Network Setup Questions

[Stephen Baker]

Hi, I'm new to the forums and have some questions about a potential new network setup. I live in an area where I can get gigabit internet and I want to plan for how the rest of my current networking has to change to allow for more bandwidth. I know the gigabit internet is available to my house per a discussion with WOW (wide open west).

The one thing I cannot stand with my current setup is the wires. I have a wire running from my router in my living room up my stairs to the second floor to a room that is not directly above the living room. I also have a wire running from my living room to a room across the hallway. Inbetween the living room and this other room is a bathroom and a closet. Ideally for me it would be nice to remove these wires if I can, altogether. I was thinking of getting some routers and putting them in WAP only mode and using the wired connection from the WAP to a computer or HUB in the other 2 rooms requiring connectivity. I'm going to admit I am not that handy but I also don't want to be putting a bunch of holes in walls or floors if I can avoid it; that is a last resort. My question here: is it possible for me to setup WAP's where I can use the Ethernet on those routers to supply internet to computers or a HUB and within reason, can I expect to obtain high bandwidth using this setup? If so, given that I'm looking to go gigabit, any suggestions on some reasonably priced routers I can use as WAP's that will maximize my throughput?

I'm almost certain I need to upgrade my network cabling since right now I have cat5 cables and it looks like I should be upgrading to either cat6 or cat6a. My understanding is cat5 is limited to 100Mbps. Please confirm.

 

[JackMDS]

https://customcable.ca/cat5-vs-cat6/

Quote: "or HUB in the other 2 rooms requiring connectivity".

If indeed it is HUB you should replace it and install Switches.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_...witch&sprefix=tren,aps,155&crid=3VZ7VM44DFRJT

 

[AnonymouseUser]

A Gigabit Powerline networking kit would probably be your easiest and most cost-effective solution. Add additional adapters as required, or buy two kits (2 adapters each). It should be noted you will never get true Gb speeds with any Powerline networking kit, but you may get up to 400Mbps with some kits in certain settings. Typical speeds are ~120Mbps up or down averaged over near and far locations.

Buy online
Buy local (get it today)

 

[mnewsham]

A Gigabit Powerline networking kit would probably be your easiest and most cost-effective solution. Add additional adapters as required, or buy two kits (2 each). It should be noted you will never get true Gb speeds with any Powerline networking kit, but you may get up to 400Mbps with some kits in certain settings. Typical speeds are ~120Mbps up or down averaged over near and far locations.

Buy online
Buy local (get it today)

I prefer using MoCA if your house already has coaxial wiring. Far better speeds and stability than powerline adapters.

The MoCA adapters can be a bit pricey, especially bonded MoCA 2.0.

But MoCA 2.0 can hit ~400mbps and bonded MoCA 2.0 can hit 800-900mbps and it has the added benefit of not being affected by "noisy" electronic devices in your house (Microwaves are particularly known for causing issues with powerline networks)

 

[mnewsham]

My understanding is cat5 is limited to 100Mbps. Please confirm

CAT5e is fine for 1gbps, not 100mbps.

CAT6 is for 10gbps, CAT7 40-100gbps (depending on distance)

 

[AnonymouseUser]

I prefer using MoCA if your house already has coaxial wiring. Far better speeds and stability than powerline adapters.

The MoCA adapters can be a bit pricey, especially bonded MoCA 2.0.

But MoCA 2.0 can hit ~400mbps and bonded MoCA 2.0 can hit 800-900mbps and it has the added benefit of not being affected by "noisy" electronic devices in your house (Microwaves are particularly known for causing issues with powerline networks)

Either adapter should be fine, though all rooms will need Coax outlets for MoCA. Powerline is generally the cheapest wired setup, and in good conditions can hit upwards of 400Mbps.

 

[mnewsham]

Either adapter should be fine, though all rooms will need Coax outlets for MoCA. Powerline is generally the cheapest wired setup, and in good conditions can hit upwards of 400Mbps.

