Homeplug's effect on existing LAN...

[Skree]

Right. I'm getting annoyed at the constant drops in wireless signal i'm getting upstairs (router is downstairs). I have a Netgear DG834GT router, a laptop with Atheros 5006 wifi, and a couple of decent pci wireless cards.

Left over from back in the day, I have a permanently hardwired RJ45 wired LAN, upstairs. There is no wired downstairs, and I cannot run a cable from downstairs to upstairs (new carpets).

So i've been looking into Homeplug. I managed to find a retailer selling 85mbps homeplug twinpack at a decent price.. this claims to have 14mbps throughput across the powerline.
What i just can't seem to get an answer on, is, Will this device slow my wired lan down from 100 to 85mbps? this is important as i may upgrade to a gigabit switch in the future but i don't want it to default down to a lower speed just to share the internet and the one pc that's downstairs..

There is an aternative at a slightly more expensive price, which is a wireless extender - it'll give me a wireless transmitter upstairs, independant of my wired lan... i'll have to get this if the other devices will slow my wired stuff down..

 

[mrgubby]

Can't help you with the Homplug setup but I had the same sort of problems with my wireless setup. I solved it by buying new aerials for my PCI cards & my router.

Don't buy a range extender unless all your wireless devices are the same make , been there , took it back

 

[memyselfandi]

Right. I'm getting annoyed at the constant drops in wireless signal i'm getting upstairs (router is downstairs). I have a Netgear DG834GT router, a laptop with Atheros 5006 wifi, and a couple of decent pci wireless cards.

Left over from back in the day, I have a permanently hardwired RJ45 wired LAN, upstairs. There is no wired downstairs, and I cannot run a cable from downstairs to upstairs (new carpets).

So i've been looking into Homeplug. I managed to find a retailer selling 85mbps homeplug twinpack at a decent price.. this claims to have 14mbps throughput across the powerline.
What i just can't seem to get an answer on, is, Will this device slow my wired lan down from 100 to 85mbps? this is important as i may upgrade to a gigabit switch in the future but i don't want it to default down to a lower speed just to share the internet and the one pc that's downstairs..

There is an aternative at a slightly more expensive price, which is a wireless extender - it'll give me a wireless transmitter upstairs, independant of my wired lan... i'll have to get this if the other devices will slow my wired stuff down..

from my little knowledge of networking I would say that if you have the powerline devices plugged into switches at either end then any traffic between devices on other ports on the same switch will be at the normal speed and only traffic which goes over the powerline link will be at the slower speed.

I would be a bit wary though of this device you have seen as isn't there a slower release of the powerline standard which runs at 14mbps and one which claims to be a 85mbps model should run faster than that?

[disclaimer: I don't have any powerline/homeplug kit but I have been looking at it for the same reasons you are]

 

[tolien]

Yeah, no switch runs all the ports at the lowest common denominator. Only the link between the Homeplugs would run at a reduced speed - odds are even the switch port they're connected to will still run at 100Mbps...

 

[Skree]

ah many thanks. might just get two 85mbps adaptors and use them to link the router and my switch