newbe question: I know wireless is slower but......

Wireless is certainly slower than most networks, but much faster than DSL or cable speeds. You shouldn't notice any slowdown using Wireless to access the Internet, but will transfer files, etc. accross your local network slower.

Check to see if you are having connection problems, interference, etc.

I'm a newbie. I just hooked up a wireless router and noticed an annoying lag when opening web pages.

The salesman, where I bought the router, had told me to plug the router directly into my existing firewall. When I learned that the router itself was a firewall, I removed my old router and the lag disappeared.

Could that be your problem??

Using DSL, you probably need to adjust the MTU (maximum transmission unit). If it is incorrect for PPPoE (DSL) you will have alot of re-transmission and slow things down. Typically PPPoE dsl is set to 1492. You can check it and adjust it using DrTCP

. 1492 isnt set in concrete. You may ask your service provider what is the proper MTU to use.

Wireless to

local

Typically

PS. Your router may have an option to set the MTU on it. If so try this first.

Hi, I just connected up a wireless router to my DSL system. It's an INEXQ model ISW54U (802-11G) and found that the performance is MUCH slower than without it. My desktop, which is connected via hardwired Ethernet cable to the router, is experiencing network speeds that are only 1/4 of what they are if I directly connect it to my cable modem.

I know that wireless adds overhead etc. but this is really a bit much. But as I said, I'm a newbe so perhaps it's just my expectations? Am I being too demanding or is there something wrong that I should be trying to debug?

I've never had DSL, but I've had cable internet access for years and

I've used several routers of varying brands. Still, I have never

noticed any noticeable lag in speed due to those routers. Then again,

I'm a tinkerer. I play with all of settings just to see what they do

and how they affect performance. Having said that, it is my

recommendation that you read the manual and learn what each setting

does. Questions: Are you noticing a lag in speed wirelessly? If so,

what about from a computer that is connected directly to the router via

ethernet cable? Is it lagging, too. Do you have a PPPoe connection

and if so, did you check the PPPoe setting in the router's menu? What

OS are you using? Let us know so that we can best provide you with the

pertinent answers you seek.

That actually ties right into what I was gonna mention.. There are certain software firewalls - running on the workstations, that directly conflict with the wap/router and may be causing things to slow way way down. Try to temporarily turn off the SOFTWARE firewall. (notice the word

*temporarily*... just turn it off to try it, and see if that may be your problem)

PS.. what OS are you running? If xp sp2 there is a firewall in that also... Two software firewalls could cause problems.

Bob Stanish wrote:

Thanks Peter, I guessed that this was abnormal, but needed confirmation. Now that I know I've got a problem, I can at least start to take measures to understand how to fix it.

Defining the problem is 75% of the way to correcting it.

Thanks for the feedback.

Doug, I'm running Win XP with the latest service pack(SP3) and am connected to DSL. As I identified in my earlier post, I tested the speed directly (bypassing the wireless router) and through the router, both times directly connected (to eliminate any potential transmission/interference issues) and came up with this throughput discrepancy. About the only explanation I can come up with is my wireless router introducing a lag. I checked my router settings and I'm running dynamic IP addressing vs PPPoe. Could that be the reason I've got a performance problem? The connections all work...they're just very slow.

Thanks Ken, but I thought of that and turned off the firewall feature ( and other filtering aspects) from the router. I've already got a robust firewall program on my workstations and the router version was redundant. Unfortunately it didn't help. Another poster is suggesting that perhaps I've got the the router incorrectly configured. I'm running dynamic IP addressing (since I've got several possible laptops that could connect...got kids...you know.....), vs. PPPoe. I'm not yet sure of the implications of changing since I have not yet read up on the differences in the settings. Gotta read up on that....perhaps that's my problem????

Bob, it is my understanding that most DSL subscribers have a PPPoe connection, especially those who logon prior to gaining access to the internet. Clicking the PPPoe section in the router's menu will provide you with a place to type in your DSL username and password so that you wouldn't have to everytime you wanted to surf the web. Now that I'm thinking about it, I can't see how that would cause a degradation in speed especially when connected directly via an ethernet cable. Try resetting the router to its default settings and see if the lag continues. If so, exchange the router for another one or purchase a different brand such as the D-Link DI-624. Let us know what happen.

My apologies for wasting everyone's time on this newsgroup. I finally got some time today to test the router and I think I now know what the problem was. I had not rebooted the router for months (no reason to), but once I did the speed went dramatically up (from 45kb over 220kb). I still don't fully understand why, but am now starting to guess that there must be buffers,etc. that are not getting released and as they slowly get filled up, my router slows down.

Looks like I've wasted everyone's time here. All I had to do was reboot. ......sometimes it's the simplest things that get you.

I understand my bypass doesn't solve the root cause, but it's a minor annoyance to reboot every once in a while.