Now Looking To Add A Router To My Home Residence, I Have Some Questions I Need Answers To.

[montecarlo1987]

Hello.

I have a question to ask you all. I need your honest factual answers to my questions that follow.

Hello.

I have a question to ask you all. I need your honest factual answers to my questions that follow.

I need to know what kind of router I need to buy and use for the setup I am about to describe at my home residence.

Currently, I have a cable modem (the commonly used SB5101 Surfboard Cable Modem) whereby my cable modem speed is currently 3 Mpbs (I currently have the slowest speed of my high speed cable Internet service.). I randomly use a (#1) Internet Radio(the Aluratek AIRMM01F clock radio), a (#2) laptop computer (Toshiba Satellite C855-S5236 Intel Dual Core 2.3GHZ 6GB 640GB Windows 7 15.6" HD), and an (#3) older custom-made desktop computer by Asus offering Windows 7 64-bit. So far I have been swapping out a single Ethernet cable from my modem to the various Internet hardware listed above when I need to get online. So far, for obvious reasons, I have had no issues with my Internet connection based on only one piece of hardware connected to the Internet at any one time and the simplicity of the connection between the modem and the hardware. Yes, everything is hardwired so no wireless in my setup, but I wouldn't mind trying out a wireless connection soon-like.

Now, I want to add (#4) VIOP landline service to this whole setup. Obviously by adding VIOP, I will need to *constant* connection to the Internet to receive phone calls. This definitely means I *need* a router now. The VOIP hardware is a VIOP box that connects to your modem or router with one Ethernet connection and the traditional phone line jack on the other connection. I just do not know*what kind* of router I need, let alone the recommended brand. I have been doing some online shopping on the specs or technical terms like their features and functions for home network routers like wireless standards, frequency range, antennas, security, and connectivity/ports. I have performed much research and the more I read the more I get smarter and overwhelmed at the same time. I have focused on router capabilities/features I found I need answers in order to get the best signal transmission *running all 4 items at the same time*.

My questions for you:

1.With the setup I would have with VOIP added to my network hardware (see above*running all 4 items at the same time*), would I need a Gigabit Ethernet capable router or not (the 10/100 Ethernet would be enough)? (What worries me is the*constant* Internet radio signal here. I do not want to experience any routine random transmission freezes.)

2.The Wi-Fi Quality of Service software (QoS) standard feature help me here? If so, where would I put the emphasis on hardware making the most efficient use of Ethernet connections by prioritizing multimedia traffic (from highest priority to least priority)?

3. The speed for the Wi-Fi portion I find is rated theoretically at 300 Mpbs or a 150Mpbs I typically find presently. Based on my hardware network setup *running all 4 items at the same time*, would I need to consider a Wi-Fi 300 Mpbs based router or just a Wi-Fi 150 Mpbs based (cheaper) router suffice? (*NOTE: Obviously, the older custom desktop computer will be hardwired to the prospective router and of course the VIOP landline box as well leaving my other two hardware network items needing wireless transmission.)

4. Is there any comments or suggestions you can recommend regarding a
router I should consider? Please provide me those comments and suggestions.

I do not want to get too carried away with an expensive or overly feature excessive router that I do not need. I understand that routers fit like one's shoe size or based on one's networking hardware one has, plus a small margin of expandability. Security features and easy user access to significant settings and configurations are a must!

Thank you!

 

[bill001g]

1. Gig makes little difference when you are limited to 3m by the ISP. It has become rather inexpensive option though
2. It would take a huge explanation but the QoS is mostly a lie you cannot control something that is being discarded before it even gets to you
3. Again you are limited to 3m by the ISP. It only matters if you were sending data between machines in your house

Mostly its about how much money you want to spend and that may include replacing the wireless nics on the PC's Just because there is little difference in price I would go dual band router. It gives you the option to use the 5g band if you get too much competition from your neighbors for the 2.4g band

Many times the cable companies will sell a bundled voice package and this runs over the cable modem.

In any case you want your VoIP adapter plugged into the router via a ethernet cable do not use wireless if you can avoid it. You can always use a cordless phone after the adapter.

With only 3m you need to be a little careful. If you were to stream video at the same time you use voice. Voice uses very little but it is very susceptible to loss. There is no way to fix this with any form of QoS because it is the ISP that will discard the data and unless you pay them big money for a commercial connection they will not be bothered to implement any form of QoS on their end.