> I have used these homeplug[1] type ethernet adaptors in the past where a > wireless unit would not work due to old house, thick walls and distance. > > As for Zyxel, here the one I recommend [2], they normally come with a > wireless > usb dongle although you can get a router and home plug kit > > [1] http://www.wifi-antennas.co.uk/index.php?target=products&product_id=34 > > [2] > http://www.zyxel.co.uk/web/product_family_detail.php?PC1indexflag=20040812093058&CategoryGroupNo=AC5783AE-9475-41AD-BDA5-0997187F44AA >
I know several people here recommend zyxel but I've had nothing but problems with mine, and a friend who has the same router (P660H) has also had similar problems. The main issue I have with it is randomly rebooting, which gets worse over time (depending on how many of the features of the router, such as upnp, syslogging etc. are turned on, as a result I don't use any of the "power" features any more, which was half the reason for buying it!) until eventually I have to do a factory reset and then reconfigure. My friends version also consistently connected at a lower speed than the netgear he has now bought to replace it. I wouldn't buy one again, but maybe I've just seen 2 bad cases :). As for homeplug. Do remember that it is not a switched technology, it essentially is the same technology as wireless but turns all the wires in your house into the "air". But as with wireless this is a hub rather than a switch style solution, each transfer will eat into the total available bandwidth. I have also seen various issues similar to wireless where depending on your cabling etc. you will probably not get the quoted speeds. There is quite an overhead, similar to wireless, and you rarely get the full throughput. A guy I worked with looked at supposedly 100meg homeplug adapters but in reality they could not provide enough bandwidth to stream high def video over (which was the whole reason for buying them) despite in theory there being enough headroom to do so. I would say homeplug is a good replacement for wireless, but not a good replacement for ethernet cables and a switch. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --------------------------------------------------------------