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I wouldn't want to use it for everything but it can be a useful alternative to get a reliable-but-slow connection to a stationary device without pulling cat5. Helps to reduce the wireless congestion a bit too.
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Dec 30, 2017 17:16
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I use some power line adapters at work for an IP camera and phone. For the constant bandwidth the IP camera pushes, I’d peg the ones we use as 98% reliable. I think they have a problem a few times a year, but I’d attribute the problems more to the fact that the power grid is pretty bad where I live. Edit: forgot to say they’re TP-Link adapters, probably the AVS-1000 or similar.
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Dec 30, 2017 17:36
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I need a recommendation on a modem given what's available with my chosen ISP, or some advice on how to research this since, as mentioned in the ISP, modems can be tricky to recommend given different ISPs requirements. I'm in Ontario, Canada looking to get cable internet with Start Communications, they use Rogers cable internet infrastructure. Unfortunately, they only have two Motorola Surfboard modems that are compatible, and neither of them can be supported above their 60mbps plan. I noticed that the SB6580 lists on its manufacturers specs of supporting up to 350mpvs, but I asked a tech at the ISP who stated they won't even activate it on the 150 plan even if that's what the manufacturer states. So, here's the list of compatible modems: https://www.start.ca/services/highspeed/modems We're looking to get the TPLINK Archer AC1200 router, with the 150mpbs plan. With our chosen router I believe it can go up to 800mbps, so while we only want the 150 plan right now, having that upgradibility to 250mbps as per the list would be a bonus down the road. Any recommendations or suggestions on how I should be comparing these would be fantastic as I'm new to home networking and previously have been lazy and just got ISPs combo rented boxes instead of my own
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Dec 30, 2017 18:26
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bobfather posted:I use some power line adapters at work for an IP camera and phone. For the constant bandwidth the IP camera pushes, I’d peg the ones we use as 98% reliable. I think they have a problem a few times a year, but I’d attribute the problems more to the fact that the power grid is pretty bad where I live. The one that popped up as i was searching for ethernet cables was this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/TL-PA7010KIT-Powerline-Streaming-Configuration-UK/dp/B06WRSHKC6 There's a more expensive version with something called passthrough though no explanation for what that is in the product info. This whole thing came about because it recently dawned on me that i've got my modem/router literally sitting on top of my media box in the living room but it's only hooked up via wifi and has had persistent problems with obtaining/maintaining maximum speed throughout the 2 years i've lazilly had this setup. Despite the short distance, i still only get about 75% of the full network speed. The thing is, I'm not sure if cabling would fix this or not as it might be the machine itself. I've done speed tests on my phone and laptop from the other side of the same room and they get faster speeds than this media box despite its proximity to the modem. Is it likely that hardware like a HDD/CPU are the limiting factors in network speed vs something like a wifi dongle/usb port? I'm going to replace the wifi connection on that media box with ethernet cable anyway (it's less than a foot of distance), but i was just curious about where potential failure points might be.
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Dec 30, 2017 19:43
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Passthrough means that it has an electrical socket you can plug things into, so that you don't lose the one you've plugged the powerline adapter into. You'll never get the maximum bandwidth that a wireless access point can theoretically offer. Definitely hard wire your media station to your router. Actuarial Fables fucked around with this message at 20:14 on Dec 30, 2017 |
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Dec 30, 2017 20:08
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Kin posted:This whole thing came about because it recently dawned on me that i've got my modem/router literally sitting on top of my media box in the living room but it's only hooked up via wifi and has had persistent problems with obtaining/maintaining maximum speed throughout the 2 years i've lazilly had this setup. Despite the short distance, i still only get about 75% of the full network speed. An ethernet cable will 99.99% likely fix your problems; your media box is probably in a weak area of your wifi signal by being directly underneath that router/modem. astral fucked around with this message at 20:15 on Dec 30, 2017 |
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Dec 30, 2017 20:11
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astral posted:An ethernet cable will 99.99% likely fix your problems; your media box is probably in the deadest possible area of your wifi signal by being directly underneath that router/modem. Aha, thanks for the info. I didn't realise there was a deadzone around the modem itself. I might need to overhaul a bit more then, my whole media setup (PS4/Mediabox/Smart TV, etc) are built basically with the modem in amongst it and all connected via wifi.
