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[moshbox]

I followed FurryNutz' howto on setting up a router as AP, however, the router as intended is unusable in this configuration with certain HD content.  The setup:

DIR-615 as the primary router in the basement electrical room which hosts several NAS, PAP2T, and an ethernet line to the main floor office.

I purchased the DIR-645, on the advice of the store clerk, to set up as an AP in my media room.  Everything is disabled except WIFI, and I have a LAN to LAN connection for my XBMC media player.

When the LAN line from the primary router is connected directly to XBMC, all my content streams flawlessly, however, as soon as I switch the connection through the DIR-645, I get buffering about every 30-60 seconds on high quality HD content, and occasional glitching on music and lesser quality video content.

Both routers have up to date firmware, I've run through the configurations several times, and have tried multicast, etc.  I am at a loss as to where to go from here. 

[FurryNutz]

Link>Welcome!

• What Hardware version is your router? Look at sticker under router.
• Link>What Firmware version is currently loaded? Found on the routers web page under status.
• What region are you located?

 
Wireless Configurations
Links>Wireless Installation Considerations and Managing Signal Congestion

• Ensure the default (dlink) SSID name is changed. Can be anything and not something thats already in use by any neighboring WiFi routers. Under Setup/Wireless/Manual.
• What wireless modes are you using?
• 2.4Ghz Routers only: Try single mode G or N or mixed G and N?
• Channel Width set for Auto 20/40Mhz or try 20Mhz only.
• Try setting a manual Channel to a open or unused channel. 1, 6 or 11. 11 for single mode N if the channel is clear.
• What security mode are you using? Preferred security is WPA-Personal. WPA2/AES Only. Some WiFi adapters don't support AES, so you might want to try TPIK only or Auto TPIK and AES.
• What wireless devices do you have connected?
• Any cordless house phones?
• Any other WiFi routers in the area? Link> Use InSSIDer to find out. How many?
• If you have any of these options, Try turning OFF or ON Short GI, WLAN Partition, HT 20/40 Co-exhistance and Extra Wireless Protection if you have it. Recommended settings are default. Under Advanced/Advanced Wireless.
• Enable WMM Enable Under Advanced/Advanced Wireless.
• Try setting Medium or Low power output settings and test again Under Advanced/Advanced Wireless.

Router Placement
Forum User - "Well I feel really dumb. After moving the router away from other electronic devices my speeds are back to normal. Just a heads up for anyone experiencing slow speeds, you might want to move it away from other electronics and see if that helps."
6" minimum safe distance between devices.

[moshbox]

Product Page : DIR-645
Hardware Version : A1
Firmware Version : 1.04
I am in Canada.

Wireless is not the issue right now, although I cannot say whether or not it is being affected by this.   My primary concern is the wired connection thats giving me buffering problems with the media server.

DIR-615+NAS -> XBMC = streaming joy
DIR-615+NAS -> DIR-645-as-AP -> XBMC = constant buffering

The reason I went with the DIR-645 rather than a simple switch was to boost my wifi signal strength on the main floor as well as provide a wired connection to my media in one shot.

[FurryNutz]

Turn off all features on the 645, Media Server, SPI, logging, NTP, any filtering or access features, uPnP and  everything accept for WiFi.

• Was a Factory Reset performed before and after any firmware updates then set up from scratch?

Swap cables between 615 and  645 and device. Use CAT 6 cabling.

I would have recommended the DAP-1525 over the DIR-645. Same thing with out router.

[moshbox]

All features are turned off on the 645, as I indicated in the original post. I followed your tek on this and verified I had the configuration right several times.

I upgraded to 1.04 this morning in an attempt to resolved this, which did reset all settings to factory, and I again disabled all features, etc, per your tek.

Unfortunately, swapping a 100' of cable running through joists, ceilings and walls is not an option at this time.  This cable has been running with a direct connection to my XBMC box for years without issue.   Its only when the 645 is in the picture that I'm now seeing problems with buffering.   I have already swapped out the short cable between the 645 and XBMC to no effect.

Too bad you weren't working at Best Buy when I was looking for solutions.  To quote both techs that I had asked for suggestions...   "Any of the routers we sell can be used as an access point." 

[FurryNutz]

Any chance you can test the device and 645 with the 615+NAS at a closer range, like same room as a temp test? Should see if we can rule out the 100' cable.

Ya technically you can run these routers as APs. Just defeats the main purpose of the additional router features that you have to shut off. Kind of a waste of money when there are DAP model units what would be better suited.

Anyways, It's possible that the 645 may be bad or depending on the data, maybe not able to handle what ever your attempting to xfer thru it. It should work well. However another consideration is that the 645 supports Gb LAN speeds and I don't think your 615 does, only 100Mb. There is a possible bottle neck here and maybe the 645 is having a time with working on 100Mb even though it should.

I presume the NAS is connected to the back of the 615? Can you connect the NAS directly to the back of the 645 while in this mode then test?

[moshbox]

I connected the NAS directly to the 645 and this does seem to have resolved the XBMC buffering, unfortunately, this is not a solution I want.  I also notice some glitches in playback on my PC now, which is wired to the 615.  Although its nowhere near the extent of the XBMC buffering I get with the NAS attached to the 615.

