Wireless Home Networking - Index of

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Part V: The Part of Tens
The trick to successfully troubleshooting anything is to be logical and
systematic. First, be logical. Think about the most likely issues (no matter
how improbable) and work from there. Second, be systematic. Networks
are complicated things, which mandate a focus on sequential troubleshooting
on your part. Patience is a virtue when it comes to network debugging.
Perhaps hardest of all is making sense of performance issues — the
subject of this chapter. First, you can’t get great performance reporting from
consumer-level access points, or APs. (The much more expensive ones sold
to businesses are better at that.) Even so, debugging performance based on
performance data in arrears is tough. Fixing performance issues is a trial-anderror,
real-time process. At least most wireless client devices have some sort
of signal-strength meter, which is one of the best sources of information you
can get to help you understand what’s happening.
Signal-strength meters (which are usually part of the software included with
your wireless gear) are the best way to get a quick read on your network.
These signal-strength meters are used by the pros, says Tim Shaughnessy at
NETGEAR: “I would highlight it as a tool.” We agree.
It’s a good idea to work with a friend or family member. Your friend can be
in a poor reception “hole” with a notebook computer and the wireless utility
showing the signal strength. You can try moving or configuring the access
point to see what works. Just be patient — the signal meter may take a few
seconds to react to changes (count to ten after each change, it’s what we do
to make sure we are not rushing the process).
Because not all performance issues can be tracked down (at least not easily),
in this chapter we introduce you to the most common ways to improve
the performance of your wireless home network. We know that these are
tried-and-true tips because we have tried them ourselves. We’re pretty good
at debugging this stuff by now. We just can’t seem to figure out when it’s not
plugged in! (Well, Pat can’t. Read the “Check the obvious” sidebar to see
what we mean.)
Move the Access Point
A wireless signal degrades with distance. You may find that the place you originally
placed your access point, or AP, doesn’t really fit with your subsequent
real-world use of your wireless local area network. A move may be in order.
After your AP is up and working, you will probably forget about it — people
often do. APs can often be moved around and even shuffled aside by subsequent
gear. Because the access connection is still up (that is to say, working),
sometimes people don’t notice that the AP’s performance degrades when you
hide it more or move it around.