Post #100,712
5/7/03 10:24:12 AM
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Powerline Networking
This is probably a better forum for this question.
My father runs a home network that uses the power lines in his house as network connections. Seems like an odd thing to do, reminded me of those commercials that claimed it could turn your power lines into a super antenna for TV reception (and increase the chance of direct lightning strikes by, oh, four thousand percent). But he claims it works really well for them.
I'm setting up my home network now, and due to the extreme largeness of our new house and other specific oddities I'm trying to figure out if this "powerline networking" deal might be a viable solution. The thing is, I only have two windows machines out of five machines total, and if the setup requires specific drivers I'm out of luck.
If, however, there is a hardware-based solution, I might be able to do it. Does anyone have any experience with this stuff? Also, does it increase the chance of lightning strikes by roughly four thousand percent? These are the kinds of things I want to know before committing to a project. :)
"We are all born originals -- why is it so many of us die copies?"
- Edward Young
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Post #100,720
5/7/03 10:52:02 AM
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Some articles from Google for you
[link|http://www.usnews.com/usnews/nycu/tech/articles/020812/12plug.htm|US News]
[link|http://www.buy.com/retail/computers/category.asp?loc=16191|Buy.com]
[link|http://www.homeplugandplay.com/index.shtml|Home Plug and Play]
[link|http://www.smartcomputing.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles%2Farchive%2Fl0902%2F22l02%2F22l02%2Easp|SmartComputing]
[link|http://www.literati.com/itservices/home-network.php|Literati]
[link|mailto:jbrabeck@attbi.com|Joe]
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Post #100,723
5/7/03 11:04:59 AM
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Why not use wireless?
802.11b is truly a wonderful thing. If you've got 5 PC's, you can get a router (I personally have a [link|http://www.netgear.com/products/prod_details.asp?prodID=115&view=|NetGear MR314]) with wireless functionality built in. Then it's just a matter of getting some PCMCIA cards (in the case of laptops; I'm not sure if they make wireless true-NIC cards for desktops since I don't have a need for same) and putting 'em in your computers...
-YendorMike
[link|http://www.hope-ride.org/|http://www.hope-ride.org/]
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Post #100,725
5/7/03 11:08:56 AM
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Size of house might be a problem.
From what I've read, wireless is only reliable in a "small house." Our house is not small, and I'm not sure how well wireless will play out. Not so say I'm not interested in it, I just want to know what all my options are.
"We are all born originals -- why is it so many of us die copies?"
- Edward Young
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Post #100,727
5/7/03 11:16:39 AM
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Not sure how big your new house is...
I've got a 40x30 colonial. 2 floors, plus a basement. The router is upstairs in the computer room (one of the bedrooms.) Just for you, I've walked down to the basement and am posting this from the top of my washing machine, which is about as far as I can get from the router inside my house. Total distance I'd have to estimate at about 40-50 feet, with two floors in between.
Net access is fine down here, but my feet report that the floor is cold. :)
-YendorMike
[link|http://www.hope-ride.org/|http://www.hope-ride.org/]
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Post #100,734
5/7/03 11:32:25 AM
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hmm.
I'm not sure how big it is either, right off-hand. I think it's more than 50' from one end to the other, but if I put it in the middle of the house it won't be that big a deal. It is a plaster/wood walls kind of thing, concrete and cinderblock in the basement only.
"We are all born originals -- why is it so many of us die copies?"
- Edward Young
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Post #100,729
5/7/03 11:18:11 AM
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At worst you may need an extra AP...
...to relay the signal. Add under 100 to the total cost.
More than likely though, if it is a frame built house without significant plaster in the walls...locating the access point in the center of the house will solve any distance issues you may have. (unless your house is...say...200 yards long)
Drywall(sheetrock) is not a significant barrier. However, if you're in a house constructed in the European style (concrete or cinder walls) then you will have a problem with wireless and will need to set up AP relays.
If you push something hard enough, it will fall over. Fudd's First Law of Opposition
[link|mailto:bepatient@aol.com|BePatient]
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Post #100,733
5/7/03 11:30:14 AM
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Well, the next question is,
how decent are the firewalls that come built-in to the wireless routers? I liked the two-ethernet-linux-box-as-firewall setup I had way back in the day, but if that router's firewall works hunky dory then I guess I'll have no complaints.
"We are all born originals -- why is it so many of us die copies?"
- Edward Young
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Post #100,737
5/7/03 11:52:49 AM
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As far as I can tell...
...they're pretty good. I can't seem to get anything to port forward on mine and I ran Shield's Up against it and it said I didn't exist.
If you push something hard enough, it will fall over. Fudd's First Law of Opposition
[link|mailto:bepatient@aol.com|BePatient]
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Post #100,745
5/7/03 1:04:00 PM
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Boost antennas are also an option
There are some commercial varieties like [link|http://www.cdw.com/shop/search/results.asp?grp=WAT|this].
You can also roll your own (like from a [link|http://airshare.org/learn/articles/features/pringles.cfm|Pringles can]) but I don't have any personal experience with this.
(NOTE: the home-made variety are typically used to strengthen signal in a single given direction to provide long-distance wireless links.)
I used to have a split-level townhome and used a commercial antenna for my AP (located in the basement) and it worked fine.
Tom Sinclair
"Man, I love it when the complete absence of a plan comes together."
- [link|http://radio.weblogs.com/0104634/|Ernie the Attorney]
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Post #100,766
5/7/03 3:17:27 PM
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Linksys booster works well
I have a [link|http://www.linksys.com/Products/product.asp?grid=33&scid=35&prid=415|BEFW11S4 - Wireless Access Point Router with 4-Port Switch].
One of the owners of RTRON(where I work) also has one and had distance issues(he's got a huge home). We ordered the [link|http://www.linksys.com/products/product.asp?grid=33&scid=38&prid=478|WSB24 - Wireless Signal Booster] for him. I took it home to test it before we sent it home with him. It made all locations inside my house have full 100% signal strength. Before various locations would drop down to a "marginal" reading, 2 bars(out of 5) on the strength guage. I even tested outside my house and found the coverage radius increased by 50 or 60 feet.
Darrell Spice, Jr. [link|http://www.spiceware.org/cgi-bin/spa.pl?album=./Artistic%20Overpass|Artistic Overpass]\n[link|http://www.spiceware.org/|SpiceWare] - We don't do Windows, it's too much of a chore
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Post #100,834
5/8/03 12:38:39 AM
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This Olde House
I'm guessing lathe and plaster myself based on interior shots. Common through the 1930s/40s depending on the area. Probably slightly, but not significantly, more substantial than drywall, from a 2GHz standpoint. --\r\n
Karsten M. Self [link|mailto:kmself@ix.netcom.com|kmself@ix.netcom.com]\r\n
[link|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/]\r\n
What part of "gestalt" don't you understand?\r\n
[link|http://twiki.iwethey.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/|TWikIWETHEY] -- an experiment in collective intelligence. Stupidity. Whatever.\r\n
\r\n
Keep software free. Oppose the CBDTPA. Kill S.2048 dead.\r\n[link|http://www.eff.org/alerts/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html|http://www.eff.org/alerts/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html]\r\n
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