Intel Throughput Enhancement and Semaphore Timeouts

I have: WRT54G v.6 Router with an Intel 5300AGN card, Vista 64bit, Sager NP5796

The Problem: The problem I've been having is a "semaphore timeout period has expired" whenever I've transferred large files over my wireless network (and only wireless - everything works fine if I wire into the linksys) to a server I've got attached. While searching the usual sites I've noticed that other people have had similar problems with Vista, wireless connections and large files, but I haven't seen a solution till now.

Changing the intel "Throughput Enhancement" of my card to 'enabled', I seem to be able to transfer large files over wireless just fine now *crosses fingers*. It seems to agree with Intel's suggestion that it helps when uploading large files.

The Question: What does this Throughput Enhancement do in a mixed network setting (b/g - intel suggests *not* enabling it in such a case) and how will it effect other people on my wireless network?

Thanks for any input.

 

Throughput enhancement means putting your network card to the router over others with brute force..

There's a ~FAQ at the bottom of this page.

 

Hey. Thanks for the response. I had seen that page and it was exactly what is sparking my question. One sentence that concerns me is "When the Intel Throughput Enhancement is enabled, the adapter does not allow for other clients to have equal access to the available wireless bandwidth." What exactly does this mean? If I turn it on for my computer, will other computers on my network get frequent disconnects? Will they be unable to connect to the network sometimes? What will the results be?

Also, why exactly "should <it> be disabled in mixed-mode", as that page suggests?

Any more help is greatly appreciated!

 

The results are not likely to be frequent disconnects, unless your usage is so massive and so constant that you use up all available bandwidth almost all of the time. Instead, what is most likely to happen is that other users will notice an increase in the amount of time it takes to get stuff back from servers on the internet, and they may also begin to notice lags in things like streaming audio or video.

Think of it this way, a normal router without any preference for a particular network client, is like a four-way intersection with stop signs at each roadway that enters the intersection. Everyone has to stop and wait for the others who got to the stop signs first to go through.

With something like what you've been describing enabled, the router becomes more like the on-ramp of a highway, with your connection being the highway, and everyone else's connection being an on-ramp. In that configuration, everyone in the on-ramp must stop and wait until there's an opening in the traffic flow on the highway, and no-one on the highway is required to stop or even slow down in order to accomodate someone trying to enter from the on-ramp.

Is that of any help?