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Wireless network slows at the end of day

Discussion in 'Networking (Hardware & Software)' started by cspgsl, 2011/03/16.

  1. 2011/03/16
    cspgsl Lifetime Subscription

    cspgsl Geek Member Thread Starter

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    I have a client who subscribes to a wireless ISP. She is running two computers on an local network using a Linksys WRT54G. There is no security on the router as the location is in a very rural location, 600 feet from the nearest road and/or neighbour.

    One machine is a ThinkPad running Vista Business. Dual Core, 1.6GHz, 1 GB RAM fully updated. The other is an IBM desktop, P4 2.6, 1GB RAM, XPP, SP3.

    The ThinkPad runs on the local wireless network and the desktop runs on the wired LAN.

    The network connections on both machines are superb during the day but when 5pm comes the ability to connect to any website becomes mediocre at best. Some pages load, others do not at all.

    This morning I updated the firmware on the router and it made a difference during the day - the connection was actually faster but at the end of the day it turned into the pits again. If she bypasses the router and plugs either the laptop pr the desktop into the ISP's cable connection (from the aerial) the connection is good; as good as is is during the day while on the local network.

    The mystery comes at the end of the day with the degradation of the connection. I am not familiar with the workings of wireless ISP's and would appreciate any insight.

    Thanks
     
    cspgsl,
    #1
  2. 2011/03/16
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    Please specify the ISP name and the service(s) your client is paying for.
     
    TonyT,
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  4. 2011/03/16
    cspgsl Lifetime Subscription

    cspgsl Geek Member Thread Starter

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    cspgsl,
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  5. 2011/03/16
    rsinfo

    rsinfo SuperGeek Alumni

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    Has she turned off & on the router when it slows down ? Does it make any difference ?
     
    rsinfo,
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  6. 2011/03/16
    Rick_E

    Rick_E Inactive

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    For what it's worth, my WRT54 works better by setting the wireless mode to G only instead of mixed.

    With your symptoms, I'd think it would be worth a try to either add security or at least check the the DHCP Client Table (under Status) to be sure no one else is on.
     
    Rick_E,
    #5
  7. 2011/03/17
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    5:00 PM as about the time that all shared Internet networks begin to degrade, due to more people using the service at the same time. The issue here appears to be a problem with the router, but it may not be. The ISP may be throttling back bandwidth for subscribers that use routers, in an effort to maintain fair speeds for all customers.

    http://www.seasidehighspeed.com/p2-faq/
    Has the service slowed down?
    Many people choose to stay home in order to avoid extreme weather conditions. This generally means that more people are using their home computers at the same time, particularly those with home or business network setups (more than one computer hooked up to a connection). Heavy uploading and downloading can cause the connection to the internet on one or more of the systems to slow. Though we ensure our service is reliable and fast for all users, the speed will be affected if everyone on the system is using the service at the same time.
     
    TonyT,
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  8. 2011/03/17
    cspgsl Lifetime Subscription

    cspgsl Geek Member Thread Starter

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    Thanks Tony but it seems that the problem is there this morning as well.

    Thanks to the other posters - I have set the mode to G. Power cycling the modem, while possibly a work around, does not resolve the issue.

    I shall report back on the results later today once we have gone through the experience of the G mode setting.

    Is there any way to test the router itself to avoid possibly replacing the router?
     
    Last edited: 2011/03/17
    cspgsl,
    #7
  9. 2011/03/17
    rsinfo

    rsinfo SuperGeek Alumni

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    As has already been posted by Rick_E, check the router DHCP table to see if anyone else is pigging back. Also turning on the security is a good thing - using wifi without security is now a crime [at least in India].
     
    rsinfo,
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  10. 2011/03/17
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    If the WRT54G is version 5 or above, get rid of it. The only newer version worth its salt is the WRT54GL, the Linux firmware version.

    But don't expect a great change in quality of connection, 1.5 mb/s is what the service provides, and that's the maximum bandwidth with no load on the network. You'd be lucky to see half of that rate on average. You could get faster speeds amdf more bandwidth using satellite, but you'd also get more latency.
     
    TonyT,
    #9
  11. 2011/03/19
    cspgsl Lifetime Subscription

    cspgsl Geek Member Thread Starter

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    Seems that Rick E's suggestion of changing the mode to G only has made a difference. The service has been stable over the last two evenings.

    We are monitoring it over the weekend and will report back any changes so I won't mark the thread as resolved just yet..

    Thanks all.
     
    cspgsl,
    #10
  12. 2011/03/19
    cspgsl Lifetime Subscription

    cspgsl Geek Member Thread Starter

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    Spoke too soon - it's not working again this morning
     
    cspgsl,
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    Daanii likes this.
  13. 2011/03/19
    cspgsl Lifetime Subscription

    cspgsl Geek Member Thread Starter

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    There has been nobody else according to the logs
     
    cspgsl,
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  14. 2011/03/19
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    This sounds more like an ISP problem than anything else. I suspect an overloaded network. Contaqct the ISP and see what tghey have to say about it.
     
    TonyT,
    #13

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