Wireless N fast enough for office network?

Hello everyone

I was wondering if anyone has made a switch from a wired 100/1000mb network to wireless N at work. I’ve used wireless G and it feels slow when opening larger (2+ MB) PDFs, photos, documents, etc. I’m going to buy a Sony SZ or Dell XPS 1330 with N and based on what others are saying, I’ll probably go with the Dlink.

My question is, how does wireless N compare to wired 100MB? I know that rated speeds are never what it actually runs at so I wasn’t sure how it compares. I’d be able to place the router near my laptop to get max performance.

My second question is, if we have wireless G laptops as well, I would have to run the router in dual G/N mode, does that mean the N speed would be less? Can I run my existing Linksys G router and my new Dlink N router in 5 ghz mode at the same time? I read that 5ghz is faster than 2.4. Thanks!

 

In order to get the best speed out of N you must use the matching card from the mfg. Other wise you will only get the 130mbps max speed (- overhead). 11n is very sensitive to distance and drops off fast. If you have a mixed enviroment, it will have problems. The driver development is not there yet. There is only 3-4 dual 11n routers, and there performance in mixed mode is not very good.

Wired will give you more reliable service, and if you have a GigE why would you want to run wireless.

You should not have any problems with files >2meg. My guess is that you low on memory and it's have to use the HD for cache. If you look in the bottom rt tray all of those programs you install eat up memory. If you are using Symantic AF/FW it is your source of problem. It requires it's own core, other wise it just kills a pc. Move to something lighter, like Avira AV, Comodo FW.

 

Unless you need to be completely mobile, stick with a wired system and use wireless only if necessary. As blue has stated, there are issues with N networks (and all wireless networks, in general). There's no reason to be wireless, just for the sake of being wireless.

Consider buying a business laptop that has a true docking station - everything stays connected to the docking station (external monitor, speakers, USB devices, network, etc) so it's a snap to disconnect the laptop and go mobile.

 

Thanks for the responses. Actually, I'm moving away from a Dell D620 laptop with docking station and GigE. I wanted something a little lighter so that's why I'm looking at the Dell or Sony.

2 weeks ago, my network connection on the dock stopped working so I've been working wireless, that's why I was wondering if I could make a switch to wireless only.

The Sony does have a dock, so I'll probably use the wired connection through that.

Here's the reason why I wanted to go completely wireless, I dock and undock often throughout the day I every time I undock, it takes 20-30 sec for the wireless to connect to the network. I print complex docs a lot, so I usually undock and bring my laptop near the printer. I hate having to wait for the wireless to kick in.

Also, the other reason is that I download files from the web and if I'm connected via wired, I'll lose my download if I undock. Our internet DL speed isnt the best.

Does anyone know, if I were to transfer a 50 MB file from the server to my laptop via wired 100MB and wireless N at its fastest speed, would there be a big difference? Isn't wireless N capable of 200MB/s bursts? I tried to search what Wireless N is capable of in a sustained transfer, but couldn’t find an answer. Also, does 100MB/s wired actually offer 100mb/s transfer rates?

I'm 90% sure I'm going with the Sony SZ, could you recommend which router would give me the fastest connection?

Thanks again.

 

The max you will get with 11n is 130mbps unless every things matches. It looses speed very quickly as you get further out. Remember as you add users the bandwidth is shared across the board. So if you have 2 users 130/2= 65mbps - over head.

Stick to wire you will be better off provided it was design right to eliminate bottle necks. Mistakes like 20 users sharing a 100baset port at the same time. But if the internet is only a T1, most cable, dsl, & FIOS home connections can out preform it.