Ok to use MOCA instead of Ethernet, 3 locations in the house?

x509

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I never gave MOCA much thought, but this thread really showed me what I was missing. https://hardforum.com/threads/increasing-wi-fi-range.1999107/#post-1044687009 Like 30 years ago, we did a big remodel and I put in 10Base5 coax Ethernet in the walls to go between first and second floors. It was great at 10 MBits/sec, but then I needed to move to WiFI like everyone else. Now we have a problem that the Roku in the bedroom on the second floor has a weak signal from the first floor router. So instead of spending the bucks to have a contractor install Cat 6 Ethernet, I'm thinking that MOCA is what I need.

Now, before I tell my "chief operating officer" that I need to spend ~$500 for 3 MOCA adapters and she will get much better performance out of the Roku stick, I want to double check with all you guys.

For sure, no problem I can connect up 1 MOCA using next to my first floor router. There is a spare Ethernet port on that router. On the second floor 1 MOCA will output Ethernet put in a hub I would plug in my desktop and the HP printer, so the printer would always be "on." On the second floor, 1 MOCA will output WiFi to feed the Roku stick.

Is Action Tec a good brand that works out of the box, with no BS?

There is some cable signal splitting in the coax network. Are there any limits I should think about?

Can I put a cable splitter where the coax feeds into the cable modem. One cable would go to the cable modem, and the other cable would go into the MOCA.

Is all this OK?

Thanks, guys.
 
I used Actiontec MOCA adapters in a previous house with a similar issue. I ran 3 units to 3 floors, basically one tying into the network and two powering Roku devices. It worked great! I don't recall any issues with the adapters or reliability, and they are pretty much just plug them in and go.

For splitters, they do make MOCA-compatible splitters. You might be able to do OK without them, but if you're adding any definitely get compatible ones. I would also suggest a MOCA filter on your inbound coax line. If you don't put one in, there is potential that the signal can get out into your neighborhood cable connection and can see other MOCA devices.

The only think I'd consider is if you're feeding one of the Rokus WIFI after MOCA, I'd consider just going wired (even if I replaced the device). You're trying to get rid of wireless for reliability, right?
 
That all sounds good to me, so long as the coax being used is dark or for cable-tv. MOCA is not compatible with satellite-tv or AT&T.

Double-check the existing splitters. If they only support up to 1000 MHz then throughput will be severely limited. They should support >= 1600 MHz. I got some of these (plus this filter) and they work well. Pull any superfluous splitters out and replace any with unused taps with smaller units.

Actiontec seems to be the go-to for MOCA adapters. I have a couple of the Motorola units I got cheap on sale (which I'm almost certain are the same as these) that have been fine at least for low-intensity usage.
 
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I have had a pair of actiontec moca for 6 years now. Has worked flawlessly.



I'd also look at DECA apparently similar and ultra cheap. They get great reviews and a pair can be had for under $30. If I was aware of these when I bought my actiontec I probably would have gone this route instead.

https://www.amazon.com/PACK-Broadband-Ethernet-Generation-Supplies/dp/B01AYMGPIO



Reports are the DECA works for non direc-tv devices:

Question:
Will this connect to non-directtv products ? like can i just connect this to the wall and my desktop computer for internet access, since my modem/router?
Answer:
Yes, I'm actually using them to connect my enginius acces point to my firewall. Just buy this with the power supply. USB power version just works on some power supplies.
 
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I have had a pair of actiontec moca for 6 years now. Has worked flawlessly.



I'd also look at DECA apparently similar and ultra cheap. They get great reviews and a pair can be had for under $30. If I was aware of these when I bought my actiontec I probably would have gone this route instead.

https://www.amazon.com/PACK-Broadband-Ethernet-Generation-Supplies/dp/B01AYMGPIO



Reports are the DECA works for non direc-tv devices:

Question:
Will this connect to non-directtv products ? like can i just connect this to the wall and my desktop computer for internet access, since my modem/router?
Answer:
Yes, I'm actually using them to connect my enginius acces point to my firewall. Just buy this with the power supply. USB power version just works on some power supplies.

DECA is OK if proper MOCA is not an option because the coax is used by satellite-tv (maybe only DirecTV?). It uses some of the MOCA standard for signalling/etc., but operates at frequencies that won't interfere with the satellite-tv signal. It's not compatible with cable-tv or other MOCA devices.

