Homeplug Speed Issues


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Just a quick question...

 

I have a very simplistic home setup.  Router is in the lounge (as that is where my telephone port is).  Splits into a switch for the media devices, and a homeplug (this is my ONLY route of data through to the office that is accessible).

 

In the office, there's another homeplug that once again goes into a switch that is shared between my day-to-day PC and my media server.

 

Would it be beneficial to:

 

1) Put the lounge HTPC directly into the router (bypassing the hub)?

2) Move the server to the lounge?

 

The majority of the traffic is between HTPC and media server.  Really my questions break down to

 

1) Does the switch between the router and the HTPC create speed issues?

2) Do the homeplugs (rated 500mbps) create speed issues?

 

Thanks

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1) Does the switch between the router and the HTPC create speed issues?

2) Do the homeplugs (rated 500mbps) create speed issues?

 

1) Nope, we are talking micro-seconds to store-and-forward networks packets within the switch.

2) Maybe. They have to be plugged directly into a wall socket (no extensions). Also can be susceptible to interference from appliances like microwaves and even fridges.

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Connecting the HTPC directly to the router will not gain you any benefits, switches don't cause speed issues, especially if they are 1Gbit based ones, it would be different if it was 100Mbit versions.

 

Bandwidth wise between the power plugs can vary greatly.  In most cases you'll probably get only 150Mbit/200Mbit out of them.  They are rated for 500Mbit but that is under ideal conditions. I haven't seen anyone get more than 300Mbit with them, huge overhead as well, but I find them far more reliable than Wireless.

 

It would make sense for the media server to be on the same switch as the HTPC, Xbox etc if you stream media to all of them.

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What speeds are your switches and nics in your devices?  Unless your switch is 100, and your router is gig the switch does not slow down anything

 

If the majority of traffic is between server and htpc, then yes they should be connected via switch not over homeplugs

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I have 500Mbps Homeplugs with almost brand new wiring in my house and I have never seen them go above a maximum of 200Mbps.

If your living room switch, HTPC and server are all 1Gbps, then it would be beneficial to have them not going over the homeplug.  Is this the case?

 

The switch should not make a material difference to the speed itself unless it is 100Mbps and everything else 1Gbps.

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I have 500Mbps Homeplugs with almost brand new wiring in my house and I have never seen them go above a maximum of 200Mbps.

If your living room switch, HTPC and server are all 1Gbps, then it would be beneficial to have them not going over the homeplug.  Is this the case?

 

The switch should not make a material difference to the speed itself unless it is 100Mbps and everything else 1Gbps.

 

You know what the kicker is? A lot of the earlier 200Mbit versions of the power plugs only had 100Mbit ports on them, so even if you could maximise the output somehow, you would only get 100Mbit out of them.

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You know what the kicker is? A lot of the earlier 200Mbit versions of the power plugs only had 100Mbit ports on them, so even if you could maximise the output somehow, you would only get 100Mbit out of them.

 

Unfortunately, that's also very true of some 500Mbps devices sold today.  You need to make sure you are carefully selecting your devices.

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Unfortunately, that's also very true of some 500Mbps devices sold today.  You need to make sure you are carefully selecting your devices.

 

 

I haven't seen any 500Mbps devices yet, only seen ones with 1Gbit ports on them, but I haven't looked at all of them, interesting to know this, basically false advertisement. 

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Yeah all switched a gbit, so the culprit seems to be the homehubs.  I'm not keen on moving the server to the lounge - while it's "quiet" it's sure not "whisper silent", but if needs must.  See - it's fine for streaming and stuff, it's more just large photos - when I am looking through pics on the HTPC it takes a fair while to enumerate and move to the next one.

 

Thanks for all the useful responses.  I know very little about networking :)

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Yeah all switched a gbit, so the culprit seems to be the homehubs.  I'm not keen on moving the server to the lounge - while it's "quiet" it's sure not "whisper silent", but if needs must.  See - it's fine for streaming and stuff, it's more just large photos - when I am looking through pics on the HTPC it takes a fair while to enumerate and move to the next one.

 

Thanks for all the useful responses.  I know very little about networking :)

 

 

The powerplugs are not connected to an extension/surge protector are they? They need to be connected directly to the wall.

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The powerplugs are not connected to an extension/surge protector are they? They need to be connected directly to the wall.

 

Nope, straight into the wall outlet :)

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The problem with home plugs is that there is no way to say "yes they will work" or "no they won't". The only way to know is to test them.

Several things can affect home plugs. Wiring quality in the house. Distance on the ring between them. Other appliances on the ring. Transformers near by (especially cheaper transformers - these tend to interfere quite badly.

I use them here to get to remote places for media streaming. I have the 500 (gigabit port) ones, and can get around 200-220Mbps through them. If, however, I place one slightly further along the ring, it gets about 10Mbps. Have you tried different sockets for the home plugs?

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The problem with home plugs is that there is no way to say "yes they will work" or "no they won't". The only way to know is to test them.

Several things can affect home plugs. Wiring quality in the house. Distance on the ring between them. Other appliances on the ring. Transformers near by (especially cheaper transformers - these tend to interfere quite badly.

I use them here to get to remote places for media streaming. I have the 500 (gigabit port) ones, and can get around 200-220Mbps through them. If, however, I place one slightly further along the ring, it gets about 10Mbps. Have you tried different sockets for the home plugs?

 

 

This^ I've noticed that simple connecting a phone charger in the socket next to my Power Plug can knock 50Mbit off it's speed, the light also goes from Green (Good connection) to Amber (Weak Connection).

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Sorry, I have not measured speeds, this is more perception than anything.  I shall do, but I really consider this answered - I will do some speed tests, but most likely move the server.

 

The home is brand new, distance is not much at all, one room to the next.  My other recourse is running Cat5e around the perimiter, in and out the wall.

 

Cheers though :)

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Sorry, I have not measured speeds, this is more perception than anything.  I shall do, but I really consider this answered - I will do some speed tests, but most likely move the server.

 

The home is brand new, distance is not much at all, one room to the next.  My other recourse is running Cat5e around the perimiter, in and out the wall.

 

Cheers though :)

Just cause the house is new, doesn't mean the wiring is great ;).

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Just cause the house is new, doesn't mean the wiring is great

 

LOL, very fair comment - as I found out with other situations :)

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Why not just poke hole through the wall then or use the current electrical outlet and replace it with an Outlet that has Ethernet on it as well:

 

http://www.amazon.com/RiteAV-Power-Outlet-Cat5e-Ethernet/dp/B00F3TPTMW

 

Something like that one?

 

Off topic, but why do US plugs look so shocked...

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The powerplugs are not connected to an extension/surge protector are they? They need to be connected directly to the wall.

 

I have my TV, STB and PS4 plugged into a TP-Link Homeplug, which is plugged into a generic extension and there is zero impact on speed or stability.

 

I know it says not to do it on the box, but I ran some tests and the performance was identical, and it hasn't skipped a beat since it was installed a long time ago.

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