Routers

I bought a Asus RT-AC66U router on impulse while shopping for
something else.

I have wanted the capability to use my USB printer as a network
printer without having to keep a computer on 24/7, but it was not a
priority. I also wanted to have another USB port so I could have a
network drive without leaving a computer on 24/7.

Now that I get it home and out of the box. I would also like to be
able to monitor how much bandwidth each computer is using. Tech
support says that the router I just bought doesn't do that. I am told
that even the top of the line Asus router doesn't do that.

Having bandwidth capability is not a big priority, but it would be
nice. Is that a common feature for new routers? What brand?

Seymore4Head wrote:
I bought a Asus RT-AC66U router on impulse while shopping for
something else.

I have wanted the capability to use my USB printer as a network
printer without having to keep a computer on 24/7, but it was not a
priority. I also wanted to have another USB port so I could have a
network drive without leaving a computer on 24/7.

Being able to have network attached storage and network printer using
ordinary USB printer and ordinary USB hdd is a nice goal that doesn't
require the capabilities of a router.

There are $40 devices that ethernet USB ports to an existing router.

http://www.startech.com/Networking-I...rver~USB4000IP
Share 4 USB devices over an Ethernet IP network


--
Mike Easter

On Tue, 02 Jun 2015 22:35:02 +0000, Stormin' Norman
wrote:

On Tue, 02 Jun 2015 17:59:21 -0400, Seymore4Head
wrote:

I bought a Asus RT-AC66U router on impulse while shopping for
something else.

I have wanted the capability to use my USB printer as a network
printer without having to keep a computer on 24/7, but it was not a
priority. I also wanted to have another USB port so I could have a
network drive without leaving a computer on 24/7.

Now that I get it home and out of the box. I would also like to be
able to monitor how much bandwidth each computer is using. Tech
support says that the router I just bought doesn't do that. I am told
that even the top of the line Asus router doesn't do that.

Having bandwidth capability is not a big priority, but it would be
nice. Is that a common feature for new routers? What brand?


Here, take a look at this information about DD-WRT firmware for many routers.

http://www.flashrouters.com/blog/201...g-with-dd-wrt/

I have actually read about that at life hacker. It says turn a 60$
router into a 600$ router. I don't understand how features like that
would add so much cost to a router if you can get software that does
it for free?

I am not too comfortable with messing with factory settings. I end up
breaking stuff instead of improving it.

On Tue, 02 Jun 2015 16:39:29 -0700, Mike Easter
wrote:

Seymore4Head wrote:
I bought a Asus RT-AC66U router on impulse while shopping for
something else.

I have wanted the capability to use my USB printer as a network
printer without having to keep a computer on 24/7, but it was not a
priority. I also wanted to have another USB port so I could have a
network drive without leaving a computer on 24/7.

Being able to have network attached storage and network printer using
ordinary USB printer and ordinary USB hdd is a nice goal that doesn't
require the capabilities of a router.

There are $40 devices that ethernet USB ports to an existing router.

http://www.startech.com/Networking-I...rver~USB4000IP
Share 4 USB devices over an Ethernet IP network

That seems like a handy item, but something I did not mention is that
I use all 4 of my router ports in the room the router is in.

I have 2 desktops (one for P2P and printing) and one port feeds an 8
port switch in the basement. The 4th port was for a WDTV player that
I can use reasonably as well wirelessly. And one port on my router
quit working reliably. I could have been fine with only 3 ports, but
I didn't have a port left for a device like this.

On Wed, 03 Jun 2015 00:55:31 +0000, Stormin' Norman
wrote:

On Tue, 02 Jun 2015 19:40:32 -0400, Seymore4Head
wrote:

On Tue, 02 Jun 2015 22:35:02 +0000, Stormin' Norman
wrote:

On Tue, 02 Jun 2015 17:59:21 -0400, Seymore4Head
wrote:

I bought a Asus RT-AC66U router on impulse while shopping for
something else.

