Mesh Wifi-Hype?

Started by Slappy, January 06, 2017, 11:58:35 AM

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frailer

Technology is becomimg increasingly opaque, mainly a good thing, as mostly it 'just works', it seems.
We are on FTTN cable; not sure how fast. Not terrible, but not terribly slow, either. We've just stayed with Telstra since we got connected ((They'r big, were once the govt. telcom, but 'floated'.. about 12 years ago..from memory). Recently we received notice that they were doing stuff (upgrading, I guess) their end, and we would receive a (mandatory) new modem, which has WiFi in it.
I managed to install the the thing (no mean achievement, for me, really..), so we now have a combined modem/WiFi. With it came (unannounced), a little 'box', 'Telstra TV..powered by Roku'.   :wtf: This seems to have replaced a previous Telstra box we had, for cable access, but seems easier and better featured. 
The Airport is still sitting there, like an orphan. 
Forgotten good guys: Dennis Ritchie, Burrell Smith, Bill Atkinson, Richard Stallman
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now just an honorary member.

Farabomb

Frailer, if it's a Roku packed into your service, that's pretty awesome. While my Roku box is packed away because I have a massive PC parked behind my TV (that I'm typing on now) It was pretty awesome when I had it attached for netflix and such. I may have to plug it back in seeing as it's got a lot of support now.

Born, one of the reasons I make sure I get a phone that has roms to to be able to shut off those damn alerts. No need to wake me up if there is an alert or a flood warning. If there is a flood that's affecting me, 1400 ft above sea level I'm going to know about it.
Speed doesn't kill, rapidly becoming stationary is the problem

I'd rather have stories told than be telling stories of what I could have done.

Quote from: Ear on April 06, 2016, 11:54:16 AM
Quote from: Farabomb on April 06, 2016, 11:39:41 AMIt's more like grip, grip, grip, noise, then spin and 2 feet in and feel shame.
I once knew a plus-sized girl and this pretty much describes teh secks. :rotf:
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
         —Benjamin Franklin

My other job

Joe

Mac OS Sonoma 14.2.1 (c) | (retired)

The seven ages of man: spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills and wills.

DigiCorn

Well, I think neighbor networks are the real cause. There's a dozen or so free apps for your smart phone that map wifi networks. I see a lot of overlap, but the channels that are free and clear of traffic aren't assignable by my router (or I don't know how to do it). We literally have (off the top of my head) at least 15 wireless devices capable of streaming. I can log in, even when they're not in use) and see them on the network (not sure if DHCP is just holding a place for them, or if even "asleep," they're communicating). I'm not a network guy, which is why I am asking the questions. I know just enough to get myself into trouble. Basically every time I watch Hulu, the first connection fails and then multiple times during a 22 minute show it loses connection. Signal strength is strong, which makes me think interference is the culprit. Hulu is the worst. Netflix will sometimes slow and get a bit choppy. Plex will sometimes lag audio so it doesn't match video. Other apps will sometimes just not connect. I confirmed network connectivity earlier today before launching vudu, and then, after selecting my movie, vudu dumped me stating no network connectivity. Hardwiring is the answer, but I only have one line, so I can make my ASUS router the Access Point and use the ports, or I can use my whatever it is (sorry - I haven't looked yet). I think it IS a switch... it looks like this one right here: http://www.staples.com/NETGEAR-5-Port-Gigabit-Switch-GS605NA/product_579084
"There's been a lot of research recently on how hard it is to dislodge an impression once it's been implanted in someone's mind. (This is why political attack ads don't have to be true to be effective. The other side can point out their inaccuracies, but the voter's mind privileges the memory of the original accusation, which was juicier than any counterargument ever could be.)"
― Johnny Carson

"Selling my soul would be a lot easier if I could just find it."
– Nikki Sixx

"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut."
― Ernest Hemingway

Joe

That is a hub. Plug in the ethernet from the source and then you can run ethernet from all the other ports to other devices. That is what Farabomb said his network guy said it was bad to have them on the network. In my home I have 4 of them on the network and they all seem to work fine.

I use wired to all my devices. Netflix is pretty good but it will buffer at times. Hulu buffers a lot. I attribute that to some server or servers between me and Netflix/Hulu servers. MLB Network is a steaming pile of shit network. It buffers constantly on all devices both at work and at home. Streaming is always a crap shoot. Hell I even get buffering from Youtube at times.

