Networking advice.

[Cliff Couser]

I can't lay cables or drill holes in this rental were moving to (its a 9 year old house in Vegas, so wiring should still be good).

Cable modem is in 1 room and my home-office is in another room, with a Vonage, and a fax/printer.

I need to network all this, along with my wife's iMac and MBP (Wireless for both, so no problem.

I already have a DIR-655 which I will connect to the cable modem.


My options are:

1. Cable Modem ---> DIR-655 ---> LINKSYS WRT310N (flash with DD-WRT to Bridge mode) | connect PC, Vonage and printer.


2. Cable Modem ---> DIR-655 ---> Powerline Adapter ----> DAP-1522 Switch | connect PC, Vonage and printer.


Am I better off going the Powerline route? As I use the PC for work, I really can't afford a wireless bridge to be disconnecting or lagging. Though, the bridge seems like less complicated solution.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Engineer]

From my personal experience, the powerline adapters provide a more stable (if not faster) connection from one part of the house to another. Wireless can be pretty damn good if there is not much interference and the speed can be good too, depending on the distance run from the main router and other items that are also wireless around.

Powerline can also have issues if it is a long run or if one unit is on the first set 110V lines and the 2nd unit is on the second set of 110V lines. You can experiment with different outlets to see if throughput changes (or install a bandpass filter in the breaker box but not recommended).

I went with powerline in my master bedroom after having wireless go in and out as well as lagging on startup. It's been very consistant even though it tops out at 20Mbps currently (fast enough and 10X more consistant than the wireless it replaced).

 

[Madwand1]

The DAP-1522 isn't just a switch, it's also a wireless bridge / access point. If you choose the powerline configuration and don't need a second access point, you could save some money using a DGS-2205 for example.

 

[Eug]

Wireless is too flaky over distance IMO.

Powerline on good lines is much better. Lower lag and much more stability. Speed varies. However, it's really dependent on the lines and the noise on those lines. I was getting over quite good speeds on my powerline network... and then I had AC, new electrical plugs, and electrical baseboard heating put in. Then my speeds went down and the lag increased... but it was still better than wireless.

Also consumer-level Ethernet over coax (MoCA) is coming out very soon. These should prove interesting, because people have had very good results with non-retail MoCA units. 90 Mbps over standard coaxial cable installs, without affecting cable TV or cable broadband.