Unmanaged switch into Powerline adapter

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Junta

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#245037 15-Jan-2019 12:55

Hi all :)

I have a setup that looks like this currently:

VDSL Router (plus wifi) > Powerline > PC

I would like to add another PC via the Powerline, like this:

VDSL Router (plus wifi) > Powerline > Unmanaged switch > PCs

Will this work ok? I have done research that suggests it'll be fine, but wondered if anyone else had done this.

Cheers!

gehenna

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#2161520 15-Jan-2019 13:07

That'll work fine, don't expect great performance though.

Junta

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#2161522 15-Jan-2019 13:09

Thanks for confirming.

I assume when you say "Great performance", you mean because it's pushing 2 PCs worth of data through 1 Powerline adapter?

muppet

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#2161523 15-Jan-2019 13:17

GeorgefromLightbox:

Thanks for confirming.

I assume when you say "Great performance", you mean because it's pushing 2 PCs worth of data through 1 Powerline adapter?

It's mostly because while the Adaptor will say it's a 800Mb/s or whatever one, in reality you'll get 1/10th of that performance (depending on line run length and a bajillion other things)

Junta

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#2161549 15-Jan-2019 14:03

I see. So if my throughput on the Powerline is actually pretty good already, presume it'll remain pretty good?

jamesrt

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#2161582 15-Jan-2019 15:12

The bandwidth of the powerline will be shared across the PCs; so if you get "good" performance on the powerline now, you'll still get "good".

But "good" shared across multiple PCs may well be perceived as "not so good" on each PC! It's going to depend a fair bit on what network load each PC is doing. I'd not expect good anything on one PC if the 2nd is watching streaming video, for example.

If you're putting a small switch in, is it time to consider running RJ45 rather than using the Powerline?

Junta

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#2161587 15-Jan-2019 15:17

I am indeed considering that, but the cost of the Powerline + switch is 1/10th the cost of plumbing in network points etc. Small incremental steps to work out whether I need to get an electrician in to wire it all in 'properly' ...

shk292

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#2161594 15-Jan-2019 15:40

It sounds like you've already got the hardware, but if not, there are powerline devices which incorporate a switch. I was using some with quite good results until a few years ago when I ran some ethernet instead. I found the powerline was good (100Mbps or thereabouts) when it worked properly, but could drop speed unexpectedly.