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I recently realised something - almost all the wireless devices in this house are Apple. The only other wireless ones are the Wii and the 360, and the PSP/NDS. The PS3 is wired so I can stream 1080p files smoothly.
Which led me to realise something else - all the wireless router/adsl modem devices I've tried aren't very good with Apple products. I've always suffered connection drops or slow speeds or what have you.
Which made me realise something else - why don't I invest in an Apple router. This was something I had categorically refused in the past, because of the higher price of their products, especially seeing that you can get a wireless router/adsl modem solution in one box for half the price.
But I did some research, mainly on non-apple websites (to avoid Apple Fanboi Bias) and it turns out the Apple AirPort Base Extreme is one hell of a capable router, especially as it broadcasts a dual network signal, hence making it compatible with older and newer devices. The only problem was that it's a pure router, ie it has no modem function.
This would be a two-box solution, ie one device as a modem, and the AirPort as a router. I bit the bullet (well, my bank account did) and ordered one.
When it arrived, I briefly smiled at the Apple aesthetic of it (white box, one light, no power on switch, just simple!) and then set about connecting it to my current router/modem (Netgear MIMO). The idea was that the Netgear acts as a modem only, while the AirPort does the routing.
Except that just wouldn't happen (of course). The AirPort told me from the start that there was a router between it and the net, and it can act just a bridge, ie just as a WiFi access point with all the routing done by the Netgear. Try as I might, I just couldn't get the Netgear to NOT route, and just act as a modem. While functional, this bridged solution wasn't idea.
SO - this lead me to another thing: a search for an ADSL modem. I looked around and ended up finding a Draytek Vigor 120. This simple (and small!) device does nothing other than being a modem. It has no router or NAT functions, and has only one ethernet port to connect one device.
The best thing about the Vigor 120 though, is that it acts as a "converter" of PPPoA (ie my ADSL connection) to PPPoE. This latter protocol works magic with the AirPort. Draytek even go as far as to say that if you have standard UK ADSL (ie not O2 or Be LLU), you won't even need to configure the Vigor. Just plug it in to your phone cable, connect your router to the Ethernet port, and then set up the router and you're done.
It is this part that amused me most. For all this time I've had ADSL (10 years), the modem as always been the device that requires the ISP details (user/pass etc). What the Vigor was doing was passing on the ADSL connection (and IP address) unaltered to the router, albeit in a PPPoE standard.
SO - I ordered the Vigor 120. It arrived, and to test their claims I just did the following:1\ Connect Vigor 120 to ADSL line, power cable, and Ethernet to the AirPort base.2\ Turned on Vigor 1203\ Ran the AirPort setup utility, and configured it to connect via PPPoE4\ Entered my ISP username/password IN THE ROUTER, not the modem
Within 2 seconds the all-encompassing status light on the AirPort turned a steady green, meaning all was ok.
And all was ok! I had a rock solid internet connection, a strong wifi signal all over the house, and all the routing done by one device. I have tested around the house, in the garden etc and signal has been fantastic. One interesting thing I noted wit the iPad and iPhone is that sometimes in the weaker areas the signal drops and then magically becomes full. I have a feeling the devices are automatically switching to the stronger frequency network. It's something quite nice and useful, and has yet to disrupt anything.
As an added bonus, the Vigor is syncing at 1mbit more than the Netgear!
So, know I'm kind of converted to two-box solutions. I guess it's the age old mantra of having one device do something VERY good, rather than one that does two things OK. The combination of a dedicated modem and new router with dualband networks has really stabilised the network throughout the house.
It's a solution that I'd only recommend to geeks, or technophiles. For my family and friends I'd just tell them to use the router the ISP gives them, or get the DLINK or Netgear they can afford. For me and you however, I'd strongly recommend you ditch the crappy modem/router and get yourself some proper dedicated hardware instead ;)