Home Network Question

[PilotMan]

So I'm reaching that point of frustration and I'm wondering if someone else might be familiar with the problem that I'm having.

First off, I have a 20 Mb connection from the cable company that goes to my D-Link Modem, then to my Belkin wireless router and out. This problem seems to have started a little while ago, and while it seems constant I can't be sure that it didn't start sooner. Now I got the modem refurbished (it's mine, not Insights) and it's about 18 mo old, the router was new this year.

At first I noticed it watching MLB TV on the Roku player. I am unable to watch for more than a few minutes without getting a problem with the stream and having to reload the game. When I stream the game on my laptop it plays nice sometimes, and then sometimes it constantly reloads like there isn't enough bandwith, and the picture gets bad and there shouldn't be.

Lately, I've noticed some other problems as well, like the Netflix stream going down from HD to half to play (haven't had that slowdown since I was using DSL). Lately when watching a video I'll get a few minutes into the video and the DL will stop. I'm seeing a lot of pages hanging when loading as well. When I test using speedtest or speakeasy I have wildly random results. Sometimes 25Mb sometimes 2Mb and about half the time it simply stops altogether and I watch the speed drop all the way to 0 before I have to reload the page. None of this should be happening with the speed I have.

I tested my home network with a 100 MB test between my server and my laptop and I nailed 47 Mb and 30 Mb on the test, so I know that at least from my PC to the router and server that speed isn't a problem.

So I'm thinking that it's either on my modem or something from the ISP. I'm leaning toward the modem, because when I actually get to check the signal it comes through really nice with 50ms or less pings and almost no jitter or packet loss.

Any thoughts or idea would greatly be appreciated.

[gstelmack]

It could be either the router or the modem. D-Link and Belkin aren't exactly top brands in these areas. Motorola for modem and something like the latest Linksys routers are much better. But these type of "works for a bit, then fails" are common router problems. Modem problems tend to be more of the "I lost my internet connection after a few hours" variety, although that's a generalization.

When I got my 30Mb connection from TWC, it came with some unknown Ubee modem / router combo. Things started working much better when I bought a Linksys E3200 and put the Ubee into bridge mode so it worked strictly as a modem.

Also note that wireless is susceptible to signal interference, and is not always the best for streaming or gaming. Have you tried connecting your Roku with a physical wire to the router and see if it still has the same problem?

Note that I hate recommending you connect straight to the modem, although with the Roku for a short time you may be safe, but the router adds a nice level of security against port scanners and the like.

I'd start by connecting with a wire to the router to see if the issues go away (to eliminate the wireless part), if that's not it replace the router with a real one (which is a good idea long-term regardless), then the modem last. If money is an issue, try the Roku straight to the modem to help isolate which one is the problem, but be careful on security here.

[BrianD]

Definitely check the wireless part first. If you are using wireless-G, you can get interference from cordless phones and from the microwave. Wireless-N may get interference from some of the newer cordless phones.

[DanGarion]

Have you attempted a direct connection to the modem with no router in between. If it happens with no router then you know it is the modem or your ISP, if it doesn't then it starts pointing to the router as the issue.

Aslo for gstelmack, I just recently discovered that Ubee is the same company as Ambit, TWC has been using Ambit modems for probably about 8-9 years.

[gstelmack]

Aslo for gstelmack, I just recently discovered that Ubee is the same company as Ambit, TWC has been using Ambit modems for probably about 8-9 years.

I had a Motorola Surfboard for the longest time around here, and got the last one when we switched to TWC phone probably 6 or 7 years ago. The Ubee is working fine as a modem, but as a router it really sucks. Could never reliably connect my cell phones to it, and had all kinds of trouble getting an "open" NAT with my Xbox 360. Everything cleared up when I got the Linksys E3200 and switched to Bridge mode on it.

[stevew]

If you plan to stay in the house, start fishing cables when/where you can.

