# what is the best router to connect 30 computers in internet cafe



## wesely (Jun 17, 2006)

Hello

thanks for you service

I got internet cafe and I got some problem with the connectin because customers some times complain from the connection is very slow

I got very high speed connection with buldog provider 8mb

I got 30 computers in the shop

I got one router netgear

any one can help me solving this problem please?

I want the connection to be very fast all the time how!

thanks


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

well 8mb divided by 30 = 266K per person 
and if one person starts to download anything - no idea why but if watching video it will also soak up bandwidth

No also contention ratio means you could be sharing the 8mb with 50 other people if 50:1 - i know i had a business broadband and that was 20:1

so 20 other uses on the broadband and your now at 50 - now 160K 3times dialup
but if consumer quality - that could be 33:1 or even 50:1

so if 50:1 
that you 30 + 50 sharing the link 
so 80 people = 100K

now a mate of mine has 8mb in reading and only gets 5-7MB at any time

do you know the contention ratio

so it may not be the router thats at fault -but it maybe - just thought i would point out the contention ratio issue

http://www.bulldoglounge.com/support/glossary.asp

http://www.bulldoglounge.com/support/broadband/broadband_speed.pdf


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## bosshogg151 (Jan 18, 2004)

Sounds like a bandwidth problem. Too many users and not enough bandwidth. Might want to upgrade your service with your ISP.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

What you really need is some sort of more intelligent bandwidth management. I assume these are wired connections. Personally, I'd look into a higher end router with QOS capability to limit any bandwidth hogs. For normal browsing, an 8mb connection should provide satisfactory response. One key issue, what's the uplink speed? If it's cable, you might have a slow uplink, which can make things appear much slower.

Of course, you could also split the 30 machines onto a couple of separate networks and have two broadband accounts...


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## wesely (Jun 17, 2006)

as I told you the problem seems from the router because some times the connection becomes very slow may be stoped but when I make restart to the router the connection becomes very good with no problem. so what can you advice me please to do with this case


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

I'm guessing that the number of connections are filling the internal tables and causing delays. The cure is most likely a more expensive router. SOHO routers really aren't designed to handle a ton of clients, even though they claim to be able to in the specifications. You see people with P2P connections complaining about that a lot, it's the same issue.


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## wesely (Jun 17, 2006)

shall I change the router and what is the best router for 30 computer

or shall I mave another line with the line that I have now 

please I am waiting for you advise


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

I'm guessing that you need to start thinking of more expensive routers, Cisco has some models that would probably do the trick. You could also setup a Linux box to do the routing chores and have more flexibility. Something along the lines of the Cisco 831 would be a good place to start, Cisco 831 $430 shipped. I'd actually talk to Cisco and ask them about the environment before I actually purchased something. They might suggest something a little higher up their food chain.


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## Soundy (Feb 17, 2006)

I agree that part of your problem is likely your connection as well - don't forget that while you may have 8Mbit on your feed, that's also shared with others in the area if you're on cable (and to some degree, with DSL as well). At that point, even a T1 (1.5Mbit *commercial* bandwidth) may prove more reliable, as that bandwidth is yours alone right back to whatever fat-pipe feed the provider has.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

The fact that he can restart his router and restore it to full speed seems to indicate that bandwidth on the connection may not be an issue.


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## O111111O (Aug 27, 2005)

Can you gather interface stats from router?

As everybody else stated, 8MB divided by 30 people could mean that 1-2 people are saturating your connection.

I would suggest that you look at a Cacheflow. This is essentially a proxy and network cache. Appliance will cache in-line and prevent duplicate web page requests, duplicate image / file name /etc.

That'll help.


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