I agree with you there, power-line is certainly cheaper, but if he does have existing coaxial already for all of the rooms mentioned it's a viable alternative and one I find is more stable in the long term and generally will offer much higher throughput, especially if you go for a set of Bonded MoCA 2.0 adapters. I've seen 930/930mbps over ~10 feet of coax with bonded MoCA 2.0. Actual larger deployment still generally sees upwards of 750-800mbps in large houses. If you're not someone who needs a fast local network, or you have fairly slow ISP connection you might not care particularly. So powerline is still a good option too depending on the particular situation and of course depending on if the coax is located in the locations needed.

 

[mxnerd]

I don't get it why everyone wants Gigabit internet? Just because you can?

Do you download big files all day long? What's the point?

None of web browsing, online gaming or video streaming requires 1Gbps speed.

===

By the way, if short distance, Cat5 cable can run gigabit, not guaranteed.

Better use Cat5e or Cat6 cables around the house for consistency if you go wired route, however.

===

And if you don't want to drill holes, then use Powerline or MOCA adapters as suggested.

 

[mnewsham]

I don't get it why everyone wants Gigabit internet? Just because you can?

Do you download big files all day long? What's the point?

None of web browsing, online gaming or video streaming requires 1Gbps speed.

It really depends on the household. In my house we have 5 internet users, 4 of them particularly heavy. We generally hit around 4TB per month of data use. My ISP started offering 1gbps and i upgraded from 150mbps and saved $50 a month with 1gbps. Sure I could probably get by with 150-300mbps (slower than that really isn't an option for us), but with the cost of it from my ISP it's cheaper to have 1gbps than anything else due to discounts.

Also, we do a lot of local streaming as well, I make copies of all the DVDs and blurays we buy so our house has a local copy saved on a networked drive that is accessible throughout the LAN for anyone to watch. Having a 1gbps local network is great for multiple simultaneous users.

For a single user household I can certainly see why most people would have no need for anything over 100mbps.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Ok, I can see moving home networks to 10GbE... but 40G? 100G? For real? What sort of storage configuration would you have, that would make that speed of networking necessary?

I was dreaming of 10G the other day, since 1G is somewhat limiting.

I can see in an office, how you might want 40G or 100G, if you have a lot of users with high-bandwidth local drives, and wanting to copy to / from the server, or maybe they have 4K Citrix displays or something.

But for home? Yeah, I know, we've been "stuck" at 1GbE for a long time, as far as the mobo's built-in networking goes, and only very recently, on very high-end boards, has that changed.

I've heard that the Ryzen SoC has a pair of 10GbE whatevers inside it, that they just don't bond out on the consumer motherboards. That's really too bad, Ryzen started a desktop revolution, and it would be even more powerful, if it had 10GbE on it too!

 

[mv2devnull]

I don't get it why everyone wants Gigabit internet?

100G? For real?

I was dreaming of 10G the other day, since 1G is somewhat limiting.

There was time, when 300 baud speed and 640KB RAM were enough. Why anyone would want more? Dreaming about the next tier has always been questioned.

I predict that in no time rational users, like mxnerd, will find the 10G somewhat limiting, but will still consider a desire for 1T to be lunatic.

 

[sdifox]

I’m using 40G right now and my Internet bandwidth is adequate. The time is right for home networks to go 100G, if you can justify the cost.

Inquiring mind wants to know what hardware you are running.

 

[Genx87]

People over estimate their needs when it comes to streaming. 3 streams running in our house. 2x ESPN and Netflix\Amazon. Maxes out around 20-22Mbps. If you have 5 people streaming at once. I doubt they go above 40Mbps.

 

[mnewsham]

People over estimate their needs when it comes to streaming. 3 streams running in our house. 2x ESPN and Netflix\Amazon. Maxes out around 20-22Mbps. If you have 5 people streaming at once. I doubt they go above 40Mbps.

Depends on the quality of the stream.

4k netflix is 15-25mbps. 5 of those at once is over ~100mbps+

Youtube bitrates can be over 30-40mbps with 60fps 4k content as well so several of those at once would easily eat up some bandwidth.