The Networking board's Frequently Asked Questions, Pre-answered!

[ultimatemythbuster]

1 minute ago, LAwLz said:

Well, managed switches are plug-n-play too. None of the more advanced features, like actually being manageable, will work out of the box, but all the stuff unmanaged switches does, will work.

Fair enough.  Someone not using the management features of a managed switch just wasted a lot of money.

[Guest]

On 03/11/2016 at 4:58 AM, LAwLz said:

Well, managed switches are plug-n-play too. None of the more advanced features, like actually being manageable, will work out of the box, but all the stuff unmanaged switches does, will work.

Not really - a lot of the Cisco or Aruba/HP switches I've worked on come with most ports administratively down and no uplink trunks set.

[LAwLz]

2 hours ago, Windspeed36 said:

Not really - a lot of the Cisco or Aruba/HP switches I've worked on come with most ports administratively down and no uplink trunks set.

Got an example and are you sure those were factory restored? All the ones I've used (which is admittedly not exactly a large number) have been up by default. I can't find anything about ports being off by default when I Google it either, but

I do find plenty of ones that have them up by default.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, LAwLz said:

Got an example and are you sure those were factory restored? All the ones I've used (which is admittedly not exactly a large number) have been up by default. I can't find anything about ports being off by default when I Google it either, but

I do find plenty of ones that have them up by default.

The Aruba 3810's that I was provided as well as the HP 5130's I was provided both required signficant setup before they'd work for the environment.

 

Edit: Oh and the 5400R.

[leadeater]

@LAwLz

Depends on the class of managed switch you are buying, enterprise or small business. Small business managed switches basically come in an unconfigured all access state so act like an unmanaged switch out of the box where as an enterprise managed switch have zero functionality out of the box and must be configured for even basic use.

 

General rule on thumb however is that if you need a managed switch you know how to configure it or have enough base knowledge to figure it out.

[LAwLz]

12 hours ago, leadeater said:

@LAwLz

Depends on the class of managed switch you are buying, enterprise or small business. Small business managed switches basically come in an unconfigured all access state so act like an unmanaged switch out of the box where as an enterprise managed switch have zero functionality out of the box and must be configured for even basic use.

 

General rule on thumb however is that if you need a managed switch you know how to configure it or have enough base knowledge to figure it out.

No, it is not based on "enterprise vs small business".

Interfaces are up by default in Cisco's 6500 switches, which are designed for enterprise backbones (the highest end one tops at 720Mpps forwarding capacity):

Quote

Router(config-if)# shutdown    (Optional) Shuts down the interface to prevent traffic flow until configuration is complete.

Router(config-if)# no shutdown     Activates the interface. (Required only if you shut down the interface.)

 

Other manufacturers might not have switched interfaces up by default, but I have never seen a Cisco product that has switched ports turned off by default. Routed ports? Sure they are always off by default, but I have never seen or heard of a switched port being down. Anyway, even if there are exceptions I don't think it belongs in a "Frequently asked questions" thread meant to simply things.

[leadeater]

5 hours ago, LAwLz said:

Anyway, even if there are exceptions I don't think it belongs in a "Frequently asked questions" thread meant to simply things.

Yea agree with that, doesn't need to be in the FAQ but Cisco is becoming the exception for not having ports down compared to every other manufacturer. Everyone is starting to have a security first mentality so things like ports being admin down as default is becoming a thing.

 

Only pointing it out since I agree with @Windspeed36 that managed switches shouldn't really be considered plug and play but as I said if you need one then this is a non issue, you'll know how to use it. For the majority of the community the difference between managed and unmanaged doesn't need to be in the FAQ either.

 

P.S. We are a big HP switch and router user, we were Cisco but due to "wise" decision making we changed. My advice, stay with Cisco .

[q8wii]

Thanks

[CoolMarquis97]

Simple question here but does networking matter if I'm just in a house with one modem/router. My speeds seem fine while simply just connecting to the Verizon router whether it be wired or wireless. Is there anything I can honestly do that would improve my speeds vastly ? I was always under the influence that networking only truly mattered if you need ethernet speeds while being wireless or for a business setting. 

[LAwLz]

8 hours ago, CoolMarquis97 said:

Simple question here but does networking matter if I'm just in a house with one modem/router. My speeds seem fine while simply just connecting to the Verizon router whether it be wired or wireless. Is there anything I can honestly do that would improve my speeds vastly ? I was always under the influence that networking only truly mattered if you need ethernet speeds while being wireless or for a business setting. 

For things like streaming videos, downloading games and so on, you probably can't do much to increase your speed. If you're getting the speeds you pay for then you're stuck. A better router could have additional features (VPN server, Quality-of-service, DDNS and so on), and possibly better wireless coverage, but other than that it won't help.

 

It could however help for local file transfers. For example if you're using in-home streaming, transferring files between your laptop and desktop, or such things.

[Boommer1]

Hey guys, I was wondering if anybody knows if mesh networking routers like the Luma, and the Netgear Orbi are good choices for PC gaming, or if it's better to stick to a single router?

[JohnACK]

Important note on internet speeds: make sure that when you do a speed test that you're connected to your ISP's closest server. For example, I work for an ISP and I had a customer call in with slow speeds issues. The customer did a speed test at speedtest.net and it was connecting her to a server in Wyoming. The customer was getting 50mbps on her supposed 100mbps connection. I had her change her server to her closest hub with us, which was in Olivette, MO and she got 110mbps. VPNs also affect this due to your connection being sent to another location in most cases. Always make sure you connect to your ISP's nearest server when doing a speed test.

