Wifi Question

[SweetArashi]

This not only pertains to Second Life, but to general Internet usage too.

I have this model of Wifi Router, brand new:

http://www.dlink.com/us/en/home-solutions/connect/routers/dir-655-wireless-n-gigabit-router

I have it placed fairly high up in a central area in my apartment.

I live in an apartment complex with several wifi networks close together. I was wondering what else can I do to optimize/enhance my overall wifi reception, since SL can be a bandwidth hog.

[Amethyst Jetaime]

Wifi is not recommended for use with SL at all.  You will have a much better experience using an ethernet cable.

[Qie Niangao]

On the other hand, I've logged many hours over wifi with rarely a problem. The thing is, a network problem can manifest itself in non-intuitive ways, so if there's any doubt about a connection it's the first thing one wants to rule out of the troubleshooting. Unfortunately, there are all kinds of different causes of network problems, too, including limitations and bugs even in mainstream routers, so a different router can screw up SL even over a cabled connection.

For a wifi installation, it's practically impossible to precisely predict how good signal strength will be between two points. Certainly there are general rules that all amount to "minimize the amount of solid matter between transceivers" but in practice it's more like trial and error.

In an environment such as an apartment building, it's probably hopeless to really reduce signal intrusion. It doesn't help that the different wifi "channels" overlap in signal frequency. In a quiet environment, channels 1, 6, and 11 are (mostly) non-overlapping, but those will all be used several times over in a signal-rich apartment building. So, again, trial and error, but you may be able to identify the very strongest of intruding signals and avoid those channels.

[Drake1 Nightfire]

You CAn use wifi for SL. That doesn't mean it's a good idea. Max recommended bandwidth settings for wifi is 500, whereas with wired you can go as high as 1500. Comparing my wife's laptop on wired and wifi there is no doubt which performs better. She gets almost 3 times the fps on wired as on wifi. Zero lag and everything rezes faster.

[Storm Clarence]

With SL I have found exponential improvement in wireless connectivity when disabling QoS (default enabled) on any QoS supported wireless router.  I'm absolutely sure you will too. 

A quick search with your 'router name and QoS' should provide you with appropriate links for disabling.

 

 

[RudolphFarquhar]

I use inSSIDer by MetaGeek (free home version) which very simply (and graphically) shows you what wifi signals are impinging upon your network, and their strengths and channels used.

It has helped me miniimise the trial and error process, but the main thing it has shown me is how badly wifi signals degrade!

*********Rudi**********

[VRprofessor]

Definitely check your wifi channels and hope there is some "empty" space.  I live in a relatively sparse neighborhood and I still receive about 10 different signals--I cannot imagine how many you must have in an apartment complex.

I have no problems with SL and wifi in my home, but if I lived in an apartment I would look into running a network cable from the router to the spot I normally sit when accessing SL. 

[Rhys Goode]

I do a fair amount of travel, and on the road I almost always hook up using wifi.  About 1/3 of the time, it works flawlessly, and at high speed.  About 1/3 of the time it is useless for SL, even when it works OK  for other purposes.   In my experience, the best predictor of a wifi network is the packet loss.  I usually test my line with speedtest.net.  Bandwidth does not tell you much, unless of course it is less than about 0.5 Mbps.  But it is not terribly unusual to measure a DL speed >10 Mbps, see no issues with packets loss on speedtest, and yet see very poor performance in SL.  At home I have 20Mbps internet, and two routers (in the same room as my computer).  The router from the ISP gives 10% packet loss for SL, but my own router usually gives <0.1% packet loss; it does have "fits" from time to time, presumably because of interference from other RF sources, but only rarely.

After I log into SL on a strange WiFi network, I look at Help>About, and at the bottom of the resulting page, the packet loss is listed.  If the packet loss is less than 0.5%, then I find that I can cruise around SL at full speed.  As packet loss goes over 1%, lag becomes an increasing issue.  Higher than a few % I start making adjustments:  turning off http textures often helps, and so does turning down the max bw If it is more than 10%, then I give up on SL.   A line that does a crap job of running SL can usually stream video (if the BW is high enough).  I don't know why, but SL seems to be more prone to packet loss problems than other applications.

[SweetArashi]

Okay another question.

In this situation, would a wifi booster help?

[Storm Clarence]

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SweetArashi wrote:

Okay another question.

In this situation, would a wifi booster help?

