OpenNet Cabling & Trunking ...........

[Happily1986]

I never trust or use Homeplugs as I already have structured cabling done with cat5e cables throughout my house. A post from me few months back already stated my reasons for not using them. Since it was mentioned, i just provided another possibility of connecting up.

 

For me, i am connected directly to the ont. Like I say, for those who can't and wants to have the ont in living room and gateway/router in another room, what other alternative solutions you can provide besides the use of a RJ45 cables? If you read the earlier posts, someone suggested Homeplugs i believe is for the ease and avoiding unsightly cables. For a casual surfer, I don't see the bottleneck on the homeplugs affecting him.

 

For casual users, all the more you shouldn't recommend such an arrangement. Firstly, casual users are not primed for in depth know-how of networking equipment in general. Secondly, they are not conditioned to the routine of troubleshooting/diagnostic. For best results and peace of mind, you should recommend them the most robust setup.

 

Anyway homeplugs are available in 20Mbps, 30Mbps and 50Mbps. I am not sure whether there are 100Mbps rated Homeplugs too. In any case as with usual networkign overheads which translates to about 30~40% of promised bandwidth, likely you will see the setup underperform expectations.

 

furthermore, homeplugs are sensitive to noise. This partly depends on how well the electrical wiring internall has been done. On the electrical side, you still have things like SN Margins and attenuation to grapple with. No way you can run away from them. Also with appliances with inverter technology online, SN margins are generally poor iirc. So you shouldn't recommend such a setup so casually UNLESS you know the fella's home wiring setup. Compared to cat 5e/cat6 cable straight through connection, which do you think is more problematic?

[Bystander50]

For casual users, all the more you shouldn't recommend such an arrangement. Firstly, casual users are not primed for in depth know-how of networking equipment in general. Secondly, they are not conditioned to the routine of troubleshooting/diagnostic. For best results and peace of mind, you should recommend them the most robust setup.

 

Anyway homeplugs are available in 20Mbps, 30Mbps and 50Mbps. I am not sure whether there are 100Mbps rated Homeplugs too. In any case as with usual networkign overheads which translates to about 30~40% of promised bandwidth, likely you will see the setup underperform expectations.

 

furthermore, homeplugs are sensitive to noise. This partly depends on how well the electrical wiring internall has been done. On the electrical side, you still have things like SN Margins and attenuation to grapple with. No way you can run away from them. Also with appliances with inverter technology online, SN margins are generally poor iirc. So you shouldn't recommend such a setup so casually UNLESS you know the fella's home wiring setup. Compared to cat 5e/cat6 cable straight through connection, which do you think is more problematic?

 

The problem is for casual users, most are not willing to spend the extra buck to get the performance. Take the Opennet cabling, many find the trunking ugly and many chose to terminate right at their doorstep. How many casual users see the need for running network cables?

Most would just prefer to get it working and get over with.

People like us knows what we are looking for and have the plans in mind on the design where we can make changes easily.

My guess for the future STB will connected via the ONT and if I need to put one in one of my rooms, I just need to adjust my patching on the patch panel in my living room and I'll be able to divert that connection to my room.

 

[Alpha78]

The problem is for casual users, most are not willing to spend the extra buck to get the performance. Take the Opennet cabling, many find the trunking ugly and many chose to terminate right at their doorstep. How many casual users see the need for running network cables?

Most would just prefer to get it working and get over with.

People like us knows what we are looking for and have the plans in mind on the design where we can make changes easily.

My guess for the future STB will connected via the ONT and if I need to put one in one of my rooms, I just need to adjust my patching on the patch panel in my living room and I'll be able to divert that connection to my room.

 

Peace guys, each of you have your own valid points, and each solution obviously has its pros and cons. Let me state my background to lend credence to my 2 cents.

 

I am a trained Computer Engineer, also trained in Cisco networking. I can tell you the difference between Hub and Switch in terms of protocol, throughput, and packet collision. In the argument against HomePlugs, the main grouse is that they act like hubs, meaning throughput suffers when more devices are linked together via HomePlugs. i.e. if you have 2 points linked via 100Mbps HomePlugs, you get near 100Mbps throughput. Put 4 of these devices together, the throughput drops to somewhere around 33 Mbps if they are all transferring data at the same time.

 

Despite knowing this, as an end-user, I have consciously chosen to use HomePlugs instead of wiring up my entire place with Cat 5e cables. The main reason is cost. Despite the fact that I am currently renovating my place and can conceal all network cables into the walls, the quotations I received are mostly about $200 per network point. Compare this to a pair of Gigabit HomePlugs which I paid $119 or so, I rather save up this money, and buy HomePlugs only when I need them. My main usage is to link up my TV in the living room, which has DLNA function, and the home theatre set which has the Smart TV function, to reach my study room where the router is located. The study room is also going to be the "nerve centre" of the network where all the printers, NAS and other networked devices are residing.

 

For other rooms with casual surfing, I have another pair of older 85Mbps HomePlugs which is more than enough for the PCs requiring internet access. Everything else is on wireless.

 

So there, no absolute right or wrong, just a matter of suitable usage after weighing each option.

[Mllcg]

Of course I know about the bottlenecks and limitations of the Homeplug and I never use them at all. My home is fully wired which allows me to transfer around my patching if required.

As I mentioned, I suggested that idea to Fivegear since he wants to have 2 pcs in his study and it is best to have the TP in the living room. As far as I know, if everything is placed in the living room, 1 pair of Homeplugs can only bring 1 patch point into his study. So other than going wireless or purchasing another switch, maybe you can share how you would have 2 wired connections into the room.

 

I seriously doubt the Homeplugs will cause a significant speed reduction if connected in my suggestion. Given a 100M fiber plan, how far/much can you maximise the speed? Unless you do BT and open up 30-50 torrents at a go, then there's a possibility, but i still doubt you can max out the fiber link to 100% 24x7. Unless to say one is doing a NAS/SANs replication remotely with large amount of data, there are a lot of bandwidth to spare. And your speed still depends on the site you are visiting. The only real bottleneck on the Homeplugs you'll see is when you are doing large file copy between PCs within your LAN. That is to say 1 PC connected directly to a switchport, and the other via a Homeplug.

 

The 2nd factor that can cause bottleneck is the router's WAN -> LAN interface. It all depends on the current infrastructure setup. You can have a wireless N accesspoint, but if your PC/Laptop is still on Wireless G which has a theoritical speed of 54Mbps, you still can't maximise your theoritical 100M fiber plan at a single point. Let's leave the network overheads out. We are not using commericial grade routers and switches from Cisco that has a high throughput. Basically on a 100M plan, there are a lot of unconsumed bandwidth that allows ISPs to oversell. Unless again you can show in your normal setup, your fiber link is able to utilise to 100% 24x7.

 

erm.

 

i have 1 homeplug connected to 2 different other homeplugs.

 

my setup for my mum and siblings are.

 

ONT---> router

 

then router into homeplug.

 

then buy 2 more home plugs plug separately.

 

[Little_prince]

erm.

 

i have 1 homeplug connected to 2 different other homeplugs.

 

my setup for my mum and siblings are.

 

ONT---> router

 

then router into homeplug.

 

then buy 2 more home plugs plug separately.

 

any good recommendations on which home plug to get?

[Mllcg]

any good recommendations on which home plug to get?

 

this im not sure.. i just bought what my mum needed..

 

"Simple internet connection"