Anything that Plex/Kodi/any other open source software streams from the internet is usually from overcrowded servers and bandwidth is limited. If you are going to use one of those devices get you a premium download account from one of the services like Real-Debrid. It is an unrestricted multihoster. An unrestricted downloader allows you to download instantly at the best of your internet speed any files available on download platforms such as Uptobox and many others without any restrictions. Real-Debrid cost me about $17 for 6 months. It works a hell of lot better than trying to download for free from one of the free crippled download servers.
Mac OS Sonoma 14.2.1 (c) | (retired)

The seven ages of man: spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills and wills.

frailer

#35
Quote from: Joe on January 10, 2017, 06:20:02 PMSounds like it is:

Telstra TV Roku Box Review: Features and User Ratings
yep, hooked up without too much trouble once we twigged to what it might be.. Wife uses it a lot more than I do...Netflix etc. But it's a far cry from a few years ago.
Like everything else, it all gets easier/dumbed down.

QuoteReal-Debrid cost me about $17 for 6 months. It works a hell of lot better than trying to download for free from one of the free crippled download servers.

Often, paying a small amount for something returns a high yield.

Forgotten good guys: Dennis Ritchie, Burrell Smith, Bill Atkinson, Richard Stallman
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now just an honorary member.

Farabomb

I have my PC hooked up on wire from the AP and even then netflix can be a temperamental bitch. A few days ago it would buffer, get to 99% and then sit there for 10 minutes. After clearing cache, rebooting AP, Router, ect. it decided to work again. I don't know what fixed it but it could have also been my flaky DSL connection.

Digi, you're on cable, correct? That's a shared line so it's possible it can be a combination of overloaded server's on the service's side as well as traffic on the local cable network. If it's a weekend or a crappy, rainy day when everyone is inside watching netflix the cable dataline can just be at max bandwidth. At least that's the excuse the cable companies give when they start throttling your "unlimited" service.
Speed doesn't kill, rapidly becoming stationary is the problem

I'd rather have stories told than be telling stories of what I could have done.

Quote from: Ear on April 06, 2016, 11:54:16 AM
Quote from: Farabomb on April 06, 2016, 11:39:41 AMIt's more like grip, grip, grip, noise, then spin and 2 feet in and feel shame.
I once knew a plus-sized girl and this pretty much describes teh secks. :rotf:
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
         —Benjamin Franklin

My other job

DigiCorn

Cable internet... but I work evenings, so I'm doing all of my streaming between about 11 pm and 2 am.

Joe, I thought it was a hub too, but why does it say, "Switch," in the description?
"There's been a lot of research recently on how hard it is to dislodge an impression once it's been implanted in someone's mind. (This is why political attack ads don't have to be true to be effective. The other side can point out their inaccuracies, but the voter's mind privileges the memory of the original accusation, which was juicier than any counterargument ever could be.)"
― Johnny Carson

"Selling my soul would be a lot easier if I could just find it."
– Nikki Sixx

"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut."
― Ernest Hemingway

Joe

I don't think the manufacturers call of any of them hubs anymore.

QuoteWhat is a Switch?
In networks, a device that filters and forwards packets between LAN segments. Switches operate at the data link layer (layer 2) and sometimes the network layer (layer 3) of the OSI Reference Model and therefore support any packet protocol. LANs that use switches to join segments are called switched LANs or, in the case of Ethernet networks, switched Ethernet LANs.

What is a Hub?
A common connection point for devices in a network. Hubs are commonly used to connect segments of a LAN. A hub contains multiple ports. When a packet arrives at one port, it is copied to the other ports so that all segments of the LAN can see all packets.

To me the one you linked falls under the definition of the hub.
Mac OS Sonoma 14.2.1 (c) | (retired)

The seven ages of man: spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills and wills.

DigiCorn

So basically a hub sends data down all lines at all times and a switch just sends data down the pertinent line? I can see how technically this makes the switch a better option, but from reading the description, I can't figure out how this thing really operates.