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Wtf, do you want us to come over and type for you, too?  Why don't you show some courtesy and respond to the suggestions already provided, and then ask another question. 

A booster will help if you have a weak or no signal.  So you tell us if it will help.

 

[Qie Niangao]

To be fair, however, we can say with about 99% certainty that a wifi booster will do no good whatsoever.

That nagging 1% uncertainty corresponds to an apartment of truly palatial size, or one with lead-lined interior walls.

[SweetArashi]

@Storm

Calm down. It was only a simple question. I am no techie and this is my first time living in an apartment complex with so many wifi networks grouped up. I understand you may be frustrated with me and I apologize.

I've used a simple program to tell me what channel my neighbors are on. I then picked the less populated channel [in this case, 11] based on what I saw.

I'm not entirely sure what QoS is, so I'll look into it before considering that.

Oh and I will be checking out my packet loss, particularly if I'm experience bad lag spikes.

[Drake1 Nightfire]

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SweetArashi wrote:

@Storm

Calm down. It was only a simple question. I am no techie and this is my first time living in an apartment complex with so many wifi networks grouped up. I understand you may be frustrated with me and I apologize.

I've used a simple program to tell me what channel my neighbors are on. I then picked the less populated channel [in this case, 11] based on what I saw.

I'm not entirely sure what QoS is, so I'll look into it before considering that.

Oh and I will be checking out my packet loss, particularly if I'm experience bad lag spikes.

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is there a reason you can't or wont use a wired connection?

[Storm Clarence]

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SweetArashi wrote:

@Storm

I'm not entirely sure what QoS is, so I'll look into it before considering that.

Oh and I will be checking out my packet loss, particularly if I'm experience bad lag spikes.

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I am calm -- all my stuff is working in harmony.   If you are no techie then why assume it was a simple question?  Rhetorical. 

Anyway, your OP was asking if anybody had any suggestions;  you were offered some solutions.  With all these smart people that post to SLF don't you think someone would have mentioned a wifi booster if they felt it would help?  Again, rhetorical. 

Insofar as *you* not being entirely sure what QoS means is very understandable.  But that's why I offered it as a possible solution to the question you ask in your OP.  I bet a nickel that even after your research of QoS you will still not be entirely sure what it is.  And that's ok, too ... if you want to see improvement in your *overall* Internet experience, I recommend that you flip the bit to disable. 

Lets talk about lag as you did not mention lag in any part of your OP.  Lag is everywhere.  It could be RAM, connectivity, CPU, server side, ISP related, inter alia.   What would you like to tackle first? 

 

[SweetArashi]

The outlet for my cable modem is very awkwardly placed, making it nigh impossible for me to set up a wired connection, plus I do access the wifi on my iPhone.

My system specs are as follows:

HP Envy Dv6 laptop

Windows 8.1

8 GB RAM

1 GB Nvidia 630M video card [There's also an integrated Intel one but I don't touch that with a ten foot pole]

Intel i5 2450

I know its not the best, but its the best I could afford at the time.

I ran speedtest from where I live in Southern California to Phoenix Arizona. The results are as of this posting:

49ms Ping, 15.25 MBpS download and upload of 1.08 MBpS.

[Sassy Romano]

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SweetArashi wrote:

 

I ran speedtest from where I live in Southern California to Phoenix Arizona. The results are as of this posting:

49ms Ping, 15.25 MBpS download and upload of 1.08 MBpS.

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Be aware that the wireless signal will become weaker the further you are/more wifi blocking objects are in the way,  from the router.  You may end up with as little as a 1 Mbps wireless connection to your own router which isn't too helpful.

[SweetArashi]

Its about 6-8 feet away in the same room, on top of a bookcase and as unobstructed as possible.

Thanks everyone for your responses!

[ellenalondon]

If you work with this specific IP you can be certain you are resistant to the majority of the internet risks nowadays. If the problem should arise, the address is well-documented, and it is easy to find a solution. A wireless router configuration settings are usually available at this particular address. You should be acquainted with this IP if you want to generate a completely new wireless router or make an effort to fix some network problems. All you need to do is to launch your internet browser and enter 192.168.1.1 in the web address bar. Once you type the default username and password you will get access to the wireless router configurations. Nowadays a good number of computing devices as well as other devices can discover the default wireless router IP address whether the consumer knows it or otherwise.