Anyone using MoCA or G.hn Ethernet over Coax adapters in their network?

[Draco1962]

Meet MoCA, the speedy home network alternative that runs over cable wires

I've used Powerline adapters over the years with OK results. With some of the reviews showing close to Gigabit speeds, coupled with the fact that every room in my house is wired with coax and well within the distances recommended, it is worth exploring.

Have any of you tried this?

[tthurman]

That's pretty interesting and something I wasn't familiar with at all.

 

 

[Draco1962]

The tech has been around for over 10 years but is now near matching Gig speeds. Of course, YMMV depending upon the quality, condition, and age of your coax, the length of your runs, etc. From some of my reading it appears that you can use existing splitters and, if you are not connected to your local coax cable/internet provider, you do not need to filter out your signal - just disconnect the coax incoming from the splitter.

[tthurman]

That’s pretty impressive, but I have to admit that I was hoping for more synchronous performance. The first thing I thought of with this was using it to bridge two network switches.

I need a POE switch for cameras and have been eying a Cisco CB250, thinking I wound eventually get a second, but have no fiber in place to link the downstairs switch to the upstairs switch.

I already picked up some power injectors to handle the upstairs camera wiring, but it would be a much cleaner install with a POE switch and have the added bonus of getting me off the less than ideal Netfear switch, which likes to call home each time you log into it.😠

[Draco1962]

From various videos of different MoCA devices, asynchronous seems to be rhe norm, yet the speeds seem better with the latest kits with no indications of latency with gaming ir streaming.

I am sure that a coax solution would work for connecting your switch for the cameras.

There are videos where the author is using them to backhaul their mesh networks for greater speeds. 

I get (barely) WiFi out to my garage, which is essential for controlling and modding my Rainbird lawn irrigation controller via a phone app. This may be a viable solution to reuse an older WiFi router to extend a stronger signal to connect the controller as well as an older laptop for looking up stuff on the interwebs on a larger screen (older eyes and all that..), connecting the cars for updates, etc.

Access to the coax splitter is literally a few feet away from a conduit access down to garage from the attic.

 

[tthurman]

Ideally I would have two CB250 or 350’s connected to each other with SFP modules and fiber, that’s what I’m really trying to replicate, just without fishing a fiber downstairs.

This way my layer 2 and 3 traffic isn't degraded from the first floor switch to the second floor devices on a second linked switch, which includes smart TV’s, wireless network, computing devices and cameras.

[Draco1962]

Another video with two scenarios for coax distribution in homes:

https://youtu.be/04-81uno5mo?si=GjtkKpiLPIirtwtB

[Draco1962]

A few years old, but a good article about MoCA 2.5 vs G.hn, the same protocol that is enabled in Powerline, but also through coax and telephone line adapters (which can be mixed and matched), whereas MoCA is for coax conversion only.

https://www.abiresearch.com/blogs/2022/06/14/wi-fi-vs-ghn-vs-moca-battle-home-networking-technologies-heats/

[Draco1962]

I am leaning toward TRENDnet Ethernet over Coax 2.5Gbps Adapter TMO-312C which are currently going for $94.99 per 2 pack on Amazon. 

Overall, the online user reviews are consitently similar. One thing I noticed is that these allow for up to 2.5 GBPS yet the NIC on each allows for up to 1.0 GBPS. As I am learning more, the 2.5GBPS max throughput is across ALL of the MoCA coax network and as you add more units and the more activitiy, the lower that throughput will be in reality. I think it would take quite a few devices going all out to notice any degredation - but this is no different than any network system, eh?

Following is an exerpt from their product specifications page regarding data transfer rates:

Data Transfer Rate

Ethernet: 10Mbps (half duplex), 20Mbps (full duplex) Fast Ethernet: 100Mbps (half duplex), 200Mbps (full duplex) Gigabit: 2000Mbps (full duplex) MoCA 1.1: Single channel up to 225Mbps MoCA 2.0: Single channel up to 600Mbps MoCA 2.0: Two bonded channel up to 1.2Gbps MoCA 2.5: Five bonded channel up to 3Gbps MoCA MAC rate: 16-node single channel: up to 400Mbps 16-node 2 channel bonding: up to 800Mbps 16-node 5 channel bonding: up to 2.5Gbps

Some different rates based upon mixing and matching with older 2.0 and 1.0 MoCA standards - the latest across all products I have researched are backwards compatible with the older versions yet they will only be as fast as the oldest standard in use on the MoCA network. This is also seen with the G.hn products (Powerline over powerline or coax).

As for the brand, I have bought/used TRENDnet switches and routers over the years and they are generally well constructed, reliable workhorses for the price.

Video

 

[Tom Speirs]

I am always interested in this stuff. I guess it depends on the quality of the coax. Looks better than powerline for sure. I have had fairly good results with trendnet too. Had several switches. 

Where i couldn't easily go wired i tend to use wifi bridges. With Wifi 7 at 5GB these days in real word (in bridge mode at 6ghz), it largely overtakes powerline and this but not cheap and you have massive moon bases that your wife or partner might not like! Also distance could be an issue with wifi which is where mesh comes in meaning more moon bases and cost!

If your coax is up to par this looks like a great option.

[Tom Speirs]

PS: I setup an Asus AImesh at my friends big house recently. it works pretty well. Single ssid thoughougt  hes two story house with finished basement.

- gx 11000 as mesh in loft
- 98 pro as mesh in basement (I get 2.5gb speed in the basement locally over wifi with a be 900. Probably more when windows properly does wifi 7).
- gx axe 11000 as router on ground floor in office. Acts as a router, ad blocker and own dns server right now. Can also do vpn and all that jazz if needed.

The loft has a wired backhaul. The basement connects over 6ghz.

Individual meshes do allow wired connections into them.

All running Merlin.

Used or refurbished gx 11000s are a good option for 1gb speeds if you can get 160mhz where you are. You will probably get a wireless 1gb backhaul even without 160mhz due to more streams on these things. You could of course use a wired backhaul over coax and setup a mesh like that. It depends on your house whether you need a wired backhaul.

[Draco1962]

Our "offices" (2nd and 3rd bedrooms) are a mix, with my office primarily wired (where the modem and routers reside) and my wife's via WiFi from the AT&T supplied modem/router WiFi. 

The rest of the house gets WiFi as well without any mesh setup with the exception of the TVs (living room and master bedroom on opposite side of the house) which connect via Powerline adapters to the network. They are an older standard but have worked OK for our needs up until now. Finally, we have our garage where the WiFi struggles and no wired network exists.

We used to have the XFi pods for mesh coverage when we had Xfinity but they constantly dropped power and were a pain to reset and reconnect to the network. Speed tests from them were all over the place, but mostly 

I have considered mesh but with our house being one level and prewired with coax in 5 rooms, this seems to be a great solution to meet our needs, barring any issues with the coax runs. I have several old Linksys routers with WiFi that I can use as an access point in the garage. They are not as fast as the newer tech in the house, but worth upcycling for the occasional use within the garage environment and providing a stronger wireless connection to our sprinkler system base as well as updates to our autos.

[Vanetani]

Yeah, I've tried MoCA and it's been a game-changer. Much better speeds and stability than Powerline. If your house is already wired with coax, definitely give it a shot.

 

[Darikail]

MoCA can be a game-changer if you've got coax wiring all over your place. It's been known to deliver really solid speeds, often better than what you'd get with Powerline adapters, especially if your electrical wiring isn't ideal.