I have wanted the capability to use my USB printer as a network
printer without having to keep a computer on 24/7, but it was not a
priority. I also wanted to have another USB port so I could have a
network drive without leaving a computer on 24/7.

Now that I get it home and out of the box. I would also like to be
able to monitor how much bandwidth each computer is using. Tech
support says that the router I just bought doesn't do that. I am told
that even the top of the line Asus router doesn't do that.

Having bandwidth capability is not a big priority, but it would be
nice. Is that a common feature for new routers? What brand?


Here, take a look at this information about DD-WRT firmware for many routers.

http://www.flashrouters.com/blog/201...g-with-dd-wrt/

I have actually read about that at life hacker. It says turn a 60$
router into a 600$ router. I don't understand how features like that
would add so much cost to a router if you can get software that does
it for free?

I am not too comfortable with messing with factory settings. I end up
breaking stuff instead of improving it.


I have successfully flashed 5 Asus routers with DD-WRT. I had one problem,
which resulted in my having to recover the router back to it's factory firmware,
which was not a big deal.

Where there 3 people knocking on the door wanting to know....what have
you done to the Internet this time?

On Wed, 03 Jun 2015 01:50:12 +0000, Stormin' Norman
wrote:

On Tue, 02 Jun 2015 21:00:21 -0400, Seymore4Head
wrote:

On Wed, 03 Jun 2015 00:55:31 +0000, Stormin' Norman
wrote:

On Tue, 02 Jun 2015 19:40:32 -0400, Seymore4Head
wrote:

On Tue, 02 Jun 2015 22:35:02 +0000, Stormin' Norman
wrote:

On Tue, 02 Jun 2015 17:59:21 -0400, Seymore4Head
wrote:

I bought a Asus RT-AC66U router on impulse while shopping for
something else.

I have wanted the capability to use my USB printer as a network
printer without having to keep a computer on 24/7, but it was not a
priority. I also wanted to have another USB port so I could have a
network drive without leaving a computer on 24/7.

Now that I get it home and out of the box. I would also like to be
able to monitor how much bandwidth each computer is using. Tech
support says that the router I just bought doesn't do that. I am told
that even the top of the line Asus router doesn't do that.

Having bandwidth capability is not a big priority, but it would be
nice. Is that a common feature for new routers? What brand?


Here, take a look at this information about DD-WRT firmware for many routers.

http://www.flashrouters.com/blog/201...g-with-dd-wrt/

I have actually read about that at life hacker. It says turn a 60$
router into a 600$ router. I don't understand how features like that
would add so much cost to a router if you can get software that does
it for free?

I am not too comfortable with messing with factory settings. I end up
breaking stuff instead of improving it.


I have successfully flashed 5 Asus routers with DD-WRT. I had one problem,
which resulted in my having to recover the router back to it's factory firmware,
which was not a big deal.

Where there 3 people knocking on the door wanting to know....what have
you done to the Internet this time?

I am by far, old enough to know better than to do any such modification to a
production appliance. Only after thorough testing do I put such devices into
service. I am in a business environment and fortunately, it is my
business......

Congratulations. Having 4 out of 5 successful stories is probably why
you get paid to do this stuff and I don't.

The DD-WRT seems like a pretty slick piece of code. I was going to
try to "Turn Your Old Router into a Range-Boosting Wi-Fi Repeater"
http://lifehacker.com/5563196/turn-y...wi-fi-repeater

and I may still do that without the DD-WRT. I took my router brand
and version number and came to this page:
http://dd-wrt.com/site/support/router-database

Since there was more than one choice I decided to pass.

With my odds, I would turn it into a brick 9 out of 9 times.

Seymore4Head wrote:
Mike Easter wrote:
Seymore4Head wrote:

I have wanted the capability to use my USB printer as a network
printer without having to keep a computer on 24/7, but it was not
a priority. I also wanted to have another USB port so I could
have a network drive without leaving a computer on 24/7.

