How best to make use out of vodafone 2gb broadband

itadaki33 · 05-10-2022 5:56pm #1

I am fairly tech savvy but not at all networking savvy(not sure how I passed in college). Got the new 2gb broadband installed today with gigabox and their ONT. Speeds are close to 500mbps which is better than my old but nowhere close to 2gbps :P when close to router but drops off VERY quickly like one door down quiickly. Didn't get the SFP transceiver

Wondering how to improve this and get the best speeds possible. There's two PC's mainly used for gaming in house connected via very old tplinks right now which won't work ofc. One of them has a NIC installed- an ubit AX210N.

I have these Mercusys Halo H50G wifi mesh but haven't set them up/not sure its possible with the router. Any recommendations?

heavydawson · 05-10-2022 7:23pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058266168/how-best-to-make-use-out-of-vodafone-2gb-broadband

If you want to make the most of that connection, you need to:

Upgrade the TpLinks to Wifi 6/6E devices (like your Ubit) OR
Upgrade the NICs in the PCs to 2.5gbe NICs (USB adaptor or PCIe card)

BUT practically, given you already have the Mercusys devices, I'd be actually downgrading your connection to a 1gbit. The extra gigabit is totally wasted with your current setup.

itadaki33 · 05-10-2022 8:02pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119706236#Comment_119706236

How would you use that extra gigabit then?

Kinda confused haha. If I get another Ubit and use the Mercusys would that work? Is the Ubit not a 2.5 gbe NIC?

Gusser09 · 05-10-2022 8:05pm

Your NIC is the bottle neck. You'd need to upgrade that and plug directly into modem. You dont really need 2gb though.

heavydawson · 06-10-2022 8:40am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119706376#Comment_119706376

Basically you shouldn't be using Wifi to connect to the Gigabox. If you really want to max out your throughput and minimize your latency, update your NIC (the ubit is a wireless NIC, but I'm talking about a NIC you plug a network cable into).

The other problem is that you didn't get the SFP transciever, which means you only have 1 port on the Gigabox that can handle greater than 1gbps speeds, and that is the 10g WAN port.

GigaboxPlus-Quick-Start-Guide.pdf

So currently you're putting 2gbps into the Gigabox, but anything connected to it will get a max 1gbps speed if connected via cable. Wifi will likely max out at 800-900 gbps (or slightly above if you have a phone that is Wifi 6E ready), but no device today will use a full 2gbps over wifi. You'll have to wait for Wifi 7 for that to happen.

If you really want to benefit from the 2gbps today you need to:

Get the transceiver for the Gigabox+ OR buy a router to replace the Gigabox+ that has 2 or more ports with 2.5gbe (or faster)
Get a wired 2.5gbe NIC for both your PCs
If you're planning on making 2gbs available to both your PCs, then you may also need a 2.5gbe 4 port switch (The PCs would connect to the switch and the switch would connect to the 2nd 2.5gbe port on your modem/router. If you only want to one PC at 2gbs, then forget the switch and connect the PC directly to the modem/router.

itadaki33 · 06-10-2022 9:27am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119707607#Comment_119707607

Ah thank you thats very helpful. Just another dumb question or two.

Say if I got something like tp-link TL-PA7017P but not the SFP and connected them to the gigabit ports on the PC's that will max out at 1gbps each? As I think I will need a tp link or similar either way as one PC is rather far away. Unless there's something else I can use

heavydawson · 06-10-2022 10:53am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119707811#Comment_119707811

Forget about any kind of powerline adaptor. If you can't go the directly connected via cable route, my advice would be:

Stick with the Ubit device you have in the first PC
Add a similar Wifi 6E device to the second PC

If cost is not an issue, then replace the the gigabox with a decent Wifi 6E router.

Bear in mind that the highest speeds you can achieve with 6E are on the 5 and 6ghz bands, which don't travel as far, so if you should first determine if you PC is connecting on the 2.4ghz or the 5ghz speeds today. If you're currently only connecting on the 2.4Ghz band, then there's no point spending money on equipment designed around improved 5/6ghz speeds.

