networking

People don't typically think much about the nest of cables and wires that run through walls and ceilings at the office and in the home. These Ethernet cables are what bring the connectivity we need to work and play to our computers. The IEEE has now ratified a new Ethernet spec called IEEE P802.3bz that promises five times the top speed of current specifications without having to tear out the cabling already in place.

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Dead zones in home WiFi networks can be a rage-inducing problem, but Netgear is looking to make that issue a thing of the past with its latest router. The Orbi functions a bit differently from most WiFi routers you'll come across, as it's more of a "WiFi system," featuring both a router and an accompanying satellite meant to offer a more consistent wireless signal throughout your entire home.

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WiFi doesn't always work when it comes to getting connectivity for all your computers and gadgets around your home. The problem is that some areas can be hard to reach or unreachable depending on interferences in and around the home or business. In instances where WiFi isn't cutting it for some reason, a good alternative is power line networking and D-Link has a new PowerLine AV2 2000 Gigabit Passthrough Starter Kit that is good for up to 2000Mbps speeds.

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Facebook is exploring ways of delivering internet connectivity via lasers, developing a new receiver technology that promises to be less complex and more affordable than current systems. Dubbed free-space laser communication, Facebook's break-through is in an all-new optical detector that - unlike existing examples - would neither require mechanical stabilization, nor expensive micro-motors, sensing, or processing.

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As the cost of network hardware continues to tumble, fast ways of getting online around the home needn't break the bank. Announced at CES 2016, D-Link's DIR-879 AC1900 EXO WiFi Router promises a noticeable upgrade from your cable company's default hardware, without headaches at setup and for a street price of under $150.

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While domain names like "google.com" or "apple.com" seem to last forever, their ownership doesn't. Companies who maintain these and other official URLs need to regularly renew ownership or risk losing ownership to someone else. Network equipment maker TP-LINK might have forgotten that simple chore. Either that or it decided to simply let its ownership lapse. Either way, it has been discovered that two domain's formerly used by TP-LINK to configure its routers and Wi-Fi Extenders are, in fact, no longer owned by TP-LINK at all.

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Microsoft and Facebook might be trying to plant a submarine cable across the Atlantic, but Google has it beat when it comes to the Pacific. Granted, the FASTER cable system did start a lot earlier, almost two years ago. Now the consortium that runs the program has proudly announced that construction of the undersea cable is now done and that FASTER is ready to deliver faster Internet between Japan and the US West Coast, which, of course, also promises to improve Internet connectivity and service in neighboring states and cities.

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The next generation of WiFi, 802.11ac Wave 2, has begun certification, promising features that dramatically improve wireless speed and range. Although 802.11ac was first approved all the way back in January 2014, resulting in a surge of so-called Wave 1 routers and network adapters, this new round of certification by the Wi-Fi Alliance covers more advanced technologies that in many cases address the increasingly large number of wireless devices we find in our homes and offices.

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The ubiquity of mobile devices has exponentially increased the number of people connecting to and using the Internet. That's not yet counting the exponentially increasing volume of data going through the Interwebs thanks to streaming services and cloud computing. All these boil to one thing: our Internet infrastructure needs an upgrade. Answering that call, Microsoft and Facebook, two of the biggest companies associated with high-speed Internet-based products and services, have joined forces to build MAREA, a new subsea cable that will cross the Atlantic in an attempt to provide quality Internet services to the world.

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The demands on today's home networks have changed substantially compared to yesteryears. Whereas before each household would have at least one or two computers, today each member of that household would have at least one mobile device, sometimes even more. Regular consumer routers sometimes just aren't enough anymore to handle all those devices, not to mention the bandwidth their activities require. Enter Ubiquiti with its new Amplifi Wi-Fi system which was designed to create an enterprise-grade Wi-Fi network but with the convenience and beauty of a home device.

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Panasonic Corp is currently demonstrating a new wireless networking technology that it is calling the WiGig spot. The experimental device is able to transfer data at over ten times faster than a conventional wireless network. The technology is on display at the Narita International Airport to let travelers get a glimpse at the wireless network of the future. Panasonic says that the network is fast enough to download a 120-minute movie in about ten seconds.

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TP-LINK has rolled out a pair of new range extenders including the RE590T AC1900 Touch Screen WiFi Range Extender and the RE350K AC1200 WiFi Range Extender. The coolest of the duo is the RE590T with its wild color scheme that looks like some sort of tile mosaic on top and the large touchscreen for controlling the settings and accessing menus of the extender. That screen is 4.3-inches and the range extender can expand WiFi up to 10,000 square feet.

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