Setting up network with MOCA(newbie)

[DaBigMoe]

Hey guys!

So this will be my first post. I found out about this website after I moved out of my parents into my girlfriends house and have full control of the network , there is some AMAZING info here.

Now, onto the nitty gritty.

I live in a really old house. Lathe and Plaster walls, two prong power outlets, all that jazz.

The previous owners didn't get cable/internet until 2009, There is only ONE coaxial input in the entire house not connect to any splitters(maybe) whatsoever. I've traced the cable from the outside and it literally goes into one room(worst possible location too) and that's it

We just got Xfinity's 1200/35 internet package, They are sending a service technician to put two more coax jacks into the house for a total of 3 coax inputs. One will go into the office and the other in the living room. We have no TV service, don't need it with streaming services.

Current grocery list

ARRIS Surfboard S33 DOCSIS 3.1 Modem (bought)
ASUS RT-AX86U running Merlin (bought)
5 Port Unmanaged Switch (bought)
2 pack of Moca adapter (Brand TBD, will buy)
Another ASUS router to be used for AiMesh (will buy)
Moca friendly splitter(will buy)
POE filters (maybe Comcast service tech can do that?)


My goal is to wire as many static devices as I can and then use the AiMesh Technology to manage wifi devices.

So this is what I'm thinking.

Modem and Router will be in the office 2nd floor, I will have a Moca adapter connected in here through a coax splitter to the router. I then want to connect another moca adapter into the living room 1st floor to an unmanaged switch to connect all my devices in the entertainment center (Nvidia shield, PS4, etc), the original coax location I want to connect the other Moca to the router that will be used as a node to satisfy the wifi only devices that won't get good connection from the main router.

Is it as simple as I'm thinking? is there anything im missing that might make this not work? can you do a moca backhaul for AiMesh? I rather not do a wireless backhaul. Do you guys have any recommendations for good moca adapters? Am I in over my head?

I'm going to school for networking so I feel like this would be a good project for getting more experience to be used in the workforce. My future goals is to setup a network sever and attempt a local "cloud" backup solution like OneDrive

You guys are very informative here. Thanks for your time and happy holidays!

 

[degrub]

Assuming you want to run at gigabit speed ISP service and full duplex gigabit speed on your LAN across MOCA using MOCA2.5 (2.5 Ghz ) adapters and since this is a new installation of coax -
1) Keep the coax that has the DOCCIS 3.1 signal to the ISP modem physically separate from the coax that has the MOCA signal.
If you do not, the MOCA2.5 modems will have to give up frequency bands and thus run at reduced speed.

2) either GOCOAX or Actiontec MOCA 2.5 modems seem to work well and are supported.

3) Wired backhaul over ethernet or MOCA2.5, given what you are facing with the walls and floors would be the best choice, if not the only workable choice for placing Wireless Access Points around the house. 5GHz signal will not penetrate very well and 2.4 GHz will be weak through plaster lathe walls. Plan on individual 5 GHz APs in rooms unless you have open doorways or line of sight to the AP. You don't need mesh, ,just APs with wired backhaul.

4) make a sketch of your physical planned coax layout and device placement, particularly any wireless APs.

5) there are a number of threads here describing using moca as well as simple ethernet to support AP distribution instead of relying on "mesh" marketing.

 

[DaBigMoe]

Assuming you want to run at gigabit speed ISP service and full duplex gigabit speed on your LAN across MOCA using MOCA2.5 (2.5 Ghz ) adapters and since this is a new installation of coax -
1) Keep the coax that has the DOCCIS 3.1 signal to the ISP modem physically separate from the coax that has the MOCA signal.
If you do not, the MOCA2.5 modems will have to give up frequency bands and thus run at reduced speed.

2) either GOCOAX or Actiontec MOCA 2.5 modems seem to work well and are supported.

3) Wired backhaul over ethernet or MOCA2.5, given what you are facing with the walls and floors would be the best choice, if not the only workable choice for placing Wireless Access Points around the house. 5GHz signal will not penetrate very well and 2.4 GHz will be weak through plaster lathe walls. Plan on individual 5 GHz APs in rooms unless you have open doorways or line of sight to the AP. You don't need mesh, ,just APs with wired backhaul.

4) make a sketch of your physical planned coax layout and device placement, particularly any wireless APs.

5) there are a number of threads here describing using moca as well as simple ethernet to support AP distribution instead of relying on "mesh" marketing.

Thank you for your reply! just a little confused.

When you say physically separate, do you mean by getting a splitter, one goes into the modem, the other through a POE filter into the moca and then into the router? Is that what you mean?

I don't think i will do any wireless APs, i only need one AP for the downstairs, so i would probably go with a moca backhauled AP. I will definitely draw up a sketch and post again.

I will look through the forms more thoroughly for configuring a moca backhaul AP

Thanks!

 

[degrub]

Thank you for your reply! just a little confused.

When you say physically separate, do you mean by getting a splitter, one goes into the modem, the other through a POE filter into the moca and then into the router? Is that what you mean?

I don't think i will do any wireless APs, i only need one AP for the downstairs, so i would probably go with a moca backhauled AP. I will definitely draw up a sketch and post again.

I will look through the forms more thoroughly for configuring a moca backhaul AP

Thanks!

Nope, physically disconnected from each other on the coax side.
Coax cable from isp demarcation to isp modem only. Ethernet cable from isp modem to your router wan port. Ethernet cable from your router lan port to ethernet port on moca modem. Moca modem connected to coax leading to all other locations in house. Can be through a moca2 splitter. At each other location, connect coax to “coax in” on each moca modem, ethernet out to switch or device. With this layout, no poe filter required and no concerns about losing bandwidth from doccis 3.1 band overlap.