Servers and Networking Archives

Home » Servers and Networking » Page 4

DECT wifi interference

Dave Farquhar Servers and Networking August 4, 2016November 28, 2018Meraki Wifi Stumbler, SSID

Wifi interference is still a common problem, so sometimes people ask me about DECT wifi interference. I have good news. DECT doesn’t interfere with wifi. This is by design.

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.

dfarq.homeip.net

Wiring an old house for Ethernet

Dave Farquhar Servers and Networking July 26, 2016March 13, 20211950s, 1960s, baseboard, Blade, cat5e, home improvement, network cables, Windows 10

Wiring an old house for Ethernet can be challenging but offers real benefits. Wired Ethernet is faster and more reliable than wireless, so devices that have a wired connection can take advantage of it. Having wired connections also allows you to distribute wireless access points throughout your house for better, faster coverage.

So you even if you’re a heavy wireless user, there’s a lot to gain from having good wired connections. Believe it or not, you can do it with simple tools and very little tearing into your walls.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

Adjust DD-WRT TX power

Dave Farquhar DD-WRT, Servers and Networking July 4, 2016November 26, 2018dd wrt, linksys, netflix

I had a DD-WRT router that was dropping a lot of packets. I got a lot of errors and that caused poor playback in Netflix and especially MLB.tv. It wasn’t a bandwidth issue. My wireless network connection was just too noisy. I had to adjust my DD-WRT TX power to fix it.

I probably adjusted it the opposite way you would expect. Read more

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

A DD-WRT USB print server

Dave Farquhar DD-WRT, Servers and Networking March 31, 2016August 11, 2018DDWRT, usb port, windows 7

If your router has a USB port and is running DD-WRT, you can turn it into a DD-WRT USB print server. It can still do wireless duty while it allows your computers to print to your wired USB printer over your wired or wireless network. It’s not very intuitive or user friendly, but it works. Here’s how to set it up with Windows 7. Other Windows versions will be about the same.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

Linksys EA6200 DD-WRT installation

Dave Farquhar DD-WRT, Servers and Networking March 28, 2016January 11, 2021asus, DDWRT, DLNA, linksys, NVRAM, wrt54g

I picked up a couple of refurbished Linksys EA6200 routers this past weekend. For whatever reason, DD-WRT isn’t officially supported on them, though it does seem to be a popular DD-WRT router. A lot of people make the upgrade far more difficult than they need to. With some simple hacks, Linksys EA6200 DD-WRT installation is pretty straightforward.

I came up with an 18-step process that I simplified just as much as I could. Unlike some methods I’ve seen, I don’t have you editing any binary files or creating custom startup scripts.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

When DD-WRT doesn’t work with Charter

Dave Farquhar DD-WRT, Servers and Networking January 11, 2016April 9, 2017d-link, dell, linksys, WAN, wrt54g

I set up a DD-WRT router on Charter’s Spectrum broadband, and had a hard time getting it to work. It wouldn’t pull an IP address on the WAN side, or it would pull a 192.168 address rather than a Charter public address.

Here’s what I had to do to fix it.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

TP-Link TL-WR840n vs TL-WR841n

Dave Farquhar Servers and Networking January 4, 2016March 13, 2021belkin, d-link, netgear, TL

If you need an inexpensive DD-WRT compatible router, TP-Link is probably your best choice. But there are some big differences when you compare the TL-WR840n vs the TL-WR841n.

I’ve been running the TL-WR841n for more than two years, so I’m familiar with it. I’ve considered supplementing it with a secondary router, and the TL-WR840n was one I looked at.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

Make your own null modem cable

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing, Servers and Networking November 3, 2015March 11, 2024cat5, cat5e, classmate, phone wiring

One of my coworkers needed to make a null modem cable last week, and most of the sites he found made it far, far too difficult. All you really need is 3 wires. Here’s how to make your own null modem cable.

Most of the time, you only need three pins. In fact, I never needed more than three pins, no matter what I was connecting. Usually, a 3-wire null modem cable is more than sufficient.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

You might need a new router

Dave Farquhar Hardware, Servers and Networking October 15, 2015February 10, 2018asus, linksys, New York, new york times, usb port, wi-fi, wrt54g

Do you need a new router? If your Internet is slow after upgrading to a faster service, and if your wifi range and reception is poor, or your Internet connection just generally misbehaves a lot, you might need a new router.

Even the New York Times, of all places, has published articles extolling the virtues of new routers. If your wi-fi at home is bad, they say, think about picking up a TP-Link Archer C7 router. I like the Asus RT-AC66U myself, but in my experience, and the experience of my colleagues, a new router makes a huge difference.

When one longtime friend upgraded to a TP-Link Archer, he told me his wi-fi improved so much his wired network was suddenly struggling to keep up with it. That’s fixable. He’s a candidate for Gigabit Ethernet.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net