@Mannett wrote:
Or, without rewiring our home to have coax or ethernet in his room, how do we improve his speeds, latency, and lag?
Fast internet was all he wanted for Christmas and I am yet to figure this out as a "mom"
Thanks
The problem with cable Internet is latency. THAT is what is causing the frustrating lag. When I ping a well-connected Internet host, such as 8.8.8.8, my ping round trip times are typically between 25 and 30 ms; sometimes more, sometimes less. Most of that latency comes from transiting the DOCSIS network, the link between your cable modem and the next hop. Beyond that, latency is minimal. You can upgrade Rogers Internet to a higher-speed tier, and that will get you more bandwidth... but the latency will remain the same, and there is absolutely nothing that you can do, no money that you can spend to eliminate that 20+ ms of lag that cable Internet introduces.
A while back, I wrote a post in response to someone asking whether or not they should upgrade their Internet service: https://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/Internet/Speed-tests/m-p/509841/highlight/true#M75220
Here's a more in-depth write-up on network latency: http://www.stuartcheshire.org/rants/Latency.html
(It was written 30 years ago, in the early years of the Internet as we now know it. It talks about now-obsolete technologies... but its main point is to highlight that low latency is key to making a network feel fast, and that increasing bandwidth cannot and will not (on its own) improve latency. If you are plagued with high latency, there is no way to get rid of it other than replacing the underlying technology that is causing it.)
The next version of DOCSIS, DOCSIS 4.0, promises to increase upload speeds AND decrease latency, However, despite what the marketeers will tell you, the best-engineered cable Internet implementation will always be at a disadvantage compared to a well-implemented (XGS-PON) fibre-to-the-home Internet service.
Just to point out, Pingplotter isn't a good application to use for long term monitoring if you're just looking at the plot. I'm assuming that Pingplotter hasn't made any recent changes to the display options. The problem is that after some point in time, dependent on your monitor, Pingplotter switches from displaying a single data point at each monitor pixel to displaying multiple data points at each monitor pixel. When you're running Pingplotter, hover your mouse over the bottom display. A popup should appear normally showing a single data point and what that data point time value happens to be. Run Pingplotter for several hours for continuous monitoring purposes, and that popup switches to show multiple data points at any given monitor pixel and the value that is dispalyed on the plot is an averaged value, not the high spike value that you're really interested in. So, as time goes by, the plot flattens out, making the test results appear much better than they actually are. If you look at the data in the upper right hand display, for the same time period, it will show the actual high time value. So, you know that somewhere in the plot is some buried high latency spike, but, the display doesn't show it. You have to step down in the displayed time span and then scroll thru the displayed data, looking for the latency spike.
Its very unfortunate that there isn't a selectable switch to maintain the high value latency spike on the plot, instead of plotting an average value. But, I haven't kept my Pingplotter application up to date any longer, so, ..... maybe they finally realized that a flat display does nothing when you're looking for a high time latency spike. One can always hope.
@Mannett, there are a number of items to look at from your preceding post.
As for your last question, will Fibre to the Home help with the latency. Personal opinion, no. There are a couple of issues to deal with when it comes to latency. The first as @-G- indicated is the local latency from your modem to the neighbourhood node via copper cable and then to the Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) via Fibre, and onwards from there. That first hop to the CMTS is where a good deal of latency comes from. The CMTS provides control and data services to the neighbourhood nodes which in term services the various neighbourhoods in your immediate vicinity and beyond. Until Rogers replaces that CMTS – neighbourhood node – modem structure with a faster Fibre to the Home service, that latency will probably remain a problem until the advent of Docsis 4 and the possibility of Low Latency Docsis which is in the experimental stage with Comcast. To see where Comcast is at this those steps, you can peruse the following threads:
https://www.dslreports.com/forum/r33763217-NEWS-Comcast-begins-roll-out-of-DOCSIS-4-0
https://www.dslreports.com/forum/r33691889-Connectivity-It-Begins-Ultra-Low-Latency-Trials-Announced
Although Low Latency Docsis is now a component of the Docsis spec, it remains to be seen if Rogers will ever implement that portion of the spec. Rogers is testing new modems in Calgary which will support Docsis 4, but, there hasn’t been any news regarding the progress of that test, or the lack of progress of the test.
