Networking Archive

Even the best router sometimes doesn’t have enough power to reach all the trouble spots in your home or office. Long distances, metal structural components, and even walls full of wiring and conduit can create an effective barrier to your wireless signal, which is the reason that attics, corner rooms, and that one conference room next to the elevator shaft all seem to have connection …

Have you ever been walking out of your house in the morning streaming some video or on a Wi-Fi call, only to have the call drop? What about having the video simply stop buffering because your phone disconnected from the WiFi the moment you stepped outside? This is a pain that comes with almost every home router. They are simply not rated to get a …

If you tinkered around with different wireless options in the early 2000’s, you’re probably familiar with powerline access points. These devices use your home’s electrical wires to transmit a signal across the house. The concept is simple: rather than daisy-chain multiple wireless routers or install Ethernet connections in multiple rooms, you use your home’s existing systems for a quick setup. In theory, this was a …

Over the years, there have been numerous improvements in wireless technology. Starting with the 802.11 standard in 1997, subsequent improvements have been labeled 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11g, and 802.11ac, along with several other protocols that were mostly experimental and never gained widespread popularity. With the latest iteration, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has decided to drop the new protocol’s designation of 802.11ax, and …

How any of us lived through the age of dial up is beyond comprehension. If a website takes longer than a few seconds to load in today’s day and age we are filled with annoyance and start checking the task manager for RAM or CPU usage so that we can figure out why websites are delayed a whole 5 seconds! Perhaps not everyone is that …