Powerline testing

[Coojeekitten]

I have a couple Netgear Powerline units which I've previously used for Netflix.

I'd like to put a Backup NAS in my garage which is about 50m from my house. The only viable connection is via my powerline units.

I have connected a mini pc in the garage & can connect to it via my Logmein software from my Home office pc.

Before blowing a fair amount on a NAS, is there a way that I can test the connection for reliability & speed?

 

[Coojeekitten]

Is there any reason you want a NAS so far from the house? (50m seems like a loooong way away!)

Is the power in the garage even on the same ring as the house?

Regards speed I imagine you could use any speed test software but reliability is going to be difficult to gauge!

It's our only building which is separate from the house, therefore a reasonable "off-site" location.

I think the garage is on a separate feed from the main consumer box. So not on the same ring.

Really? Could you not use something like Microtik’s wireless wire? You’ll get 1Gbps all day long without laying any more cables and much better results than powerline.

Looks interesting, however it would need cabling. The garage is on the opposite side of the house from the office, so I would have to cable to the "home" unit as they need line of sight. I could use Powerline to cable, but then that spoils the point.

It's hardly worth bothering because be performance is virtually guaranteed to be terrible.

If I was testing I'd use iPerf.

Worth checking if there's a software utility for the adapters as well. It should show what speed they're syncing at. Divide the sync speed by three to get a rough estimate of the available throughput.

Is there anything easier to use than iPerf? Maybe a nice comfy GUI on top? :/

 

[Coojeekitten]

Yup thanks, I've been thinking about this, things were getting complex & stupid. The NAS in another building is protection against fire & partial protection from theft. But you are correct, on the same mains network, means a lightning strike & it all gets frizzled, probably also a virus risk too.

So, here's where I'm going with it. Choose a NAS to put in the office instead. Then buy a larger capacity USB backup, backup to that once a week & put the USB drive in the garage.

So now I need to check a NAS for noise levels.