So, if Rogers installed Fibre to the Home in your neighbourhood, it would drop the local latency to a lower level. That might make the remaining latency, as indicated below, acceptable. But, there really hasn’t been any indication of that from customers who have switched from Rogers coax cable to rogers Fibre. I would expect some improvement, but, no one from memory has come forward to say that they’ve seen a noticeable drop in latency due to the change over to fibre.
The next portion of this problem to deal with is the lack of attention to the gamers within Rogers customer group. Poor latency to gaming servers has been a constant complaint for many years now, without any signs of real attention to the problem or any improvement. This is well beyond the local connection to the neighbourhood node and CMTS. It’s a Peering (direct connection) and Routing issue. Rogers Peers (connects) with other companies at Pubic Peering Exchange Points as shown here:
https://www.peeringdb.com/net/307
This hasn’t been updated since 2022, so, its getting a bit old. It doesn’t show any details regarding direct peering with companies such as gaming companies. So, to be fair, its possible that Rogers Peers directly with gaming companies, but, there is no indication within that data and there has never been any discussion or indication in the forum that they do so. If they did, you should be able to see that in a trace to gaming companies. The trace would indicate a direct path from Rogers to a selected gaming company. That makes a difference as you go directly to a gaming company versus routing down thru a dozen or more external servers until you hit the end gaming server and then back again. Going thru each server enroute and back again adds transit time, read …. latency.
So, although Fibre to the Home would drop the initial latency, I don’t expect any differences in the downstream Peering and Routing situation with a switch over to Fibre to the Home. The question at this point is whether or not switching to Fibre to the Home would make enough of a difference to really count. I don’t have an answer to that, but I wouldn’t expect it to.
Now, to mention this, it might be worth looking into a low latency gaming vpn. Here’s an online article from a search for “best low latency gaming vpn”
https://www.01net.com/en/vpn/no-lag/
So, the theory here is to hop onto a VPN at the closest point and hop off at a point that is at or near a gaming server, avoiding numerous ISP servers enroute to the gaming server and back again. I don’t have any experience using a vpn as a gaming server, and don’t know anyone who does.
Fwiw, you should ask your son and husband to canvass their Canadian gaming counterparts to see who is satisfied with their ISP gaming performance and who isn’t.
Ok, on to other issues, which can make a difference in the home internet performance.
You indicated that you’ve never seen 2 Gb/s when you test the modem. Here’s a couple of items to do.
- Copy and paste the modem signal levels and error stats into a post. To do that, log into your modem and navigate to Gateway >> Connection >> Rogers Network. On that page you should see three data tables at the bottom of the page, Downstream, Upstream and CM Error Codewords. Please copy those tables and paste them in to a post. To copy the tables, one at a time, place your curser just ahead of the first character in the table. Hold down the shift key and scroll down and to the right until the curser is sitting just after the last character in the table. Release the shift key and with the data still selected, use Ctrl c to copy the data. In a new post, use Ctrl v to paste in the data. Please do that for all three tables. You can use the keyboard arrow keys to scroll down and to the right to the end of the table. When you paste the data into a post, since the tables are all horizontal, the forum software will automatically generate a scroll bar at the bottom of the post so that people who are looking at your post can scroll right to see all of the data. When those tables are posted in, they will look like the following post: Re: Unstable Wi-Fi connection (mostly?) on HP Pavi... - Rogers Community
- Have a look in your basement for the inbound Rogers coax cable. When the XB8, or previous XBx modem was installed, any splitters in the house cable system should have been removed and replaced with a single F-81 connector. That connector looks like this: https://www.homedepot.ca/product/ideal-3ghz-f-splice-adapter-10-pack-/1000751479
What you can do is trace the inbound Rogers coax cable and see if in fact its connected to the modem cable that runs upstairs, where that connection point is at the F-81 connector. If there is still a splitter in place, that will drop the inbound signal level to the modem and cause the outbound signal level to increase. If there is a splitter still installed in the system, it should be removed, but, the signal levels should be checked after the removal to see where their at.
