Fine-Tuning Your Network - NETGEAR WNDR3400 - N600 Wireless Dual Band Router User Manual

This chapter describes features to help you manage your N600 Wireless Dual Band Router
WNDR3400.
This chapter includes the following sections:
• "Assessing Your Speed Requirements" on page 6-2
• "Optimizing Your Network Bandwidth" on page 6-3
• "Optimizing Wireless Performance" on page 6-5
• "Changing the MTU Size" on page 6-6
• "Quality of Service (QoS)" on page 6-7
Common connection types and their speed and security considerations are:
• Broadband Internet. Your Internet connection speed is determined by your modem type,
such as ADSL or cable modem, as well as the connection speed of the sites to which you
connect, and general Internet traffic. ADSL and cable modem connections are asymmetrical,
meaning they have a lower data rate to the Internet (upstream) than from the Internet
(downstream). Keep in mind that when you connect to another site that also has an
asymmetrical connection, the data rate between your sites is limited by each side's upstream
data rate. A typical residential ADSL or cable modem connection provides a downstream
throughput of about 1 to 3 megabits per second (Mbps). Newer technologies such as ADSL2+
and Fiber to the Home (FTTH) will increase the connection speed to tens of Mbps.
• Wireless. Your N600 Wireless Dual Band Router WNDR3400 provides a wireless data
throughput of up to 300 Mbps using technology called multiple input, multiple output
(MIMO), in which multiple antennas transmit multiple streams of data. The use of multiple
antennas also provides excellent range and coverage. With the introduction of the newer WPA
and WPA2 encryption and authentication protocols, wireless security is extremely strong.
To get the best performance, use an N600 Wireless adapter, such as the WNDA3100, for your
computers. Although the N600 Wireless router is compatible with older 802.11b and 802.11g
adapters, the use of these older wireless technologies in your network can result in lower
throughput overall (typically less than 10 Mbps for 802.11b and less than 40 Mbps for
802.11g). In addition, many older wireless products do not support the latest security
protocols, WPA and WPA2.

Fine-Tuning Your Network

N600 Wireless Dual Band Router WNDR3400 User Manual
Fine-Tuning Your Network
v1.0, August 2010
Chapter 6
6-1