[JohnACK]

On 9/13/2017 at 12:30 PM, sambarrett23072 said:

My best answer would probably be no. Even in the enterprise space we avoid using full mesh networks at the access level and it is normally only full mesh at the core, sometimes distribution and ISP level. It is normally complex and probably not worth it. 

I'm hardwired to a Google WiFi mesh point across the house from my modem. I don't have in home Ethernet, so I'm hardwired to a WiFi access point essentially and I still get 30ms ping times and my full 200mbps internet speed. Gaming on a mesh point should work just fine.

[tc~shmurda]

On 29/09/2013 at 8:01 AM, LAwLz said:

The Networking board's Frequently Asked Questions, Pre-answered!

By LAwLz, 

September 29, 2013 in Networking 

I like your work LawLz:

First Post I got to read on here. 

New member I just joined. 

Good Work..!

[OmarM89]

i really can think of many scenarios VPN would be necessary, but for normal day to day use i would not need it.

[TRITIUMNITR0X]

Is the primary post up-to-date? Does the post need to be updated with new information?

 

Just asking because I'm utilizing the information today but the post is from 2013 and I'd hate to be 5 years behind.

 

Thanks!

[LAwLz]

1 hour ago, TRITIUMNITR0X said:

Is the primary post up-to-date? Does the post need to be updated with new information?

 

Just asking because I'm utilizing the information today but the post is from 2013 and I'd hate to be 5 years behind.

 

Thanks!

It's mostly fundamentals and basic info, so yes it is up-to-date.

Advice like "try positioning your router differently if you're having WiFi issues" doesn't get outdated.

 

There are 2 things I could update, but is too lazy to do:

1) In the "How can I improve my wireless speed" section I recommend setting it to Wireless N only. At the time the post was written 802.11ac was rare and most people didn't have it. However, these days the advice might be to set it to Wireless AC only. If someone reads the text after the advice they will hopefully understand a bit of why switching to wireless N only helps, and can deduct that switching to wireless AC only would have a similar effect.

 

2) Add 802.11ad and 802.11ax in the list of wireless standards. They are extremely rare today, but they are upcoming standards which might be worth mentioning.

They can be summarized as:

802.11ad = super short range, but lots of bandwidth.

802.11ax = successor to 802.11ac, and will probably start appearing in devices in a year or so.

[iGx.Itachi]

I am completely new here and what am I doing is like reading all the comments and regrating why I wasn't joined earlier.


 

[DaiGurenMK42]

Hey, I have a dumb question. If I have an access point range extender. If I set the SSID to be the same as my router, will the network switch over seamlessly?

[LAwLz]

19 minutes ago, DaiGurenMK42 said:

Hey, I have a dumb question. If I have an access point range extender. If I set the SSID to be the same as my router, will the network switch over seamlessly?

Depends on what you mean with "seamlessly".

Your device will switch over to the one with the strongest signal by itself (although it might have a bit of a delay), and you won't have to type in the password again, etc. But it will not be seamless as in "no packets will be dropped". It will be seamless as far as things like web browsing is concerned. You might drop a handful of packets when the switch occurs but that's about it. If you're in a VoIP call then you will notice a small cutoff.

 

In order to get "proper" seamless roaming between access points you need 802.11r support.

802.11r is a standard which allows two access points to exchange information, basically saying "hey, I have already authenticated this client, here is the encryption key you should use to talk to it". Without 802.11r support, your device will have to do the full 4-way handshake whenever it switches over to the new access point, and that's when you will have some minor packet drops.

[Nicko_Rmo69]

I think this need a little refresh

[wall03]

On 9/28/2013 at 6:01 PM, LAwLz said:

How do I access my router's web interface?

My IP redirects to my Optimum login (it's an ISP issued router) (My ISP is Optimum). Is this normal?

 

Update: I get basic settings after logging in but I can't configure the DNS or anything, just change the network name. Any way to get more advanced controls?

[LAwLz]

On 1/30/2021 at 12:59 AM, wall03 said:

My IP redirects to my Optimum login (it's an ISP issued router) (My ISP is Optimum). Is this normal?

 

Update: I get basic settings after logging in but I can't configure the DNS or anything, just change the network name. Any way to get more advanced controls?

Depends on which router you got.

It might just be that your ISP's router is very locked down.

[LIGISTX]

On 9/28/2013 at 3:01 PM, LAwLz said:

This means that if you want wireless, you either have to stick with 802.11g speeds, or get a regular router as well. If you are going to get a consumer router as well, what’s the point of the pfSense router?

I’d update this “get an access point as well”. While I personally love pfsense, I agree, it’s not for everyone. But we should be clear in the verbiage as this is commonly not understood, and this is adding to the confusion.

 

You would need a Wifi access point, UniFi makes them for ~100 bucks.
 

I’d also argue a used NIC is only ~30 bucks, so an old PC you have laying around can very affordable be turned into a pfsense box. But, still, most people probably shouldn’t try and mess with this. But for those looking for information, the post should at least be accurate so they are not further confused. 

[Alex Atkin UK]

Might be worth updating the first post to mention that poor WiFi speed on a desktop can be antenna placement and getting one you can physically place on top of the PC can do wonders, even more so if you use Bluetooth which generally wont work at all if the antennas are on the back of the PC and your bluetooth device isn't right next to the PC.

 

The original post seems to only be talking about the antenna on the router, which often you can't change these days due to how MIMO works especially MU-MIMO.