Being able to have network attached storage and network printer
using ordinary USB printer and ordinary USB hdd is a nice goal that
doesn't require the capabilities of a router.

There are $40 devices that ethernet USB ports to an existing
router.


http://www.startech.com/Networking-I...rver~USB4000IP
Share 4 USB devices over an Ethernet IP network

That seems like a handy item, but something I did not mention is
that I use all 4 of my router ports in the room the router is in.

I have 2 desktops (one for P2P and printing) and one port feeds an 8
port switch in the basement. The 4th port was for a WDTV player that
I can use reasonably as well wirelessly. And one port on my router
quit working reliably. I could have been fine with only 3 ports, but
I didn't have a port left for a device like this.

That is what I did, except my switch only has 4 (more) ports instead of
8. When I ran out of ethernet ports on my router, I added a 4 port
switch. All of those ports are working, and I currently have one spare
which could well be used by such as this ethernet-USB device.


--
Mike Easter

On Tue, 02 Jun 2015 20:46:16 -0400, Seymore4Head
wrote:

On Tue, 02 Jun 2015 16:39:29 -0700, Mike Easter
wrote:

Seymore4Head wrote:
I bought a Asus RT-AC66U router on impulse while shopping for
something else.

I have wanted the capability to use my USB printer as a network
printer without having to keep a computer on 24/7, but it was not a
priority. I also wanted to have another USB port so I could have a
network drive without leaving a computer on 24/7.

Being able to have network attached storage and network printer using
ordinary USB printer and ordinary USB hdd is a nice goal that doesn't
require the capabilities of a router.

There are $40 devices that ethernet USB ports to an existing router.

http://www.startech.com/Networking-I...rver~USB4000IP
Share 4 USB devices over an Ethernet IP network

That seems like a handy item, but something I did not mention is that
I use all 4 of my router ports in the room the router is in.

I have 2 desktops (one for P2P and printing) and one port feeds an 8
port switch in the basement. The 4th port was for a WDTV player that
I can use reasonably as well wirelessly. And one port on my router
quit working reliably. I could have been fine with only 3 ports, but
I didn't have a port left for a device like this.

Lack of ports can be easily overcome by simply adding a switch. A small
5-port gig switch can be had for $10-20, or less. I sometimes see them for
$X with a rebate of $X, making them free if you're disciplined enough to
follow through on the rebate.

--

Char Jackson

On Tue, 02 Jun 2015 17:59:21 -0400, Seymore4Head
wrote:

I bought a Asus RT-AC66U router on impulse while shopping for
something else.

I have wanted the capability to use my USB printer as a network
printer without having to keep a computer on 24/7, but it was not a
priority. I also wanted to have another USB port so I could have a
network drive without leaving a computer on 24/7.

Now that I get it home and out of the box. I would also like to be
able to monitor how much bandwidth each computer is using. Tech
support says that the router I just bought doesn't do that. I am told
that even the top of the line Asus router doesn't do that.

Having bandwidth capability is not a big priority, but it would be
nice. Is that a common feature for new routers? What brand?

Even with dd-wrt on your router, it's not easy to see in clear terms what
each individual PC is doing, bandwidth wise. It *is* easy to see what all of
them are doing collectively, but breaking it down can be problematic.

If you can stand to install a tool on each PC, I recommend Bandwidth
Monitor, from http://www.bwmonitor.com/. There are other tools like it, but
that's the one I install on all of my personal systems. It has a right click
menu item called Traffic Reports, and in there it can break down the traffic
sent and/or received by that particular PC on a daily basis, weekly basis,
monthly basis, or lifetime. You can also export that data in a text format,
csv format, or html format, for further processing.

