How Many Devices Can One Home-Based Router Handle?

Video – VLog #24

How Many Devices Can One Home-Based Router Handle?

Willie Nicol asks David Logan if all three members of house can access the internet the same time as the 2 televisons.

How can you increase security of windows computer in a home-network scenario like this?

Script – VLog #24

Willie Nicol: Hello, everybody, welcome to the Techno Dinosaur Meets the IT Geek. I’m Willie Nicol, life coach and also the Techno Dinosaur and I’m based in Troon, South Ayrshire Scotland UK, I’m joined today by my good friend David. How are things with you today, David?

David Logan: Hello Willie, I’m great. Fantastic. It’s another weekend. I’m the IT Geek based here in Annan, South-west Scotland.

Willie Nicol: Great, David. It’s my turn to ask you a technical question. Are you ready?

David Logan: As ready as ever.

Willie Nicol: First class. My stepdaughter has come back to stay with us and is working from home on her works PC. I have a PC, my wife has a laptop, and due to the poor Wi-Fi in our house, we are all connected directly through an ethernet cable to the hub router. Is this sustainable and long term having three devices? Also not forgetting my two televisions, all connected to the one router hub.

David Logan: OK, thank you for your question Willie. The simple answer is yes, it comes down to your Internet. Think of it as the Internet, like a waterpipe, the more devices, you have the less pressure there is to the last device, but generally, yes. If you’re all downloading a big file at once – it may struggle, but that’s a good test. Sorry – carry on.

Willie Nicol: Well, the funny thing was, when we were experimenting earlier, my stepdaughter hooked it up and said, “Why don’t you watch a YouTube video?” Not that I particularly want to do that at the time, but I saw the point in it. So I was able to watch a YouTube video without any problems. So for the session it was all good.

David Logan: Good and result for all three? Did all three of you do that?

Willie Nicol: No just me, but her work computer still worked, which obviously she was caring about really. My concern was that we, as you said, would overload the pipe and the pipe would eventually seize up, as it were.

David Logan: Mm hmm. Mm hmm. The real test is probably late afternoon. So when children come back home from school, they are at school now, just test it late afternoon or early evening. I know you probably won’t be on much early evening, assuming you both clearly use it for home office hours, nine to five, but that’s another good premise. It is the peak time of the internet, test it as well to test again. So getting back to your question, is this sustainable? Yes. Now generally your router that you get supplied by the internet providers are the cheapest form of life, but it depends who you are with.

Willie Nicol: Well, I’m with BT as it happens, and I remember paying a reasonable amount of money for a new router to upgrade it, so I mean, it wasn’t hundreds of pounds, but it wasn’t, you know, five bob either.

David Logan: That’s good that’s good. The thing about technology is you pay for what you get. So you paid that bit extra for that router, so yeah, it should be good, should be good and everyone’s plugged in behind the router is it?

Willie Nicol: Yep, and we have a what I call an extender, you have educated me to say it’s a switch.

David Logan: So that’s like a switch, a hub. That you plug Ethernet cables enter. OK

Willie Nicol: It’s almost like having an extension cable under the plug in your wall.

David Logan: Yeah, yeah. So it’s an extension lead for your network cables into. So I guess something like this device here.

Willie Nicol: Similar. Yes.

David Logan: Right, yep, there we go. Excellent. So looks like you’re well geared up. You’re set up and plugs are plugged into the computer. There’s no link-up between the cables – a straight cable from the router to the devices is it?

Willie Nicol: We did experiment with having what I call a splitter, which was plug one end in, and then run two of it, but there were a couple of problems with that. So we had effectively my wife, my step-daughter and I have three cables for our three devices. Another thing that occurrs to me, do I have to worry about any security virus, what-ever it is since we are all working from the one unit on different things.

David Logan: What you can do. Now, if you have apple macs, I can’t really tell you what to do there, but certainly on windows – microsoft windows – you can go to the network icon and change it. Say this is a public network. It’s not a private network. So it has to be public, not private, what that does it throws up your firewall on your individual computer and it will stop anyone foreign coming in. It will reduce that coming in, so it’s like putting up a flood barrier.

Willie Nicol: OK, so do I have to do this on the hub?

David Logan: No it will be on your computer.

Willie Nicol: Excellent.

David Logan: Generally if you’ve got a BT hub, they all have their own generic password. As another bit of advice, what people say cyber security guys say, they say change the password on your router. BT have unique passwords. If you want to be ultra-safe – connect to the control panel of the router and change that password. But make sure you make note of it, or you won’t be able to access the router.

Willie Nicol: I know there is a password plaque in the back of the router as it were, and I do have a note of it.

David Logan: Yeah, but if you want to change it, you can change it. The choice is yours.

Willie Nicol: For added protection something I’ll consider. Yeah, well, that’s very kind of you, David. That’s answered my question and alleviate some of my concerns.

David Logan: Brilliant, so I think that will do us for this week, unless you’ve got another question have you?

Willie Nicol: No I’m fine thank you.

David Logan: Fantastic. So do you want to close up?

Willie Nicol: Close up, OK, close up shop, it’s that time, Right, thank you for listening people. That has been another great piece of information for the Techno Dinosaur from the IT Geek. So I hope you enjoyed that and you find it informative. So it’s good bye from me – Wilie Nicol the life coach and Techno Dinosaur. And it’s good bye from David.

David Logan: Good-bye, everybody. Have a great weekend. A great week. Stay safe and stay healthy. Thank you.

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