priority for laptop

[khatru7491]

I have Brighthouse Lightning service (up to 40Mbps) and my wife's laptop and/or Xbox 360 seem lag when the kid's laptop and/or Xbox 360 are in use which drives my wife up the wall.
Can I setup so that a wireless device has priority over another? If so, how, on a Motorola SBG6580 Modem/Router?

[Hoov]

I have heard that there is some software that will let one computer take priority over others, but it would not work for an XBox, only on the computers. Some routers will allow you to set the percentage of the bandwidth that a designated device can use, but yours doesn't have that feature.

The one thing you can do with no problem is see what the signal strength is at where the devices are. The easiest thing to use for something like that is inSSIDer 2 . Install that on one of the laptops and take it around to where each device is and see what the signal strength is. Look at the graph on the bottom. The higher the line graph (the lower the number) the better the signal. Also I know it is counter-intuitive but depending on your wireless cards, the wireless router, and the way your home is constructed, being to close to the router may result in a loss of signal quality / strength.

If this doesn't work, let me know.

[khatru7491]

inSSIDer results for:
laptop (1)  = 52-54 signal strength (approx 23 feet from modem/router)
Xbox360(1)= 60-63 signal strength (approx 30 feet from modem/router)
signal strength is at 38 when sitting by my desktop where the modem/router sits on a shelf about 3.5 feet up
these have a closet in between modem/router

laptop (2) = 63-65 signal strength (approx 40 feet from modem/router)
Xbox360(2) connects to internet through laptop(2)

inSSIDer picks up 17 surrounding connections with signal strengths from 88-93.

Both laptops run Win7
In Device Manager-
'Network Adapters':
Atheros wireless network adapters
MSVirtual WiFi Miniport adapter
Realtek PCIe FE Family Controller

'Modems':
Agere Systems HDA Modem

[Hoov]

How old is the router?

[khatru7491]

I've had it since 7-1-11 when Brighthouse installed it. It looks brand new.
I've had Brighthouse for years and the 40Mbps service for 2 years.
They replaced the original SMC Modem in response to the present problem.

[Hoov]

Does it have external antenna that you can move around? Is there anything metal near the router?

[khatru7491]

No external antenna.
Nothing metal.

[Hoov]

How about the laptop and xbox that are nearest?

[khatru7491]

A small lamp by the laptop.
The Xbox sits atop the cable box next to the TV.

[Hoov]

If it is not a modern LCD or plasma TV try moving the XBox a little further from the TV. But it is beginning to sound as if you need to get one of the routers that you can limit bandwidth.

I have a WRT150N that I can do some QoS management that can prioritize the connection by the MAC address. I think something like this would work good for you, because if your wife was not using the laptop or the Xbox, then your son would have the full speed connection available. You might be able to do this in your existing modem, but from what I can see in the user manual, you can only limit access by the time of day.

[khatru7491]

What about a Netgear WGR614 v7-VC 54 Mbps Wireless Router?

[Hoov]

According to this, yes that will work.

[khatru7491]

Any pros or cons between setting up by QoS or by MAC?

[Hoov]

Actually you are setting up a Qos rule using MAC address's. That way you do not have to worry about the computers rebooting and getting a new IP address and getting around your rule.

Do you need help setting it up?

[khatru7491]

I d/ld the PDF from the link you sent me and it seems pretty straight forward so I'll give it a shot.
Advice on anything I should watch out for or tricks and tips are welcome.
I do have one question concerning the Motorola. The drop down menu to disable the wireless is grayed-out.
How do I get around that?