Showing posts with label router. Show all posts
Showing posts with label router. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
7 Tips To Get More Out Of Your WiFi Router
7 Tips To Get More Out Of Your WiFi Router
Wireless routers are a bit like relationships. You don«t notice the problems until things go really wrong and they send you crazy. This behaviour is normally accompanied by naming calling and huge sighs! And at times, you can«t understand what has gone wrong Ð but you blame the router anyway!
However, sometimes is not the routers fault Ð it is yours. It«s about time you accepted the blame and fix things pronto!
Naturally, if you live in a densely populated area, you could have any number of rivals competing for space on this limited band. The only real solution for now is getting a router that operates on dual bands simultaneously. Newer routers will often run on 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands at the same time, allowing the latest Wi-Fi devices to connect on the much less congested 5GHz band. Of course the other thing to consider is that your neighbours may be intentionally reducing your bandwidth by hogging it for themselves!
However, sometimes is not the routers fault Ð it is yours. It«s about time you accepted the blame and fix things pronto!
1. Did you read the manual?
Remember all the times you wished your other half came with instructions? Yet you expect your router to perform miracles automatically! In your defence, weÕve all done it, but just like your partners, routers are all different and need a little TLC. A quick read of the instructions will make sure you treat it right! If you didn«t get a manual with your router you can download users guides from the supplierÕs website.2. You didnÕt learn the basics
You will be amazed how much better you get on with your wireless router if you have a basic understanding of its needs. This all may sound very complicated and techy, but the truth is its child«s play. Check out our friends at lifehacker.com who give a very unintimidating intro to the basics in Lesson 1: Router Hardware 101.3. You never change
It«s easy to get stuck in your ways, but you have to keep things fresh. Keep your router up to date, your ISP will often allow you to upgrade to a new model for free if it becomes their standard issue for new customers, additionally firmware updates from the manufacturer can help find and fix any bugs and generally improve the performance of your device.4. YouÕre using the wrong technology for your needs
You might want to consider exactly what you need from your service and if your expectations are reasonable. Are you a seriously competitive online gamer? Chances are you should be connecting to your router with a wired ethernet connection. Always on the move for business but need to stay plugged into the web? YouÕre going to need a service specifically for international wireless roaming. Take some time to think about what you actually need from your service before committing to a plan.5. YouÕre embarrassed to be seen with it
Wireless routers are not the sexiest device you will ever own, but its what«s on the inside that counts! And tucking your box in the corner out of the way may not be the best place to keep it. Ideally, it needs to be in range of all devices you use it for, and preferably an open space where it can breathe.6. Something is interfering
This problem is more common than you realise. Routers work from a 2.4GHz band Ð the same as many other household devices such as cordless phone, microwave and baby monitors. It could be that they are interfering with your router and effecting its performance.7. Interfering neighbours
One of the most common interference patterns for routers comes from next door. The chances are your neighbours connect over the same frequency as you and just like your own household devices. Might be sharing the same 2.4GHz frequency as you.Naturally, if you live in a densely populated area, you could have any number of rivals competing for space on this limited band. The only real solution for now is getting a router that operates on dual bands simultaneously. Newer routers will often run on 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands at the same time, allowing the latest Wi-Fi devices to connect on the much less congested 5GHz band. Of course the other thing to consider is that your neighbours may be intentionally reducing your bandwidth by hogging it for themselves!
Available link for download
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
6 Reasons Why You Would Want 3rd Party Router Firmware Over Factory Firmware
6 Reasons Why You Would Want 3rd Party Router Firmware Over Factory Firmware
1) Updates
The real truth is that many hardware manufacturers want to sell you new devices.Consumers do not buy support licenses so there is no money to make from old devices.
Sooner or later they will stop updating their older range of devices and you will not get any new updates.
3rd Party firmware on the other hand keeps the source codes and continues to generate updates as long as the device is capable of supporting new features.
Bug fixes and optimization are applied across various architectures so improvements are definitive.
This ensures that your old trusty devices will never be neglected few years down the road.
2) Security
Factory firmware uses old unsupported kernels.If you do not believe me go ahead and download the GPL Sources for your new devices, you will find their Software Development Kit uses old version of sources and libraries.
Some are still using older Linux Kernel 2.6 not patched up to the latest release.
However 3rd party firmware project often update their source and libraries to the latest versions.
In addition, 0 day vulnerabilities are quickly patched thanks to the enthusiastic developers and community contributors.
An example is the OpenSSL heartbleed vulnerabilities, in 3rd party firmware projects, the source is quickly patched when upstream patches are available immediately.
3) Customisation
Consumer routers are designed for the consumers so their features are commonly kept to the minimal, User Interface is kept simple so they will be able configure the device without in-depth networking knowledge.As a result they are sufficiently easy to configure and deploy for common use cases, however when it comes to more complex setups they fall short.
Some factory firmware even make assumptions about configuration.
There are even firmware that assumes that the user will want to use only the ISP provided DNS hence there is no option in the User Interface to specify multiple DNS Servers of higher performance like Google DNS.
3rd party firmware are made by developers for developers and system administrators hence all the possible configurations are available and made flexible to allow users to deploy their own customised setups.
With 3rd party firmware you can create multiple VLANs and segregate networks for security and access control, the catch is you have to learn about networking technologies and how to configure them via forums from the experts. If you do not have the patience or understanding it can be a daunting task.
4) Features
Consumer routers are usually fixed in the features they offer.They are marketed by the features marked on their boxes hence their feature set is fixed.
This is further supported by point 1, which is after a while they stop updating older devices to work on new ones so new features are almost unheard of.
With 3rd party firmware, new code is added to the source which means besides bug fixes you get new features as well.
An example is the WR1043NDv1 is a 5 year old device which did not have ipv6 feature when it was sold and the TP-Link still does not offer IPv6 capabilities now. However if you were to use 3rd Party firmware such as OpenWRT/Gargoyle/DD-WRT you can enable and use IPv6 on it.
In addition new features have been added to enable more advance features on the Routers internal switch like Port Mirroring.
This is further supported by Point 2, the ability to customize the Router like adding more esotoric software like proxy servers increase the feature set of
the device.
Did I mention the superior Quality Of Service offered by 3rd Party firmware to counter bufferbloat and latency when the FQ_CODEL was developed by the OpenSource community and integrated back into the project?
5) Freedom
Basically point 3 and 4 adds to the freedom you get with 3rd party firmware.Want to setup a wireless mesh network?
Totally impossible to do with most factory firmware but totally doable with 3rd party firmware.
Setup in Wireless Access Point Mode with a Web Interface Authentication using a Radius Server?
Almost impossible to do with most factory firmware but totally doable with 3rd party firmware.
Want to host your own website on your Router to save power?
Totally impossible to do with most factory firmware but totally doable with 3rd party firmware.
With 3rd party firmware you are free to repurpose your Router to your own needs limited only by your imagination and knowledge.
6) Free
With the advantages of point 1 to point 5 the most compelling reason why you should go for 3rd party firmware is that you can get all this and more for free!The developers share and improve their work for the community and you can be a part of it!
Available link for download
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