You indicated that you bought an Orbi RBR50 mesh system. Can you have a look at the back or bottom of the router to determine if its an Orbi RBR50 or an Orbi RBR50 Rev 2. The original Orbi RBR50 is no longer supported and there are no additional firmware updates planned.
Orbi RBR50 | WiFi System | NETGEAR Support
Now, just for giggles, I looked at the RBR50v2. Both versions appear to have the same firmware file. The last firmware update was 21 Feb 2023, so, almost two years since it was available. By now it’s a security hazard.
That’s basically criminal, not providing any firmware updates over the last two years. For that reason, I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone, and would recommend that either version be taken out of service and set aside until a new update is published or junked. If this was a recent purchase and you still have the bill, you should take it back and demand your money back.
Fwiw, both versions have a 1 Gb/s WAN port. That’s the outward facing port that you would connect to the XB8. The RBR50v2 data sheet shows that it can do 1733+866+400Mbps which equals 2.999 Gb/s. Ok, so, if you were transferring data internally via wifi, you could in theory reach that number, but, in terms of transferring data from or to the internet thru the XB8 modem, you’re limited by the Orbi’s 1 Gb/s WAN port. The number breakdown shows that the Orbi can transmit to one 5 Ghz device with two antenna, to one 5Ghz device with a single antenna and to a final device using the 2.4 Ghz network using two antenna. It has 6 antenna, so, it’s probable the wifi controller will switch antenna for beam forming purposes if in fact beam forming is turned on.
You indicated that the results using the Orbi with your son’s pc was about the same. Part of the problem in that test is the Orbi itself, as it only runs half of the modem’s 2 Gb/s output rate. That is due to the Orbi's 1 Gb/s WAN port. The other issue is most likely your son’s wifi capability on his pc. But, we’ll get to that.
Ok, a little review. The XB8 modem has four ethernet output ports. Ports 1 to 3 are 1 Gb/s ports. Port 4, the lower right hand port is a multi-gigabit port that runs a maximum of 2.5 Gb/s. It will sync with other devices at 1 Gb/s or 2.5 Gb/s no matter what internet speed you are running. Typically, with another device that is capable of syncing at 2.5 Gb/s, and capable of handling higher data rates, you will most likely see some result above 2 Gb/s on a speed test.
So, in order to use the output of port 4 to run 2 Gb/s you need to connect to a device that is capable of running that data rate. That’s a key point to remember.
In order to run high speed throughout the house, you would need to connect the XB8's port 4 to a multi-gigabit switch, in theory, an Unmanaged Multi-Gigabit switch which is basically plug and play, as they say. I’m assuming that you currently have an unmanaged switch in the basement which connects all of the house ethernet cables. If you’ve had this in place for a while, it probably has 1 Gb/s ports on it. If you can determine the model number from the bottom or back of the switch I can look up the numbers. To run data rates above 1 Gb/s throughout the house, you would need to replace the switch.
Here’s a few examples of Multi-Gigabit unmanaged switches:
https://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=multi+gigabit+switch
There are variations on a theme, some where all ports will run 1 or 2.5 Gb/s, some with a combination of 1 Gb/s and 2.5 Gb/s ports and some that have multi-gig ports that range up to 10 Gb/s. As usual, they are more expensive than their cheaper counterparts that only run 1 Gb/s ports. The cost has been decreasing over the past few years, but, they are still more expensive. At the end of the day, as usual, it all depends on how much you’re willing to spend to run higher data rates throughout the house.
