Joined: 13 Nov 2008 Posts: 5266 Location: CENTRAL Midnowhere
Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2008 14:44 Post subject:
I think this is an important topic and I apologize for not really answering the question. If those numbers are accurate, the 13 is low. However you can't rely on speedtests. There are external factors that control them. I once got over 8mb on my 1-1.5mb. To accurately test your wireless speed only, you have to do a file transfer on a local lan.
I have found that the bandwidth graphs in dd-wrt seem accurate.
There are also settings in dd-wrt that can assist in certain situations. Most of these are in the advanced wireless tab. For close connections ACK timing should be set to 0. I have heard disabling CTS can be important in having people gain normal speed. Frameburst is also sometimes a problem and needs to be turned off (I believe it is by default).
Also, dd-wrt is NOT the fastest kid on the block. It works well and DOES things that other firmware can't. But it is not a speed demon. It's a powerhouse.
My understanding is that, under ideal conditions, you should be able to expect around 30-35mbs with encryption. That is about a 4mB connection. And any sort of interference or signal loss will drop it down.
Would you be opposed to turning this thread into a "what settings maximize wireless speed" as well as what are ideal wireless speeds? _________________ Warning: I'm "out of my element!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjYJ7zZ9BRw&NR=1
Joined: 07 Jun 2006 Posts: 1476 Location: New York, USA
Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2008 15:09 Post subject:
Donny wrote:
I think this is an important topic and I apologize for not really answering the question. If those numbers are accurate, the 13 is low. However you can't rely on speedtests. There are external factors that control them. I once got over 8mb on my 1-1.5mb. To accurately test your wireless speed only, you have to do a file transfer on a local lan.
I have found that the bandwidth graphs in dd-wrt seem accurate.
There are also settings in dd-wrt that can assist in certain situations. Most of these are in the advanced wireless tab. For close connections ACK timing should be set to 0. I have heard disabling CTS can be important in having people gain normal speed. Frameburst is also sometimes a problem and needs to be turned off (I believe it is by default).
Also, dd-wrt is NOT the fastest kid on the block. It works well and DOES things that other firmware can't. But it is not a speed demon. It's a powerhouse.
My understanding is that, under ideal conditions, you should be able to expect around 30-35kbs with encryption. That is about a 4mB connection. And any sort of interference or signal loss will drop it down.
Would you be opposed to turning this thread into a "what settings maximize wireless speed" as well as what are ideal wireless speeds?
From what I have been reading - 30Mbps wirelss is not generally seen but is possible.
I have tried some settings like frame burst, etc with no real impact. Also - I have tried local wireless to LAN transfers and get the same 13Mbps on the Wireless side.
I have also used a varfiety of on-line speed tests as and the Speed Graphs in DD-WRT - as wella s my MRTG graphs are all pretty close in agreement.
Please - lets open this up to a discussion on best settings for DD-WRT
Attached is a screen shot of my advanced wireless settings
Joined: 13 Nov 2008 Posts: 5266 Location: CENTRAL Midnowhere
Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2008 16:07 Post subject:
couple of things to try.
First of all. There was a LOT of discussion a few weeks ago about CTS needing to be disabled. I would disable it by default. Not as sure about frameburst, but unless you have speedboost, I suggest disabling it as a default
Second, watch that preamble. Not sure what you are connecting to, but you might want to experiment with auto or short.
Joined: 07 Jun 2006 Posts: 1476 Location: New York, USA
Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2008 16:18 Post subject:
Donny wrote:
couple of things to try.
First of all. There was a LOT of discussion a few weeks ago about CTS needing to be disabled. I would disable it by default. Not as sure about frameburst, but unless you have speedboost, I suggest disabling it as a default
Second, watch that preamble. Not sure what you are connecting to, but you might want to experiment with auto or short.
Third, What is you CPU at during the transfer?
Wireless security was off during the LAN transfer?
Tried CTS disabled as well as Frame burst both enabled and disabled - No noticable difference
I was under the impression the pre-amble setting - when set to short was to allow B devices to connect.
I just tried all three settings (long, short, auto) with no difference
CPU is negligable during transfers. Remeber - If I do wired Internet speed test I get 24Mbps so I dont think I am cpu bound. Attached is a CPU/mem shot during transfer
As for wireless security - I ran a test with no security - no difference
Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2008 16:59 Post subject: Re: Realistic Wireless G speed - what is it??
dellsweig wrote:
I am seeing no more than 13Mbps wireless but see 24Mbps wired (dl speed to my ISP - local speed test - NY).
What exactly did you mean by local speed test? Did you mean LAN speed? For LAN speed on my WRT54GS v3 with DDWRT v24sp1, I can transfer 100MB file between my computers through FTP @11MBps (88Mbps data + overheads) on average. For WAN, it depends on my ISP. My WRT54GS v3 has WiFi disabled (not use). _________________ Mazi
UK non-geo DID #: +447031942574
Joined: 07 Jun 2006 Posts: 1476 Location: New York, USA
Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2008 17:09 Post subject: Re: Realistic Wireless G speed - what is it??
mazilo wrote:
dellsweig wrote:
I am seeing no more than 13Mbps wireless but see 24Mbps wired (dl speed to my ISP - local speed test - NY).
What exactly did you mean by local speed test? Did you mean LAN speed? For LAN speed on my WRT54GS v3 with DDWRT v24sp1, I can transfer 100MB file between my computers through FTP @11MBps (88Mbps data + overheads) on average. For WAN, it depends on my ISP. My WRT54GS v3 has WiFi disabled (not use).
Wilress is considered part of your local area netwoek (LAN). If you read my post - the test was from a wireless computer on my LAN to a wired computer on the same LAN
Joined: 07 Jun 2006 Posts: 1476 Location: New York, USA
Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2008 17:35 Post subject:
Donny wrote:
Here's what I got doing a wireless transfer from my laptop (wireless) to a wired client on my LAN ...WEP enabled. Looks about the same as yours.....
Wow - now I dont feel so bad....
So back to the question - is this what real world wireless G looks like?? Is there anything we can do??
Maybe an WRT310N in my future.......
It wasnt so long ago we laughted at ppl who complained about wireless speeds because the ISP was always slower - but now my ISP is 25Mbps and my wireless IS slow
Joined: 13 Nov 2008 Posts: 5266 Location: CENTRAL Midnowhere
Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2008 17:44 Post subject:
dellsweig wrote:
It wasnt so long ago we laughted at ppl who complained about wireless speeds because the ISP was always slower - but now my ISP is 25Mbps and my wireless IS slow
The best realworld speed I see for transferring files over my LAN via wireless G with the server connected by cable and the laptop wireless is just under 3 megabytes per second copy right (103 MB in 37 seconds). When I tried afterburner with and without frameburst in an older version of DD-WRT, these seem to do absolutely nothing to improve performance.
Has anyone gotten any benefit from afterburner and/or frameburst?
Joined: 07 Jun 2006 Posts: 1476 Location: New York, USA
Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2008 18:01 Post subject:
JN wrote:
The best realworld speed I see for transferring files over my LAN via wireless G with the server connected by cable and the laptop wireless is just under 3 megabytes per second copy right (103 MB in 37 seconds). When I tried afterburner with and without frameburst in an older version of DD-WRT, these seem to do absolutely nothing to improve performance.
Has anyone gotten any benefit from afterburner and/or frameburst?
Thats 24Mbps - what router/firmware are you using??
