DSL question

[randr]

I am experiencing problems with my wireless server. By mid day my system turns to mud. Spastic connections and a lot of "looking for server". I suspect too much traffic on the tower.
I have DSL service available from my local phone company at a reasonable rate.
Should I switch?

[Why Syzygy]

1. I can't tell you to switch,

but I can tell you that in my experience, DSL is better than a cable connection. The DSL I had offers wireless from the modem, standard, with excellent speed and performance. The cable company charges extra for the wireless modem, and it doesn't seem as secure with much lower performance, reliability and speed.

[RoyGBiv]

2. Not enough information ...

A problem with your wireless such as your describe has a number of potential causes, most of which would have nothing to do with your provider.

Unless you have an exotic setup, DSL comes into your home via a wire, at which point it is connected to a wireless router that serves your home wireless network. The first thing you should check is the router. When you experience these problems, you need to immediately plug in to your router with a network cable and see if you have a connection that way. If you do, it's definitely not the DSL provider.

[ChromeFoundry]

3. Agreed...

Not enough information to give real good advice.

I have a similar situation with my setup. I have a wired router that also acts as my PPPoE connection through a bridged DSL modem. Secondly, I have a wireless router with no WAN connection. So essentially is configured to be a Wireless Access Point. After several days, I have difficulty establishing connectivity to my wireless network. Signal is very strong, but connectivity is flaky. XP, Vista and Linux all have connection issues, requiring several connection attempts before I have connectivity to the Internet. I believe this is a firmware problem in the DLink DI-524 that has not been corrected. The router does not have AP mode built-in, so I have effectively turned it into a Wireless bridge with a WAN connection set up as a loopback interface. My connectivity issues have gotten worse since I have Vista clients on the network...this could potentially be caused by IPv6 being enabled by default on all Vista workstations (haven't had enough time to work through that problem yet, plus this was also a problem prior to Vista).

When I reboot the wireless router, connectivity is very fast.

If you do choose to go the DSL route, use a DSL/POTS splitter rather than the individual filters on each of your phones (IF YOU CAN). The difference in DSL up/down speeds in noticeably different when you have a good clean signal. A splitter should be connected as close as possible to the DMARK... I was able to fit mine inside the Service side of my DMARK and run two lines inside the house. Use a good quality cable, such as CAT-5e or better for the DSL-side to modem line-In... the idea is to have the least amount of attenuated signal back to the central offices DSLAM, and to have the least amount of noise injected into the cable by things such as florescent lights, microwaves, etc...

[RoyGBiv]

4. Firmware ...

That would be my first guess in your situation. D-Link has some really weird firmware issues with many of its products.

Back when these things were still something you might need, I had a USB - Ethernet converter from D-Link. Its firmware only let it support USB 1.1, which was just stupid since the 2.0 standard had been out awhile by then, and there was nothing in the hardware to prevent that support. It took six months before they fixed the firmware. By then I'd purchased a 3Comm (I think) model.

Anyway ... just rambling.

Your other advice is spot-on.