New network layout + prospective purchases; need someone to look over them

[MarkProvanP]

Right now we have a terrible, cheap Belkin G+ MIMO 10/100 router as the centerpoint of our network. It has semi-failed a few times, but nothing a quick reset cannot fix. Our needs have outgrown this router, and we are going to get a new one soon. I've made some diagrams (attached) that explain what changes we are making, which will be separated into stages since it may not be possible to upgrade everything at once.

(PDF attached)

The cable modem is a Motorola SurfBoard, with Virgin Media 20Mbit internet and we have no Ethernet running through the house. We do have some coaxial running through the house but it is still needed for terrestrial TV.

 

[thiggins]

In Phase 1, I'm assuming you're going to configure the Belkin as an Access point. Otherwise you'll end up with clients on different networks.

In Phase 2, I would not connect the Cable modem to the gigabit switch. Feed the cable router into the WRT-320N WAN and then put the switch and other gear on its LAN side. Also configure the Belkin as an AP.

I'd go MoCA vs. Homeplug if you have the coax drops. It should work just fine with OTA TV signals, as long as there are no distribution amplifiers between Moca adapters.

 

[MarkProvanP]

I know about turning the Belkin into an access point, and I need it as one since we need a network that has WEP security and the other one with the best available, since some of the wireless devices cannot work with WPA/WPA2 etc.

Coax would be nice, but the cable modem, NAS, printer and wired computers are all on the same desk, with no terrestrial Coax connection nearby.

Would HomePlug 1.0 with that Turbo thing be good enough for light-ish video streaming to a PS3 from the NAS? Or for online play on the PS3? Also, I have found out that the remote computer (connected wirelessly now, was going to be HomePlugged) is in a room with a separate electrical circuit. Would this affect it so much that it would be useless to get a HomePlug for it, since it already connects via 802.11g?

 

[thiggins]

Would HomePlug 1.0 with that Turbo thing be good enough for light-ish video streaming to a PS3 from the NAS? Or for online play on the PS3?

Depends on how much bandwidth "light-ish" streaming takes. Our review showed you can expect about 10 Mbps from Homeplug + Turbo adapters. You really need to profile your streams like I did here to know what you need.

Also, I have found out that the remote computer (connected wirelessly now, was going to be HomePlugged) is in a room with a separate electrical circuit. Would this affect it so much that it would be useless to get a HomePlug for it, since it already connects via 802.11g?

First generation powerline adapters needed to be on the same line phase to work well. Current generation stuff works on conducted and radiated signals, so will work cross phase just fine. It's AFCI breakers that will really kill your throughput.

 

[kot1rc5]

Your plan looks good.
The only thing I would add is a Linux firewall between the cable modem and the switch. Then you can use the wireless routers as an access point only, or if you use more than 2 Nics you can configure physically separate subnets. For example you could put the less secure WEP router on a separate subnet so connections to it won't have access to the rest of the LAN.
I use Smoothwall.org on a junk PC, but there are many others just as easy to setup and use. I have tried Astaro, untangle, vyatta, zeroshell all are free or free for non-commercial use.

From my experience, as broadband speeds and the number of connections (read torrents) have increased, many home networking products are not up to the task of 24/7/365 operation. Putting up a dedicated Linux firewall will relieve the wireless of much of the processing overhead (bugs or heat) that causes crashes.

Good luck, and do post on you progress

k

 

[MarkProvanP]

Erm... we have a FreeBSD home server, so we could do that, but it would need to still be able to do SMB and UPnP duties as well. Although, I'm worried about putting all net traffic through a box that would use a lot of power (it is a full AMD system) and does produce some noise (I still am not sure whether the noise is coming from the CPU fan or the HDDs).

As a backup to the HomePlug system, what wireless bridges and adapters do you recommend, since I need one with several Ethernet ports for the PS3/Wii and one for gaming upstairs.

 

[thiggins]

Erm... we have a FreeBSD home server, so we could do that, but it would need to still be able to do SMB and UPnP duties as well. Although, I'm worried about putting all net traffic through a box that would use a lot of power (it is a full AMD system) and does produce some noise (I still am not sure whether the noise is coming from the CPU fan or the HDDs).

I wouldn't worry about adding the Linux firewall.

As a backup to the HomePlug system, what wireless bridges and adapters do you recommend, since I need one with several Ethernet ports for the PS3/Wii and one for gaming upstairs.

I don't have any specific recommendations, you'll need to check the Wireless Charts. A switch can be added to any bridge to expand ports.

 

[MarkProvanP]

I just found this:

Wireless-N Nfiniti™ Dual Band Ethernet Converter

Would this be a reasonable replacement for the HomePlug system I thought of? There actually aren't a lot of dual-band bridges around, and most seem to have a single Ethernet port. The TV is only about 10 metres diagonally from the computers, with a single brick wall between them, so would the reduced range of 5GHz still work for this?

 

[thiggins]

It might. Depends on how much throughput your streaming needs.

There is no N product I've found that provides bandwidth even equal to 100 Mbps Ethernet and certainly not as reliable. No matter what the ad copy says, it's a crapshoot whether you get trouble-free streaming from a wireless connection.

 

[kot1rc5]

Erm... we have a FreeBSD home server, so we could do that, but it would need to still be able to do SMB and UPnP duties as well.

Some of those distros ofter those services, others have it as an addon.

Although, I'm worried about putting all net traffic through a box that would use a lot of power (it is a full AMD system) and does produce some noise

I can understand that power usage may be of concern. I stripped down the firewall pc to barebones, and swapped the 400w for a 230w. You'd probably have to experiment to see what is enough. Regarding the noise, my wife made me move my "crap" to the garage for just that reason many years ago...LOL.

k