Unfortunately it would be too disruptive to others working at home to relocate my primary router at this time.  I already caught hell for disrupting some NFS mounts while moving the NAS. 

You are correct in that the 615 is only 10/100.  I couldn't find anywhere to force the LAN ports of the 645 to 100Mb only in the config, unless the WAN setting would also affect the LAN ports?

[FurryNutz]

Ya you can't set any speeds on the LAN ports.

I recommend this, Install a Gb network switch between the 615 and 645. Connect the 645 and NAS to the switch. This will by pass any 615 processing and allow full on Gb wired support and still allowing for internet thru the 615.

http://www.dlink.com/us/en/home-solutions/connect/switches

[moshbox]

Thanks for all your help Furry,  the gigabit switch seems to have done the trick.

I guess something about going 1000Mb(NAS) -> 100Mb(615) -> 1000Mb(645) was indeed stalling it.  Curious since the LAN port on the XBMC box is only 100Mb as well.

[FurryNutz]

Good, should work well for you.

Enjoy. 

[moshbox]

Sorry to report, this "solution" only caused more problems.

With my PC/Office connected to the 100Mb primary router, file transfers to the NAS on the 1000Mb secondary were extremely slow... 4 minutes to xfer 130MB.

So I moved everything to the gigabit switch, which resolved the transfer speeds between PC and NAS, but now my internet speeds have tanked to 1/3 of what they should be.  8Mbps from 24Mbps.  I get 16Mbps off wifi, so its definitely the wired mess.

Seems my only solution now is to throw yet more money at it and upgrade my primary router to gigabit as well.  Not impressed.

[FurryNutz]

OK hold on a minute here.

li]What Hardware version is your router? Look at sticker under router.[/li]

• Link>What Firmware version is currently loaded? Found on the routers web page under status.
• What region are you located?
• Has a Factory Reset been performed?

Internet Service Provider and Modem Configurations

• What ISP Service do you have? Cable or DSL?
• What ISP Modem Mfr. and model # do you have?
• What ISP Modem service link speeds UP and Down do you have?
• Check ISP MTU requirements, Cable is usually 1500, DSL is around 1492 down to 1472. Call the ISP and ask. Link>Checking MTU Values

What Mfr and model switch do you install?

And how is everything connected?
Recommend the following manor:
ISP modem>DIR-615>Gb switch<>LAN wired devices to switch.

[FurryNutz]

Also have another suggestion, you have a good Gb working router, why not use the 645 as your main host router and you could turn the 615 into and wireless AP.  

ISP modem>DIR-645>Gb switch<>LAN wired devices to switch including DIR-615 in AP mode. Yes the DIR-615 will still be the slowest connection however can work for general WiFi access with phones and such. I did this with my DIR-601 that has only 100Mb LAN ports on my Gb network. Works well.

[moshbox]

The 615 is  HW:I1     FW: 9.04NA, and as I previously indicated, I am setup as you recommend:  ISP -> 615 -> GO-SW-5G -> Wired LAN.

Both routers are up to date as previously reported in this thread, they were power reset, and reconfigured ad nauseum.  I get, and had been getting for years, 24Mbps from speedtest.net anywhere from my wired network.  Its now down to 8Mbps.  If I switch it back the way it was, I get 24Mbps again.  I have never had network issues like this in the 13 years I've been here, through both Cable (current) and DSL providers.  Everything went to s*** with the introduction of the 645, or more specifically, a gigabit device, as the switch is causing the same kind of problem but in the reverse direction.

I chose the 645 for aesthetics as well as function as I like to keep the light/noise pollution to a minimum in my living space, which is why all the main gear is in the basement.   So I'm not going to switch it around and create an LED disco party in my living room with the 615.

I think its quite clear at this point that the 615 is incapable of talking to a gigabit device without generating crazy latency.  Here's the 615 LAN statistics since being reset yesterday:

Sent :    5699812   Received :    16705261
TX Packets Dropped :    0   RX Packets Dropped :    24439
        Errors :    19081

Actually that's not even accurate.  I was refreshing the stats to see how many drops/second I was getting and it reset to 0 after 64k.  Its generating about 1000 dropped packets per second in this configuration.

So I see two solutions.  Throw the 645 in the basement, hardwire the XBMC box to it, and live with a weak wifi signal on the main floor OR spend another $50-80 on another gigabit router or AP, and recoup as much as I can by selling off the 615 and 5G.

[FurryNutz]

What ISP Modem Mfr. and model # do you have?

I recommend putting the 645 on the main floor. It's highly recommended for installing WiFi routers so they can cover as much area and range as they can on the main floor. It's not recommended for WiFi to be in basements especially if this is the main WiFi source. If your need Wifi down stairs or on upper levels, put the 615 as a general wired AP there for just general use. Maybe later on get you a Gb wireless AP to replace it. Use the 645 and switch you have now and make it easier for your network. It will work well. I have tested the 645 on my network here and it works great.

Where is the main host router and ISP Modem located now? Basement? Is there a LAN wired running up to the main floor from the basement? If so, bypass putting the router down stairs and just put it up stairs on the main floor using the wired connected from the basement to the main floor. Then go from there and wire up your devices from the main floor if possible.