Eiji

I have a Netgear WGR614 wireless router with the latest firmware installed. My PC is connected to the router with a ethernet cable. I also have a Netgear WGE101 wireless bridge which is connected to my Xbox 360.

I've noticed when I have a constant download stream going on the PC the speed drops intermittently and the only way to fix it is to power cycle the router. At first I thought it was my internet connection but the speed doesn't drop when I connect the ethernet cable from PC directly to the modem.

It happens much more when I have my PC and Xbox 360 on at the same time sharing my 2mbit ntl broadband connection.

Why is it doing this? I'm relatively new to wireless networking and there are quite a few settings I haven't touched like WEP etc as the router and bridge auto-configured themselves for the most part.

Thanks.

LeeJend

First, do yourself a favor and turn on the security. With wireless somebody could be tapping into your connection and using your bandwidth.

Power cycling will break the connection of anyone tapping into your wireless. That could explain the improved connection afterwards.

Assuming no one is stealing your bandwidth you can expect the speed to drop off when you are running the Xbox. It should not drop off when the Xbox is not On. If it does it may be a problem with the router or your ISP is throttling your connection back (intentionally or unintentionally). Stop the download and run a speed test next time it happens:
http://www.dslreports.com/tools

and something on wireless security:
http://www.wireless-network-tutorial.com/download.htm

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Eiji

Thanks!

I added 128-bit WEP security to the network and everything seems stable now.

I'm getting poor streaming speeds though when sending files from the PC which is wired to the router and the other PC which is connected to the access point.

Transferred 1 file totaling 128.00 MB in 2 minutes 54 seconds (753.4 KB/s)

Since its a 54Mbps router and access point, shouldn't the max speed be around 4.7MB/sec? I wasn't doing anything else but sending files. Signal strength is between 80% ~ 90%.

Admiral Michael

The only downside to encryption is it does slow the connection down somewhat, which is what you are experiencing.

Myself, I use 64bit WEP and MAC filtering. Now before you think that's stupid just let me tell you that I only have 1 main client on my wifi and two occasionals (1 even more then the other, my PDA and my friends laptop).

I tried WPA and had some connection issues, would get kicked every 2 hrs or so. Went back to WEP and it's gone (connected to MSN for 14hrs ).

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Eiji

I'm getting over 2,000KB/sec now when streaming but its still much lower than 5,000KB/sec that the router can handle.

Eiji

Ok, I now have another problem

From time to time WinXP complains that a network cable is unplugged. When I check my Netgear router, the power light is orange instead of green and the other lights are off. The only way to fix this is to power cycle the router.

Is the router faulty or just another settings problem?

kcnychief

I would say the router is the cause. You mentioned earlier you don't really experience problems when the PC is hooked directly to the modem itself. Since you already have the latest firmware, I'd say your only option would be to flash the router (reset it to factory settings), and then re-upgrade the firmware. Short of that, it may be time to search for a replacement.

Alternatively, have you tried with your PC plugged into different ports on the router?

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Eiji

Ok, the router was faulty (WGR614 v6) so got it RMA'd and now I don't get the "a network cable is unplugged" error.

I'm still getting poor wireless speeds though regardless of the security settings or bridge data rate settings.

I can achieve a maximum data rate of 2,127 KB/sec when FTP'ing directly from my PC to my laptops FTP server but when I browse the internet and download stuff with the laptop, I only get half of the speed of my broadband ie 1mbit speeds instead of 2mbit.

I get the slow speeds (115 KB/sec) through my Xbox 360 too. Takes twice as long to download a demo from Xbox Live Marketplace when its connected wirelessly as opposed to a wired connection

perris

I have found that on just about every wireless router I have tried, when bandwidth goes under pressure I can loose the connection

I think it's overheating of the wireless transmitter since it happens more often when the router is croweded with incidentals but I don't know

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Eiji

BTW, do I really need a software firewall since the router already has a SPI firewall?

I'm currently using ZoneAlarm as a software firewall but is it needed?

Admiral Michael

The router blocks incoming connections but not out going, so if some spyware infects your computer when it won't stop it. I have to admit I don't use a software firewall except the Windows SP2 firewall.

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kcnychief

I personally have always used a 3rd party application, in combination with any type of hardware firewall. Alot of people don't like it, but I use and swear by ZoneAlarm, and have for at least 2 years. I wouldn't setup or recommend a PC without some type of software firewall, XP SP2 just doesn't qutie cut it as it does NOT monitor outbound connections. Although I haven't had a chance to see it live, Windows Vista is slated to have a more intelligent firewall, which will monitor both directions.

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