Thanks, John. I really appreciate the compliments.
If anyone has other comments to add or support anything I mentioned, I'm always
happy to learn. I'm no expert by any means.
-Kristan
KI5VVT
Sent with [Proton Mail](https://proton.me/) secure email.
On Sunday, March 10th, 2024 at 11:17 AM, John Stevens via BVARC
<bvarc@bvarc.org> wrote:
> GM all,
>
> This is an outstanding article from Kristan and hits everything you need to
> know to improve your
> home networks! Before you throw out your old CAT5e cable though, it is worth
> noting it can run up to 1 Gbps at 330 feet, but you are pushing it to the
> limit. Shorten that distance a bit and you should be good. Even at 330 feet
> the speed will be substantially better than 100 Mbps if you do not make the 1
> Gbps. Plain CAT5, as Kristan says, is not going to get you that kind of
> performance, so out it goes unless you are happy with the 100 Mbps.
>
> As a final thought, don't forget about 1 Gbps network switches. They are very
> inexpensive and can be used as line amplifiers (repeaters) for long cable
> runs beyond 330'. Plug it in at the end of a run, then add the next run of
> CATx from the switch to your destination.
>
> Happy networking and thanks a zillion to Kristen. Dang nice piece of work
> well explained!
>
> 73 John K5JS
>
> On Sun, Mar 10, 2024 at 9:12 AM gshockxcc via BVARC <bvarc@bvarc.org> wrote:
>
>> Ron,
>> Xfinity provides a link where you can check if your device is "approved" for
>> use with Xfinity internet. That just means that they tested it and confirmed
>> that it works.
>>
>> https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/list-of-approved-cable-modems
>>
>> Click on "My Device Info" to check specific devices. Some may recommend
>> Amazon, but I would start with figuring out what you need and can handle,
>> versus what you want.
>>
>> Because you asked about replacing the Xfinity router, I'm making an
>> assumption that Xfinity has provided you with a combination cable modem and
>> router. If this is not correct, then you may disagree with my statements
>> below, they may not make sense, or I may be off base entirely.
>>
>> That said...
>> I learned the hard way.
>>
>> - With Xfinity, you're not buying a router. You're buying a Cable Modem.
>> Keep that in mind, because you need two devices, unless you get a combo
>> cable modem and router, and usually you only get that from Xfinity.
>> - Your cable modem needs to handle as much bandwidth as Xfinity can provide,
>> unless you don't care and you're buying a modem based on price or
>> reliability, and not on bandwidth. With a cable modem like Arris, for
>> example, you get (typically) a single Ethernet output. That connects to the
>> input of your router, e.g. Asus, Arris, Netgear, etc.
>> - If either the cable modem or router handle lower speeds than what Xfinity
>> is sending to the house, the lowest speed device will be your bottleneck,
>> and that will set your max upload/download speed.
>> - If you do like I did, and grab any old CAT5 cable from the cable modem to
>> the router, you may also limit your speed, because older CAT5 cables are not
>> rated for 1Gbps like we have available today. Typically, CAT5 can only
>> handle 100Mbps.
>> - If you take the output from the router, and feed it to a network switch
>> that provides Ethernet in other rooms throughout the house, the speeds at
>> those jacks will be limited to whatever each specific Ethernet cable can
>> handle.
>>
>> In my case, I have older CAT5 everywhere (circa 2011 - 2012). The house was
>> wired that way. I upgraded to AT&T fiber, which has been fine. But the CAT5
>> can't handle that bandwidth. So I'm limited to about 100Mbps at an Ethernet
>> jack, but my WiFi speed is 450+ Mbps. I can get 1G from the AT&T
>> modem/router if I directly connect an Ethernet cable to the back of it. So,
>> if you have high speed internet, when you bring that into the house and to
>> the back of the modem, the actual speed you will get will depend on how you
>> want to connect your devices from there. If Xfinity can only provide 500
>> Mbps to your location and you get a 1G cable modem and router, you won't get
>> 1G. Likewise, if you have 1G coming to the house, and you want to go from
>> the cable modem to a router that feeds Ethernet jacks throughout the house,
>> the speed you will get will be limited by the Ethernet cable you run (or
>> that's already installed) and the router you're using.
>>
>> In my case, I have an AT&T fiber modem, which they provide, but I can also
>> use it as a router. I choose not to, and I connected an ASUS router so that
>> I can administer the network the way I want. From the ASUS router, I ran a
>> CAT6e Ethernet cable in my office to my main computer so that I get 1Gbps
>> (+/-), and I ran another Ethernet from the ASUS router to the network
>> switch. The house was already wired so my speed to the Network switch is
>> limited to about 100+Mbps, even though the switch itself can handle more,
>> the CAT5 cable coming to it is the bottleneck, like I mentioned before. But
>> this is still plenty fast enough for streaming video (Roku, etc). Most of
>> the remaining devices are on the WiFi from my office router. Because of
>> obstructions in the house, I have a second router that is connected via the
>> same slow speed Ethernet jack I mentioned before. The second router itself
>> can handle 1Gbps also, but the WiFi is only as fast as the Ethernet feeding
>> the router, so I typically get about the same 100+ Mbps from that one. But,
>> for my needs, I'm mostly using it to run WiFi cameras, iPads, Laptops, etc.
>> So I don't need the bandwidth, and I wouldn't spend the money on a highspeed
>> router for that purpose. Although, I'm using one just because I happen to
>> have it. I didn't buy it because I needed the bandwidth for those devices. I
>> probably could have used WiFi repeaters instead, but with the angles in my
>> house, I would need several. So I just used a spare modem I happen to have
>> and stuck with the slow CAT5 cable that is already in the house.
>>
>> A note on cables, too. There's CAT5, CAT5e, CAT6, CAT6e, and CAT6A. CAT6e is
>> an enhanced version of CAT6, but there's no actual standard for it in the
>> Telecommunications Industry Association. But, it can handle speeds up to
>> 1Gbps. When you get ready to start connecting devices, or however you want
>> to set up your network, you'll need to be aware of each piece in the chain,
>> because that could be your bandwidth-limiting connection.
>>
>> Probably way more than you wanted to know, but details matter and I thought
>> I would try and spare you the same aggravation I went through if you go into
>> this not knowing the details above.
>>
>> Hope it helps.
>>
>> -Kristan
>> KI5VVT
>> Sent with [Proton Mail](https://proton.me/) secure email.
>>
>> On Saturday, March 9th, 2024 at 4:06 PM, ron.litt--- via BVARC
>> <bvarc@bvarc.org> wrote:
>>
>>> Anyone recommend an internet router to replace the Xfinity router?
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>>
>>> Ron Litt
>>>
>>> 281-961-4570
>>>
>>> ron.l...@gmail.com
>>
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