Daisy-chain WiFi Repeaters

[Luuke_]

Hey guys

 

I'd like to extend my existing WiFi into one specific direction using WiFi Repeaters (No, i can't use ethernet wiring). I know that using a repeater usually means i need to divide my speed by 2.

Is there any kind of formula to calculate which speeds I'll get at a certain # of repeater. I've read somewhere that through WiFi you can normally achieve only 40% of what the router is advertised for. Is that true?

And last question, how important is the maximum speed of my repeaters (red question mark), can I avoid the speed dividing by using faster repeaters?

 

Basically I wanna know what speeds i can expect at the different repeaters (green), when my basic DSL connection is 62 MBit and my router is capable of deploying 450 MBit.

Thanks in advance for the help :)

 

Luke

 

 

[Alex Atkin UK]

Is this indoors or outdoors?  Because if its outdoors you'd get a better result using an outdoor directional Access Point.  Possibly even indoors for that matter.

If its all indoors, is powerline not an option?

 

Its just a very bad idea to do it like you describe as its not simply that adding each repeater halves the speed, its that each one is broadcasting on the same channel competing with each other and with how radio waves bounce around you could end up with next to no connectivity at all by repeater 3.

Theoretically if you can backhaul on a different channel between each repeater it might work, but then you are using a TON of spectrum and finding the right equipment to do it is tricky.

[Donut417]

10 hours ago, Luuke_ said:

I've read somewhere that through WiFi you can normally achieve only 40% of what the router is advertised for

Id say about 2/3's in a good environment. 

 

10 hours ago, Luuke_ said:

can I avoid the speed dividing by using faster repeaters?

NO. This is because many repeaters only have one radio. It can talk to one device at a time. The router or the client. This is why repeaters can cut your bandwidth by half. Some higher end repeaters or Mesh setups have a dedicated radio for communications between them and the router. This is how you solve the cutting your bandwidth issue. 

 

For example Google's mesh setup has a dedicated 5 Ghz radio to communicate between nodes. The only issue here, is you need to make sure that all the nodes are in 5Ghz range. But it works. My sister has the Google setup and she has them kinda like your picture and they work fine. The one furthest from her main node (connected to the modem) is connecting a Ring security light on the garage to their network. She gets full HD from camera on that light. 

 

Now what @Alex Atkin UK suggested about power line adapters could be a better choice or if you have coax ran throughout your home Moca adapters are even better. I know that some power line adapters also have WiFi built in, so you get a wired connection as well as it can extend your WiFi. The only issue with power line is how well it works depends on how old your wiring is and the distance between both adapters. Moca's issue is that the adapters can be expensive and setup is a bit more involved in some cases. As Moca can coexist with cable providers signal on the same line. In your case of using DSL that might not be an issue. 

[Sychic]

why not a mesh network?

[Luuke_]

Unfortunately powerline is not an option because I basically want to get the WiFi from my basement to the top of my house. The appartments in between all have different circuits, so thats not possible.

 

5 hours ago, Sychic said:

why not a mesh network?

I want to create a mesh network, but the furthest away repeater still needs to be connected to another repeater because it's rangewise just not possible to connect it to my base router. The daisy chaining remains the bottleneck, right?

 

So am I understanding this correctly, the actual maximum speed of my repeaters does not matter (as long as it's not less than my router) and will not improve my performance at all?

[Donut417]

1 hour ago, Luuke_ said:

Unfortunately powerline is not an option because I basically want to get the WiFi from my basement to the top of my house. The appartments in between all have different circuits, so thats not possible.

 

I want to create a mesh network, but the furthest away repeater still needs to be connected to another repeater because it's rangewise just not possible to connect it to my base router. The daisy chaining remains the bottleneck, right?

 

So am I understanding this correctly, the actual maximum speed of my repeaters does not matter (as long as it's not less than my router) and will not improve my performance at all?

No it doesnt matter. But keep in mind that your cutting you bandwidth in half with one repeater. Then doing it again with two other repeaters. The internet on that 3rd repeater is going to be less than usable. Just beware than any devices connected will have issues and slow speeds.