--

Char Jackson

On 06/03/2015 12:20 AM, Char Jackson wrote:

[snip]

Lack of ports can be easily overcome by simply adding a switch. A small
5-port gig switch can be had for $10-20, or less. I sometimes see them for
$X with a rebate of $X, making them free if you're disciplined enough to
follow through on the rebate.


I ordered one once. It was delivered in 3 days. I sent in the rebate
form the next day. It took about 3 MONTHS to get it back.

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"Politics must be founded on the solid faith of God almighty" [Alan
Keyes, Rep. presidential candidate, at Christian Coalition "Road to
Victory" convention]

On Wed, 03 Jun 2015 00:55:31 +0000, Stormin' Norman wrote:

I have successfully flashed 5 Asus routers with DD-WRT. I had one problem,
which resulted in my having to recover the router back to it's factory firmware,
which was not a big deal.

Flashed 3 Linksys/Cisco E2000 routers with DD-WRT. No problem
whatsoever. DD-WRT enabled me to boost the signal (with success).

--
s|b

On Wed, 03 Jun 2015 20:20:21 +0200, "s|b" wrote:

On Wed, 03 Jun 2015 00:55:31 +0000, Stormin' Norman wrote:

I have successfully flashed 5 Asus routers with DD-WRT. I had one problem,
which resulted in my having to recover the router back to it's factory firmware,
which was not a big deal.

Flashed 3 Linksys/Cisco E2000 routers with DD-WRT. No problem
whatsoever. DD-WRT enabled me to boost the signal (with success).

I was talking about DD-WRT with a friend of mine. Signal boosting is
like over clocking. Right?

Wouldn't that shorten the life of the router?

I guess having a router that you can use for a shorter length of time
is better than a router you can't use.

On Wed, 03 Jun 2015 14:34:38 -0400, Seymore4Head wrote:

I was talking about DD-WRT with a friend of mine. Signal boosting is
like over clocking. Right?

Wouldn't that shorten the life of the router?

Probably. If you exaggerate the router can overheat. The trick is not to
exaggerate. ;-)

My sister complained about bad reception, so I changed TX Power
to 100 mW (default is 71 mW). Problem solved (and her router didn't
explode :-).

--
s|b

On 6/2/2015 7:36 PM, Seymore4Head wrote:
On Wed, 03 Jun 2015 01:50:12 +0000, Stormin' Norman
wrote:

On Tue, 02 Jun 2015 21:00:21 -0400, Seymore4Head
wrote:

On Wed, 03 Jun 2015 00:55:31 +0000, Stormin' Norman
wrote:

On Tue, 02 Jun 2015 19:40:32 -0400, Seymore4Head
wrote:

On Tue, 02 Jun 2015 22:35:02 +0000, Stormin' Norman
wrote:

On Tue, 02 Jun 2015 17:59:21 -0400, Seymore4Head
wrote:

I bought a Asus RT-AC66U router on impulse while shopping for
something else.

I have wanted the capability to use my USB printer as a network
printer without having to keep a computer on 24/7, but it was not a
priority. I also wanted to have another USB port so I could have a
network drive without leaving a computer on 24/7.

Now that I get it home and out of the box. I would also like to be
able to monitor how much bandwidth each computer is using. Tech
support says that the router I just bought doesn't do that. I am told
that even the top of the line Asus router doesn't do that.

Having bandwidth capability is not a big priority, but it would be
nice. Is that a common feature for new routers? What brand?


Here, take a look at this information about DD-WRT firmware for many routers.

http://www.flashrouters.com/blog/201...g-with-dd-wrt/

I have actually read about that at life hacker. It says turn a 60$
router into a 600$ router. I don't understand how features like that
would add so much cost to a router if you can get software that does
it for free?

I am not too comfortable with messing with factory settings. I end up
breaking stuff instead of improving it.


I have successfully flashed 5 Asus routers with DD-WRT. I had one problem,
which resulted in my having to recover the router back to it's factory firmware,
which was not a big deal.

Where there 3 people knocking on the door wanting to know....what have
you done to the Internet this time?