Just to point out, the current XBx modems have the one single port that can run up to 2.5 Gb/s. The modem that is under test in Calgary has a 10 Gb/s port. The Bell Gigahub has a multi-gig port that can run up to 10 Gb/s. So, 10 Gb/s ports are available depending on which company you’re with, or their on the horizon, as is the case with Rogers. That is something that you might want to consider if you’re going to buy a multi-gig unmanaged switch. Its always a question of how much money you want to spend in order to run higher data rates.
The XB8 modem that you have is pretty capable in terms of its wifi performance. Here’s a comparison chart of the XB6, XB7 and XB8 modems:
https://support.shaw.ca/t5/internet-articles/guide-fibre-gateway-xb6-xb7-xb8/ta-p/5114
The XB8 can run WiFi 6E (Modes A, G, N, AC, AX), Tri-band (2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz). So, it runs 802.11ax which is faster than the Orbi and can run a 6 Ghz network, where the bandwidths are either 160 Mhz wide or 320 Mhz wide. I’m not sure at the present time if it can run 320 Mhz wide channels. In other words, if you can actually use the 6 Mhz network, this modem should be very fast in comparison to the standard 5 Ghz networks. In Canada, there is only one 160 Mhz wide channel in the 5 Ghz range, and using that is hit and miss. It either works for you or it doesn’t, all dependent on your location. If you can use a 6 Ghz, 160 or 320 Mhz wide channel, you should be very pleased with the speed, assuming that you’re close enough to the modem.
Now, the modem is very capable in terms of its wifi, but, to take advantage of it, the receiver has be 802.11ax capable, and possibly capable of running in the 6 Ghz range (rare but possible). This is where attention to detail comes into play. If you look at cell phones these days, a good number of them are 802.11ax capable. You need to lookup the specs to be sure. Laptops, maybe, and desktops, maybe. To really figure this out you need to drill down into the Windows Control Panel - Device Manager for the laptop and desktop. Within the Device Manager is a listing of all of the components of the device, including the ethernet and wifi adapter. If you drill down into the Network Adapter, you will see the appropriate adapters listed in the Network Adapter group. The model number of the adapter can be used to look up the specs to determine it’s connect capability, in the case of an ethernet adapter, if it supports multi-gig data rates above 1 Gb/s, and in the case of wifi, if it supports 802.11ax for higher data rates, and if its 6 Ghz capable.
So, some homework for you, can you find the network adapter details for your son’s and husbands computer / laptops and post that info? With that info, I can go digging for the specs. And, if you can, please do the following and post the data as well. Right click on the internet symbol or wifi symbol in the lower right hand corner of the taskbar. That will bring up a popup where you can select Open Network and Internet settings. Select Properties in the Network Status page that comes up and scroll down slightly to see the Link speed (Receive / Transmit) numbers. Can you post those numbers as well? Those numbers are the raw connect rate with the modem. That will show how well the device is connecting with the modem. Those numbers are dynamic, so, if in the case of a laptop, you go for a walk around the house, you should see those numbers change. Stop in place and let the numbers settle out and take note or where those numbers are at their highest and the lowest. That will give you a good idea of where your wifi works, and where it doesn’t.
Just to point this out, for your son’s desktop or laptop which runs via wifi, if this is a desktop with the wifi antenna mounted at the back of the pc, that’s probably the worst place for the antenna, especially if the desktop is facing the modem, placing the antenna behind a metallic casing and pc parts, which would shield the antenna from the modem. The best option would be cable connected antenna where the antenna sits above the pc, out in the open. So, this depends on the motherboard manufacturer and what they provided for wifi components. Its worth looking at, given your son’s data rates and dissatisfaction with the wifi performance. It would be useful if you could provide some details regarding the desktop placement and antenna placement as well as the model numbers of the ethernet and wifi adapters from his desktop. And … I’m assuming that it is a desktop but I might be wrong here.
