SG Broadband Community

I just subscribed to the new fiber optic ISP in my neighborhood. They advertized speeds of 10 Mb. And son-of-a-gun they get right close to it. (9.8 Mb on their speed checker, around 8 Mb on DSL Reports). That’s when I hook the ethernet cable directly from their modem to my ethernet card. When I hook their modem to the WAN port on the Linksys 4 port router and hook the router to my ethernet card, I get speeds of only 500k to around 1.5M. Linksys tech support was less than helpful. (Even a bit surly, “there are no speed settings on the router, I guess it must be defective, take it back to the store if you don’t like it”). Of course the ISP doesn’t support the router connection. Any body have any ideas on setting up the router.

Routers will do that.

Get a Netgear.

The Linksys does not have any more then 4mb of through put. Well that is the maximum, so as we can see it's not even that.

But... but... but, the box said .... "supports 10Mb Ethernet on its WAN port"... was they foolen with me?

Get new firmware for your linksys providing your oruter is a BEFSR41. Version 1.39 and above fix the speed drop issue. http://www.linksys.com/download/firmware.asp

That is just what I've read about the Linsksys routers.

Get the new firmware. This is a common problem with OOL subscribers and firmware update almost always fixes it. Also make sure your NIC drivers are up to date.

Drivers were the first thing I tried. Router is at version 1.40.2 and my Xircom RBE 10/100 is at 3.14.5.0. Since the connection is at top speed when plugged directly into the cable modem, I'm guessing that the NIC is ok. I ran all the SG tweeks. Still 8 Mb seems like a pretty big bite for a router to take.

As mentioned I've seen reports that this is exactly what the Linksys router does.

Tweaking will only affect a direct connection - they change you registry, NIC, or browser settings - not the connection itself.

What is the MTU set to on the router setup page? Do you have SPI and/or logging enabled? They will slow the throughput as well.

I agree with an earlier post about replacing the router. Linksys advertisements aren't the most...accurate. Realize that you are using a very low-grade, residential router for a business-class connection (and a very fast one considering T1=1.5 Mbs). Those routers are obviously much more expensive but one is probably required to acheive your rated speeds. Either that, or go with a sw firewall and lose the router altogether.

Cheers,

Skye

i had many problems with my netgear router

Thanks guys, you make perfect sense. (That's why the Linksys guy was getting testy when I pressed him for ways to make the router perform as advertized... It won't). So Skye... do you have opinions on the best router for the job?

Originally posted by Bob Carrick
The Linksys does not have any more then 4mb of through put. Well that is the maximum, so as we can see it's not even that.

I have heard that too.

Thing is if you go to Linksys website they don't specify data rate.

Go to Nexlands site, they specify over 8MB bi-directional.

www.nexland.com

[img]d:\pictures\linksyscompare.gif[/img]

Sorry Scott - busy day at work yesterday.

For that kind of speed you are probably looking at something in the Cisco realm, though I am not an expert on the high-end router arena.

[where is that StoneCat when you need him ]

A friend of mine uses a SonicWall Soho2 which boasts 10MB through put (and an ICSA certified FIREWALL - not just a NAT router). It runs for just over $400 if you shop around. No commercial endorsements here but I have looked into one myself - http://www.sonicwall.com then link to Soho2. It only advertises 8MB RAM so I suppose your usage of that massive bandwidth will also determine the grade of router you need - is this a single machine or single stream downloads or are you setting up a busy LAN where all will access simultaneously?

I don't have the answers but I think these questions and some of the knowledgable folks on this site will guide you to your solution.

Cheers,

Skye

Be careful putting that much bandwidth on that linksys or you may see smoke due to its weak ability to route that kind of throughput.

Originally posted by cyberskye
[where is that StoneCat when you need him ]

Cheers,

Skye

Holiday month man....busy partying! And actually working a lot too....lot of new servers to build this month for new networks.

Like most others here are saying, the Linksys is trying to feed too fat a pipe....although I suspect your router is hosed also, as not even a Linksys should be performing that slowly. But even at it's best, it will still be cutting your bandwidth in half.

NetGears are the best home market routers, in my opinion. I have one at the office hooked to a 6 meg DSL pipe, and it flies. But I think it's about maxed out there.

On your optic pipe (drools)....I'd recommend stepping up to a SOHO class router, like a Netopia, Cisco, or, as I'm getting turned onto by some peeps on this forum, Nexland. I'm wanting to suggest a Nexland, as they are still very user friendly with web admin features like the Linksys. If you get a Netopia or Cisco...well, they're not easy to run, no web admin features, they're really geared for IT peeps to admin through TelNet, etc. Not user friendly devices.

I don't have input on the Sonic devices, have been wanting to see one, but Nexland seems really to have won over their customers....very loved devices by those who have them, I'm probably going to pick up one of their rigs soon to give a try.

Thanks 'Cat. I am going to be in the market as soon as I get myself moved next month (2.2 MB SDSL supplied by my office - can't wait) and will definitely give the nexland a look-see.

Cheers,

Skye

what's your fiber optic service called? and how much does it cost?