# internet connection via ethernet cable faster than wireless?



## rollee (Feb 26, 2003)

i notice that by connecting my DSL sympatico modem via ethernet directly into my G4cube yields a 15-20% gain in speed!!! compared to my airport wireless connection, both in b and g (extreme).
considering the signal strength is full (max)-absolutely no interference , OS 10.3.5 and related s/w up to date.

is it just me or if there is any significance to this? i cannot find any related material on this matter.
i thought it might be because my G4 cube450 airport-b is old/slow, or the modem is faulty, or sympatico DSL has anything to do with this....but,

shouldn't wireless connection be of no hinderance to transfer speed? why is the ethernet cable so much faster?
is it bell sympatico does not like routers and lessens its output power?
discussions and experiences will be appreciated. rollee

[ September 18, 2004, 03:39 PM: Message edited by: rollee ]


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## Johnny Melano (Jan 26, 2004)

Does your Cube have Gigabyte ethernet? If so, then there's your answer.
Jon


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## monokitty (Jan 26, 2002)

> shouldn't wireless connection be of no hinderance to transfer speed? why is the ethernet cable so much faster?


Maybe, but when data is transferred through a cable, there is no chance of any potential interference from any other objects, etc. However, when sending a signal through the air, the signal can run into a bunch of obstacles, such as interference with radios, wireless phones, walls or objects in the way, etc, etc. Whereas with a cable, there is absolutely nothing of anything to get in the way. Really, there a ton of factors that can affect the performance of a wireless network, depending on what you have setup where.

Make sense?


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## rollee (Feb 26, 2003)

the cube is not gigabit ethernet built in, OEM 10/100 base T.

the ABS or AEBS is in the same room, the cube and base station is no more than 20 feet apart, there is 1 900mhz cordless phone which is 2 floors down in the house, no microwave or other wireless devices what so ever (unless you consider the infrared remote for the tv), an odd cell phone in the next room (not transmitting). there should be no interference.

very odd.


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## used to be jwoodget (Aug 22, 2002)

Given that the DSL bandwidth is about 2% of 100 BaseT, having gigabit ethernet or not is not an issue. Even 10 Base T ethernet has 6X the bandwidth of most DSL connections. 802.11b and g have 11 and 54 Mb/s. Copy speed of files between computers on the same network will be limited by the bandwidth but internet traffic will not. 

The difference you're seeing is likely interference as the overhead should not impact your speed. Might want to check for packet loss. On my home network, there is zero difference between being wired by 100 Base T or by wireless unless I'm on the edge of the wireless range.


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## sprockincat (Sep 19, 2004)

Do you have wireless encryption enabled? If so that would account for the difference as the encryption/decryption adds significant overhead, slowing down your transfer speeds.


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

WEP, WPA or virtually any other security measure is going to add overhead to the network. This is the most likely culprit.


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## rollee (Feb 26, 2003)

the security feature indeed slows things down, thanks for the input.
i also find using a higher channel number makes things a bit more snappy.
both means of connecting are much closer now after these experiments. cheers! rollee


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## treif (Jul 12, 2004)

Nice pile of equipment, Rollee. Did you ever work fore Dash Domi? (Or Tom Jakobek?)


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## rollee (Feb 26, 2003)

best solution i found is to turn off wep, but enable access control. the performance is now at par or better than the direct RJ45 ethernet connection.
encryption really does slow things down a bit.
i also found the speed is much more stable and consistant throughout.

hi treif i sweat for myself, don't think tom nor dd can afford me.








just got the 12" 1.33 pb, waiting for its arrival. 

[ October 04, 2004, 11:35 AM: Message edited by: rollee ]


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