Just to note, in the case of laptops, even if it has fast wifi connect capability by virtue of its wifi adapter, the rest of the laptop comes into play, which includes the memory amount and processor speed and internal design and interconnect rates. A laptop usually isn’t a good judge of wifi rates from a modem, unless it happens to be a gaming or workstation laptop with 802.11ax capability.
You asked about improving your wifi data rates around the house. Part of that issue is the device itself and part of that is the modem and pods that you happen to have on hand. Looking at the Xfinity site, it appears that the pod that you have maxes out at 500 Mb/s. Personal opinion, not very satisfactory. Anyways, not knowing if you have connected that pod previously, I went to the Xfinity page for the pod Frequently Asked Questions to see how to connect the pod via ethernet.
https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/xfi-pods-faqs
From that page comes the following:
What is the Ethernet port on the WiFi Boost Pod used for?
Once your Pods are installed and online, you can hardwire your xFi Gateway and/or your devices to your Pods using an Ethernet cable if you so choose. Hardwiring your xFi Gateway to a Pod gives you faster speeds and the connection is not impacted by distance or WiFi interference.
Connecting your Pod to your xFi Gateway using an Ethernet cable is especially helpful when:
A home has Ethernet wiring to different rooms.
The home is very large or has construction that may block WiFi signals (concrete or stone interior walls, metal or metal mesh in or on the interior walls).
Note: Not all xFi Gateways can be connected to your WiFi Boost Pod. For a list of compatible xFi Gateways, see I’ve hardwired my Pod to my gateway, so why is the Connection Type still set to WiFi?.
Hardwiring your device to a Pod would give you slightly faster speeds than connecting the device to the network over WiFi.
How do I know if my Pods are connected through Ethernet or WiFi?
When you connect your xFi Gateway to your Pod using an Ethernet cable, the Pod will start blinking. When the light on the Pod goes out, it's connected to the wireless gateway.
You can then go to the Xfinity app and confirm whether the Connection Type is Ethernet or WiFi. In the Xfinity app, select WiFi > View WiFi equipment > Select Pod > Device Details. If the Connection Type is still set to WiFi, see I’ve hardwired my Pod to my gateway, so why is the Connection Type still set to WiFi?.
Further down that page is the following:
I’ve hardwired my Pod to my gateway, so why is the Connection Type still set to WiFi?
The Connection Type might not switch to Ethernet for several reasons. Your gateway or Pod might not have the minimum firmware required. Keep your xFi Gateway and Pod(s) plugged in and online to automatically install the latest firmware.
xFi Gateway minimum firmware
Technicolor CGM4981COM (XB8): 5.2+
etc, etc,
In the Xfinity app, go to WiFi > View WiFi equipment > Gateway > Gateway Details to check your gateway’s firmware.
WiFi Boost Pod minimum firmware: 3.4.1.9+
In the Xfinity app, go to WiFi > View WiFi equipment > Select a Pod > Device Details to check your Pod’s firmware.
If you’re using an Ethernet switch, some managed Ethernet switches can block the signals necessary to hardwire your gateway to your Pod. If you think your switch might be blocking the signals to your Pod(s), try the following steps:
- Connect the Pod directly to the xFi Gateway using an Ethernet cable.
- Check the Connection Type in the Xfinity app.
- In the Xfinity app, go to WiFi > View WiFi equipment > Select a Pod > Device Details > Connection Type.
- If the Connection Type switched to Ethernet when connected directly to the gateway, the switch is causing the issue.
- To resolve this, you can replace your switch with an unmanaged Ethernet switch.
Ok, so, if you park the pod somewhere, for now let it connect to the XB8 and then connect the pod to an ethernet port, either using the long ethernet cable that your son was using to connect directly to the XB8, or in another room, using the house ethernet to connect to the pod.
If you try this and get it working, I’d be interested in knowing if you actually exceed the stated 500 Mb/s when the pod is connected via ethernet.
