Recommended 802.11ac router?

[Weaselboy]

But the internent speed will see no dif? Ok I think I got it. What about things such as netflix load times? Buffering times? Like YouTube and etc? Amazon movie downloads? I don't do much file transfers between devices.

It won't help with any of those issues. This is assuming your existing 802.11N router is working properly and you were getting a decent signal to those devices.

If the signal to those devices was borderline, often a more modern router with better antennas etc can help.

If your existing router is getting a decent signal throughout the house and you don't plan to do much with wireless network transfers, there really is little reason to spend the money on an Airport Extreme. You would be able to attach an external drive to the Extreme and use it for Time Machine backups if that is something you want. Or your could just buy a Time Capsule.

 

[PicnicTutorials]

It won't help with any of those issues. This is assuming your existing 802.11N router is working properly and you were getting a decent signal to those devices.

If the signal to those devices was borderline, often a more modern router with better antennas etc can help.

If your existing router is getting a decent signal throughout the house and you don't plan to do much with wireless network transfers, there really is little reason to spend the money on an Airport Extreme. You would be able to attach an external drive to the Extreme and use it for Time Machine backups if that is something you want. Or your could just buy a Time Capsule.

Thnaks bro for all the info. Sorry if I'm beating a dead horse here just want to make sure. What about Plex home server? All my movies are on my mac upstairs and we watch them via plex app on the downstairs tv. It's a bit slow for my taste. That's considered in network speed ya? So the advance tech would speed that up ya? That's if roku uses the new wifi tech. No idea there unless I google for a bit.

 

[Weaselboy]

Thnaks bro for all the info. Sorry if I'm beating a dead horse here just want to make sure. What about Plex home server? All my movies are on my mac upstairs and we watch them via plex app on the downstairs tv. It's a bit slow for my taste. That's considered in network speed ya? So the advance tech would speed that up ya? That's if roku uses the new wifi tech. No idea there unless I google for a bit.

Yes, that would be internal network traffic that would be helped by a faster AC wifi router if the client device has AC. I am almost positive none of the Roku devices are AC wifi though.

 

[John Kotches]

Presently, no Roku devices support 802.11ac.

If bandwidth is a concern, it might be worth investigating a Roku HD3 which also has a wired ethernet option.

Regards,

 

[PicnicTutorials]

Presently, no Roku devices support 802.11ac.

If bandwidth is a concern, it might be worth investigating a Roku HD3 which also has a wired ethernet option.

Regards,

unfortunately my house is not Ethernet wired. So I will wait on the new wifi tech untill everyone catches up.

 

[Altemose]

unfortunately my house is not Ethernet wired. So I will wait on the new wifi tech untill everyone catches up.

You could do power line Ethernet adapters provided you get a quality set. The junky models are just as bad as low signal Wi-Fi connections sometimes.

 

[ZeRoLiMiT]

I just purchase a airport extreme for $160.00 and its the best router i've bought in my life!!!! i've bought several. You can even add a usb drive on the router that gives you access to do backups and stream movies! Works great with Apple TV and ChromeCast!

 

[kathyricks]

It won't help with any of those issues. This is assuming your existing 802.11N router is working properly and you were getting a decent signal to those devices.

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but are you saying that people like myself who are currently using a 802.11N router with a new 802.11ac iPad Air or 802.11ac Macbook won't see any increase in internet surfing speed by getting a 802.11ac router like the Airport Extreme? Thanks.

 

[Weaselboy]

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but are you saying that people like myself who are currently using a 802.11N router with a new 802.11ac iPad Air* or 802.11ac Macbook won't see any increase in internet surfing speed by getting a 802.11ac router like the Airport Extreme? Thanks.

Exactly. A decent N connection in real life will usually get around 150Mbps. So unless your Internet speed is well above that you won't likely see any improvement at all in wireless Internet speeds.

I can attest to this personally. I have 30Mbps Internet access. I went from N to AC with the new Macbook Air and Time Capsule and there is zero difference in Internet wifi speeds. However speeds within the network, like file transfers to the Time Capsule, are much better.

*iPad Air is still 802.11n

 

[Altemose]

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but are you saying that people like myself who are currently using a 802.11N router with a new 802.11ac iPad Air or 802.11ac Macbook won't see any increase in internet surfing speed by getting a 802.11ac router like the Airport Extreme? Thanks.

In most scenarios, Weaselboy is correct. If the router is underpowered for the task you give it, then load times for generic Internet tasks will probably be lengthened due to the fact that the router is overloaded. However, most routers in the homes today are plenty powerful for normal use across a couple of clients.

