khatib1
Hi,
This is the first one from TP-link that has functionality of IP based Bandwidth Control. This would disable lags while playing online by assigning minimum bandwidth for my PC/xbox or throttling the connection for my family.
So anyone know a place selling this router in Lebanon?
Also there are newer ones TD-W8980 and TD-W8970 that can do the same functionalities
Thanks
yasamoka
I think you mean QoS, Quality of Service, by IP-based bandwidth control. I don't think client-side QoS would help much, as the problem with QoS lies more at the ISP level. You might be delaying HTTP traffic, or torrent traffic, and prioritizing gaming and VoIP traffic, but your ISP is still the bottleneck. It will not necessarily prioritize the data on a first-come-first-serve base, as you'd assume would be the case when QoS is showing benefit.
As for it being the first from TP-Link, QoS, in its advanced, configurable form, is available on OpenWRT. OpenWRT can be flashed on many TP-Link routers (as well as other brands, of course), most notably the TL-WR1043ND, which is one of the most documented-for, if not THE most documented-for, router in OpenWRT.
khatib1
Thanks for the information. Do you know the official distributor of TP-Link in Lebanon? I can't find them on google.
Aly
I have the TD-W8960N modem for 2 years and it also has IP based bandwidth control, I got it from CompuLife 3en El Remmené.
yasamoka
Top Technologies in Dora are the official distributor ("wakeel") of TP-Link in Lebanon.
Tarek
QoS is different than bandwidth management .
QoE ( quality of experience ) is governed by various aspects , your TP link won't do you any good .
yasamoka
Tarek wroteQoS is different than bandwidth management .
QoE ( quality of experience ) is governed by various aspects , your TP link won't do you any good .
Can you explain further please? What's QoE?
khatib1
I looked on the emulator of the router:
http://www.tp-link.com/resources/simulator/W8968_v1/index.htm
If you look at the settings in bandwidth control, you can specify the IP and how much minimum and maximum upstream bandwidth and downstream bandwidth you want to give the user. If i put minimum 512Kbps on a 1024 Kbps connection (download speed), i will be guaranteed to get 512Kbps when I am connected while others would get lower speed. Or I could put a maximum of 512Kbps to all other users and that way there would remain 512Kbps unused for me.
Here is the manual too:
http://www.tp-link.com/Resources/document/TD-W8968_V1.0_User_Guide.pdf
This feature is not found in older versions. I think this is only found in this router and the newer ones TD-W8980 and TD-W8970.
And thanks yasamoka for the wakeel.
khatib1
I called top-technologies. Their products are outdated compared to TP-Link site. The latest router they have is TD-W8960N which is coming next week. Even pcandparts.com has TD-W8961ND. I don't know how they call themselves wakeel :P.
Tarek
khatib1 , the router won't do you any good ..trust me
Aly
Try to contact
https://www.facebook.com/compulifelb (CompuLife) they have a wide range of TP-LINK products, also note that many PC shops promote themselves being "Wakeel" of a specific brand and its not true most of the times.
khatib1
Aly I called them today. They don't sell TP-Link routers anymore :( . Btw do you still remember how much did u pay for the TD-W8960N? Thanks
Tarek, you know in most networks (internet cafe) they give each user download speed limit of 18KBps (for example) so that no one causes lags to the other. If he uses an application that requires more than 18KBps, he will be the only one getting lags. If he is downloading, his speed will be limited to 18Kbps. I assume that this router will do this functionality which is what i need. Either way I am going to get the router and I will tell you if it is going to work or not.
yasamoka
It's not bandwidth-related. It's priority-related.
Tarek works in the networking sector and he knows what he's talking about.
Tarek, can you explain a bit further please?
Tarek
first lag is not related to "how much bandwidth you are using" , it is the time the packet or data takes to reach the destination and back , in simpler terms it doesn't matter if you have the fastest connection on earth but you are using satellite link per ex : you see data takes a route to your provider or ISP ..then to your DSP (data service provider ) or directly the satellite then the other DSP or ISP ..etc until it reaches the server of WOW or the sexy girl you are chatting with .
bandwidth-control or management dictates how much data the user is able to use .
so lets elaborate further :
think about bandwidth like a road , data as care and lag the length of the road ( including detours , traffic jams , etc )
you want to send a 20 MB email to a friend ..lag doesnt matter ..bandwidth control does . why?
you play wow and you give an action order for your character ..lag matter..bandwidth use is minimal as the graphics algorithm in the game changes slowly .
get a decent connection (512 or 1 Mega with lag between 150 ms to maximum 300 ms ) and you feel the difference
khatib1
Tarek, I am a 4th year Electrical and Computer Engineer and I took courses in Networking. I know what you are talking about. What you are saying is 100% true but trust me its unrelated to what I am talking about.
Let me elaborate a little at my case. I have a 1 mbps connection (higher speed not available here) and 110ms ping. I am playing game A. Game A requires 128 kbps (128 kb should be transfered in 1 sec or otherwise i will miss some of the things happening to other players) 90% of the time, and requires 256 kbps when there is a lot of action (10%). In reality speed varies a lot
If I am the only user, I get 1 mbps but i consume 128 kbps 90% of the time and 256 kbps 10% of the time. The ping will be 110 ms stable.
If my brother and I are using the internet, my brother is downloading and I am playing the game. Assume at time x, game A is using 128 kbps, the remaining 896 kbps will all go to my brother. My ping is 110 ms stable. Everything good till now. A lot of action in the game is happening at time y>x which requires 256 kbps for a couple of seconds. By the congestion control protocol (long topic), I won't instantly get 256 kbps since the 1 mbps is used up. The speed will increase gradually to 256 kbps. In the mean time, the packets I didn't receive yet are queued in a buffer at the ISP router and transmitted as soon as the line gets free. This delayed time to reach me would cause the lags reaching 999+ms somtimes. This causes temporary lags.
The dangerous one is the permanent lags (or lags for a long duration). In reality I have 256 kbps upload speed and assume the game needs around 128 kbps upload speed most of the time. Assume 2 of my family members are using the internet along with me. They are both uploading photos to facebook while I am playing the game. Also by the congestion control protocol, the router will allocate after some time 256 kbps/3 = 85.33 kbps to each user which is less than 128 kbps implying I will get permanent lags (999+ ms) during the time they upload the photos (10 sec or so, videos would be like 5 min :P).
If I use the TP-Link router I was talking about, I force everyone other than me to use altogether 768 kbps download speed and 128 kbps upload speed (They aren't affected by it, they would download or upload a file after some extra time) . There would be 256 kbps download speed and 128 kbps upload speed at any given time remaining for me and I would get 110 ms ping :)
So TLDR , there are two types of lags
1- First one is not really lag, its the ping or RTT (round time trip) which you explained. I have 110 ms ping everything is good.
2- Second is packet queuing in ISP router due to bandwidth allocation in congested network at home which causes lags >110 ms in my case
I hope I cleared everything.
andrew55
Does anyone recommend the TP-LINK TD-W8980 N600? If so, is it more reliable than Thompson TG585 V8 in terms of SNr, attenuation and wireless coverage in a house/apartment?