soon as the Wii comes back on, the iPhone can not connect.

We use the Wii's Netflix streaming a lot. Running a hardwire connection to it is not a viable option (would need about 250' of cable, run it through the ceiling, replace or add wall jacks, talk the wife into going for it, buying an ethernet adapter for the Wii - not going to happen). We have the 20MB plan for the iPhone so using the 3G exclusively would be cost prohibitive. The iPhone connects to other wifi hotspots/routers just fine, so its not a problem with the phone's hardware.

Here is the router's current configuration:

Enable Wireless : always
Wireless Network Name : xxxxx (Also called the SSID)
802.11 Mode : mixed N and G
Enable Auto Channel Scan : enabled
Wireless Channel : 2.437 (channel 6)
Channel Width : 20MHz
Visibility Status: Visible
Security Mode: WPA-personal
WPA Mode: Auto (WPA or WPA2)
Cipher Key: TKIP and AES
Group Key Update Interval: 3600 seconds

And here's the DHCP reservation list:

Host Name, MAC Address, IP Address

Julia-PC, 00:24:1d:20:xx:xx, 192.168.0.100

Julia-laptop, 00:25:d3:7e:xx:xx, 192.168.0.101

Julias-iPhone, 7c:c5:37:63:xx:xx, 192.168.0.102

Jubei-PC, 00:1d:7d:a0:xx:xx, 192.168.0.103

Wii, 8c:56:c5:35:xx:xx, 192.168.0.104

So in the words of the Pakleds, "Make it go."

 

[Angeal]

@Angeal, if you're really wanting to host your own VoIP,
may I suggest you look into Mumble?

Mumble uses the CELT codec that is high quality, yet
minimal bandwidth compared to others (see link below)

It's open source and allows you to host your own server
(any number of slots) free and from your own computer.

I hosted one for a while and was able to have @ 4 people
at once (with my 7GB/s cable connection) stable.

Technical information for hosting a Mumble server:
http://mumble.sourceforge.net/Commercial_Hosting

(Fair warning, Mumble is complex to setup, but once setup,
it is easy to use. It resembles TeamSpeak more than
Ventrilo with permissions and such.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, Mumble is the cheapest VoIP to
host servers with, so you could find a dedicated provider
that's offering servers %50 cheaper than Ventrilo/TS3
servers.

Yeah, I like that idea.

I do have mumble and i sorta like it more than vent because of how fast it is and i'm not sure what i would need for this server tho, Seems more trouble than worth doing you know?

 

[Tankerrob]

Ok, here's one for you guys:

I have a D-link DIR 615 hardware version c1, firmware 3.13NA, a MSI laptop with wireless N, a Nintendo Wii with its wireless G, an iPhone 4 with wireless N and two desktop PCs hardwired to the router.

The two desktops and laptop hardly ever have connection issues and when they do, a simple restart of the router will fix them. The Wii and the iPhone, however, can not use the wifi at the same time, ever. If both are on, the iPhone will see that it has a signal, but not connect. I have to turn off the Wii (not standby, but completely off) and restart the router for the iPhone to be able to connect. As soon as the Wii comes back on, the iPhone can not connect.

We use the Wii's Netflix streaming a lot. Running a hardwire connection to it is not a viable option (would need about 250' of cable, run it through the ceiling, replace or add wall jacks, talk the wife into going for it, buying an ethernet adapter for the Wii - not going to happen). We have the 20MB plan for the iPhone so using the 3G exclusively would be cost prohibitive. The iPhone connects to other wifi hotspots/routers just fine, so its not a problem with the phone's hardware.

