Setting Up Internet at Home and at (Small) Office

I've been asked to help out with the Internet Setup of their home by friends and family and there are some common issues which I feel is most probably affecting everyone else too. I believe that everyone should get the Internet Speed that they paid for, so here are a few things that I hope will help maximise the bandwidth you have in your home or office.



Basics

Before we get into specific issues, here are some basic mediums to understand:

1. Internet Cable

                                                         

Internet Cabling comes with various specifications. Most common in the market are cables that are classified as CAT5E, CAT6 or CAT6A cables. Now, what is the difference? A whole lot. But the only thing you need to remember, is that:

CAT5E  - Max 1 Gbps in theory (up to 100m)
CAT6    - Max 10 Gbps in theory (up to 55m), Max 1 Gbps in theory (up to 100m)
CAT6A - Max 10 Gbps in theory (up to 100m)

Needless to say, CAT6A cables will be more expensive than CAT5E cables, but unless you are running kilometers of cables, the cost difference isn't huge.



2. WIFI Signals

                                                                

WIFI Signals comes in various shapes and sizes. There are 2 major groups, termed as Protocol and Frequency.




a. Protocol


                                 

In the market today, the most commonly available is the Wireless N and the Wireless AC standard (IEEE 802.11n or ac, for the geeks).


Wireless AC - Approximately 1.3 Gbps in theory (but practically, max about 300Mbps)
Wireless N    - Approximately 450 Mbps in theory (but practically, max about 100Mbps)


b. Frequency

5 GHz      - Supposed to be "quieter"
2.4GHz    - The more commonly used frequency band


The 5 GHz band is supposed to be quieter, but in reality, it was thought to be quieter because 2.4 Ghz is the original wireless band and most devices are built originally for 2.4 Ghz. 5 Ghz is the new kid on the block.

But as more and more people jump into the bandwagon, the 5 GHz band isn't as quiet as it used to be. Nevertheless, it will still run faster than the 2.4 GHz band because of simple physics. But I suspect most people will not be interested in the physics.

Point to note is that the Wireless AC uses 5 Ghz exclusively (hence faster.. Cheat!).




Now, that is most of the basics that you need, and we can get into setup.


Firstly, you need to decide what speed you need for what devices. Fast Fast FAST isn't the way for everything. Typically, you would want to reserve bandwidth speeds for devices that really need them and usually they come at a cost (could be range, could be $). Perhaps, it might be easier to show you what I do for my own system and the considerations for them.



Incoming Internet

The bulk of your Internet surfing speeds is determined by what plan did you pay for from your service provider. However, setting up a network at home also means that you need to consider if this incoming speed into your house will change in the future. Most likely, the answer is yes. The Internet Speed provided into your home will become faster and faster as the years go by. That means that if you setup your home network for a lower speed, then one day, you might have to rip things apart so that you don't bottleneck your internet at home.

My incoming internet speeds from the service provider is at 1 Gbps (fibre optics). And so, my setup will be provided for as such.

(Sidenote: In the current state, 1 Gbps is about as far as one can reasonably push simply because the bottleneck is the connector ports which so far have not gone further than providing for 1 Gbps speed, although the Wifi and Cable have improved significantly)



The Setup


The Wireless Router

Your Service Provider usually gives a modem (whether it converts from Optical Fibre, from Cable or from Telephone Line) to that Internet is provided in the form of a typical Internet Port (RJ45). We would usually get our own Wireless Router to send the Internet signal throughout the house, usually because the Internet Service Provider (henceforth known as ISP) is a cheapskate and give you a modem that is only good for converting the signal and frankly, quite crap thereafter.

So, get a good router. I won't talk brands here, but if you want, you can message me privately or comment and I will help as much as I can.

The connection between the router and the modem is critical. This is also where most people make the mistake. The ISPs will usually give you the CAT5E cable because it is the cheapest. Most Routers will also give you the CAT5E cable packed together in the box. That's because its cheap.

Now remember what I mentioned above. a CAT5E cable maxes out, in theory at 1Gbps. That's in the laboratory. In real life, we have interference and where you put your modem and router, is typically where your TV and all the other gadgets are. They take power which will in turn cause some interference.  So, what you need to do is to replace it with a CAT6 cable. That will ensure that your Internet Speed doesn't bottleneck right at the beginning.

                         


The Infrastructure

I have tried many means to spread the internet signal throughout my house. At the end of the day, nothing beats using the actual cable running through the house.


