Struggling w/decision on new router….

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Level 1

1 points

Struggling w/decision on new router….

Hey all- When it comes to networking I am truly a beginner. So please bare w/me. I recently made the move to MAC OS and love it! I am currently using the linksys e4200 router in my house which covers 5,200 square feet. I recently had to hard wire my mac due to the crazy slow internet I was receiving in my home. This was happening on not only the MAC, but other mackines as well. In the last 2 weeks we have lost complete internet connection no less than 6-7 times, this requires a reboot of the router. Needless to say, I am looking at alternative routers. What I am really interested in knowing is after opening utilities, network utilities my Mac is showing the following speed:

Link Speed: 100 Mbit/s (Mac connected directly to router). Is this an acceptable speed? Will purchasing the Apple Router and or time capsule help/improve this speed? We have ipads, iphones, 2 media sreamers, 2 apple tv's, etc all vying for bandwith at various times of the day.

Thank you in advance for any help/suggestions!

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Mar 25, 2013 5:17 PM

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Answer 1

Tesserax

Level 10

158,658 points

Mar 25, 2013 10:19 PM in response to RTR15

Link Speed: 100 Mbit/s (Mac connected directly to router). Is this an acceptable speed?

Your iMac is capable of 1000 Mbps (or 1 Gbps) on its Ethernet interface. If it is only getting 100 Mbps, just about any new router will provide you with 1000 Mbps capability.

For wireless, the iMac should be able to support up to 450 Mbps. Again, most new wireless routers can support this. For reference the latest AirPort Extreme will support both of these.

Will purchasing the Apple Router and or time capsule help/improve this speed? We have ipads, iphones, 2 media sreamers, 2 apple tv's, etc all vying for bandwith at various times of the day.

No matter which brand of router you end up getting, just keep in mind that all of these devices must share the overall bandwidth that the router can provide. If, for example, all of them are simultaneously accessing HD video content from the Internet, this could result in streaming perfomance issues.

However, before going out to get a replacement, your current Linksys router supports Gigabit Ethernet and 450+ Mbps wireless. The fact that your only getting 100 Mbps (over Ethernet) to the iMac may be due to the Ethernet cable being used. As far as wireless, it would be "pushing it" for a single wireless router to cover a 5200 sq. ft. home with decent performance beyond a certain distance from the router. Think of the router as being a light bulb. The farther away you get the dimmer the light will be. Walls, floors, ceilings, etc. will all try to block the wireless signal. Most likely you are only getting decent performance within a room or two from the router. This is typical. There are options to extend a wireless network and each manufacturer has their own solutions to do so.

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Answer 2

RTR15 Author

Level 1

1 points

Mar 26, 2013 2:17 AM in response to Tesserax

Wow! Thank you, very much for the detailed response!! To be honest I am just using a standard ethernet cable. The one companies put in the box with new gear. Is there a specific type you recommend?

Thanks again

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Answer 3

Tesserax

Level 10

158,658 points

Mar 26, 2013 10:43 AM in response to RTR15

That cable should be fine, but just in case it is faulty, I would suggest that you try another one just to be sure. If you are still getting 100 Mbps for the link rate, then there may be something amiss with either the configuration of the router or the iMac ... or both.

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