In short:

Check if your PC is getting a 2.4ghz or 5ghz signal from the gigabox (gigabox+ doesn't support 6ghz - Vodafone only launched Wifi 6E routers yesterday in the UK https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2022/10/vodafone-uk-is-first-broadband-isp-to-launch-wifi-6e-router.html
If you're getting a 2.4ghz signal, change to a 1gbps (or honest 500mbps plan), as you simply cannot use the extra bandwidth and are wasting money
If you're getting a 5ghz signal, consider replacing the Gigabox+ router with a dedicated Wifi 6E router to maximize the throughput AND also drop your connection plan to 1gbps. Even Wifi 6E will NOT allow you to reach anywhere near 2gbps. Another more expensive option would be to replace the Gigabox with a bunch of mesh devices. This would potentially allow you get a decent 5/6gz signal near your PC, but again even with a tri/quad band mesh network, you will still not be getting anywhere near 2 gbps
Once Wifi 7 has been available for a while, and there's plenty of hardware to choose from, then you can consider upgrading your network to Wifi 7 and also bumping back up to a 2gbps plan (But again, this is subject to your ability to get a 5/6gfhz signal on your PC. The publicly available information on Wifi 7 suggests the 2.4ghz band will not see any speed improvements)

TLDR;

Drop to a 1gbps (or 500mbps) plan until:

You start using cables to connect your PC to the router OR
You upgrade all of your wireless devices to Wifi 7 in a couple of years.

itadaki33 · 06-10-2022 12:04pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119708182#Comment_119708182

Cheers thanks that about sums it up. I'll keep the 2gbps as its only a fiver difference...

I split the 2.4ghz and 5.ghz channels and checked, the furthest away PC can reliably get the 5ghz its just at 50ish mb's compared to the 600 or so my phone gets next to the router. Cost isn't too much of an issue is there any routers or mesh you'd recommend? I'll try seeing if I can get the Mercusys to work and see if that improves the far away PC

heavydawson · 06-10-2022 12:22pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119708501#Comment_119708501

I use a combination of AIMesh (Asus) devices myself, but they all used wired backhaul instead of the usual wireless backhaul that mesh systems use, so I can't recommend a pure wireless mesh which is what you need.

Generally the Asus Wifi devices are excellent.

I'd take a look at this:

https://dongknows.com/best-wi-fi-6-mesh-systems/

That site is outstanding for all things Wifi.

I'd stress that you almost certainly should get at a minimum a tri-band mesh. Quad-band would be even better, but would be expensive (e.g. https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/netgear-orbi-rbke963-wifi-6e-mesh-system )

Read through the guide in the first link and get up to speed on the pros and cons of each system. Best of luck and hope you get a big bump over the 50mbps you're seeing on the PC today (YIKES)

pastor · 06-10-2022 10:23pm

Would this USB 2.5 NIC be suitable?

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B09GBFZ9DZ/ref%3Dsspa_dk_detail_1?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B09GBFZ9DZ&pd_rd_w=SaQYA&content-id=amzn1.sym.289b45a0-8ca0-4af2-9c85-5b0e57eb93c5&pf_rd_p=289b45a0-8ca0-4af2-9c85-5b0e57eb93c5&pf_rd_r=9YMR5TMKW10WJFFASJAK&pd_rd_wg=v63zT&pd_rd_r=aa6eb374-e926-454f-b744-f6b1216978e2&s=computers&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWw

Thanks

Gunner3629 · 07-10-2022 9:58am

Also keep in mind that if even if you have a Wifi 6/6E product, your device (phone, tablet, etc) ALSO needs to support it to benefit.

itadaki33 · 07-10-2022 10:38am

Set up the Halo's and getting a much more respectable 350mb/200mb. Will probably get the SFP and figure out how to get an ethernet from my downstairs living room to my PC upstairs somehow....