Replacement for Virgin Superhub

[Nezbert]

I've recently built a NAS server in the upstairs bedroom. I've got a Raspberry Pi in the other bedroom, running OpenELEC/xbmc, and downstairs is my main PC which is wired to the Virgin hub.

All three are connected via TP-Link gigabit homeplugs but, as I understand it, the superhub is doing all of the routing via the TP-Link connected to port 4 of the superhub.

So, if I'm watching an HD film (mkv/avi etc) the data's coming from the NAS, routed via the superhub back upstairs to the Raspberry Pi.

I get pretty crappy speeds when copying files from downstairs onto the NAS (about 8MB/s), so I'm not sure if this is the old house's wiring or a bottleneck in the router.

Has anyone replaced their Virgin superhub with a third party, more advanced, one? If so, will it handle my login credentials to Virgin so that I've still got my cable Internet?

[Splash]

You can set the Superhub into Modem mode and use your own router - I built my own based on pfSense but there's really no need for you to go that in depth: you'll probably find that if you hang a small gigabit switch off the Superhub and plug everything into that instead you'll get far better performance (unless you're using different subnets around your house, in which case it'll need to be routed by the router)

[Nezbert]

Thanks for the advice. I did think about a second router/switch plugged into the superhub.

Any recommendations for something that's not too expensive?

Incidentally, does anyone know which hardware is in the Virgin superhub? Is it a rebranded generic Netgear or something with Virgin firmware installed?

[Splash]

No idea what's in the hub, I'm afraid. You could pick up a TP-Link or a Netgear unmanaged switch that should do all that you need though.

[Nezbert]

Thinking about subnets, I reckon I'll be better off with a router rather than a switch, since I use the IP address of my NAS box to access and control it via its GUI. There's no monitor connected to it.

So if I were to install a switch each device would lose its IP or the network would get confused. Am I thinking correctly? If I plugged in a router it would assign local IP's (192.168.0.x) and allow each device to communicate correctly. Does this sound about right? I can also SSH into the Raspberry Pi from downstairs, so I'm thinking a simple switch wouldn't assign IP's to each device and the network would be unstable/inoperable.

[watercooled]

Just to clear something up, the poor speeds you're experienced are most likely down to the homeplugs, not the Superhub. Powerline networking is like WiFi in that a speed is negotiated based on signal conditions, so will depend on other factors such as house wiring as you say.

The 4 LAN ports on the Superhub, like other home routers/gateways, act as a switch, there is no routing going on here (the routing is between the LAN and WAN sides). Adding another switch would not confuse anything as you suggest, one reason being they're not involved with IP addressing. Effectively, it would just increase the number of LAN ports you have available. However, given that the Superhub already supports Gigabit speeds, adding another switch would not help performance-wise.

In answer to your question about replacing the Superhub, without going into too much detail, you can't. You can however, as Splash suggested, switch it to modem-only mode which disables the routing functionality and allows you to use your own. However, assuming your reasoning for wanting to upgrade is poor transfer speeds, I would not suggest paying out for another router based on this as your Homeplugs are the most likely bottleneck.

[Nezbert]

Thanks for the advice. I think I'll leave things as they are. The only downside, as you say, is copying video files from downstairs to the NAS is slow (but not unbearable, about 8 mins for a film). Streaming to the Raspberry Pi is good enough to watch HD content without buffering.

I'll be moving home in about 6 months and hopefully get better speeds with different/newer wiring.

I'll leave it as is.

[Dareos]

late to the party as always All VM superhubs and older modems are registered on the network using a combination of software version and mac addresses, therefore only virgin registered devices can act as modems because even if you spoofed the mac, the server would recognise that its not using the same software and attempt to update it.

All superhubs work fine as modems though (better than as routers in some cases). It does however sound as if Watercooled nailed it though, its your internal transfer speed thats slow and unless you have a major issue with unsolicited traffic on your home network, then its probably down to powerline and wiring.

I know you said you are moving soon and this might well be too much hassle, but connecting your devices directly, and testing transfer speed will confirm this. If speeds are still slow it might be the way that the traffic is routed via your network.

Just to explain that a bit more, I have a popcorn hour media box that uses a cut down version of linux. Its set to recognise a workgroup or a straight connection to a network. I use a domain in the home and it refuses to connect to the server. Therefore anything i stream to this box from the server goes via a powerline to my main pc and then back through the powerline to the media box, even though they are on the same switch. This screws up any HD movies etc as the xfer rate is lower than that needed by the media center.

Foregoing any of that tho, should be down to powerline

[aph3x]

Thanks for the advice. I did think about a second router/switch plugged into the superhub.

Any recommendations for something that's not too expensive?

Incidentally, does anyone know which hardware is in the Virgin superhub? Is it a rebranded generic Netgear or something with Virgin firmware installed?

All depeneds on your budget. I have a similar set up to your self. Virgin Media SuperHub (New One) in modem mode with Asus AC66U as the router. I have two NAS Drives connected along with around 20 wireless devices and it's solid as a rock. I can't recommend the Asus AC66U enough but it depends on your budget I guess

[Nezbert]

Whoa, that router looks the business but it costs more than I had in mind.

We only use WiFi for a little netbook and, occasionally, our phones so I'm not in need of massively powerful WiFi.

I'll stick with what I've got but bear it in mind because I've owned a couple of Asus devices and they're usually a quality build. Thanks.

[Marcvs]

Im using the Netgear Nighthawk (mainly went with it as it supports mac time machine drives via USB (you can plug ina cheapo USB drive to it and use it to backup), but have used that and the asus - both are rock solid and rapid. I hang around 100Mb/sec transfers over cable or wireless.

[fortuzero]

without going into too much detail, you can't.

You mean `can't can't` as in , it is technically `impossible` or `can't` as in, not allowed to, or can't legally, due to security components and or methods employed by Virgin in order to manage their assets?

I can't believe it is technically impossible. I've not yet found much that is...