Wi-fi Speeds. Is it speed as vendors tell us?

[Ally1405241517 0]

I'm going to by Wi-Fi AP.There are many standarts of Wi-Fi. I'm thinking of speeds 54 (802.11g) and 108 mb/s (802.11g). Is it real 108 mb/s (13.5 MB/s) or not? What will work better in a flat? And if I buy AP with 108 mb/s speed can I will be set speed slow to make connection better? Or nothing will change? And what you can say about D-Link 2100 AP ?

[iGuest 3]

D-link is the industry pioneer in wireless networking. My friends have told me he DWP-2100AP is the fastest Wi-Fi access point. But it has some disadvantages too.It cannot be used as bridge between non-D-Link-brand wireless routers or switches. It also has a detachable antennae which helps to increase its range.

[Ally1405241517 0]

I have 8-port switch. (D-Link )You said about restrictions of connection to other switches. This means it will not work as a bridge between, for examle, wireless network and wired if I will connect it to switch? Or beetwen 2 wireless routers, if second isn't d-link?I see a lot of people using Linksys router, switches etc. But they are mostly Americans. Is Linksys good vendor? There, in Russian, I hear about them very rarely.And what about PCI cards? Are they worse then standalone AP ? And if it's how much worse.

Edited March 1, 2007 by Ally (see edit history)

[Grafitti 0]

I had the D-Link 108 Mbps router. I was very impressed with it at first. it was fast, and had great security and controlling features. But after a couple months it started giving me problems. it would freeze every ten minutes and i would have to go and unplug it and leave it for a while before i could plug it in again and get some more time out of it. Sne it back to Dlink for repairs, and they gave me another refurb in exchange. it didn't work from the beginning. they eventually refunded the cash and i bought a US Robotics. It does actually get up to 120 Mbps, of course not over such a long range, and you have to have the proper client cards to utilize the speed boost. Also i notice it has about a 30% range decrease from the Dlink, but i'm fine with that because i have an access point for my downstairs anyways, so it's a non-issue. i wonder though if it was caused because i use it so heavily. i have P2P going 24/7, and i specifically asked the shop for one that could handle it and they assured me the Dlink could. But since i don't have it anymore i can't tell what it was. Also another downside of the US Robotics router is that it only has very basic features, nothing fancy like the Dlink.

[Ally1405241517 0]

Would D-Link work with Intel PRO Wi-FI cards? (In my laptop)And again. What's about PCI Wi-Fi AP? Do they work normal?

[WeaponX 0]

You have to keep in mind (if you don't know already) that 108Mbps or whatever speeds the access points have is only applying for your network in general. Unless your internet service provider has speeds that high, you will most likely never see it accessing online at those speeds. But if you are transferring files from your computer to another computer in the access point, then it can go up to that speed (usually less due to other factors that may slow it down).

If there is no interference in your flat (other wireless devices or many walls in between the access point and your computer), the signal should be pretty strong.

Linksys is a very good brand. Many have recommended this product before and if it's available to you, you should consider buying one.

And what about PCI cards? Are they worse then standalone AP ? And if it's how much worse.

What about the PCI cards? They are not the same as the access points, unless there is some other newer devices that I haven't heard of before? I don't know what a PCI access point is...
All wireless cards should work with any router. Usually if something doesn't work, it's a configuration error if anything. I have read some reviews that compared different routers to see which ones were better in terms of range and connectivity.

[unimatrix 0]

Even on local networks, I've never gotten above 1.2MB/s transfer on any router. And surfing the net, I've never gotten downloads greater than about 400k. The reason being is that not only is your BW limited from your ISP, BW is often throttled at a server as well. Most servers allow a max of 128kb/s per connection and sometimes less depending on how busy the server is and policies. I've used D-link, Linksys, Netgear, and even Cisco access points with A/B/G settings. My Wireless point works and provides good surfing speeds so i'm not going to complain.

[toby 0]

Also (things that seem to be contridicted here), megabits and megabytes are often written the same way, so you'll get 1/8Xmb, even if it says Xmb, and that the router takes half the speed of what it says. This is what I've read, today's the first ever day of making a wireless network and we've already stop/stumped.But yeah, even with all this pretty much everywhere but netherlands, it's enough for a few more years of middle-market internet.

[Ally1405241517 0]

toby, I know what means MB/S and Mbits/s. Thanks you.WeaponX, you haven't heard of PCI cards working as Access Points? It easily can be made under linux with proper drivers. A found a lot of documentation. So, as I understood, anyway 108 MBit/s is too much for flat. I can reach this speed only outside home in clear place where nothing can interference connection. Normal speed is 54 and 22 mbit/s. On this speeds link is very good as people say. I'm stopped on Standalone AP from Dlink with print server and NAT. It's a good choice. Any way, if it's bad, I can sold id very fast and buy one another.Now I'm thinking about making our local network... What you can say about external wide range cheap antenas for block home? And I'm thinking about directed AP with antenna to our school. It will be very usefull sitting in the school and surfing The Internet. I'm arround 500 meters far from shcool and there our school had good walls that specialy build to stay in earthquake.

[jimmy89 0]

i have a d-link wireless router, the DI-524. its a great little wireless router, great coverage and always reliable. its cheap, it works all the time and does what i need it to!it is only 54mbps, but that is all i need! if you are looking for something a bit faster, you might have to go a different model. though, if all you are doing is surfing the net and downloading some small files, this is still a very viable option. File transfer speeds are good and the connection quality is always strong, even if im on the other side of the house (25 mtrs +) )(thats through walls, concrete etc)I can also suggest the DWL-G122, the USB wireless reciever. it works just as well and can pick up the wireless signals for ages around the router!good luck with your choices-jimmy

[Ally1405241517 0]

I've bought AP and configured all I wanted. Everything works fine. On the other side of the house (30 meters away from ap) I have normal signal. And it's with 3 walls between ap and laptop. I haven't imaged how it may be cool sitting in the kitchen and surfing internet without cable =) Now I'm fighting with my router =) May be near to the evening I will win this battle =)The next thing, I found instruction how to made helix antena at home. On the test it showed G = 17.5 dBi or 13.4 dBi (Kraus or Emerson respectively) . This means I can connect to it at speed of 11 mb/s arround 10 miles away from it. What do you think about it. And what's about 3 km with 2-3 walls? Will it work or not?

[Ozwaldo 0]

Would D-Link work with Intel PRO Wi-FI cards? (In my laptop)And again. What's about PCI Wi-Fi AP? Do they work normal?

Yes it works, 802.11g is a standard, but for some reasons experts recommends to use the same brand in your NIC and AP

[Ozwaldo 0]

I'm going to by Wi-Fi AP.There are many standarts of Wi-Fi. I'm thinking of speeds 54 (802.11g) and 108 mb/s (802.11g).
Is it real 108 mb/s (13.5 MB/s) or not? What will work better in a flat? And if I buy AP with 108 mb/s speed can I will be set speed slow to make connection better? Or nothing will change? And what you can say about D-Link 2100 AP ?

The speed in wireless LANs is about 40-60% the manufacturers says.

The 108 Mbps speed is under ideal circunstances, not the real life