I am by far, old enough to know better than to do any such modification to a
production appliance. Only after thorough testing do I put such devices into
service. I am in a business environment and fortunately, it is my
business......

Congratulations. Having 4 out of 5 successful stories is probably why
you get paid to do this stuff and I don't.

The DD-WRT seems like a pretty slick piece of code. I was going to
try to "Turn Your Old Router into a Range-Boosting Wi-Fi Repeater"
http://lifehacker.com/5563196/turn-y...wi-fi-repeater

and I may still do that without the DD-WRT. I took my router brand
and version number and came to this page:
http://dd-wrt.com/site/support/router-database

Since there was more than one choice I decided to pass.

With my odds, I would turn it into a brick 9 out of 9 times.

That's the problem I had with DD-WRT. You find that different versions
of the same brand/model router have vastly different configurations.
It's difficult to find exactly what code and what install procedure works
on your particular router.
There tutorials posted over several years that differ in what to install
before you install that to configure the other thing.
"Brick your router"
is a common phrase in all the tutorials.
There are also things that don't quite work. For example, my dual-band
router only supports one band with DD-WRT.
I've bought used routers with DD-wrt. The webpage says that model is
unsupported...go figger.

DD-wrt is a fine collection of software. I believe it always works...until
it doesn't. I use it, but always hold my breath when pressing that
final return key to install it. Did I pick all the right stuff and
the right tutorial for my exact router?
For a garage sale freebox wrt54g, you get a mighty nice DD-WRT router.

If it supports your router, I find Tomato far easier to swallow.
Press go and it installs and just works.

s|b wrote:
On Wed, 03 Jun 2015 14:34:38 -0400, Seymore4Head wrote:

I was talking about DD-WRT with a friend of mine. Signal boosting is
like over clocking. Right?

Wouldn't that shorten the life of the router?

Probably. If you exaggerate the router can overheat. The trick is not to
exaggerate. ;-)

My sister complained about bad reception, so I changed TX Power
to 100 mW (default is 71 mW). Problem solved (and her router didn't
explode :-).


This article shows you how Wifi energy flows in a room.
The reason they're moving the router around in the animation,
is to show you how the "light colored tendrils" move.

http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/01/w...nal-reception/

Notice that reception is not totally a "power issue".

There are "dark spots" in a room, where if the router
is in position "X", the laptop is in position "Y",
there isn't very much signal there in the first place.

In some cases, with things like G (no MIMO), applying
extra signal causes a multipath reflection to wipe out
the primary signal. In one test in a measurement lab,
they put RF absorptive mats in the lab, to soak up excess
signal, and it improved multipath enough to make the
Wifi work properly. (Real test labs use an anechoic
chamber, but that's hardly an effective simulation
of your living room, which is full of reflections.)

Units with MIMO, if one path isn't working all that well,
a second antenna slightly off axis might have a working
path. Or, maybe they combine the bandwidth of the two paths,
with one path being weak and one path being strong. That's
the quickest way to improve things, without a lot of user
intervention experiments.

There may be situations where "power is everything". If
you're in a farmhouse, router in the window, and you want
to run that laptop in the barn, then a directional antenna
and a "boost" might be all you need. With plenty of open space,
no reflections, the other aspects of Wifi disappear. But
in an enclosed space, you don't really know what's going on.
As that animation above shows.

It's also important to point out, that diagram should
be three dimensional. A router on the first floor,
may work fine with laptops on the first floor, but there
is no signal on the second floor. The radiation pattern
of the antenna could be a toroid, with reduced signal for
second floor or basement locations. This is one reason why
using a parabolic antenna in the house, for wide in-house
usage, would be a mistake. A parabolic antenna has
a sharp lobe out the front, with zero signal
for second floor or basement. If you need to
see some of these radiation patterns for antennas
yourself, look for references to the usage of
4NEC2 software.

Paul