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Dec 30, 2017 20:17
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Kin posted:Aha, thanks for the info. I didn't realise there was a deadzone around the modem itself. If wiring them wouldn't be too onerous, you'll get much better performance (lower latency at the very least, good chance of higher speeds) by wiring them. Do you have enough available ports? If not, you may also need an unmanaged switch. The OP has some recommendations; just make sure you get one that's 8 or more ports, gigabit, and preferably with a nice metal housing.
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Dec 30, 2017 20:33
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astral posted:If wiring them wouldn't be too onerous, you'll get much better performance (lower latency at the very least, good chance of higher speeds) by wiring them. Do you have enough available ports? If not, you may also need an unmanaged switch. The OP has some recommendations; just make sure you get one that's 8 or more ports, gigabit, and preferably with a nice metal housing. Yeah, looks like there are 4 ports in the back which should be enough for what i use. I'm not sure if i'll need to dick around with any settings in the modem itself though (it's a Virgin superhub), but i don't think it should be too hard to configure.
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Dec 30, 2017 20:54
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Oysters Autobio posted:I need a recommendation on a modem given what's available with my chosen ISP, or some advice on how to research this since, as mentioned in the ISP, modems can be tricky to recommend given different ISPs requirements. Sorry, to add on to this discussion: I am also interested in setting up a VPN without the use of a paid service (for added security when I'm on public wifi). I understand there are routers out there that support built-in VPNs. Is it worth it to consider a router that has built-in VPN capabilities or do these generally fail as a good solution to a home DIY VPN?
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Dec 30, 2017 22:11
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Oysters Autobio posted:Sorry, to add on to this discussion: Routers that support AsusWRT make it dead easy to setup OpenVPN. Definitely spring for one that supports it. Basically any Asus router or even something like a Netgear R7000
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Dec 30, 2017 22:15
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Okay, a bit more of my own research. I still need recommendations for a modem that would work best with my chosen setup. First off, my ISP is likely going to be Start Communications (I'm in Ontario, Canada), they used cable internet over the Rogers infrastructure. Their list of compatible modems are here: https://www.start.ca/services/highspeed/modems Since I'm interested in their 150mbps service, their only compatible modems for that service are: Cisco DPC3848 Cisco DPC3848V Hitron CDA3-20 (4.5.0.14) Hitron CDA3-35 (6.1.2.26) Technicolor TC4350 (50041.1.19.0) TP-Link TC7650 (v1.0.3) I'd like to setup wifi, but I'm also interested in setting up VPN, so I'm liking the options with Ubiquiti, so with that in mind, I'm looking at the following: Router: Edgerouter X - $55 Access Point (since Edgerouter doesnt have wifi): Unifi AC Lite: $100 UC-CK Unifi Cloud Key: $100 Finally, I like the idea of a captive portal / separate guest network to keep my own network a bit safer from friends who come over and want to use my wifi but have crap on their networks, but I know nothing about Raspberry Pi so I'm a little hesitant to go the Raspberry Pi setup. Unfortunately the guide linked is not novice enough for me, it doesn't explain exactly what I need to buy to do their setup, and there's so many packages an things I'm a bit confused here as to what I need. So, first off, can anyone critique my plan here, and can anyone recommend me a modem to choose off the list above to make it all compatible, fast and secure?
