Spec me an improved network solution bitches!

[Joose]

Ok, so my router is in my front room and both me and mrs joose have our desktops in the attic room. In previous houses I have solved this via a Sodding Big Network Cable, but I cant do that in this house as the SBNC wont fit through the doors (stupid things have draft excluder type efforts so there is no gap for a cable to fit through. Damn heat efficiency) and the fact im renting discounts drilling. This leaves me with two options that I can think of: wireless bridge or powerline adapters.

So far I have been using powerline adapters. One in the front room connected to the router, the other in the attic connected to a spare router I had so I can use it to boost the wireless signal up there and connect the various computers. This worked nice and fast, but the network drops out fairly regularly (I would say roughly once a day on average). It tends to not be out for more than a minute or two but its pissing irritating, especially when it cuts out in the middle of an online game of DOTA or something. I've narrowed this down to the powerline, as it still happens even if my computer is connected to it directly, and the internet to the router downstairs remains on the whole time. I'm guessing its a power spike issue or something like that.

I have tried the wireless bridge option also, by putting that haxed firmware on an old router and setting it to wireless bridge + access point. This is a hell of a lot more stable, with no drop outs experienced so far. Unfortunately its also a hell of a lot slower, with my download speeds at less than half what they are on the powerline (which itself is less than I get on the media PC I have directly connected to the router in the front room).

My options at this point seem to be fast but broken (powerline) or stable but slow (wireless). Any suggestions for a better third option, or a way to make one of those options less bad?

[Dr. kitteny berk]

Fibre? It'll fit under doors, go nice and fast. Probably amusingly expensive though.

[Joose]

A quick googling suggests that whilst doable, I would be looking at over £120, and that's using cheapy refurbished shit off ebay. So probably not.

[Dr. kitteny berk]

That's actually not too bad, but it's a lot more than a tub of filler.

/has a landlord who doesn't give a single fuck

[Joose]

Thing is its up two flights of stairs. If I was going drilling I would just go straight up, but buggering about with floorboards is a bit much, and potentially beyond what a tub of filler can make good.

There is a cable going from the front room to the attic from when the previous tenants had Sky multi room installed. Is there any way to re-purpose that to carry network data?

[Dr. kitteny berk]

10base2?

Can you not pull it through with a cat6 tied to it?

[ProfHawking]

I had a similar issue getting cat6 (and tv coax) into my loft when networking my house. It was easy to drill through the outside wall by the kitchen, and again in the loft, fixing the cable up the outside of the house. Far far easier than trying to route it inside through walls floors and stairs etc.

[Joose]

Can you not pull it through with a cat6 tied to it?

That might work, im not sure how securely attached to the outside wall it is. I know that at the top its just sort of draped over the roof and in through the window, but I would need to have a look see how securely its fixed to the drainpipe it runs down outside. Its a bit of a big wall, with a horribly slippy angled driveway at the bottom and I have no ladder. Worth a look though!

[Dr. kitteny berk]

I had a similar issue getting cat6 (and tv coax) into my loft when networking my house. It was easy to drill through the outside wall by the kitchen, and again in the loft, fixing the cable up the outside of the house. Far far easier than trying to route it inside through walls floors and stairs etc.

this is the other solution I was going to suggest, but ISTR the outside of joose's house is fairly tidy.

It's also worth talking to your landlord, if you ask nicely and do shit tidy with ducting up a not immediately visible wall, you may well get away with doing what you want, and not having to put it back after.

[ProfHawking]

Yar, cable tying it to a drainpipe might work if you have one handy.
I just ran a nice straight line of cable using cable clips nailed into the wall. You can pull these out whenever you like and they leave pretty much no trace.

Also, note that indoor grade cat6 is not ideal for external use - water and UV can damage it. I got external grade cable because I intend mine to last (cheap enough off ebay). If you are renting, you might care less.

[Joose]

Also, note that indoor grade cat6 is not ideal for external use - water and UV can damage it. I got external grade cable because I intend mine to last (cheap enough off ebay). If you are renting, you might care less.

How quickly is it likely to go? If you are talking about it going dead in 6 months I would want to invest in something more sturdy, but ifyou mean it will start going wonky in a couple of years then I am less bothered.

[Dr. kitteny berk]

I imagine it's just the pvc insulation goes brittle, it'll probably last a few years, I'd worry a little about pinching it, and make sure where it passes through a wall you wrap it with some leccy tape or slide some heatshrink over, just to stop the insulation getting worn away.

[ProfHawking]

yeah, narf i think you'd get 2-3 years out of a normal cable easy enough. Assuming its relatively sheltered and its not damaged.
Alternatively... its not expensive to do it properly. You takes your choice....
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/25m-OUTDOOR-U ... 1c382176c1

[FatherJack]

I've never used main networking but my Dad plans to link up his garage with it - its speeds are quoted as a lot faster than I would have thought.

Would mains filtering help with the voltage spikes causing the dropouts, or would it actually felcher out the signal?