Separate Modem/Router - linked over PowerLine....??

[#1]

Hi all,

Having a few Wireless issues with my old Billion 7800 (on POTS ADSL), so have decided to change to a Vigor 130 Modem and separate (future, new) router, so that my choice of newer router is not limited to those only with built-in modems for ADSL - opens up a whole new world of newer technologies, especially wrt WiFi and AC, etc....

Anyway - in setting up my network so I can get to the Web GUI of the 130 from my "normal" network - which involved inserting a Gigabit switch between the modem and the Billion's EWAN port, and then connecting back into the LAN side of my router - it hammered home the point that the modem-router connection was plain Ethernet; and regardless of whether the modem/router ports run at 100Mbps or Gigabit, the throughput is limited to the ADSL speed - 12Mpbs in my case, and would still be less than 100Mbps for most near-future fibre Broadband solutions....

So - it occurred that I could move the Modem to the BT Master Socket (it's currently located at a phone extension point - I lose about 1Mbps on sync speeds over using the master socket) - which might 'optimise' the Modem to Exchange connection; then run the Ethernet from the modem into a 200Mbps Devolo dLAN power plug network that I already have in place (but not driven hard) into the EWAN port of the Billion (currently) - which could now be placed anywhere (e.g. more central to house, for more balanced WiFi coverage, rather than *having* to have the router next to the BT socket.......).

Has anyone ever driven the Modem/Router Ethernet link over a PowerLine solution?  Are there any reasons why it should not work....??  

Thanks,

(wasn't sure whether this question could/should go into the "My router" forum - as it's not a question specifically to do with the provided Plusnet router...??)

[#2]

@pawhe955

I've never tried this, as to the chances of it working, they depend on how "intelligent" your powerline link is.

As far as I know, the modem-router link isn't TCP/IP at that point so a powerline link expecting IP will be disappointed.

A link that was Ethernet should not care about protocol.

If the "modem" was also a router and presents a "conventional" IP connection it should work.

[#3]

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@pawhe955 wrote:

Has anyone ever driven the Modem/Router Ethernet link over a PowerLine solution?  Are there any reasons why it should not work....??  

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As the other commenter points out, a seperate modem is just that - a modem NOT a router. It's the router that hands out IP addresses to other devices. Normally the router plugs into the modem directly but it's unclear if there is some seperate bridged network thing going on between them or if they communicate using some other protocol that can make use of the network cables.

So to put it bluntly, if they communicate via their own private network then it should work over powerline. If its using some other protocol that isn't TCP based then it's not going to work. You'd be better off buying a powerline wifi extender instead in that scenario.. or the unknown scenario. That said powerline adapters come in pairs anyway so you might aswell just try it and see if you already have them or are going to buy them anyway.

Have you tried google to see if anyone else has done this? - that would be a good start.

Just remember that powerline emits a lot of EM RF radiation which years ago was rumoured to be winding up MI5 along with ham radio enthusiasts so there may be long term health implications you want to think about. I have two powerline adapters but after some debate here on the PN forum and a lot of reading online i unplugged them. They're still sat about but i just don't use them.

[#4]

Essentially, powerline adapters are modems so that suggests it should work, as a router WAN interface is identical in operation to a LAN interface - traffic being "routed" by the hardware connecting the interfaces. The only difference is that a powerline adapter is a "one to many" device, though it probably operates in broadcast mode (as does wifi) with routing performed by the connected devices.

[#5]

I've tried Powerline adaptors & whilst they didn't lose connection very often, they weren't very fast; they also had a distinct latency built in.

So I placed a Gigabit switch next to the router (with a single ethernet connection) and wired it over ethernet to another switch just under my TV. I can now obtain Gigabit access (locally) and reliable 100Mbit to my router.

For wifi, you could run an ethernet cable to a cheap router running in bridge mode.