WFH over home Wifi

[datagirl]

Ok, minor rant, but also looking for suggestions...

My current gig requires logging into the client's web portal and performing a series of tasks that are timed on their end.  It's paid hourly at a decent rate for the type of work, so they spot check for "lolly-gagging."  Now that my stepson's family has moved in, I find I'm in bandwith competition with on line gaming, the worst offender being the PS3 upstairs (directly over my workspace).  I hate to grump at the kid, too much.  Once he starts school it won't be a problem.  Most of the time, it just slows me down.  Today, it's causing my connection to drop.  Wifi router is a netgear.  I'm on Win7 and FF 3.6.19 (client's software does not support newer version).  We upgraded our dsl package to the 3 Meg speed, so it averages above 2.5 most of the time.

Is there a way to tell the router to prioritize one connection over another?  I know I can be "mean grandma" and set no-gaming hours, but with it being so hot outside and he has no friends here (yet) I wanted to look into other options.

-DG

[DarkHumour]

Not sure if the default firmware of the netgear routers have QOS priority options.  I usually saw those on ISP branded/proprietary modem/routers that also had voip running through it. That was presumably so your calls were not dropped or garbled.   There may be a third party firmware like DD-WRT for that model.  They are flash at your own risk but offer a much wider array of configuration settings and options. 

DarkHumour

[unix]

Can you upgrade the speed? Verizon FIOS can do 25/5MB.

[The Gorn]

Verizon FIOS means "you gotta live in a big stinky expensive city."

[PhilFromNY]

Is there a way to run a cable to the modem? Mine has a couple of ports on it and there is a big difference in connect speed between a cable and wireless.

If your computer is an older model it may have only an 802.11b wireless.  You can get a USB 802.11n dongle from NewEgg for (I'm guessing) under twenty dollars. It will be faster.

[pxsant]

 This is during the day when you need to work so interference  from guests should not be tolerated.  I know how hard it will be but you need to put your foot down and disconnect the PS3 during the day.  You can do that pretty effectively by activating MAC filtering in the router and disabling everyone but you during the day.

This is your livelihood we are talking about so you need to put on your mean grandma hat.

[Richardk]

Only your connection drops or do you mean the DSL signal?

I've tried QoS but haven't' been happy with it. It's probably not setup correctly but that's supposed to be one solution.

You already upgraded the speed so another bump might not be possible. FIOS - get real. Move outside of Metroville and it's not even an option. One idea is cable but for a short gig it's not worth it plus it's expensive if you can't justify it.

Wired vs wireless? My wireless is actually faster because of old hardware, so that might be worth a try.

In the end I have to agree that if you can't throttle the PS3 then disconnect it.

[datagirl]

Thanks for all the replies.

Grandson's folks have figured out he's on the game way too much, so my problem is almost moot.  I will investigate mac filtering, though.  I do have a direct cable connection on an older family desktop, but it's in a common area with too many distractions for me to work efficiently. 

The good news is that the job does not require me to be online at any particular time.  I have a week to complete each set of tasks they assign.  It's up to me to manage my schedule.

Daughter-in-law installed Skype on her laptop so she can talk to her family, but so far that's been happening during non-work hours.

Isn't technology wonderful?  Thanks, again.
-DG