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Dec 30, 2017 23:57
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So I just got the Ubiquiti UAC Pro and have installed it on my wall closer to the back of my house where the Internet slows down. I've run an ethernet cable from the modem/router and connected it and that's all fine and dandy, but what's the best way of having my phones/computers connect when I'm at that end of the house? The router can get a connection to the back of the house, it's just irritatingly slow but my phones won't switch over and I want to keep the same SSID so I don't have to switch networks manually. The problem is that it doesn't seem to be switching from the router to the AP and since they have the same name at the moment it's not possible to manually do it. Googling hasn't got me as far as I'd hoped.
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Dec 31, 2017 00:05
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Oysters Autobio posted:UC-CK Unifi Cloud Key: $100 I just got Unifi controller running on an old raspberry pi, it was pretty simple. So you could save quite a bit especially if you have an Rpi 2 or something kicking around. It also runs the network ups tools daemon for my NAS & pfsense routers. And eventually I'll put FreeRadius on there as well. The cloud key is a kitchen uni-tasker. (Simple as in, install and upgrade raspbian, add the repo & cert for unifi, and install. Some of the guides online will suggest manually upgrading various packages or upgrading oracle java or whatnot, none of that was necessary with the current state of things.) Oysters Autobio posted:Finally, I like the idea of a captive portal / separate guest network to keep my own network a bit safer from friends who come over and want to use my wifi but have crap on their networks, but I know nothing about Raspberry Pi so I'm a little hesitant to go the Raspberry Pi setup. Doesn't the unifi controller run the captive portal itself? (If you have a cloud key or server running it 24/7). I don't think you need free radius or a separate portal website running. Or just create a second wireless SSID with a separate password and set guest network on, it will automatically block any traffic that's not headed for the gateway. This doesn't require a captive portal and is probably safer anyway.
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Dec 31, 2017 16:50
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Thanks for the advice, I think to keep this simple for myself and to do this in iterative steps (also to get internet up and running in my place ASAP before I run out of 4G data), I'm just going for the cheaper TPLINK Archer C5 setup and purchasing one of the ISP's modems (I'm leaning towards the TP-LINK TC7650, since at least its DOCSIS 3.0). In the interim I'll use the guest network setup on the router. In the future I'd like to get a raspberry pi to setup a PiHole DNS server and OpenVPN, but I'm trying to be take baby steps here because I'm literally going from using a rental modem/router combo to setting up my first home network so I don't want to bite off more than I can chew while still learning about linux and Pi systems.
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Dec 31, 2017 17:07
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My parents have a place that is pretty remote, but gets a little LTE coverage. They currently pay a lot of money for a landline just to remotely turn on and off the thermostat. My brother and I were thinking they could use a Project Fi data-only sim card to setup a network with the LTE coverage. The problem is finding a router that supports a sim card. There are some options, but they aren't as available as I expected them to be. Has anyone done something similar? Do you have any suggestions?
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Jan 2, 2018 15:17
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Chimp_On_Stilts posted:I am visiting my father in the UK for the holidays. He lives in a large house and has complained for some time that his internet connection is bad, so I've mapped the network and investigated why it might perform poorly... So did you end up fixing it ok?
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Jan 2, 2018 15:41
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accipter posted:My parents have a place that is pretty remote, but gets a little LTE coverage. They currently pay a lot of money for a landline just to remotely turn on and off the thermostat. My brother and I were thinking they could use a Project Fi data-only sim card to setup a network with the LTE coverage. The problem is finding a router that supports a sim card. There are some options, but they aren't as available as I expected them to be. Has anyone done something similar? Do you have any suggestions? Short of getting into business routers with LTE options, there really aren't a whole lot of consumer options. There are a couple LTE hotspots with ethernet out there though. Also, what kind of thermostat are they using? Will they also be upgrading their thermostat?
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Jan 2, 2018 16:07
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There are tons of LTE cubes that output DHCP, if you dont have native support for a USB modem.