 

[John Kotches]

In most scenarios, Weaselboy is correct. If the router is underpowered for the task you give it, then load times for generic Internet tasks will probably be lengthened due to the fact that the router is overloaded. However, most routers in the homes today are plenty powerful for normal use across a couple of clients.

Except we're getting more and more clients...

Smartphones, Rokus, Tablets, and PCs. They all add up to more than a couple of clients ;-)

 

[Altemose]

Except we're getting more and more clients...

Smartphones, Rokus, Tablets, and PCs. They all add up to more than a couple of clients ;-)

I manage a network of 75+ clients over eight AirPort Expresses and one Extreme functioning as the controller. Despite everything being wired to the Extreme, it has performed admirably. I couldn't have asked for better performance. Unfortunately, due to the layout of the school some Expresses can get congested with 25 clients or more. However, they still all get great performance and one can easily stream HD YouTube videos even over a congested Express. Remember this is all wired to an Extreme which handles the load fantastically.

 

[John Kotches]

I manage a network of 75+ clients over eight AirPort Expresses and one Extreme functioning as the controller. Despite everything being wired to the Extreme, it has performed admirably. I couldn't have asked for better performance. Unfortunately, due to the layout of the school some Expresses can get congested with 25 clients or more. However, they still all get great performance and one can easily stream HD YouTube videos even over a congested Express. Remember this is all wired to an Extreme which handles the load fantastically.

My point was simply that we're adding more devices (seemingly daily) and that there will come a time when we will need beefier WiFI in our homes. Probably sooner than any of us think.

I manage a network of 200+ systems and sometimes our networks get congested too

 

[ColdCase]

The devices would need to be in "heavy" use at the same time to be noticed. Its not so much how many potential devices there are but more how many individuals are using them. You could have 100 devices connected and be using only two or three.

Now if you had 30-40 users, you start thinking about adding wireless entry points (networks) and segregating networks. Beefier wifi in this case is just more wifi entry points. You would need less "high capacity" wireless entry points than "low capacity" wireless entry points. I've had a couple networks in my home for years, wireless entry points are relatively cheap and so are well performing GB switches.

As you add users, you will get to the point where enterprise routers and networks make sense, but thats in excess of 100 casual users or so.

 

[Altemose]

My point was simply that we're adding more devices (seemingly daily) and that there will come a time when we will need beefier WiFI in our homes. Probably sooner than any of us think.

I manage a network of 200+ systems and sometimes our networks get congested too

As more and more home routers are getting close to basic APs that were "business" class just a few years ago, that day may never come. Granted, if you own a large house, then a multi-AP system makes sense. However for the majority of home users, most home APs can handle 20 or so devices without too much issue. I am not sure we will ever see the day.

If your network is getting "congested" with just 200 systems then you have a problem. I have hit 300 on one of my networks without issue and that was with relatively cheap and affordable hardware. I am not sure of your setup so I cannot comment on it at all, though.

The devices would need to be in "heavy" use at the same time to be noticed. Its not so much how many potential devices there are but more how many individuals are using them. You could have 100 devices connected and be using only two or three.

Now if you had 30-40 users, you start thinking about adding wireless entry points (networks) and segregating networks. Beefier wifi in this case is just more wifi entry points. You would need less "high capacity" wireless entry points than "low capacity" wireless entry points. I've had a couple networks in my home for years, wireless entry points are relatively cheap and so are well performing GB switches.

As you add users, you will get to the point where enterprise routers and networks make sense, but thats in excess of 100 casual users or so.

My network is normally anywhere from 70-100 users on a good day. This is spread across eight AirPort Expresses and one Extreme functioning as the "controller". It is essentially a semi-lightweight AP system as the Extreme handles settings for the Expresses as well as the filtering and permissions system. However, changes need to be made either on an Express by Express basis or by resetting them in AirPort Utility and restoring them to "Extend the Network over Ethernet". When I bought the system I knew what it was and what it wasn't. Do I regret not getting another affordable provider like UniFi? Yes and No.

The plus side to UniFi is that it was PoE and had a software controller which deployed the settings out to all the APs. However, the UniFi line pales to the AirPorts in stability and strength. I keep hearing that 25 or 30 is the magic number to incapacitate a basic UniFi AP (2.4 GHz). I used the latest Expresses so they are most similar to the UniFi AP Pro. When it came down to it, there were too many holes in the setup I wanted. I wanted a different set of IP addresses for "guest clients", dual VLAN support and 2.4/5 GHz frequencies. Since Ubiquiti doesn't make the router, traffic would have been all one IP range unless I used a specific router type. Is UniFi more configurable than AirPort? Yes but I am totally happy with what I bought and cannot say enough good things about the network as a whole.