Chapter 2. Wireless Network Performance
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Virgin Media Wireless USB Adapter WNDA3200
lower-speed bottlenecks. The following illustration shows a home network that includes many
different connection speeds.
Figure 2. Home Network
In this network, the two PCs with gigabit (1000 Mbps) Ethernet adapters have a gigabit
connection through the router to the storage server. With a high-speed router this connection
allows for extremely fast backups or quick access to large files on the server. The PC
connected through a pair of Powerline HD adapters is limited to the 200 Mbps speed of the
Powerline HD connection. Although any of the links in this example would work for high-traffic
applications such as streaming HD video, the use of older devices such as 10 Mbps Ethernet
or 802.11b wireless would create a bottleneck.
In planning your network, think about which tasks will have the heaviest traffic flow between
them. Examples are:
•
A media center in one room streaming high-definition video from a server in another room
•
A storage device that is used for backing up your computers
Networking Technology and Connection Speed
Common connection types and their speed and security considerations are:
•
Broadband Internet
Your Internet connection speed depends on your modem type, such as ADSL or cable
modem, as well as the speed of the sites to which you connect, and general Internet
traffic. ADSL and cable modem connections have a lower data rate
to
the Internet
(upstream) than
from
the Internet (downstream). Keep in mind that when you connect to
someone else who also has an ADSL or cable modem connection, the data rate between
your sites is limited by each side’s upstream data rate. A typical residential ADSL or cable