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Jan 2, 2018 16:19
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n0tqu1tesane posted:Short of getting into business routers with LTE options, there really aren't a whole lot of consumer options. There are a couple LTE hotspots with ethernet out there though. Yeah, I was looking at the Archer MR200, but that seems to be the only option. Regarding the thermostat, I am not sure of the details, but I believe it is a Honeywell model that supports both dial-in and internet access. We used to have a system that broadcasted wifi across the lake using some directional antennas from a friends place, but for various reasons that stopped working so now they use a landline, but the phone lines aren't the most reliable in Northern MN. I don't think there is any plan to change the thermostat.
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Jan 2, 2018 17:00
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Another option would be something like this Netgear, but then you'd still need a router for internal devices. It does have the option of external antennas for the LTE modem though, which might come in handy for getting a better LTE signal, if they're out where coverage might be spotty indoors.
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Jan 2, 2018 17:14
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Many devices accept 3G or LTE uplink via a USB modem, Newegg has minimal mixed reviews on most devices but Amazon seems to have better feedback. https://www.amazon.com/Huawei-E8372...s=lte+usb+modem
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Jan 2, 2018 18:04
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Set up an Orbi system at home to replace what I had done for my parents years ago (Airport + DD-WRT WRT54, WRT610N) as a fake extended network (all just had Ethernet backhaul plus the same SSID/pass). Got a RBR50 and 2 RBS50s; upgraded FW to latest version which now supports Ethernet backhaul, and they are pretty slick. Good performance and coverage, though the physical units are hilariously huge. Still don’t understand why it’s so hard to make a good Web UI though.
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Jan 2, 2018 18:28
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After getting upgraded to 100/10 internet from Spectrum and for some reason now have a $5/mo "home wireless" fee added on (I never paid a rental fee for our Arris TG1762 modem/router) which I don't like. I want my own equipment. I've settled on a Netgear CM500 modem, for $50 after a Wirecutter recommendation. The router is becoming somewhat harder to find a good choice for. I was throwing around the thread favorite Archer C7, Netgear Nighthawk R6700, and the ASUS RT-ACRH17. The Archer seems to have bad issues with the radios giving out, the Netgear had some widespread issue from the Wirecutter comments. I'm leaning towards the ASUS unless there is some other recommendation. For reference, my current wireless connected devices are a laptop, a tablet, two phones, a Chromecast, two Google Home speakers, and hopefully other smart stuff. My house is roughly 500 sq. ft, with a basement and attic.
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Jan 3, 2018 07:00
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Endymion FRS MK1 posted:After getting upgraded to 100/10 internet from Spectrum and for some reason now have a $5/mo "home wireless" fee added on (I never paid a rental fee for our Arris TG1762 modem/router) which I don't like. I want my own equipment. I've settled on a Netgear CM500 modem, for $50 after a Wirecutter recommendation. The router is becoming somewhat harder to find a good choice for. I was throwing around the thread favorite Archer C7, Netgear Nighthawk R6700, and the ASUS RT-ACRH17. The Archer seems to have bad issues with the radios giving out, the Netgear had some widespread issue from the Wirecutter comments. I'm leaning towards the ASUS unless there is some other recommendation. You should still be able to lease a modem from Spectrum for free, it's just the modem/wifi router hybrids that they charge for. ASUS routers are pretty solid in the consumer space, though I can't say I've heard of that particular one.
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Jan 3, 2018 09:43
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Endymion FRS MK1 posted:ASUS RT-ACRH17 What's the deal with this router? It seems very new and there's barely any info about it. I just bought an AC66U-B1 and didn't even see that this one existed until now.
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Jan 6, 2018 00:52
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astral posted:You should still be able to lease a modem from Spectrum for free, it's just the modem/wifi router hybrids that they charge for. They don't even charge for the modem; they charge to enable the feature on the modem.
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Jan 6, 2018 01:38
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I got a new Netgear X6S over the holidays and the stupid thing keeps dropping internet around every other day and I have to reboot it and the modem at which point it works fine for 2 more days and then rinse repeat. Do I just have lemon? Anything I can change in the settings? I'm using 2.4GHZ and it's connected to a few laptops, a PS4 and a Chromecast... Nothing crazy.