So, the question is, are you looking to increase the wifi data rate in other areas of the house beyond the pods capability? If so, then you’re going to have to look at buying a router, or perhaps a mesh network that runs via 2.5 Gb/s ports or higher. It depends on your house layout and the size of the house. As a guess, you might be able to run a single, centrally located access point connected via house ethernet to the modem. That access point would need to run 802.11ax and have 2.5 Gb/s ports or higher.
Looking around for mesh networks with 2.5 Gb/s ports, I came across the following review page:
https://dongknows.com/multi-gigabit-wi-fi-6-routers-to-bring-home-today/
So, not a real supporter of the author, but, the page can serve as a source list to look at potential candidates if you’re looking to run higher wifi speeds throughout your home. No matter what your choose, the router and satellite unit(s) should all have multi-gig ports on it to support higher data rates. Personal opinion, the first task is to determine the specs for the desktop / laptops and see what should be done, or can be done to improve their connect speeds.
You indicated that your son’s room doesn’t have an ethernet port. Does the room have a cable coaxial port and / or a telephone port? If there is a telephone port, there is a good chance that the cable run from the basement is a Cat-5e cable. If so, that can be repurposed to run ethernet. Upstairs its a matter of cutting the cable off of the RJ-11 connector, at the connector and installing an RJ-45 connector. Downstairs, the cable would have to be removed from the 66 block which connects the telephone cabling and installing a keystone, or RG-45 connector, which ever is appropriate.
If there is only a coaxial port in the room I would pull the wallplate off of the wall and have a look behind it to see if there is an unused Cat-5e or higher cable, just sitting there waiting to be discovered. You never know until you look.
Now, a last ditch resort would be to look at the common walls that your son’s room shares with the adjacent rooms. If there is an ethernet connector on those walls, its possible to use that ethernet connector by cutting a hole in your son’s wall and installing a low voltage mounting bracket that looks like this in the wall: https://www.homedepot.ca/product/carlon-one-gang-polycarbonate-low-voltage-mounting-orange-bracket-f...
That is covered with a wallplate that can hold keystones.
On each side of the wall, you could install one keystone that is connected thru the wall via Cat-5e or Cat 6 ethernet. The adjacent wall plate would end up with two ethernet keystones, one currently inbound from the basement and a new keystone that connects thru the wall to your son’s room. If the ethernet port in the adjacent room isn’t in use, you can simply jumper the two keystones together. If it is in use, you can install a 2.5 Gb/s multi-gig switch and use one of the switch ports to connect to the new keystone.
In your son’s room you would end up with a new wallplate with a single connected keystone that is connected to the house ethernet system. Beyond that, to really take advantage of that capability, you might need to install a 2.5 Gb/s ethernet card into his desktop, assuming that he uses a desktop and there is an empty PCIE slot that can be used. That’s a simple installation and there are numerous 2.5 Gb/s ethernet cards on the market. Fwiw compared to buying relatively expensive mesh networks and upgraded wifi card for the desktop, cutting a hole in the wall and installing a low voltage mounting bracket, wallplate and keystone is a pretty cheap solution. At the end of the day, it would look like it’s always been there.
Ok, that’s a bunch of reading and material to absorb. Hope it helps. The key point is that you have to consider all of the ethernet and wifi equipment specs to understand what needs to be done and in what order. If you look at a desktop, if there is an empty PCIE slot, you can install a faster ethernet card or possibly a faster wifi card. It all depends on what’s already installed in the desktop. In the case of a laptop, it might be possible to upgrade the wifi adapter. So, there are options. Just a matter of understanding the specs for all of the connecting equipment…..
@Mannett personal opinion, if today is the last day to return the RBR50v2, I recommend returning it to the store. Almost two years without any updates is just unacceptable and that mesh network is a security hazard. I don't have an immediate recommendation of what to replace it with as that really depends on what you're looking for, a mesh network that simply works, or a mesh network that has 2.5 Gb/s ports on the main router and satellite units to take advantage of your 2 Gb/s internet data rate. The 1 Gb/s WAN port on the RBR50s will always limit the data rate beyond the XB8. There is also the issue of what ethernet and wifi adapters are contained within your husband's and son's computer / laptop.
