Not long ago that the internet has been an integral part of our lives, where we went from just looking for things in the big network to consume information (emails, pages, among others), media (IP telephony, Skype and WhatsApp) and even the entertainment center (Netflix, YouTube or online video games).
Understanding exactly which are the best options in the market is now a fundamental part of our daily life, in addition, having a good understanding about the network options that we can use and how we can obtain the best of them.
In this post, I will make submissions of services and products that I am using, mentioning in advance that I have never received any money or free hardware that has modified my way of thinking about the quality of that service or product.
Internet
I still remember when I worked at Terra Networks in Mexico where we supported users who used the internet via dial-up, I have recorded in my memory the noise of the handshake that established the connection between my line and the modem that the computer had installed.
Today, the options have evolved from optical fiber, cable or ADSL2, in order to provide us with the best possible speeds to be able to maximize our bandwidth. All the options are good, I have decided to use the cable, since I do not have to pay any extra fees for a dry loop line as it would be in the case of fiber optic services or ADSL2, another option that is mandatory (well at least here in Montreal) is to have “unlimited” access since there are several internet service providers that will charge extra money per extra GB that we have consumed.
The best option and I have been with them for more than 4 years is Altima Telecom, they have unlimited access, they are resellers of Videotron (cable), without having speed limitations in their service, I am currently subscribed to the service of 120 MB / 20 MB at a very affordable price (https://altimatel.com/with a reference code: 155M7 can have $ 10 discount).
Networks
Now that I have the internet that passes the limit of 100 MB I came up with another small detail, the configuration of my network (cable RJ-45 as well as the wireless), since I could not get the most out of my speed – my modem was outside the main wiring box (which also lowered my speed from 120 MB to 90 MB) and would have another extra loose in my router (Linksys MU-MIMO Max-Stream Wireless AC1900 Dual-Band Gigabit Smart Router – EA7500-CA) which is very good indeed, but I would have to find a solution to all that.
Initially, I just moved my modem a little closer to another cable outlet, I run a test to verify the new speed and everything was almost perfect (I was already having at least 100 MB), until I had an idea, pass the modem to the main wiring box.
Added to this were other unknowns that I was solving little by little, reading a lot on the internet and doing tests by myself, I realized that the telephone wiring (RJ-11) in my apartment was all RJ-45 (so I could easily pass the internet to the room’s), I have my tweezers to punch the cable and adapters so that everything is working.
I found myself through the page 123ink.ca, they have a cabling department called primecables.ca they have the plates for the wall of RJ-45 Cat6 with all the components for less than $ 10 dollars, additionally, if you are near a Metro Station, they will not charge you for the shipping, it will take each 10 minutes to install them and do all tests at 120 MB without problems (only one receives 50 MB – I imagine it is due to the distance of the main box or something related to the cable).
So now that I had everything ready, I installed the modem with the router inside the main wiring box (I was finally having 120 MB and I reached up to 130 MB with a ping response time of up to 9 ms).
I made the decision to just leave with network cable RJ-45:
- an IP phone that we have with NetTalk,
- an Android box in our master bedroom,
- and I have an extra one that is not being used for the moment in the other smaller room.
Everything else would be wireless:
- Cellphones,
- a Desktop computer,
- a Laptop,
- a Google Mini,
- 3 Google Music ,
- as well as my PlayStation (3 and 4).
Now would be the moment of truth doing speed tests of all electronic devices, as well as the speed of the wireless network (2.4 and 5 GHz).
Everything ran perfectly, only that there was a degradation in the signal since the Router was stuck in the main wiring box, so I decided now to look for a further solution to this little detail (from the master bedroom, if I wanted to make a call by Skype, the call was cut a bit or I had to move to the center of the apartment – closer to the router).
In that same week I was reading several blogs that contained information about the value of having a network system by nodes or mesh (Google, TP-Link, Asus, Linksys, D-Link, all have their solution); but which would be the best? in regards of signal range, quality of speed, as well as the price.
All blogs outstand as a great differentiator the Linksys Velop system in its AC6600 version, since each node has a range of up to 2,000 square feet, have the highest current market speed, 3 years of warranty directly with Linksys, everything was perfect until you get to the price tag ($755 dollars including taxes) or you could go for a lighter version AC3900 for $540 dollars with everything included, priced much below Google WIFI at $637 dollars.
Finally, and after waiting several months, Best Buy put all the WIFI’s node systems in special for two weeks, so I decided to buy the Linksys Velop AC6600 and give it a try.
The configuration is super simple and straight forward with the first node, then you will have to add the other as you use them or making them active, the first node is connected directly to my modem and there I had to put a switch to share the signal to the other network connectors, I put a node in the living room and another in our master bedroom, to be able to use the internet speed to the maximum without problems or interruptions, additional that when we move to another larger apartment or larger house, the solution may have more coverage without problems.
The connection tests are impressive, even electronic devices that have only the access to the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi have a considerable increase in speed, I do not know if it is related to the unified network with the same name, since the device is will connect to WIFI with higher speed and better signal quality.
It has been more than 1 month, and the results are great:
- No signal degradation over the time,
- I don’t have to reset my main node (working as my router),
- Internet speed is always 130 MB / 22 MB,
- WIFI Speeds will vary depending on the electronic, but my computer that have a Linksys AC1200 USB 3 adapter reach 866 MB, my cellphone has also AC capabilities, it will reach a maximum of 433 MB (connected to the 5 GHz).
In Conclusion, if you have the extra money to convert an old router or even the new MU MIMO Routers that do not offer the node or mesh ability, it will pay by itself in the long run (even when you need more coverage), if you have more than 8 electronic devices, this is a must.
Reading the reviews in other places, there are a lot of people having issues adding the 3rd node, all this gets solved if you place the node closer to the 1st node, after the configuration is finished, then you can move around the node without any issues or limitations.
In the near future, I will explain more details regarding my network configuration, from cable and network connectors (RJ-45 Cat5 and Cat6).
Update: It is been more than 5 months that I have this solution, I never had rebooted the system at all not even my modem, sometimes I forgot that I have the application at my cellphone to verify how the things are going, this is fantastic.
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