WiFi boosters, in my opinion, are a scam. Internet Speeds drop significantly over distance with WiFi and putting a booster in the middle, only boosts the signal, but not the speed. A WiFi Booster works by picking up your previous signal and sending another signal. Its like a relay station. So if your Booster is placed at a position where the original is weak, then that means the speed is also very low. So while you may connect into your network, but your browsing and usage will be slow.

                                



Powerline Ethernet (transmitting the Internet Signal through your 3 pin power plug) is only good for when its within the same power loop. That usually means that its only good for transmitting the signal in the same room. Sending the Internet Signal to another room means the signal will have to go through the circuit breaker, and by experience, I've seen the speeds drop 80%. Also, they break down rather easily in my opinion. It could be because of the heat from prolonged usage.

                                             

So, if at all possible, run cables. If you are running the cables within the walls, then invest in better cables. CAT6A if possible, if not at least CAT6. You really don't want to have to knock down the walls just to change out the cable in the future.

There are also flat cables that you can get that are ideal for running below a carpet hidden from sight. Those are rather useful too.


                                          




Sending WiFi through the House

If your house has blind-spots, what you need is two routers (or an access point) to carry the Internet Signal through cables. If you can plan for this on the onset when the house is first constructed, Hurrah! But more often than not, we have to fix the problem rather than prevent it.

One way is to check out the Telephone cabling for your house. Most of us uses the Mobile phone now and the fixed line is really not used much. Sometimes, there is a fixed telephone line network set into the house from the onset to every room. And sometimes, this fixed telephone line is a CAT5E cable. If you have this setup, then you have a very good way out.







Select two rooms that you can do without the fixed phone line, and connect the CAT 5E cables up at the telephone distribution point for the 2 rooms. 









Then change out the wall panel for the telephone point into the data point. This old telephone line then becomes usable to carry data, and you can use it to transmit the Internet signal to another part of the house, and connect another Wireless Router or Access Point to it to further distribute the Wireless signal to the blind-spots in your house.








If this is too tough to do, or if your house doesn't have the CAT5E telephone line available, then the next best option is to run your own cable. If you can hide it then great. If not, you might have to accept the trade-off on aesthetics for speed. As mentioned above, using a flat internet cable might help as they are easily hidden or not so noticeable

If aesthetics is more important, then the next best option is to trade off speed for connectivity. Using the Powerline Ethernet is the next option. You can get the connectivity without giving up the aesthetics. But you're looking at probably 2-5 Mbps of speed left over after going through the Power Distribution Box. Its still good enough for mobile devices or surfing the web. But it is terrible for TV Streaming Devices, or any usage that needs higher speeds.

The good news is that if you use the same protocol (e.g. Wireless N), the same SSID (name of your network), and the same network password through your house, your mobile device will automatically jump to a new access point if the signal gets too weak. Cool right?



Do not even bother with Wifi Boosters.



The Devices

What devices do you have at home that needs the network? How do you use them? These two question will govern your decision on the network setup.


1, Mobile phones and Tablets

Mobile phones and Tablets need range not speed. They don't usually transmit huge data. Typically, anything that gives about 10 Mbps to them is more than sufficient. Mobile phones and tablets also doesn't need consistent speeds, and can live with some sporadic bursts of speed to fulfill their uses. So, that means that we would usually allocate the 2.4 Ghz band to them, which usually means using the Wireless N. Wireless N gives good range at the expense of a lower speed (but still very high for a Mobile phone or a Tablet).

                                                   


2. Laptops/Desktops

If you are just using a laptop for web surfing, then Wireless N is sufficient. They give good range and coverage, and adequate speed. But more often then not, we use the laptop for other stuff like downloading or transferring big files. So, I would recommend using the Wireless AC for laptops.

Desktops should use cable as must as possible since they aren't mobile. If cable is not an option, then Wireless AC should be used too.

                                                     


3. TV Streaming Devices

If you are using such devices (like AndriodBox or AppleTV or Amazon Firestick, or etc etc etc), you might want to allocate the Wireless AC for them, unless you can get a cable in there (even better). I can't stand watching a show and it needs to buffer and I'm left watching a spinning disc in the middle of the screen while the show gets hung up. Typically a CAT5E cable is sufficient for them, but I run a CAT6 to them in my home setup. The AppleTV in my bedroom catches the Wireless AC.

                                                     



4. Network-Attached Storage (NAS)

I love my NAS. And because they are there to keep all your files, large and small, they are best connected by cable, directly to your router. I use the CAT6 for them.

                                                



So, here we are. Proper planning will ensure that your devices do not fight unnecessarily for the network and hopefully, everyone will have great internet at home!

If there are any specific difficulties, please feel free to comment or message me privately and I will do my best to help.