Does your house have a crawl space under the floor as you don't have a basement or was the house built with a slab concrete floor?
In a worst case scenario, for your son's computer, you can buy a router and run it in a media bridge mode instead of its default router mode. In that media bridge mode the router serves as the second half of a wifi bridge to the computer. The XB8 serves as the first half of that bridge, connected via wifi to the router, and the router is connected to the computer / laptop via ethernet. The benefit of using a router is that you can buy routers with four 5 Ghz antenna and 2.5 Gb/s LAN ports. Each antenna supports one data stream. The end result of the XB8 - router bridge should be a much higher data rate between the two, probably double what you would see with a pc wifi configuration or a laptop, both of which typically have two antenna. So, this is definitely s more expensive proposition but it would work. Put a 2.5 Gb/s ethernet card into the pc to connect to the router and you should see very high data rates off of the pc.
If you have any questions as you're going thru all of this, please don't hesitate to ask 🙂
Edit 1: One item that I haven't mentioned yet is the use of multi-gigabit ethernet switches in todays homes. The multi-gigabit standard was developed to run data rates above 1 Gb/s over Cat-5e and Cat-6 ethernet cable, both of which are found in todays homes, predominantly Cat-5e. By changing the data encoding and RF waveform, it become possible to run 2.5, 5 and 10 Gb/s over Cat-5e cabling. The max distance for 10 Gb/s is shorter than for 2.5 and 5 Gb/s, however, for houses, its probably possible to run 10 Gb/s over Cat-5e given the short distances for the cabling.
@Mannett wrote:
Thank you for all the information! It is alot to take in. I will need some time to check into all of this.
I am looking into the Orbi RBR50v2 firmware update now as I believe my in store return date is today.
Our sons room has no phone/ethernet or coaxial ports.
Our house has no basement and was built in 2018 with all wiring going to a central.office panel. I have to move some large office furniture for access but will look into that as well.
Thank you for your help,
Michelle
Sorry for not posting sooner but I just wanted to go back to the basic problem that we are trying to address and that is lag while gaming.
You mentioned that your son still experienced lag while connected via a 2.5 Gigabit wired Ethernet connection. That is about as good a connection that you are going to get.
I can see that you have done speed tests. What results do you get with the Bufferbloat test? https://www.waveform.com/tools/bufferbloat
This may seem counter-intuitive but have you also tried connecting the gaming PC via the 1 Gigabit Ethernet port? Windows tries to self-tune its protocol stack to make better use of available bandwidth but can get into trouble with higher link speeds and asymmetric links where there is a big difference between upload and download speeds. By dropping the link speed, this changes the bandwidth-delay product of your link and may help to improve performance. (Remember, your problem is not lack of speed; it is latency.)
There is nothing that you can do to reduce latency that is inherent with DOCSIS. Bufferbloat makes the problem worse, especially if the devices on your network generate a lot of traffic. A common complaint is that Rogers could also improve routing to popular gaming servers.
If Bufferbloat is a huge problem, you can mitigate this to a certain extent by running your Xfinity Gateway in Bridge Mode and adding an external router that supports traffic shaping, particularly Smart Queue Management. (Technical description of what this is can be found here.) The problem is that you need to know how to configure it. Do it wrong and you will just make the problem worse.
A Gaming VPN may help with Rogers' less-than-ideal routing for gamers.
A good gaming router will allow you to enable SQM (and provide simpler, more basic, less-intimidating configuration options), make it easy to prioritize gaming traffic, and run the gaming VPN client on the router itself.
@-G- just to point out, we don't know what ethernet port is built into the pc / laptop. If it only has a 1 Gb/s port, connecting to the modem's port 4 won't help. It might make sense to try the same test using the modems ports 1 to 3. That's why I asked for the network adapter info, to see what the adapters can do in terms of data rates.
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