My Homeplug setup. Will this work?

[SiM]

Hi guys,



Picture says many words. HTPC, router, NAS/PC in 3 different rooms. Can I get all 3 onto the network with 3 homeplug thingys? The NAS and PC will be on a gigabit switch.

HTPC needs internet access and needs to be able to stream from NAS.
Main PC needs little slow down (fast pings for gaming).
Main PC to NAS needs uber speeds cos I am an impatient git.

This is the one I am thinking of getting (on Today only). I will probably go for 2 sets of 2 so 1 will be spare.

Thanks

[Flash]

First impressions I dont see why it wouldnt but then again the poor art work is putting me off. Id invest in a copy of Visio first then try and ask the question again lol

No but seriously that looks ok as long as your DSL router feeds the broadband in your HTPC will be networked and with internet. The NAS should pick up an IP from the switch along with the main pc.

The only probs with the homeplugs is that they dont work too well on extension leads and even worse to none on surge blocker extensions.

[TAKTAK]

if your house is very old and badly wired, and the wiring is done on spurs and not on a ringmain then i don't think that it would work as the outlets would be on different circuits....

examples:

ring main:


spurs: i can't find an example diagram... but basically, there are lots of separate connections coming from the consumer unit (that is IIRC)

but remember that you can have spurs coming off the ringmain aswell (but that doesn't matter as it is connected overall)

i could be horrificly wrong......

[Lucio]

The simple answer is yes, it'll work. All the home plugs do is replace a wire in a traditional network. The only priviso being the one listed above where the plug sockets aren't physically connected to one another.

Personally though, I'd consider simply running some ethernet wire, most houses won't come close to the 100m limit of ethernet and there's usually *some* way of making a fairly neat connection.

[TAKTAK]

i use a 25m ethernet cable to connect my computer to the router (the wiring is ringmain and the walls are thick and have rubbish wireless reception )

but i would also reccomend an ethernet cable as they are very easy to hide away, and come in a wide variety of colours.... and the big plus.... they are cheap

[SiM]

ethernet is the best option, but i would need about 50m of the stuff in total and my mum would kill me so unfortunately no can do...

I am having trouble understanding how it would work as there will be 3 connection with no switch in the homeplug circuit. Surely there must be one "out" to every "in" if you think of it as normal ethernet cabling.

To clarify from the master art piece:

NAS + PC -> Switch -> Homeplug
HTPC -> Homeplug
ADSL (phoneline) -> Router -> Homeplug

3 separate rooms. If it was like a standard cable, shouldn't it need two connections from the router, one for the HTPC connection and one for the switch connection.

I am not sure how the house is wired, I would have to ask my dad... but it was done about 15 years ago, so its not that ancient...

[TAKTAK]

Is THIS of any use to you?

and my mum didn't want cables trailing round the house....
i hid mine under the carpet and laminate =D, she'll never know

[SiM]

Is THIS of any use to you?

and my mum didn't want cables trailing round the house....
i hid mine under the carpet and laminate =D, she'll never know

Trust me, for cabling, it will be messy even if I hid under the carpet. My room is top right corner of the house and the htpc is in the bottom left... my house is long too... If this will save me a day of work/hassle and barely effect speeds then its worth the cost imo

Even in that pic there is one "in" and one "out"... Will one "in" and two "outs" work?
Well I suppose as long as the frequency is adjustable (so it can run two "homeplug cables" without interference) then I can just use both sets of adapters if worst comes to worst...



So if there was a Room 3 with another powerline adapter, will it work?
Will the router understand this all and assign the IPs correctly?

[SiM]

This is what I mean:



some how I managed to screw that up when editing but I can't be bothered to fix it... but you get what i mean

[TAKTAK]

Ahhhhh, i get your drift


i think you would need 4 bridges....

so you have 2 inputs from the router going to 2 inputs on different freqs in the electrical system, going to 2 different outputs for the HTPC and the switch, as long as they can work on different freqs then it should work

so i think you just treat it as 2 separate systems from the router that operate on different frequencys

[SiM]

thanks, that's what I was thinking... so the real question is can work on different frequencies then?

Before the today only finishes, I'm going to order one of these:
Computer hardware and software at amazing prices, available online from Scan Computers UK
and two of these:
Computer hardware and software at amazing prices, available online from Scan Computers UK

If anyone knows if this won't work. Please reply asap.

I guess I could post in the scan forum to see if the scan guys know...

[Sinizter]

Probably wont work on different frequencies, and the transmission speeds will drop when both sets are sending/receiving, but you can have different password for each set you want separated.

[TheAnimus]

they work on 'different' frequencies anyway!

two homeplugs will use MANY descrite frequencies in the MHz band.

They use a token style idea to decide who can talk at once.

So, yes it will work. But consider do you need them? I use them where i can pull up the floor boards, on a single floor flat, that has massive 80's stile LDF floorboards, which are impractical to remove. No loft etc.

Wiring with cat5e is much better and cheaper if you're remotely compitent at DIY.

[SiM]

Well done guys, now I am sitting here thinking, shall I order it or not? (with seconds left to go until today only expires)
Cabling will be challenging (trust me, its a long path and there are loads of obstacles... eg I will have to get it under a bookshelf that weighs a few hundred kilos)... If I take that route, then I think it would be a good idea to move the router and send cables to the 3 rooms individually...

[SiM]

OK, I have decided, I think. I will get 1 homeplug and 1 flat 20m cable. I'll try cabling to one room, and see how that goes. Then if I can be bothered lifting the carpet on the stairs, I will sell the homeplug and cable the HTPC too.

I have a standard cat 5 cable and a cat 6 cable (works up to 350mhz, whatever that means?), will they do gigabit?

[Lucio]

OK, I have decided, I think. I will get 1 homeplug and 1 flat 20m cable. I'll try cabling to one room, and see how that goes. Then if I can be bothered lifting the carpet on the stairs, I will sell the homeplug and cable the HTPC too.

I have a standard cat 5 cable and a cat 6 cable (works up to 350mhz, whatever that means?), will they do gigabit?

Here's a thought, instead of cabling along the skirting board, cable along the edge of the ceiling. You can even cross doors more easily then