Any network geek/guru/casual interest here? Struggling with the basics.
might me able to be of help… what’s the problem?
As per TheUnforgiven, you’ll need to tell the problem.
Advice on my setup and requirements in general really.
I’ve got crappy ADSL broadband coming into my middle room. It’s connected to the crappy single band adsl wifi router that plusnet gave me, Technicolor 582n.
Until recently all I’ve used this for is wifi to laptops, and then used TPLink home plugs through to my front room for smart tv which I occasionally unplug so I can connect via Ethernet to my laptop and download (ahem) the MotoGP.
I now find myself in possession of a Kodi box, smart tv, laptop, a Marantz network amp and WD drive. My plan is to rip CDs and transfer the files to the Western drive, then stream them to the Marantz. I’ll need a switch. Netgear Gigabit ok for the job? gS105…
The tv, kodi and the Marantz also need internet access, and the WD Cloud could do too. It’s unlikely I’ll be streaming kodi, watching tv and downloading at the same time, so will the home plugs suffice? I think the Technicolor Lan is fast Ethernet 1/100.
I’m thinking of getting a dual band adsl router anyway, as the coverage from the Technicolor is a bit shit. TPLink AC750 looks like it would work and give me gigabit LAN for the future?
If the home plugs won’t suffice would I be better off a) getting Openreach to move my master socket? Or b) running cat5/6 to the other room?
That would help us help you, yes.
Feel free to shoot a message across…happy to try to help!
Give me a call mate if you still have my number. Off all week so not much to do.
Many thanks all
What’s wrong with the router? I’d expect, generally, the homeplugs to be the most problematic bit of that. I’d run a cat5 cable from your router to the front room, stick any gigabit switch from a brand you’ve heard of there and plug everything into it. You’re really not likely to be doing anything that means you’d have problems with having bought a not-good-enough switch.
+1 for the Cat5. I have 5 off Cat5 cables chased into the walls and loft terminating into RJ45 wall sockets where needed most.
You don’t need BT Openreach to move you’re master socket, you can do it yourself or run the inter webby off of an extension socket. I know all the broadband providers recommend running the inter webby off of the master socket, I believe this is to ensure a minimum length cable run to the router. In my experience it makes little difference, then again my cable runs are extended from the router by the Cat5 anyway.
For what its worth the BT wiring colours are
Attachments
Big Red S - I don’t think the Lan ports on the router are gigabit and I know for sure it’s single band, which means it’s a bit shit at wifi.
I’m not going to be able to chase out or lift floors, so my cat5 would have to be sheathed and go outside. Happy to terminate it myself though.
Openreach is responsible for the state of the wiring ‘outside’ of the master socket, the ISPs all want you to plug your router directly in to the master socket to reduce the amount of stuff in-between the socket and the router. There’s nothing about minimum lengths and, if there were, then you’d just find that that was the shortest length of cable you could get anyway.
National Treasure, I’ve heard that Openreach get grumpy if they find you have messed with their gear no?
So you think it would be better to extend the line than pop the router in and extend the network over cat5?
Or are you saying the opposite BRS?
When the Openreach engineer came here he refused to bypass the old GPO box in loft, there was something he didn’t want to get involved with in re-routing the incoming drop wire. Which was annoying because I’d chased all the walls out in readiness for him. After a brief discussion he said if that’s how you want it do it yourself, he was happy for me to do it and I was happy to do it too. He left me with some cable connectors which I didn’t need, more than enough cable, a spare master socket and his mobile phone number in case it all went pear shaped. To be honest there wasn’t too much to it.
As BRS says Openreach own and are responsible for the incoming cable to the master socket and the master socket itself. However, unlike the electricity company, none of the Openreach equipment is sealed or tagged so whether Openreach like it or not its a fact of life that folk will move sockets and cable runs to suit themselves, mainly because the engineers can’t be arsed to do it how we, the customer, wants it.
Not sure how they’ll ever know its been moved.
I have a good WiFi router, negear r7000, but a silly thing like a brick wall works wonders to kill the signal. So I use devolo 1200 homeplug devices which work really well for my Kodi & TV & tablet & phones.
You cannot beat cable for bandwidth. But even for copying cd’s around wi-fi AC (802.11ac) is very very good. More than enough for streaming a couple of HD streams around.
So I you’re going to upgrade wi-fi go AC. Not n. It’s all backwards compatible.
All the wi-fi devices will have to be AC compatible to get best results.
AC is way faster than n.
National Treasure, I've heard that Openreach get grumpy if they find you have messed with their gear no? yourebarredPretty much as NT says; Openreach get pissy if you fuck around with their gear, but they have no way of knowing that you did unless you manage to fuck it up in a way that even they wouldn't manage.
Ok I see. It doesn’t sound like moving the master socket would benefit me much but wouldn’t be too challenging. Maybe I should leave it where it is, then the phone doesn’t move. Pop the new router in.
See how I get on with the home plugs and if I encounter issues, try and long cat5. If it solves it, run it in permanent like?
Switch £12
http://www.tp-link.com/ph/products/details/cat-4763_TL-SG1005D.html
Router £35
http://uk.tp-link.com/products/details/cat-15_Archer-D2.html
Look ok?