[The Architect 2.0]

If someone can verify my mental model of a normal home network is correct(mainly relating to speeds & connections)...that would be great:

the network, for completeness sake, is composed of a desktop wired and two laptops wirelessly connected to an off the shelf $100 router with stock firmware.

here goes:

1. You buy an internet plan from your ISP that delivers up-to speeds.
2. That pipe is connected to your house and router.
3. the router then divides the bandwidth across all of the wired and wireless LAN subscribers.

with that model in mind, I should be looking at:
1. the bandwidth going INTO the router
2. what the router SAYS is LEAVING it
3. how much my laptop says its actually getting.

Some bottlenecks would be:
1. too little bandwidth being allocated to me by the ISP
2. my router might only support 300Mbps, but I have access to 450Mbps speeds from the ISP and my lappy supports 450Mbps(not sure if this actually exists).
3. My router might be allocating all of the bandwidth to one wireless subscriber, but there is alot of interference. This means that my router is delivering 300Mbps, but my lappy is only transferring at 200Mbps, even though the lappy's max throughput supports 300Mbps

when I say bandwidth, I mean a number such as 56kbps (lol). If that is not accurate terminology, please correct.

[jimblumberg]

For most home networks the broadband connection is the biggest bottleneck, followed by wireless connections, then your wired connections. See this link for an explanation of network speeds.

Jim

[AdamSpeight2008]

In some cases in the uk, broadband speed isn't the bottleneck but the home network.
My broadband connection is capable of at least 100 MB/Sec, but this requires at minimum of 1Gb Ethernet.