[DanGarion]

I had a Motorola Surfboard for the longest time around here, and got the last one when we switched to TWC phone probably 6 or 7 years ago. The Ubee is working fine as a modem, but as a router it really sucks. Could never reliably connect my cell phones to it, and had all kinds of trouble getting an "open" NAT with my Xbox 360. Everything cleared up when I got the Linksys E3200 and switched to Bridge mode on it.

I don't have much experience with the Ubee router though since we don't have them here in SoCal, our only D3.0 router we have is the Motorola SB6580, which works decent enough from my experience at home.

[DanGarion]

If you plan to stay in the house, start fishing cables when/where you can.

I can't express how much I agree with this.

I teach every technician that goes through my High Speed Online training that they should never sell wireless service as a replacement for wired internet service. Wireless was never intended to be used that way, it is a compliment to the wired service you have and a convenience. If you want reliable and the most secure internet service you can get your only real option to to run ethernet...

[PilotMan]

I have some wired lines in my house, but I also have 3 laptops, 2 PC's, plus a home server (this one is hard wired) that I use for backups and media, and 3 Roku players. Wireless is kind of a necessity.

Thanks for the replys on this.

The router is an N, dual band router. I figured that since my laptop to server times over the wireless were so fast that that would show that my router really isn't to blame. Is the direct wire from the modem the only real way to test the line and isolate the router.

[DanGarion]

I have some wired lines in my house, but I also have 3 laptops, 2 PC's, plus a home server (this one is hard wired) that I use for backups and media, and 3 Roku players. Wireless is kind of a necessity.

Thanks for the replys on this.

The router is an N, dual band router. I figured that since my laptop to server times over the wireless were so fast that that would show that my router really isn't to blame. Is the direct wire from the modem the only real way to test the line and isolate the router.

I can tell you from the cable companies support point of view if you call in complaining of speed issues and you are using a router between the computer and the modem the first thing they will want you to do is see if the issue continues with a direction connection, they want to take anything out of the equation that might cause an issue. It really is the only way to test the line and make sure it isn't the problem.

Let's say the problem continues with the direct connection, the next point of failure would be the modem, and as long as the cable company sees no issue with the signal going to the modem (most companies can also see uptime and a log of the signal readings for a number of days) they will point the issue as the modem as the issue (which honestly it could be).

[stevew]

Isn't there a way to assign each wireless device a certain static pathway to the router? I'd guess you have competing devices aiming for the same IP and this might cause some of the problems.

[PilotMan]

Isn't there a way to assign each wireless device a certain static pathway to the router? I'd guess you have competing devices aiming for the same IP and this might cause some of the problems.


Yeah, every now and then I'll have an IP conflict but it is resolved pretty quick. I've given static IP's out in the past but it's not really been too much of an issue.

[PilotMan]

Alright, so I ran a line direct from the modem straight to my laptop, and at first it didn't look like it made a difference. The more I played with it the more stable it got, and I started to get speed tests that were near or above 20.

I hooked up my older Netgear N band router, that still worked great, and voila, problems went away. Now why does the "better" dual band, N, Belkin router work all crappy and my older Netgear works better? Weird.

Glad it's fixed. You guys were right, it was the router. Thanks.

If for some reason the problem comes back I'll let you know.

[gstelmack]

I hooked up my older Netgear N band router, that still worked great, and voila, problems went away. Now why does the "better" dual band, N, Belkin router work all crappy and my older Netgear works better? Weird.

Because Belkin is not known for writing firmware, and is not primarily a networking hardware company. Firmware plays a huge part in how well this stuff works. Don't go cheap, go brand-name with someone who knows networking. Netgear used to be top of the heap and the only one I'd consider, but now Linksys is doing much better since Cisco bought them (the E3200 was the first Linksys router I'd ever considered), not sure where D-Link falls these days but they used to be second tier with Linksys. I don't think I'd buy a router from anyone else.