i got my first laptop.

Sorry, I think there is some misunderstanding here. We started this little side conversation when walkguru mentioned that he was getting 54Mbps over a wireless connection. I thought it was useful to point out that even so, he wasn't getting a 54Mbps connection to the Internet. That's all.

We shouldn't get confused by the terms router and gateway. Both kinds of devices connect two (or potentially more) networks. Usually gateways do protocol translation, but for the present purposes, a router and a gateway is the same thing.

Regardless of the gateway/router functions of the device, perceived bandwidth is still limited by the slowest link. An 802.11g device has much higher bandwidth on the local network than most ISPs provide to the home. You have claimed that this bandwidth is "discernible to the user" but you haven't supplied any evidence or experiment. I'm saying it will be discernible when accessing local resources, but not when accessing Internet resources.

If you want to know the details of my setup, here goes:

My Linksys WRT54G is a 4-port Ethernet switch, an 802.11b/g wireless access point and a configurable gateway/router, all in one box. You are right that many DSL and Cable services today provide devices for connecting a single computer to the Internet that combine the modem and the gateway/router function. For flexibility, I bought my own Motorola SB5120 cable modem to use with Comcast cable service. It is a gateway, since it translates between the DOCSIS protocol on one side and Ethernet on the other. So we can think of this as 4 segments and 3 devices that connect my computer to the outside world:

Comcast cable (from outside)
|
Cable modem (gateway between DOCSIS and Ethernet protocols)
|
Router (the gateway that provides an external address, an internal address space, Network Address Translation between them, DHCP, MAC filtering and other functions)
|
802.11g access point
|
computer

It is still a linear set of connections and still limited by the slowest link.


SW

 

Steve: I agree that it is limited by the weakest link, the ISP connection. My point, and you can test by changing your Linsys from B to G, is that whether it is due to a process (NAT) or caching or what (I'm a transport guy, not a router switch guy) the difference is noticeable. I have checked this on my own set up at home. I have a Westell 2200 DSL Modem (Verizon ADSL) connected to my Aruba AP 70 which provides 802.11 A and B/G simultaneously (Its a dual radio AP).

I have done all sorts of speed tests and there is about a 5% differerence in download speeds and about 10% in upload speeds between B and G dropping files onto and taking them off of an FTP located a few thousand miles away.

 

That's interesting. The Westell does NAT in either case, so it's probably not that, and you wouldn't think that any caching would change depending on the wireless mode. I can't explain what you measured, though I don't doubt it, if it's repeatable, as you said.

Still, this isn't what I would call noticeable to the average user. You actually had to time it to tell. Without timing it, it's hard to notice anything less than about a 50% difference. For short events, like Web page loads, I'd guess that a 100% (or 2X) speed difference would be noticeable, but not less.


SW

 

Yes, that's the speed of 802.11b, the first widely used Wi-Fi standard. This is being supplanted by the faster, compatible, 802.11g that you noticed in your earlier post. You have demonstrated that your new computer will automatically switch between them and use the fastest connection that's available. Aren't standards cool?

Again, all Windows is showing you is the speed of the connection between it and the Wi-Fi device. It doesn't know about anything else.


SW

 

What was your experience with each? Was one slower than another (actual speed, not what the wireless adapter says it is connected at)?

Assuming they both have a T1 on the other side, of course. I actually found a WiFi provider that had a mere ISDN line on the other side of a 100 user hot spot

 

I just got my first one too, a Compaq Presario V6105NR with the Media Center software, and I'm loving it. Since I only have dial-up available to me at home I've been trying different things. First I networked it via cable to my Dell 8300 Desktop, works like a charm, and I've noticed, even tho running through the Dell and its dialup, its faster than the dell??? WOW... I LIKE THAT. I've even ran it using my RAZRV3M as a modem, and thats even faster! No where near as fast as the wireless connections you can get in various other places, but still pretty nice! I've found my self connecting to the net with my Dell but working off the Compaq since its faster. I don't know why, but it is. I would like to try and get a router next to see if it will work just as well wirelessly off the dial-up, does anyone have any suggestions on that? :help: :dunno:

Brenda

 

Cool Beans! Which one are you getting? I'm so confused by all this techie stuff, but I sure would like to be able to move about with my laptop at home. Did u order on-line?

Brenda

 

Good luck!!


SW