Wifi , what do all the specs mean?

[ermacthedj]

Can anyone tell me what the spec is the most important to look at when looking to see if too many devices at once are slowing down your netowrk? I know it seems like Bandwith is the most important.

WHen I open my router I dont have a bandwidth number but it shows each device and the MBPS next to it so I imagine that is it. But that is only showing me the speed of each item. Then I see Tx and Rx which I believe are Transmit and receive . THen there is Channel Utilization. ( is the higher the number the better ?)

What is the most important number? Is it my MBPS and if so how do I determine what is a good number and if I have alot of devices on at the same time I should see this number drop right?

[Bruce]

with channels, higher is not better, nor is lower.
the thing to try and do is have your router use a different channel than any others around you so has to avoid interference.

bandwidth is the important consideration.
my analogy is to think of it like a water pipe - someone is in the shower then someone else turns on the kitchen tap and the shower pressure drops. more open taps on the same pipe reduces pressure for all.

same as internet connection bandwidth - more devices downloading data at the same time effects all users on the same network.

there is not a terrible lot you can do however.
the speed into your house depends on the plan you are on with your Provider. that can be increased for a cost but you tend not to get the increase in speed in relation to the increase in cost, but there is that option.

some routers have a section where you can throttle the bandwidth on connected devices, for each device, so if you think someone is hogging the connection, you can adjust that device’s speed accordingly.

some routers also have the capability of having one wireless network with one set of limits and another network with a different set. for example, at work, you give staff the password for the ‘good’ wireless network and give guests the password for the not-so-good, speed reduced, **** site blocked network - that sort of thing.

[ermacthedj]

with channels, higher is not better, nor is lower.
the thing to try and do is have your router use a different channel than any others around you so has to avoid interference.

bandwidth is the important consideration.
my analogy is to think of it like a water pipe - someone is in the shower then someone else turns on the kitchen tap and the shower pressure drops. more open taps on the same pipe reduces pressure for all.

same as internet connection bandwidth - more devices downloading data at the same time effects all users on the same network.

there is not a terrible lot you can do however.
the speed into your house depends on the plan you are on with your Provider. that can be increased for a cost but you tend not to get the increase in speed in relation to the increase in cost, but there is that option.

some routers have a section where you can throttle the bandwidth on connected devices, for each device, so if you think someone is hogging the connection, you can adjust that device’s speed accordingly.

some routers also have the capability of having one wireless network with one set of limits and another network with a different set. for example, at work, you give staff the password for the ‘good’ wireless network and give guests the password for the not-so-good, speed reduced, **** site blocked network - that sort of thing.

Bruce

My router has channels but I was referring to something called Channel Utilization . it has a percentage. Also I can look at the bandwidth of each device but how do I calculate the total over all bandwidth of the network? and how do i know when I am in the red zone for bandwidth ?

[veeg]

Do you still need assistance?

[Bruce]

you are getting into mystical realms here…
there is no real answer, and the goal posts are not where you think they are.

for example, overall bandwidth is determined by your Internet Service Provider.
of course, we all know, you never get anywhere near what you pay for or what they advertise you should be getting.
next, that value chances per second depending on the time and other users on the same line.
so there are issues even before the data gets to your door.

then within the house you have a whole new list of ever changing variables.

it would be some what of a useless exercise but you could do some rough calculations.
you know the incoming bandwidth from the plan you are on, and the router sounds like it shows the bandwidth for each connected device.
so current usage would be the incoming bandwidth divided by all the device bandwidths added together.