It may all be a moot point anyway, as the stupid mount has the tv too flush to the wall and the ethernet port makes it stick out away... unless I get an ethernet plug that's at a 90 degree angle like this: https://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-Gigabit-Molded-N204-010-BL-DN/dp/B005WKIR44/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484180894&sr=8-1&keywords=90+degree+ethernet+cable but it would have to be pretty low profile.
"There's been a lot of research recently on how hard it is to dislodge an impression once it's been implanted in someone's mind. (This is why political attack ads don't have to be true to be effective. The other side can point out their inaccuracies, but the voter's mind privileges the memory of the original accusation, which was juicier than any counterargument ever could be.)"
― Johnny Carson

"Selling my soul would be a lot easier if I could just find it."
– Nikki Sixx

"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut."
― Ernest Hemingway

Slappy

Update:

I got the Luma 3-Pack kit for my Birthday, with the intention of replacing the Fios Router + Belkin extender + Netgear Router to have just ONE seamless network. Install is stupid simple: Install first hub at the cable modem, then the 2nd unit, then the 3rd and move them around until coverage is optimal. In practice though...

Back on Pg 1 I mentioned our "dead spot" in the great room where we spend most of our evenings. First hub puts out fantastic speeds as expected, 120Mbps or better, the 2nd hop about 75 feet away on the 2nd floor it drops dramatically 20Mbps and I can't even get the 3rd hub in the great room to pick up the signal from #2. The iron wall effect kills the Wifi completely. Turns out, the Luma supports Ethernet backhaul, so in theory I can hardwire #3 but it HAS TO come off the first hub that's wired to the Fios router. (I tried a Moca adapter through coax, but no-go, it's on the wrong IP range so it can't talk to the other Lumas). Luckily, the previous owner put Ethernet in every room, now I just have to put in a switch and find the corresponding Cat5 cable in the basement. Oof.
A little diddie 'bout black 'n cyan...two reflective colors doin' the best they can.

Farabomb

I would love a house that's wired for cat5. Best I got is a house with one of these in it. Looks cool but I highly doubt it works.

Speed doesn't kill, rapidly becoming stationary is the problem

I'd rather have stories told than be telling stories of what I could have done.

Quote from: Ear on April 06, 2016, 11:54:16 AM
Quote from: Farabomb on April 06, 2016, 11:39:41 AMIt's more like grip, grip, grip, noise, then spin and 2 feet in and feel shame.
I once knew a plus-sized girl and this pretty much describes teh secks. :rotf:
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
         —Benjamin Franklin

My other job

Joe

I assume that is for some kind of sound system?

I put wired ethernet throughout the house along with wireless routers (5 of them) so I have both wired and wireless everywhere.
Mac OS Sonoma 14.2.1 (c) | (retired)

The seven ages of man: spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills and wills.

DigiCorn

I never did figure out my situation. I do have Cat6e hardwired, but not neatly - I drilled  hole in the wall, added a cover plate, sealed the gaps with silicon and ran lines under the eaves of the house to the various rooms where I needed hardline, and then drilled through the walls and brought it in. Part of my house is on the foundation, and part is on the slab... it's a psuedo split-level... and unfortunately where I needed the hard line, it's on the slab so running line under the house wasn't an option. My roof is very low profile, so there's basically zero-to-no crawl space in the attic so running it through the ceiling wasn't really an option either.

I was going to bring my ASUS AC66 router and use it as an access point, but I never got around to it. I do have one range extender and one Powerline connection in my network, but the Powerline is running ridiculously slow compared to my old house. My hardline averages about 115-120mbps but the Powerline operates at about 25mbps. Fortunately, I don't rely on it for constant, stable connection - it's connected to an XBox 360 and a blu-ray player.

My tv kept dropping wifi signal, but after a firmware update it got better. It got better still after I turned off the wifi broadcast signal on my redundant router. I still want to hardwire it, but there's still the issue of needing an ultra low-profile 90 degree ethernet cable for the flush wall mount.
"There's been a lot of research recently on how hard it is to dislodge an impression once it's been implanted in someone's mind. (This is why political attack ads don't have to be true to be effective. The other side can point out their inaccuracies, but the voter's mind privileges the memory of the original accusation, which was juicier than any counterargument ever could be.)"
― Johnny Carson

"Selling my soul would be a lot easier if I could just find it."
– Nikki Sixx

"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut."
― Ernest Hemingway

Slappy

If I can't get the Luma nodes talking efficiently, I may give Plume a shot. Was reading up on it the other night, one review said it does remarkably well at consistent throughput in a setup like I've got. IT may not win any speed wars but we're not moving that much data at home, moderate streaming at best so it may just do the trick.
A little diddie 'bout black 'n cyan...two reflective colors doin' the best they can.