Here is the router's current configuration:

Enable Wireless : always
Wireless Network Name : xxxxx (Also called the SSID)
802.11 Mode : mixed N and G
Enable Auto Channel Scan : enabled
Wireless Channel : 2.437 (channel 6)
Channel Width : 20MHz
Visibility Status: Visible
Security Mode: WPA-personal
WPA Mode: Auto (WPA or WPA2)
Cipher Key: TKIP and AES
Group Key Update Interval: 3600 seconds

And here's the DHCP reservation list:

Host Name, MAC Address, IP Address

Julia-PC, 00:24:1d:20:xx:xx, 192.168.0.100

Julia-laptop, 00:25:d3:7e:xx:xx, 192.168.0.101

Julias-iPhone, 7c:c5:37:63:xx:xx, 192.168.0.102

Jubei-PC, 00:1d:7d:a0:xx:xx, 192.168.0.103

Wii, 8c:56:c5:35:xx:xx, 192.168.0.104

So in the words of the Pakleds, "Make it go."

hmm, interesting.. Wii vs. iPhone. Iphone = no-go..as some more background knowledge...when you try to connect the iPHONE is there an error? What does it say? Does the router have MAC address filtering on?
How old is the router? Does it have the newest firmware? When you stated that you have to shut off/not power down the Wii to connect via iPhone, are other wireless resources accessing the router at that time?...i.e.
Wii=off
iPhone=on
Computer 1=On
Computer 2=On

 

[Tankerrob]

And here's the DHCP reservation list:

Host Name, MAC Address, IP Address

Julia-PC, 00:24:1d:20:xx:xx, 192.168.0.100

Julia-laptop, 00:25:d3:7e:xx:xx, 192.168.0.101

Julias-iPhone, 7c:c5:37:63:xx:xx, 192.168.0.102

Jubei-PC, 00:1d:7d:a0:xx:xx, 192.168.0.103

Wii, 8c:56:c5:35:xx:xx, 192.168.0.104

So in the words of the Pakleds, "Make it go."

What is your subnet mask that you are using? (i.e. 255.255.255.0)?

 

[Jubei]

hmm, interesting.. Wii vs. iPhone. Iphone = no-go..as some more background knowledge...when you try to connect the iPHONE is there an error? What does it say? Does the router have MAC address filtering on?
How old is the router? Does it have the newest firmware? When you stated that you have to shut off/not power down the Wii to connect via iPhone, are other wireless resources accessing the router at that time?...i.e.
Wii=off
iPhone=on
Computer 1=On
Computer 2=On

Whenever the iPhone tries to use the web, it just complains that no internet access is found, like if one were outside the range of a network, which is funny, cause it shows a strong wifi signal up to that point. My wife recently did a hard reset on the iPhone to trouble shoot a standby issue. The problem predates the hard reset and wasn't fixed by it.

The router's MAC filtering is off. It is is 2 years old. It does have the newest firmware. Subnet mask is 255.255.255.0.

The other 3 computers (laptop via its wireless and the two wired desktops) can have any combination of on/off and the Wii and iPhone still can't get along. I can have the three PC's powered down, restart the router and the Wii and iPhone still won't play nice.

 

[Tankerrob]

looking into this, I have not forgotten.

 

[Tankerrob]

Another question (forgot to include this in the first one).

What are your thoughts/opinions on dedicated network cards (NIC's)
(such as the VisionTek Bigfoot Killer 2100 Gaming Network Card)?

Does that NIC in particular do what they say it does by bypassing
the CPU and processing all the network data in the NIC itself? If so,
is it worth it? Benefits or risks?

Does a stock NIC or one that's built-in the motherboard work as well
as any other card?

Ok,
So...I have never had one of these, nor heard of them before now so I will claim ignorance on the matter...but as with all jobs, I am 1 among many people who have/not heard of it before. Reviews are mixed. Most seem to think/*use* them say it's great because essentially what you are doing is taking a SWITCH and NIC and crushing them into 1 device. I can honsetly see this being beneficial. Even looking at it theoretically...and you are familiar with what I am speaking about...switch forwarding traffic intelligently to proper locations....decent idea. I may actually get one. Others seem to think its just a really expensive NIC. Here I disagree because it has a processor for the dedicated purpose of forwarding...so..I say get it.

