Curb your enthusiasm... for WiFi.

Everything is WiFi nowadays.
There is hardly a dead spot anywhere, and we are constantly being bombarded by the wonderful convenience that is wireless internet.

From an end-user point of view, this is pure bliss.
To have internet everywhere in your home and office, to be able to walk around and be connected at all times - what's not to love?
Unfortunately, like a lot of things, WiFi solutions really should come with T's and C's, because there are some things that WiFi simply cannot do, no matter how much you wish it could.

Back in the days when internet speeds rarely exceeded 4Mbps (I remember how amazing a 4Mbps ADSL connection used to seem...), local connections (cabled and WiFi) always exceeded internet speeds.
This meant that your internet connection was always the bottleneck - every other part of the network was quicker.
Then internet got quicker. ADSL suddenly found itself running at 10Mbps, LTE took off, and fibre has now started to infiltrate offices and homes at the speed of light, literally. Well almost...

So now that internet connections are becoming faster and more stable, we have a situation where the internet speed is not always the bottleneck anymore.
To illustrate this, take the following example:

• A local WIFI network runs at a theoretical maximum speed of 300Mbps:
• First off, the "300Mbps" figure here is misleading - what the router manufacturers don't tell you is that this is shared bandwidth - i.e. you need to divide 300Mbps by the number of connected devices, to get your actual theoretical max. speed per device.
• Secondly, shared bandwidth is not necessarily distributed evenly, in part because there are just so many factors that come into play around WiFi speeds.
  These include (but are not limited to):
  
  - Distance from the Access Point
  - Specs of the WiFi adapter that you are using to connect with
  - Environmental factors (a Netgear specialist even informed me that microwave ovens, office plants and water play a role in degrading WiFi signal)
  - Surrounding WiFi networks (channel interference)
  
  The list goes on and on.
  Some routers do offer more advanced features (QOS, Dual Band etc.) to try and workaround the above issues, but you'll be paying extra for that of course.
• Thirdly, what you gain in range / stability, you will lose in speed.
  
  This applies in several scenarios:
  - I have found that using 40Mhz channel width on a 2.4Ghz network has resulted in higher speeds overall, but due to a wider channel, there is a higher likelihood of overlap with neighbouring WiFi networks, and potentially less stability.
  - In my experience, device connection speeds were lower when using 20Mhz channel width, however this setting is regarded as more robust - good for use in a highly congested 2.4Ghz environment.
  
  It is also important to consider range vs. speed, when installing a WiFi booster.
  WiFi boosters offer a simple, off the shelf, minimal config means of boosting your existing WiFi network signal and eliminating deadspots.
  In theory, a wonderful proposition.
  In practice, not quite so simple, especially if you are trying to cover a large area...
  
  Here's the thing - every boost results in a 50% speed decrease. 50%!!!
  This means that if you are boosting a 300Mbps WiFi network, your boosted signal will only have a theoretical maximum speed of 150Mbps - that's quite a drop off!
  Now connect 10 devices to that boosted network, and all of a sudden you're wondering where the hell your 100Mbps fibre internet speed just disappeared to... in this case, the boosted WiFi just won't be able to keep up with the 100Mbps internet speeds.

So next time you find yourself wondering why your internet is slow, don't forget to eliminate WiFi as the possible culprit as well.
If you're installing a new WiFi network, also be sure to properly survey where the WiFi is going to be installed, and give some thought to these points:

- Are there a lot of concrete walls nearby which will degrade the WiFi signal?
- Is the neighbourhood already flooded with other 2.4Ghz WiFi networks?
- Does the signal cover the entire premises or will you need to consider a booster of some sort?
- How many devices are likely to connect to the WiFi? Consider smartphones and tablets as well, not just PC's.

May your WiFi experiences be filled only with high speeds and low latency :)

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Netgear modem refusing an IP address change? Try this...

In my line of work, I install new ADSL modems on an ongoing basis, and I often need to change the default IP address that the modem is setup with.
One of my best sellers is the Netgear DGN2200, however I ran into an odd problem recently which puzzled my poor brain to pieces, until one of the awesome tech support guys at Netgear shed some light on the situation.

The webpage when you setup the modem IP address looks something like this:

It all seems pretty simple - fill in the new IP address, and hit Apply at the bottom.
Done, right?
Not in this case - no matter how many times I tried, the router would reboot, and then revert to the original default "192.168.0.1" IP address.
Highly frustrating.

Even Google was clueless - combing through the search results revealed nothing of use.
At the end of my wits, I fell back on the support guys at Netgear - I mean after all, that's what they are there for, surely?

2 words: "Change browsers."

The answer to a problem which became a rather unpleasant throbbing pain in my right temple, was that simple.
Accessing the web interface of the router from Internet Explorer 11 rather than from Chrome, and performing the exact same steps, resulted in a fresh new IP address.

Now if only all IT problems were that simple to fix :)

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Nybbles and Bytes becomes an Authorised Netgear Reseller

If you ever need anything network-related, be it a router, switch, ADSL modem, 3G Router, Wireless Access point, Wireless Extender... (you get the idea!), drop me a mail for a quote, because Nybbles and Bytes cc is now an Authorised Netgear Reseller.

Over the years I have used a lot of different brands when it comes to networking - Netgear, Linksys, Billion, SMC, 3Com, Fujitsu Siemens, Tenda, to name only a few.
Out of all of these I have found that Netgear consistently comes up tops in most areas, and their warranty and backup is unparalleled.

So go on - let me know what you need!

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How to extend your wireless network

A lot of people have asked me about this subject - either at their homes or in their offices.
They are running a wireless network and as soon as they move into a certain room, or beyond a certain distance from the access point, their wireless signal becomes weak or is lost completely.

The obvious solution is to move your access point around, but this is not always possible if the access point is also an ADSL modem, and therefore limited in positioning by Telkom wall jacks etc.

There is another option, but only if your existing Wireless access point supports something called "WDS". WDS (courtesy of Wikipedia), is defined as follows:

"A Wireless Distribution System (WDS) is a system that enables the wireless interconnection of access points in an IEEE 802.11 network. It allows a wireless network to be expanded using multiple access points without the need for a wired backbone to link them, as is traditionally required."

So in plain English, you can extend your wireless network by placing another access point somewhere else in your home / office, and your 2 access points can then be configured to form one virtual access point, i.e. your laptop / PC will see them as one access point, just a whole lot larger than before.

In order to achieve this though, the following conditions need to be met:

- both access points must support WDS / Wireless Bridging
- both access points must have the same SSID
- both access points must be broadcasting on the same wireless channel
- both access points must be on the same IP subnet
- WDS / Wireless Bridging must be enabled on both access points, and the respective MAC addresses of each access point needs to be associated with the other access point.

Wow what a mouthful! I must say that I had quite a time getting this right initially, but if you meet all of the above conditions then you should be good to go.
If you are not sure what Access Point you can use to get this right, the Netgear WG602 is a great device that supports Wireless Bridging (provided that your existing access point is up to the task).

Want one? Drop me a mail now - the Netgear WG602 is currently available for R 700.
As always, T&C's apply.

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