Home Network Setup - Powerline Mess Correct it with MoCA?

Question

Hey Everyone:

Recently been having issues with my home network which is a hodgepodge of APs + powerline + G-1100 Router + Network Extender (WCB6200) and it's honestly a bit of a mess.

The ONT connects to G-1100 via Ethernet (inserted into the WAN part on the back) and also with Coax running from the ONT into the G-1100 with the LAN light lit up in green. There is a Network Extender in the home office (room right above the basement) which is further connected to a switch/AP which also is where the main powerline adapter resides and is connected.

It appears one of the integrated Netgear Powerline/AP adapters is malfunctioning as I'm decent packet loss/connection issues in some of the rooms but when I connect to the G-1100's wireless network those issues disappear.

Naturally you must think I'm foolish to run powerline when there is Coax throughout the house. Well I USED to have MoCA but three years ago, when Comcast was the ISP, there were some connection issues one summer. Somehow started getting a lot of packet loss/ping issues, etc. which (when running traceroute) indicated issues within their network not the inside wiring of the house. Nonetheless, the dolt from Comcast came over and installed some noise filter on the outside of the house...MoCA never worked the same and I ended up switching to Powerline. No idea what he did? When I went over to FiOS with 1 Gbps speed I kept the Powerline setup.

I think it's time to scrap Powerline and go back to a full MoCA setup I suppose I'm partially already running MoCA given the Extender. Ideally I'd like to use a MoCA 2.5 adapters in various rooms. Splitters in the basement (other than a Verizon splitter when FiOS was installed) top out at 1000 MHz which leads me to believe those will need to replaced to fully optimize MoCA signal strength.

What I want to ensure is that I can fully harness/utilize the 1 Gbps speed and that if I purchase MoCA 2.5 adapters the Network Extender won't limit the speed/throughput. Lastly, I plan on using a mesh wifi network where the adapters are placed and quit broadcast the WiFi from the G-1100...

Thoughts/Feedback/Comments welcome and highly appreciated.

Cang_Household · Accepted Answer

I dislike Powerline Adapters over all. Their rated speeds are substantially inflated. For example, I bought a pair of Netgear Powerline Adapter rated at 2000Mbps, yet they only deliver a little over 200Mbps across two electrical circuits. When one of them die 8 months later, I called Netgear support and they told me to purchase their support first before they can diagnose it for warranty purpose. MoCA on the other hand, delivers what their labels say. 1000Mbps MoCA adapter really delivers 980+Mbps.

As for your MoCA network, it is quite a tough decision for you. G1100's MoCA is unbonded 2.0 and capped at 500Mbps+. WCB6200Q's MoCA is bonded 2.0 and capped at 1000Mbps. MoCA 2.5 adapters support up to 2500Mbps, but you need multigigabit switches (over $300 each) and multigigabit NICs to ensure the throughput. Some of the legacy Broadcom chips in bonded MoCA 2.0 device won't work with MaxLinear's MoCA 2.5 chip. Some manufacturers are actively fixing this issue while others gave up their MoCA line of products entirely.

To build that 1Gbps highway from the incoming fiber to your WCB6200Q, I recommend you to purchase an ECB5240M from Verizon ($55 including two short coaxial cable, one Ethernet cable, and a 2-Way splitter). ECB5240M has bonded MoCA 2.0 and can talk to WCB6200Q at 1000Mbps. You will use ECB5240M to replace G1100's MoCA port. You plug in one LAN port to the ECB5240M and switch the existing coaxial wire from G1100's Coax to ECB5240M's Coax.