what router to buy for minimum fidgeting?

[Mr. Analog]

Whoop, my bad I had another article that had the instructions!!

It's been one of those days

[Thorin]

Well I know what I'm doing tonight.  Hopefully it won't be too hard to get Shaw to switch my modem over to bridged mode.

Is this not something you can do yourself?

https://community.shaw.ca/docs/DOC-1033

Nope, there's no setting for bridge mode vs router mode.  Also, I went onto Live Chat with Shaw Support today and asked.  It's a modem config that the modem downloads from Shaw servers when it reboots.  Thus they change the config file for my modem, then have me reboot the modem, then it'll be in bridged mode.

As a developer, I'd say it's probably a setting stored in a database table that is then read by some service that puts together the config file upon request and sends it as a filestream, rather than an actual config file they have sitting on a server.

Anyway, I can contact Live Chat and they can change it for me so I don't even have to call in.  And they say it only takes a few moments.

But first, I have to get the new router.

[Melbosa]

As a developer, I'd say it's probably a setting stored in a database table that is then read by some service that puts together the config file upon request and sends it as a filestream, rather than an actual config file they have sitting on a server.

You'd think wouldn't you but most router/modem/switch configs are usually pulled down through a PXE/TFTP service of some type when its a distributed system.  Even the Thin Client's I have at NAIT use DHCP tags for FTP server locations where XML files live that tells them how to boot and what system configs to use.  Even our Teleconference Brightlink Classrooms still utilize a FTP system for their configs.  Most of the infrastructure stuff is still very older school of thought for config management, at least that is what I find in my daily travels in that realm of IT.

Hell almost all Cisco based equipment still basically reads a top down flat config file on boot that as a human you still have to write to screen, copy to editor and search for changes... I watch the network guys do it all the time.  To me that seems very old school, but it might be very fast in terms of performance.

[Lazybones]

Hell almost all Cisco based equipment still basically reads a top down flat config file on boot that as a human you still have to write to screen, copy to editor and search for changes... I watch the network guys do it all the time.  To me that seems very old school, but it might be very fast in terms of performance.

It is efficient in the minds of Cisco techs that have been indoctrinated into that way of thinking. I much prefer the structured / xml config systems of Juniper / PaloAlto that also include syntax validation, config diffs and rollback on box..

[Tom]

I imagine they generate the new config when a change is noticed in the system. Then likely just TFTPed down when the modem reprovisions.

[Thorin]

Got myself an RT-AC66U.  Then spent an hour crawling around trying to route power cords and network cables.  Then spent fifteen minutes talking to Shaw Support Live Chat, who changed a setting and rebooted my modem, and bam! bridged mode.  I've now spent a couple of hours poking around in the router's web ui trying to set it up the way I like it.

One thing I did was name both the 2.4 and 5.0 networks the same, that way phones and tablets and laptops just automatically pick the right one.

I tried enabling the MAC filtering, but I wasn't really sure how it governs people connecting to the main network or the guest network.  I'll do it tomorrow during the day and tell people that if their phones aren't connecting then to tell me their MAC address.  And if that doesn't work, they can always connect to the guest network.  Meanwhile, any client connected to the guest network just can't get through to my personal files on my drobo.

edit: I'm being told that the connectivity isn't any better, that is, it's still dropping to two bars on the far side of the house (40 feet diagonal through multiple walls).  I think I need to think about running wires along the ceiling and putting the router in the middle of the house.  That would require a lot of re-running wires and a lot of moving furniture, though.  I wish this house had been pre-wired for networks.

[Tom]

Got myself an RT-AC66U.  Then spent an hour crawling around trying to route power cords and network cables.  Then spent fifteen minutes talking to Shaw Support Live Chat, who changed a setting and rebooted my modem, and bam! bridged mode.  I've now spent a couple of hours poking around in the router's web ui trying to set it up the way I like it.

Nice

One thing I did was name both the 2.4 and 5.0 networks the same, that way phones and tablets and laptops just automatically pick the right one.

I tried that too. It turns out that many devices just really suck at picking the right network. Many/most of mine would auto pick the strongest signal, not the best speed. So I'd always be on 2.4G.

I tried enabling the MAC filtering, but I wasn't really sure how it governs people connecting to the main network or the guest network.  I'll do it tomorrow during the day and tell people that if their phones aren't connecting then to tell me their MAC address.  And if that doesn't work, they can always connect to the guest network.  Meanwhile, any client connected to the guest network just can't get through to my personal files on my drobo.

[Melbosa]

Could just get a wireless extender rather than re-wire everything.

[Thorin]

Yeah, I guess.

But dreaming about completely rewiring the house is much more interesting, wouldn't you say?

[Melbosa]

Interesting yes... pain in the arse Yes.

[Lazybones]

Please don't do wireless range extending unless you just need to do browsing.. It adds tremendous latency to the extended connections, and throughput is bad.

However, setting up a second device as an AP is a great idea..

I use the following up stairs http://www.ncix.com/detail/netgear-ac750-dual-band-wifi-be-100924-1760.htm not the most powerful but enough to give a clean signal upstairs for me.. I use it in AP mode, it has a single gigabit port on it and will do over 100Mbit in 5Ghz throughput..

Current prices arn't great on it, I got mine on sale for $69 if my memory is correct. which is not bad for an AC device.

[Thorin]

Well it'll be another two years before I do something about my current idea, I'm sure.  Took me two years to buy a new router, so...

But ultimately, I'd love to run new wiring everywhere so that I could put the router in the middle of the house and the modem in the basement instead of both of them right next to my tv.  I'm sure the tv is causing some interference with signals, the house isn't all that big (no point is more than 20 feet from the center of the house).

[Tom]

Hm, just saw that page has this: "BONUS! Get 85 NCIX Rewards if you buy before soon" hah.

Well it'll be another two years before I do something about my current idea, I'm sure.  Took me two years to buy a new router, so...

But ultimately, I'd love to run new wiring everywhere so that I could put the router in the middle of the house and the modem in the basement instead of both of them right next to my tv.  I'm sure the tv is causing some interference with signals, the house isn't all that big (no point is more than 20 feet from the center of the house).

The fewer obstructions between the most common places the network is used from, the better. That's why I put my AP in the hall. Has a direct line of sight to the couch, and only a door and a bit of a wall to my bed. A central location is usually the best, unless there is a crap load of stuff between that location and the locations the network is most used from. In that case, you just want to get more than one AP. Put the best one in the location that sees the most use, and cheaper stuff elsewhere.

[Thorin]

Yup, all that I know.  It just so happens that the Shaw cable and modem and entertainment system and computers are all concentrated on one side of the house, so reception is not as good on the other side of the house.  It's still strong enough to support multiple video streams, though, so I'm not worried.

Just, I've got a touch of OCD and I would really like it to be a perfect install instead of a jumble of cords and wires up against a single wall.

[Tom]

Yup, all that I know.  It just so happens that the Shaw cable and modem and entertainment system and computers are all concentrated on one side of the house, so reception is not as good on the other side of the house.  It's still strong enough to support multiple video streams, though, so I'm not worried.

Just, I've got a touch of OCD and I would really like it to be a perfect install instead of a jumble of cords and wires up against a single wall.

Heh. Me too. But then I end up with a little network shelf with my firewall, and modem by where the coax enters the house, and ethernet cables running back out. It's still just a jumble of wires up against a single wall.