Also, DECA is much slower than MOCA. The product page linked states 200Mb/s shared across all devices connected via DECA. MOCA v2.0 is 1 Gb/s shared, v2.5 is 2.5Gb/s shared.
 
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I used Actiontec MOCA adapters in a previous house with a similar issue. I ran 3 units to 3 floors, basically one tying into the network and two powering Roku devices. It worked great! I don't recall any issues with the adapters or reliability, and they are pretty much just plug them in and go.

For splitters, they do make MOCA-compatible splitters. You might be able to do OK without them, but if you're adding any definitely get compatible ones. I would also suggest a MOCA filter on your inbound coax line. If you don't put one in, there is potential that the signal can get out into your neighborhood cable connection and can see other MOCA devices.

Is that TiVO filter supposed to go between the cable feed as soon as it enters the house, before my local "MOCA network?"

The only think I'd consider is if you're feeding one of the Rokus WIFI after MOCA, I'd consider just going wired (even if I replaced the device). You're trying to get rid of wireless for reliability, right?

I'm Ok doing a MOCA WiFi nedt to the Roku stick. I hadn't thought about replacing the Roku stick. Something else to think about. I want to replace the wireless connection between the first floor router and the second floor TV, which are at opposite ends of the house. I don't mind doing a
That all sounds good to me, so long as the coax being used is dark or for cable-tv. MOCA is not compatible with satellite-tv or AT&T.
It's vanilla coax for cable TV.
Double-check the existing splitters. If they only support up to 1000 MHz then throughput will be severely limited. They should support >= 1600 MHz. I got some of these (plus this filter) and they work well. Pull any superfluous splitters out and replace any with unused taps with smaller units.
Yup. The existing splitters are probably like 20+ years old, so I'll just replace them. And if necessary, I'll just use straight barrel connectors where I don't need an existing splitter.

Actiontec seems to be the go-to for MOCA adapters. I have a couple of the Motorola units I got cheap on sale (which I'm almost certain are the same as these) that have been fine at least for low-intensity usage.

Apppreciate the recommendation here.
 
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Is that TiVO filter supposed to go between the cable feed as soon as it enters the house, before my local "MOCA network?"

Yeah, that's where I had mine. I installed it right before the first splitter for the house.
 
Yeah, that's where I had mine. I installed it right before the first splitter for the house.

That's where I put my MOCA filter as well. It probably doesn't really matter at single-family home scale, but I still like to put filters as far up the path as possible.

Also, it's possible the cable company has already put one at the demarcation point.
 
Maybe try a power over Ethernet run first? Should be much cheaper... Worth a shot.
 
You've got a solid plan with the moca. Go for the 2.5Gbps models if you can for additional bandwidth for the future.

If you don't need all the bandwidth, there's a lot of alternative moca adapters you can get cheap that will bring more value. Like the old verizon/frontier g1100 router which has a built in moca adapter as well as a switch and ap. While the moca in it is 2.0, it is not bonded 2.0, so the fastest sync between my two units is 600Mbps and they iperf just under 500Mbps. Still a lot of bandwidth and great for most applications. Plus you've got a 4 port gigabit switch and a pretty decent AP built-in so these can be a really good 'one-stop shop' for certain installs. (y)
 
I don't think that will work for my house because we have multiple main power panels. (very long story ... :censored: )
It won't work because POE is designed to power Ethernet devices, while Ethernet over power, aka, powerline, runs ethernet over power. :D

And today's powerline adapters are pretty good about going between panels. But the speeds will be nowhere near as good as moca.
 
That's the key point for me. :)
Yeah what I love about moca is the simplicity of powerlines (once the wiring is correct) and the speeds of ethernet. When testing my g1100 setup it literally took me 5 minutes from the time I unpacked them to the time I was done with the iperf test. After digging around in the interface I found out I could see what they were synced at, but 490Mbps+ was plenty for me. :D
 
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Lot's of good info in this thread. For my use case, I've got:

3 wifi aps in drop ceiling in basement to ethernet switch POE.
1 wifi AP on first floor on wall behind main tv with poe injector & moka
3 wifi aps on 2nd floor behind tvs with POE injectors with backhaul via moca. My moca real world throughput is about 650Mbit/s (older equipment) but works great for me. I max out my internet pretty much anywhere in the house (180Mbit/s) on wifi, and if I ftp to my servers locally, I can hit 300-400Mbit/s (the max of my aps...)

wifi with moca backhaul is a very nice, don't-have-to-touch-it setup.
 
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