Higher latency with Wireless

[Zub]

Hi all,
quick latency question regarding Wifi vs ethernet cable.

Long story short, i had to move my computers to a different room since i'll have a second baby to fit somewhere soon.
The room that now has the computer has no phone/dsl plug nearby and since my modem also does wifi i've bought a couple DLINK Nano (N) keys to access the net from there.
Everything works fine, when i check Speedtest.net / pingtest.net i get the same results than before, when i was using a ethernet cable (ping/dnload/upload).
Trouble is, in WoW my latency has gone through the roof. Instead of the (crappy but manageable) 300ms i used to get (Australian pings are lame), i now get 800ms+ :-(
Also noticed that skype video was worse than usual.
The modem sits in a room not far away. I tried pulling a 10m ethernet cable to one of my machines and the latency magically went back to the expected 300ms.

Is this just a problem inherent to the wifi technology?
Are there any ways to boost the latency when using a wireless connection?

From what i've gathered around the net i have to check (later, as i'm at work atm):
- the channel, change it from the default "6" to something else (1, or 11 for example, depending on what other nets are around)
- the encryption. currently using WEP that is apparently slow, need to change to WPA/WPA2
- check with my ISP for a setting that boosts ping rather than dnload speed.

Any suggestions welcome, i'd hate to have a permanent ethernet link across the place >.<

Thanks,
Zub

[Sajuuk]

Is this just a problem inherent to the wifi technology?
Are there any ways to boost the latency when using a wireless connection?

From what i've gathered around the net i have to check (later, as i'm at work atm):
- the channel, change it from the default "6" to something else (1, or 11 for example, depending on what other nets are around)
- the encryption. currently using WEP that is apparently slow, need to change to WPA/WPA2
- check with my ISP for a setting that boosts ping rather than dnload speed.

Any suggestions welcome, i'd hate to have a permanent ethernet link across the place >.<

Thanks,
Zub

Get a drill and introduce it to the wall.

I don't see how changing the channel is going to help much (but I rarely fiddle with wireless networks). Encryption is basically going to make it harder for people to steal your internet, and I don't think your ISP is the issue (since it's solved via plugging it in with an ethernet cable).

I USED to run primarily wireless on my desktop. But then I got sick and tired of trying to play wow in a thunderstorm and disconnecting every time I heard thunder.

[Zub]

Thanks for the feedback

The channel change is meant to avoid interferences from other wireless networks and/or other equipement (cordless phone etc) i believe.

The WEP change is because the encryption is apparently slowing down the whole process. With basically the data transiting at the same speed, but a bottleneck in decryption or something like that. I'll try with zero security on for a little while, to see if it's a big impact.

Drilling unfortunately won't help, i would need to dig a tunnel instead (crossing 2 rooms and a corridor)
Actually, I might have a look at what's under the house and drill vertically instead of horizontally.

[daanji]

Try changing your tpcAckFrequency to one.

If you don't know how, the google it and you will find instructions. I believe the is a thread about it here somewhere.

You can also download a script/program that essentially does the same thing.

If that does't work, then try modifying the quality of service on your router to wow and you computer number one priority.

If all that fails, then there is not much you can do. Wireless, by its very nature, adds significant latency due to all the extra processing that must be done to recover the signal. Then you factor in noise and retranmits, it all slows you down.

Another thing you could try is getting a line of sight path from the base station to your computer. You could also consteuct a home brew antenna to boost the signal(google it).

Lastly, if you can be wired, even if involves routing cables through walls/attic/under house, do it. Wireless pisses me off and I'm a wireless comm engineer (I work on 3g layer one baseband tech).

[Zub]

Thanks for the feedback.

i've done a couple changes, in order of relevance (i think):
- i've toggled a setting on my ISP (iinet) to favor ping over dnload size
- i've moevd the modem to a closer room
- i've changed my channel to 1 instead of 6 (now i'm the only one using that one)

According to speedtest.net i've gone from 12Mb/s and 19ms ping to 6MB/s and 11ms ping
in wow it seems i've come down to 250ms ping, down from 600-800.
still a bit high in Dalaran (400ms) but so much better,

I'll check again later to make sure it's not just a good night tonight though.