 

[Jubei]

Ok,
So...I have never had one of these, nor heard of them before now so I will claim ignorance on the matter...but as with all jobs, I am 1 among many people who have/not heard of it before. Reviews are mixed. Most seem to think/*use* them say it's great because essentially what you are doing is taking a SWITCH and NIC and crushing them into 1 device. I can honsetly see this being beneficial. Even looking at it theoretically...and you are familiar with what I am speaking about...switch forwarding traffic intelligently to proper locations....decent idea. I may actually get one. Others seem to think its just a really expensive NIC. Here I disagree because it has a processor for the dedicated purpose of forwarding...so..I say get it.

From what I understand, there is little benefit in ping with one of these NIC cards. If your machine is so borderline that the NIC makes a difference, then your money is better spent elsewhere.

 

[Mr.Game]

Ok,
So...I have never had one of these, nor heard of them before now so I will claim ignorance on the matter...but as with all jobs, I am 1 among many people who have/not heard of it before. Reviews are mixed. Most seem to think/*use* them say it's great because essentially what you are doing is taking a SWITCH and NIC and crushing them into 1 device. I can honsetly see this being beneficial. Even looking at it theoretically...and you are familiar with what I am speaking about...switch forwarding traffic intelligently to proper locations....decent idea. I may actually get one. Others seem to think its just a really expensive NIC. Here I disagree because it has a processor for the dedicated purpose of forwarding...so..I say get it.

Thanks, I just wanted to know if what they say about the CPU was true (the network stacking).

I have a single core processor and I believe it would benefit my system.

Scenario: I open up a game (such as CoD4) and my ping jumps by 20-40 in all applications (such as Ventrilo).
My thoughts were this NIC would take "traffic" off of my CPU.

 

[Tankerrob]

Thanks, I just wanted to know if what they say about the CPU was true (the network stacking).

I have a single core processor and I believe it would benefit my system.

Scenario: I open up a game (such as CoD4) and my ping jumps by 20-40 in all applications (such as Ventrilo).
My thoughts were this NIC would take "traffic" off of my CPU.

Sounds about right as it is going to move the "traffic" directly to its designated location as opposed to having it go location to location asking are you XXX ? Are you XXX? hence the switching idea. The difference between the Switch and a Hub. Let me know how you like it.

 

[Mr.Game]

Sounds about right as it is going to move the "traffic" directly to its designated location as opposed to having it go location to location asking are you XXX ? Are you XXX? hence the switching idea. The difference between the Switch and a Hub. Let me know how you like it.

I plan on getting it sometime (probably in a couple of months).
It dropped in price again from $120 to $80.

... but to even test if it works, I need to fix this issue first.

 

[Tankerrob]

MINE NO CAP

You might want to verify what your bandwidth cap (monthly is); you DO have one as per MetroCast's own press release.
http://www.metrocast.com/policy_HSI_AUP.cfm

Check with Comcast or AT&T; there must be someone out there that can hook you up.

 

[Mr.Game]

MINE NO CAP

You might want to verify what your bandwidth cap (monthly is); you DO have one as per MetroCast's own press release.
http://www.metrocast.com/policy_HSI_AUP.cfm

Check with Comcast or AT&T; there must be someone out there that can hook you up.

But wouldn't you find it strange (as I do) that they would decide to cap me on the 2nd day of the month?
Besides, as I said in my OP, there's been problems with them at random ever since we subscribed.

The only providers I could find is BellSouth (AT&T) and Mediacom (I heard they were terrible).

I guess we could switch to BellSouth to get the promotions (such as switching from cable to DSL), but I've always hated contracts .

 

[Angellas]

Look for a business-class variety of your ISP. My Comcast Business-class has no limitation and is serviced at a higher tier (mo bandwidth!) - vs. the 5Gig limit of the $10 cheaper/mo. residential package.

 

[Tankerrob]

Look for a business-class variety of your ISP. My Comcast Business-class has no limitation and is serviced at a higher tier (mo bandwidth!) - vs. the 5Gig limit of the $10 cheaper/mo. residential package.

(looks at Angellas Download/Upload speed) "...show off." :chair: