MoCA Setup from Media Panel in Garage

[Barddzen]

Hello,

MoCA noob here. I currently have my ISP modem setup in bridge mode to an Eero wireless mesh and it generally works.

Current network speeds
Eero garage: 600+ mbps
Eero MBR: up to 400 mbps
Eero Sun Room: up to 200 mbps

I’ve tested these across multiple devices and I get these speeds on average.

But what I’d like to do is setup the two Eero extenders in the house using MoCA. According to the Hitron HT-EM4 MoCA 2.5 directions, what I’ve drawn below should work, but before I get too involved, can someone check my approach? What am I missing? Will this even work?

Longer term, if this would work, I’d like to wire the other locations using MOCA as needed, but the two Eero extenders is all I need for now. The blue part of the drawing is what I need feedback on.

 

[krkaufman]

Looks good. Opinions may differ on splitter arrangement of MoCA nodes; my preference is having all nodes hanging off outputs of a designed for MoCA splitter, with a MoCA filter and 75-ohm terminator capping the input port to retain the known reflective benefit of the “PoE” MoCA filter.

 

[krkaufman]

I currently have my ISP modem setup in bridge mode to an Eero wireless mesh

Do the eero units have 2.5 GbE ports?

 

[degrub]

As long as all of the MOCA2.5 coax is physically independent from the ISP coax, then life is easy, short of cable/connector/splitter issues. It is when you have to share the cable between MOCA2.5 and DOCCIS3.1 that you loose some of the MOCA bands and throughput.
MOCA nodes time share, so if in the future you want the full 2.5 Gbit/s, half duplex, between nodes, just make each run with a pair of modems and use an ethernet switch instead of the MOCA coax splitter. My system uses MOCA2.5 for the home run between the ISP router and the ONT. All of the other runs are MOCA 2.0 bonded, turbo, and 1 Gbit/s ethernet across a switch built in my internal router. The only contention is between the switch and the routing function to the ISP. Not noticeable in any practical way.

RG6 is the preferred coax, but RG59 should work. Make sure the moca2 splitter is formally certified. Some also have built in MOCA POE filters on the input labelled port.

MOCA does introduce a few msec of latency per node, so if you game heavily, it might be noticeable.

 

[Barddzen]

Do the eero units have 2.5 GbE ports?

Each device has 2x 1GB ethernet ports. My local ISP only offers 600D/10U Internet service for now, these suffice. If someone ever offered GB or better I’d have to re-evaluate.

 

[Barddzen]

As long as all of the MOCA2.5 coax is physically independent from the ISP coax, then life is easy, short of cable/connector/splitter issues. It is when you have to share the cable between MOCA2.5 and DOCCIS3.1 that you loose some of the MOCA bands and throughput.
MOCA nodes time share, so if in the future you want the full 2.5 Gbit/s, half duplex, between nodes, just make each run with a pair of modems and use an ethernet switch instead of the MOCA coax splitter. My system uses MOCA2.5 for the home run between the ISP router and the ONT. All of the other runs are MOCA 2.0 bonded, turbo, and 1 Gbit/s ethernet across a switch built in my internal router. The only contention is between the switch and the routing function to the ISP. Not noticeable in any practical way.

RG6 is the preferred coax, but RG59 should work. Make sure the moca2 splitter is formally certified. Some also have built in MOCA POE filters on the input labelled port.

MOCA does introduce a few msec of latency per node, so if you game heavily, it might be noticeable.

Being new to MoCA configurations (but very knowledgable about IT), I think I understood about 90% of what you just said.

Here is the splitter I purchased and it does state MoCA, but isn’t too specific on specs so I’m a bit skeptical that it meets what you describe above.

Given the PitA I had to go through with my ISP to get a DOCCIS 3.1 modem setup (yeah, they “say” they support other modems, but the only one I got working was an ancient Hitron 4582).

Although the modem supports MoCA, they balked at the idea of anything directly linked back through them, which is why I go from the bridged modem, to an Eero, then the blue part of my diagram. Many of the diagrams I found on the internet have splitters all coming from the street/ISP with the modem much further downstream.

My understanding from what you stated is that the splitter I linked above isn’t going to be good enough to support the multiple locations (future state) that I’d like to provide service to.

 

[degrub]

i would try it before abandoning it. Just cap the input port and any unused output ports. It does not appear to be "optimized" or certified for moca2. MOCA2 only needs up to 1,675 MHz. Satellite uses the higher bands and often will not be optimal or even work with moca2.
Holland is one brand to consider. Are there splitters included with the moca modems ? if so, i would start there.

 

[GHammer]

Try this splitter. I have a smaller version and zero issues with my GoCoax 2.5 MoCA adapters and 600 Comcast service. While you are looking, scroll down to reviews and note the first one.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KCY5MBU/?tag=snbforums-20

 

[Barddzen]

Being new to MoCA configurations (but very knowledgable about IT), I think I understood about 90% of what you just said.

