Continue with wireless or try powerline?

andysdad_2

Does anyone have knowledge on how these adapters work on houses where the wiring has two ring mains for the plug circuits. eg upstairs and downstairs rings. Will the adapter connect upstairs to downstairs or do the plugs need to be on the same ring?

whiskymincher

These will work on two seperate circuits apparently as long as both wired to the same consumer unit. I have the same set up as you are describing and mine work fine.

chateauneufdupape

As whiskymincher says, they should work fine. I have two ring mains attached to the same consumer board and the Homeplugs have worked brilliantly. I have used them on the same ring main and on a different ring main and there is no discernible difference. I have no hesitation in recommending them.

chateauneufdupape

Thanks for the answer cheesy.mike. I don't think my Netgear DG834GT has WDS mode. If anyone knows better please post a response.

Bob63

chateauneufdupape wrote: »

Thanks for the answer cheesy.mike. I don't think my Netgear DG834GT has WDS mode. If anyone knows better please post a response.

Apparently the latest firmware supports WDS - http://forum1.netgear.com/showthread.php?p=108274

brad

Leopard wrote: »

Let's dispose of the router question first.

It's possible to buy a wireless N modem router with Gigabit LAN port(s). DrayTek, for example, makes one. But they aren't cheap and many prefer, in any case, to keep the various components separate (even though doing so consumes more power). It gives you more flexibity to switch aspects of it (e.g. wireless) on and off.

If you have two devices containing routers (e.g. a modem router and a wireless router) and you want to combine them, you decide which of the two you wish to do the routing and then switch the other one to "bridge" mode, instead - which means it simply passes on to other devices the routing being performed by the chosen one.

Which of the two you select to do the routing depends on a number of factors, including, for example, which one has the better firewall. But it's usually better to let the router with the modem do the routing, so that you can switch off the wireless networking when your laptop and other wireless kit is not in use.

The reason I suggested that powerline adaptors might be a good idea in your case was because you said one of your desktops was on the third floor of the house - which might be (and currently appears to be) asking too much of your wireless network. That's the sort of situation in which a powerline adaptor can be a much better solution.

Only you can really decide what's best because only you know your house; some have thick stone walls but excellent wiring, others have thin walls but lousy antiquated wiring!

If you're going to buy powerline adaptors, I suggested the 200 Mb/sec variety because it future-proofs you more and gives you greater ability to do things other than Internet. They're much faster than the earlier ones. And, in practice, you are lucky to get half the rated speed, with any of them. It really depends on how much data you want to move around and at what speed. But if you are used to Gigabit networking speeds with Cat5e cables, a powerline adaptor rated at 85 Mb/sec is going to seem painfully slow when you want to send a large file from one computer to another and streaming video (which may be, or may become, the manner in which you record and distribute television, video and films within your home) is frankly beyond its capacity, however good your wiring is.

A 200 MB/sec powerline adaptor, with decent wiring, will comfortably and reliably outperform an 802.11b/g wireless device.

A well set up 5 GHz (only) wireless N network can out-perform even 200 Mb/sec powerline adaptors - but only within a limited range.

And powerline adaptors are secure: the signal is contained physically within the wiring of your premises.

I found this and this helpful in deciding which to buy. There's a video on the first one.

Nothing beats Cat5e (or Cat6) cable, though, for speed, reliability and security, provided that the cable itself is not subjected to damage. (anewhope's cats chew his!).

To give you an example of what's possible, we have gone Cat5e cable (plus 5 GHz wireless, when needed, for laptops) now but prior to that our setup was to have a Netgear DG834 (non-wireless) modem router downstairs, close to the master socket and let that do the routing, too. We plugged one Solwise "Piggy" powerline adaptor in near to it and another one in on an upper floor. That got the broadband signal up through the house. We connected the upstairs one to an 8-port Gigabit switch (with computers in several different rooms connected to the switch via Cat5e cables running across the loft to each room) and plugged two separate (Apple) wireless routers (one 2.4 GHz, the other 5 GHz - both operating in "bridge" mode) into the switch as well, to serve various laptops. So, as you can see, it's perfectly achievable, and very simple, to combine modem routers, wireless routers, powerline adaptors and Cat5e cables together into a network and they all work happily together.

Study the diagrams, examples and scenarios given in the first link I have given you above.

Very helpful Thanks