Re: Belkin wireless network, poor 54G speed

carpii <carpii.2t28r1@no-mx.wirelessforums.org> hath wroth:

>I have a belkin wireless router/adsl modem which is wired to my pc
>via ethernet.

Does the Belkin have a model number or is this some kind of
theoretical question? Extra credit for supplying the harware version
number and firmware revision.

>I then have a machine in a spare room, with a belkin wireless ethernet
>bridge.

Does this Belkin wireless ethernet bridge have a model number?

>Connectivity is reliable, but Im unhappy with the bandwidth speed.

In accordance with:
<http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/content/view/24861/99/>
# It never goes as fast as they say it does.
# It never goes as far as they say it does.
# It never sets up as easily as they say it does.

>Running various tests, it seems I cannot achieve more than 1200k/ps.

Any particular tests? Perhaps you were running an online speed test,
which will measure the speed of your internet connection, not the
speed of the wireless.

Here's how to do it. Find a fast machine and connect it via ethernet
to the wireless router. Download IPerf from:
<http://dast.nlanr.net/Projects/Iperf/>
On this machine, run IPerf as a server with:
iperf -s
On the machine plugged into your Belkin wireless bridge, run IPerf as:
iperf -c ip_address_of_server
You should get your real TCP performance. Try different
configurations (wireless to wireless, wired to wired, etc) and various
options.

>My
>understanding is this is far below what 54G is capable of (although
>obviously Im not expecting to reach the theoretical limit).

Maybe. Is that 1200Kbits/sec or 1200KBytes/sec?

>What sort of speeds are other people getting? Am I expecting too much?

See table of maximum speeds for various modes at:
<http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi#Performance_and_Speed>

>The ethernet bridge is less than 3m away from the router, with a
>partition wall in between (theres no metal in the wall, I scanned it).

What connection speed are you getting? Check the wireless connection
status. Right click on the wireless icon in the system tray and
select "Status".

>Ive tried altering the wireless channel, I had some success with that
>on other networks, but for this one, no dice.

If that does work, you might have an inteference problem. Go through
the list at:
<http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi#Interference>
and see if any of the devices apply.

>Both belkins are operating in 802.11g, and the belkin turbo burst
>setting is enabled. Ive also tried repositioning the router and
>bridge.
>
>I dont know what else to try, does anyone have any ideas of how I can
>fix this, or at least start properly troubleshooting it

Not really. The first step is to collect some valid numbers under
various conditions. The next step is to substitute key parts of the
puzzle and re-run the tests. For example, turn off the Belkin
ethernet bridge and try someone elses laptop that's known to work
well. Same with the Belkin router. Find a substitute and re-test. If
you suspect interference, drag the "server", router, and whatever
you're using for a client into an underground dungeon, where there's
no possibility of interference and re-test.

Hmm.... I just happen to have a customers wireless laptop handy. Time
for some testing:

| WRT54GSv4 DD-WRT v23 SP3
| server = PIII/1GHz junker via 100baseTX-FDX ethernet
| client = Sony PCG-K23 laptop, 54Mbit/sec assoc, Range=10ft
| command line = iperf -c 192.168.1.11 -r
| ------------------------------------------------------------
| Client connecting to 192.168.1.116, TCP port 5001
| TCP window size: 8.00 KByte (default)
| ------------------------------------------------------------
| [844] local 192.168.1.11 port 5001 connected with 192.168.1.116 port 1074
| [ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth
| [844] 0.0-10.0 sec 20.8 MBytes 17.4 Mbits/sec
| [836] local 192.168.1.11 port 10164 connected with 192.168.1.116 port 5001
| [ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth
| [836] 0.0-10.0 sec 18.1 MBytes 15.2 Mbits/sec

Not very wonderful but fairly typical for 802.11b compatibility mode
enabled. 25Mbits/sec would be the maximum for 802.11g only. I've
also been tinkering with the WRT54GS and may have done something
disgusting.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558