Chapter 3: Wireless Network Performance | 29
N150 Wireless Micro USB Adapter WNA1000M
Optimizing Your Network Bandwidth
The speed of network connections depends on the type of equipment that you use. Try to
use high-speed technologies for network connections with the heaviest traffic to avoid
lower-speed bottlenecks. The following illustration shows a home network that includes many
different connection speeds.
Figure 1. Home Network
In this network, the two PCs with gigabit (1000 Mbps) Ethernet adapters have a gigabit
connection through the router to the storage server. With a high-speed router this connection
allows for extremely fast backups or quick access to large files on the server. The PC
connected through a pair of Powerline HD adapters is limited to the 200 Mbps speed of the
Powerline HD connection. Although any of the links in this example would work for high-traffic
applications such as streaming HD video, the use of older devices such as 10 Mbps Ethernet
or 802.11b wireless would create a bottleneck.
In planning your network, think about which tasks will have the heaviest traffic flow between
them. Examples are:
• A media center in one room streaming high-definition video from a server in another room
• A storage device that is used for backing up your computers