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Jan 6, 2018 06:24
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I just did a hardware reset of my EdgeRouter Lite after approximately 18 months of not touching it (lost the ssh key and passphrass I generated for it when I first set it up, and none of the passwords I’ve found in my password manager work for the GUI website). I was dreading doing this especially because everything just worked still, but hey it’s a new year. Can anyone recommend a good security guide? Doesn’t need to be specific for the ERL, just looking for a checklist of things I shouldn’t do, maybe apps/websites that can probe common unsafe things like ports or whatever. Thanks
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Jan 6, 2018 10:13
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Dont open ports you dont need?!
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Jan 6, 2018 10:32
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SEKCobra posted:Dont open ports you dont need?! Don't run uPnP
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Jan 6, 2018 17:46
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Get nmap and read the help. Even if you just run nmap {ip address} it’ll let you know whether any common tcp ports are open.
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Jan 6, 2018 18:30
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astral posted:You should still be able to lease a modem from Spectrum for free, it's just the modem/wifi router hybrids that they charge for. Ah, thanks, yeah I'll look into that.
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Jan 6, 2018 22:59
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Endymion FRS MK1 posted:Ah, thanks, yeah I'll look into that. For me it was as easy as walking into a Spectrum store with a copy of my last bill and asking if they had the modem I wanted available to lease (and they did!). Note that from what I understand their stock varies day-to-day, so if there's a particular modem you want and they don't have one that day, you can try again later if you can afford to wait. They'll give you any necessary instructions on how to activate the new modem on your account (usually just a quick phone call; I've never had luck with their self-service modem activation site).
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Jan 6, 2018 23:14
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mcmagic posted:I got a new Netgear X6S over the holidays and the stupid thing keeps dropping internet around every other day and I have to reboot it and the modem at which point it works fine for 2 more days and then rinse repeat. Do I just have lemon? Anything I can change in the settings? I'm using 2.4GHZ and it's connected to a few laptops, a PS4 and a Chromecast... Nothing crazy. I installed a new ASUS router at my parents house over Christmas and there was one laptop on 2.4 GHz that always seemed to cause problems with the router, and rebooting the router was the only solution. Have a look at the older devices first but I'm not sure that there's a fix without replacing the device.
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Jan 7, 2018 03:01
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Devian666 posted:I installed a new ASUS router at my parents house over Christmas and there was one laptop on 2.4 GHz that always seemed to cause problems with the router, and rebooting the router was the only solution. Have a look at the older devices first but I'm not sure that there's a fix without replacing the device. How did you know it was the laptop?
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Jan 7, 2018 04:21
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When I had an asus router and cable, I had to reboot both router and modem weekly. On uverse I had no such problem with the same router I'm back on cable now with an edgerouter lite and my own modem and only reboot the router for firmware updates, no problem whatsoever for the past few months. The router could be having problems renewing its address, I think cable has really short lease times.
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Jan 7, 2018 05:15
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mcmagic posted:How did you know it was the laptop? It was the only device on 2.4 GHz. Tried restarting it's network card, rebooting, etc. It only returned to normal function after rebooting the router. It also had the same issue with the previous router. I also had a number of devices on 5 GHz that weren't having any issues at all.
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Jan 7, 2018 05:43
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Devian666 posted:It was the only device on 2.4 GHz. Tried restarting it's network card, rebooting, etc. It only returned to normal function after rebooting the router. It also had the same issue with the previous router. When my router stops working, the hardline into it stops working too...
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Jan 7, 2018 06:57
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Swapping out my parents comcast rented cable modem for something bought, there doesn't seem to be a lot of thread recommended options that will work for them. 25Mbps in the woods (when lucky) with telephony through the modem. Already have an airport extreme that's been going strong for six years and seems in no need of replacing, so the modem doesn't need wifi. An Arris TM822R seems about consistent with what I'd get to meet that need. Does that sound about right?
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Jan 7, 2018 19:13
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