Annoying wifi latency

Every few mins I keep getting annoying latency over wifi (802.11n). Mostly not noticeable, but sometimes it take a while to load up a site which matches the ping latency increase.

Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=2ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=2ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=2625ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=2ms TTL=64

Ive tried changing channels to move away from neighbours, but doesnt seem to help.

Does it cause any problems? If it doesn't just ignore it.

Try lowering your security settings (WPA2 to WPA1) for example, and see if that makes any difference.

Might be a good compromise without spending money on replacing equipment, should it work..

I have a couple of Edimax wireless units, which for the money (they are cheap), are the Swiss Army knife of wireless units (you can link them together, do bridges etc). They only operate in the 2.4Ghz band, but they do all the wireless standards, right from the original 10Mb B standard, then G (54Mb) through to varying speeds of N with the option of MIMO (N using 2 frequency bands).

The reason I'm posting is because a while back, I was playing about with them, and I experienced a very similar issue to yours (if not worse than yours), whilst the units where configured in N mode. As a result, I have actually reverted both units back to G only (for work, I need to have zero jitter, because I do a lot of stuff on the SSH command line).

My setup is simple:

PC -> (wired) -> Edimax -> (wireless bridge) -> Edimax (AP) -> (wired) -> switch -> (wired) -> Router

Whilst running these two units in N mode, I got no latency or jitter across the bridge. As soon as I fired up my Sony laptop however, which then associates with the Edimax (AP), ping times went through the floor, both on the bridge from the PC, and also on the laptop.

I had a gander on Google and I don't know for sure (maybe someone can clarify this) but it seems sometimes not all manufactures adhere to the 'standard' of the protocol, meaning some cheaper kit doesn't handle subtle nuances that exist between manufactures (which looks to be the case with these units, and the card in my Sony laptop, maybe).

To solve this problem? I just turn my laptop off. This seems to make the AP happy, meaning the bridge returns to normal. But hardly a workable solution, is it?

So the only way I've gotten around this is to ditch N, and revert both units back to G. I now have a rock solid no jitter bridge and also a no jitter association from the laptop to the AP.

It's a shame really that these kind of issues occur - I thought the N standard is good, but it seems this is a myth. Truth be known, and I'm sure you've heard it before, if you want good wireless kit that doesn't suffer from these problems, spend the money and buy good equipment.

For £120, I got 3 of these Edimax units (one spare just now). But to do the same thing using say d-link or Cisco kit would probably have cost me double that amount (if not more), but, I probably wouldn't have this annoying N issue to contend with.

As it happens, I'm quite happy running G as this is fast enough but still, it is quite annoying.

Edited by deleted (Sat 04-Jun-11 13:05:27)

Thanks, changing to G has def. made it better, if the latency does spike its only 100ms or so, nothing like the 2000ms or timeouts with N.

Thought I'd update you on my setup, as I now have things running smoothly in N mode.

To make this possible, I am now running 3 Edimax units. 2 have now been configured purely as a point to point bridge (so nothing can associate with them). This means that the latency/jitter across the bridge has now vanished completely, and I see full N speeds on that.

I've setup the 3rd unit I bought as an AP in its own right, running on a different channel from the bridge (so the two do not interfere). Both are wired directly into the same physical switch.

So yes, I've had to go from using 2 units to 3, but, since I have one of those units performing a sole function of AP only, any weird wireless devices connecting to it don't then upset the bridge, and cause me jitter anymore.

Where there is a will, there's a way. And this seems to work nicely. Also means I can move files about at speeds of around 5-8Mb/s (compared to my previous 2.5Mb/s with wireless G), so I'm now also fit for FTTC (when/if it arrives!).

Interesting setup. Thanks.

I am moving soon,so its all change. Fingers crossed for fttc and clear wireless channels

A.

Sorry that was me.