Here is the splitter I purchased and it does state MoCA, but isn’t too specific on specs so I’m a bit skeptical that it meets what you describe above.

Given the PitA I had to go through with my ISP to get a DOCCIS 3.1 modem setup (yeah, they “say” they support other modems, but the only one I got working was an ancient Hitron 4582).

Although the modem supports MoCA, they balked at the idea of anything directly linked back through them, which is why I go from the bridged modem, to an Eero, then the blue part of my diagram. Many of the diagrams I found on the internet have splitters all coming from the street/ISP with the modem much further downstream.

My understanding from what you stated is that the splitter I linked above isn’t going to be good enough to support the multiple locations (future state) that I’d like to provide service to.

Here is what my newly installed panel looks like. The coax are not installed yet (still waiting on splitter) and haven’t hooked up the MoCA (per my diagram), but the rest of the devices are all set.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Given all that cable tidiness, be careful not to bend coax too tightly. It has a minimum bend radius so as not to crush the dialectric material between the coaxial conductors, which can distort the cable's transmission characteristics.

OE

 

[Barddzen]

Given all that cable tidiness, be careful not to bend coax too tightly. It has a minimum bend radius so as not to crush the dialectric material between the coaxial conductors, which can distort the cable's transmission characteristics.

OE

Check. That yellow one is one I had in the drawer for a while, the others I made sure to loop. Been there, done that.

 

[degrub]

is that a door bell transformer to the lower right of the gocoax ?

 

[Barddzen]

is that a door bell transformer to the lower right of the gocoax ?

Funny story. This larger panel I installed replaced a smaller one and the builder must have decided to install a doorbell (after the fact) and put a double-gang box below the media panel with a blank plate, so it was this weird hack involving multiple panels, wires, etc.

Worse, the actual doorbell (when we purchased our new house) is operated by battery so when I opened up the old panel and started to figure things out and found the transformer I was like where TF is the doorbell wire at the actual door? So that turned into a bit of a project.

But to answer your question: yes, it’s a transformer for a doorbell that I have yet to figure out, so it’s just sitting there waiting for me to get the time.

 

[krkaufman]

Check. That yellow one is one I had in the drawer for a while, the others I made sure to loop. Been there, done that.

FWIW…

be careful not to bend coax too tightly

 

[Barddzen]

So here is the update:

• Panel is setup like I have the blue in my diagram above, with the BAMF splitter and I’m getting 600+ mbps on wireless iPad Pro in the Sun Room.
  • I have only 1 additional MoCA end point adapter so I can’t confirm yet whether the additional coax ports still give the same speeds (more than 1).
• So for the time being, problem solved!

I’ll post this in one of the other forums, but only 1 of the 3 ethernet lines run from the builder work properly. The odd thing is with my signal tester I get all 8 wires reporting properly, but won’t connect and get an IP. The lights on the switch don’t even light up. I tried all the usual suspects: bad crimp on both ends, cable, switch port, etc. and nothing seemed to resolve the issue.

Back to this post: the BAMF splitter (I suspect) is MoCA 2.0 and not 2.5, how big of a deal is this when my ISP only supports up to 600 mbps? If the other coax ports check out, is there any benefit upgrading to a 2.5 MoCA splitter?

 

[krkaufman]

Re: BAMF (and other splitters marketed as “optimized for satellite”)

In effect, it depends on the complexity of the coax setup and how the splitter is employed. (edit: A “PoE” MoCA filter on the input port can moot the high output port isolation for the attached splitter.)


edit: p.s. Re:

the BAMF splitter (I suspect) is MoCA 2.0 and not 2.5,

MoCA 2.0 and MoCA 2.5 have the same operating range, so the splitter requirements are the same. That said, bonding at most 2 channels, MoCA 2.0 needs just 225 MHz of the 550 MHz range, typically just 1125-1350 MHz; therefore, MoCA compatibility *is* more critical for MoCA 2.5, due to the higher frequencies required to maintain 5 bonded channels. (similar)

 

[degrub]

make sure the termination pattern is consistent on your ethernet runs that don't work.
Figure out if it is A or B
Cut and re-terminate one end and test.
Save time/frustration use one of the recommended crimpers listed in the forums.

 

[krkaufman]

I’ll post this in one of the other forums, but only 1 of the 3 ethernet lines run from the builder work properly. The odd thing is with my signal tester I get all 8 wires reporting properly, but won’t connect and get an IP. The lights on the switch don’t even light up. I tried all the usual suspects: bad crimp on both ends, cable, switch port, etc. and nothing seemed to resolve the issue.

For those following along, the followup cross-post:

Builder wired Cat 5e, only 1 of 3 gets an IP

I purchased a house built ~5 years ago and the builder wired cat5e for land line phones and had RJ11 ports in 3 locations throughout the house. I replaced all of the RJ11 with RJ45 and re-crimped the media panel cables. After labeling everything (locations) I tested each line in each room and...

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