Home Forums Discussions General Discussion Hardwire a laptop

My physician says he's always running slow in AC especially when writing Rx's. He is wondering if I have his laptop hardwired if it will run faster for him? We just updated to the latest version of AC and he says its not much better. Looking for some insight on this and help in getting it set up that way. I have no IT person.

Hi chmc,

In general, yes, a hardwired computer will be faster than wireless. We use wireless laptops, so it certainly can be done.

Why don't you use an ethernet cable to plug the laptop in, and see if it runs faster? Many laptops are set up so the laptop has to be plugged into AC power, rather than running on battery, to recognize the ethernet adapter.

Hope this helps!

Gene

I wish I had an IT person ;( I don't have a clue as to how to set it up. Do I attach the cable to the server or the router?

First, plug the laptop charger into a wall outlet. Then plug an Ethernet (Cat 5e or Cat 6) cable into the laptop, and any free port on the router.

If speed is faster, then the wireless is a problem. If still slow the problem is elsewhere.

Let us know!

Gene

A real world test that may help, is the database connection speed in Amazing Utilities (under the Advanced dropdown menu). In my office, the same computer: wireless connects = 1.70 sec, with a wired connection = 0.61 sec.

If you are still having problems, let me know and I'll give you a quick call.

You can Private Message me or use the contact page on our website

Well, you wouldn't connect it to the server, unless you have another NIC. I am a little confused by some of your answers. How are you going to just connect your laptop to the router. The Ethernet cable would be running all over the place.

Here are your issues. First, while you can connect it to the router, depending on how many computers are being used, you really should have a 1GB switch. With wireless it doesn't matter. If it is only this computer, then you can use the router.

So, I suspect you have something like the following:

ISP providing Internet connection via a modem. The modem is connected to the router on the WAN port. The router is providing wireless connection. Right there you need to know if you are using ac or n or whatever. It should say right on the router. It will make a big difference in speed. Again, if you have many computers that will need wired, then the router should connect to a switch. The switch is simply there to give more connections to computers. Again, you don't need one if your router has wired Ethernet ports.

At this point, I would take the laptop to the router and using a short Ethernet cable plug it directly into a LAN port on the router as a test. If you are much faster, then hard-wired will be helpful.

OK, so down to the nitty gritty. If you want a hard wired connection in each room, rather than run a cable somehow to your laptop, you will want to run a cable to the room. You will go where the router is and run a cable from a LAN port through the building (basement/attic/whatever). If you have a drop down ceiling that is the best way to go. Once this is connected to wall jacks in each room, you can connect the laptop to that jack via an Ethernet cable. (patch cable). Note: If you aren't IT capable, you are likely not going to know how to run a cable. So, best to have someone run the cable from the router to the rooms.

FYI: I left this out, but most LANs don't have cables running from routers or switches directly to rooms or wherever you need a network connection. I hate to use the term punch down block, but there is usually a simple piece of equipment that all the wires from the rooms come to. They attach to that, and that attaches with 6 inch cables to your switch. The reason being if you connect it directly to the router or switch, it is too easy for the wire to pull the router or vice versa. Plus, it just makes it easier to keep track of things.

But, here is the thing to think about. You could have bottlenecks at many places:

1. Your router may not be broadcasting at a high enough speed
2. The NIC card on the laptop may not be fast enough
3. The cable to the server, may be less than 1 GB. (I am assuming your server connects via Ethernet cable to the router).
4. The Ethernet ports may only be 10 Mbs or 100 Mbs on your router
5. The setting on your server's NIC could be slower than GB.

Given that you need to run cables at the very least, you may as well pull out the phone book, Yelp or Google and find a reputable company to come out and look. It is very much worth having someone who can do all this for you. Check the speeds, etc.

If you router is a $75.00 D-Link or Linksys or Netgear, that is an issue. Your router should be somewhere in the neighborhood of $200 or $300 at the least.

The other thing is when your doctor is using the laptop, you can easily go into settings and click on the wireless icon and check what you are getting. It should show the speed like 72 Mbs and the connection: Fair, Good or Excellent. It is easy to add wireless access ports. There again, you could do it in 15 hours. I could do it in less than 20 minutes. Hiring someone is helpful. Wireless doesn't go through walls very well.

I did suggest that you connect the laptop directly to the router. (LAN port on the router to the Ethernet/Network card/NIC on the laptop and check your speed. Given there may be an issue with the cable to the server, you could plug it directly into the server. You can use any patch cord. In the old days, you had to use a crossover cable, but now you don't.

GET AN IT PERSON TO SET IT UP. IN MY OPINION THERE IS NOTHING BETTER THAN WIRED WITH A DESKTOP. But, if you are going to use a laptop, then a wireless connection is great, but with a wired jack in the room, you will have the option of connecting in seconds.

Patch Panel. Come in CAT5e/CAT6 flavors. Punchdown blocks are what analog phone systems use.

For optimal performance, you basically have two choices.
1) Wire the office with CAT5e/CAT6 to a gigabit switch. Use wired machines.
2) Setup a "Private Cloud"/Remote Desktop Server. WiFi or wired doesn't matter.

Number 2 is a great choice especially if you rent the building or you plan to open a second location. It also makes your practice highly mobile.

But like Bert said, a wired desktop is the best. But we are power users compared to the average user. We just had 4-8 CAT6 jacks installed every room of our office. There's good reason to get it installed. Most people are switching to VoIP which requires ethernet jacks for the phones anyways. Good future proofing. If possible, opt for CAT6 over CAT5e.

do the VoIP phones just use the same Cat6 line as the computer is using? I'm currently planning on phone lines in my new office, but maybe I won't need to run these to the exam rooms. My current AT&T 1070 business phones have intercom extensions for 26 phones, independent of any fancy expensive phone company option.

Hi Chris,

There are different ways to set up hosted VoIP. You can connect the computer and phone to the same Ethernet jack by running through the computer. You then need power for the phone. So, you have to buy $30 to $40 power converters for the phones and you have extra cables, etc. It really isn't the best way to go.

This is why I ALWAYS say, ALWAYS, when you buy a switch, buy a PoE switch. This doesn't cost that much extra, and the phones which connect via the switch automatically get power via the switch. So, you aren't dependent on the extra hardware at the computer. And, if you have a separate Ethernet jack (see Sandeep's eight per office -- most won't need that much), you don't become dependent on the computer.

So, now they connect to the switch. Set up a VLAN, so your VoIP is on a separate network. A good switch will have QOS. You need something to control the amount of bandwidth since it is being shared. You don't really care if your receptionist is having a slow Facebook connection, but you want your packets consistent for your phones. So, it is like a governor to make sure you have enough speed.

Remember, with VoIP, upload speed is just as important as download speed for good quality. With a good hosting company, they will check packets throughfare. They won't tolerate dropping more than a few packets.

Our company didn't like the quality so they said, screw TWC. We will give you free DSL. Got a 1 Mbs dedicated DSL. Plus if TWC goes down, we can switch.

Bottom line. If serious about VoIP, get a quality managed PoE switch with vLAN capabilities.

Yeah that.