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-   -   Home Ethernet System (https://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showthread.php?t=15964)

David's8 11th November 2020 02:39 PM

Home Ethernet System
 
The S8 will be moving home shortly and we've been lucky to get a house alongside the 6m x 6m garage that will end its rough sleeping years. (More on that elsewhere later). The issue is that the house is a new build with Cat6 cable run throughout. No ethernet switch is yet fitted. Unfortunately, there is no fibre optic, superfast service available - its "standard" (up to 20mb) over copper line up a 1/2 mile country lane which seems to limit the benefits. Neither of our 2 TVs are "smart" TVs though i currently have a freesat HD box which feeds Netflix etc. I am thinking of getting a streaming music system (Naim Muso). A NAS for back up and storage seems a good idea too.
Questions:
1. Is there any way of improving on the broadband speed?
2. Any recommendations for make/model of switch (im not sure how many ports are needed - will find that out tomorrow)
3. Can/how do you integrate wifi into the system for when you want your portable device to be, well, portable. (Not sure yet if garage has ethernet port)
4. Any suggestions on configuring the system as a whole and any "must-have " gizmos"

Really appreciate any help in making the best of this system +++

HPsauce 11th November 2020 03:19 PM

That sounds good David, hope the move goes smoothly.

The main thing to ensure optimum broadband speed is to put the router directly on the end of the phone line at the master socket with the shortest cable you can have. Then connect that via Ethernet cable to your central network point; as that can be up to 100 metres away hopefully not an issue, unless your house is ginormous!
If you're being really cautious you can buy screened RJ11-RJ11 ADSL cable in many lengths to connect the router to the master socket. I have a 1-metre cable of that type and my hub/switch is integrated into the router.

As for what network equipment to buy I wouldn't worry too much as you can start with really cheap stuff and move up if needed. Integrating WiFi is cheap and easy as are hubs/switches. A 5-port Gigabit switch can be had for as little as £15-£20. WiFi access points cost rather more but you'll probably only need a couple depending on your house layout. I have one near the front door (actually the router) and another at the back of the house which also serves the patio outside.

David's8 11th November 2020 03:35 PM

+++ Thanks Andrew.

MikkiJayne 11th November 2020 03:57 PM

What's the 4G signal like? Mike and I both use 4G routers since our local broadband is disgraceful. I get 30Mb/s with EE, I think Mike gets considerably more with Three. Both can be persuaded to do unlimited data sim-only contracts if you provide your own router which is much cheaper than buying theirs.

Netgear, TP-link and D-link are all decent consumer-grade switches and are all pretty cheap.

David's8 11th November 2020 04:03 PM

Thanks MJ. I believe that the EE 4G router is what the neighbour in the other half of this new build/barn conversion (who is the builder) mentioned when we spoke a few weeks back. I'm meeting him tomorrow so I'll check out that out. Presumably 30mb is OK for streaming video /music over the internet?

MikkiJayne 11th November 2020 04:45 PM

Its fine for HD but can't cope with 4K. I watch exclusively streaming services now. 4GEE Home is a very expensive way to do it because they won't give you unlimited data on that. Better to buy a monthly sim-only deal (£25 ish) and an aftermarket router. I have a TPlink which was <£100. Mike and I have both found an external antenna for another £100 or so makes a significant difference to stability and speed.

Its worth grabbing a cheap PAYG sim from various networks to check performance too, because their coverage maps are just optimistic computer guestimates.

HPsauce 11th November 2020 04:49 PM

David, if you PM me the address and postcode I'll check out realistic broadband speed expectations, assuming you'll be over BT wiring.

sarg 11th November 2020 05:30 PM

We moved house two months ago to a rural new build property 3/4 mile from the cabinet, which is another 4-5 miles from the exchange.

BT initially offered us a guarantee of 0mbps !!

So, I ordered a 5G GigaCube mobile router from Vodafone with Unlimited Data (you can get them Mikki ;) )

And I sent it back 2 days later.

Speed was worse than tethering my mobile, sometimes less than ONE mbps, and it constantly had DNS issues with websites, as well as streaming from Sky or Netflix.

So I tried getting BT out again who finished installing a new line to us just last week and we are now consistently getting around 35mbps.

As HP said, nothing you can really do to improve the speed at source, but do make sure the Master Socket is the latest version (Mk3 I think) which will have two sockets, one for your phone, one for your router, this will give a less noisy signal than a filter on an old style master socket.

BT fitted ours with the old style, I promptly swapped it.

steamship 11th November 2020 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David's8 (Post 160882)
its "standard" (up to 20mb) over copper line up a 1/2 mile country lane which seems to limit the benefits.

Quite surprised it's that low. I'm over a mile from the cabinet and average around 30mb speeds. I used to get 40mb speeds but went for another plan to reduce costs and still have unlimited downloads... which mainly gets hammered watching YouTube. It's all over Openreach cabling (BT) but a different ISP. Costs less than £30 a month, whereas BT were a lot more expensive.

It may be due to the setup at the cabinet, but would have thought they'd all be FTTC by now. I suspect Andrew will be able to clarify further with your details.

David's8 11th November 2020 05:55 PM

Good tip on the socket, thanks sarg+++
I tried both the BT and Sky speed enquiry sites which both said superfast BB was not available at the location and that all they could both offer was "standard" BB with <20mb rates. Our area is all FTCC now i believe but Im not sure where the cabinet.


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